MacRumors' Mac Blog: Mac Apps, News and Rumors

Apple has released Thunderbolt Firmware update for all Macs with Thunderbolt ports, providing stability fixes for Thunderbolt and Target Disk Mode. The update requires OS X Lion 10.8.3 or later and uses 1.22MB of disk space. The update can be downloaded via Apple's software update page or through the Mac App...

The hugely popular Pixelmator continues to add features to its image editing app, this time adding an extensive collection of shapes and related tools, a new paint selection tool, and more. There is also a new tutorials website with videos showing how to use Pixelmator to its fullest.The last update to Pixelmator added CMYK support, color profile management. The software is becoming more and...

In honor of Mother's Day, Best Buy has discounted its MacBook Airs by a total of $125. The company is offering a base discount of $100, plus a 'MOM25' promo code that drops the price another $25. The prices with the discounts are as follows: 11-inch MacBook Air 4GB/64GB - $874.99 11-inch MacBook Air 4GB/128 GB - $974.99 13-inch MacBook Air 4GB/128GB - $1074.99 13-inch MacBook Air...

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple today seeded build 12E47 of OS X 10.8.4 to developers. The release comes eight days after the previous build 12E40, and marks the sixth beta iteration of OS X 10.8.4. As with previous beta releases, Apple continues to ask developers to focus on Wi-Fi, Graphics Drivers, and Safari. The update is available through the software update tool in the Mac App Store and A...

Microsoft today released the 14.3.4 update for Office for Mac 2011, adding Office 365 compatibility in addition to a host of bug fixes. Previously, Office for Mac 2011 users had to uninstall Office for Mac and sign up for Office 365. Now, existing Office for Mac 2011 users can easily integrate their software with the subscription service. The rest of the update addresses various bugs,...

The MagSafe Adapter Key Ring began as a simple 3D printing project, but because of the popularity of the accessory, creator Jonathan Bobrow launched a Kickstarter campaign to create a new and improved version. Now named the KeyBit, the MagSafe Adapter Key Ring produced via the Kickstarter campaign will feature an improved manufacturing process that results in a nickel-plated milled steel...

Popular free messaging and VOIP app Viber is ">expanding from the iPhone to the desktop with the release of Viber Desktop for PC and Mac. The new desktop app allows users to initiate both video chats and voice calls, much like competing app Skype. Messages sync instantly across all platforms, and the app includes functionality that lets users begin a call on a smartphone and pick it up on a...

EA has announced in a blog post that its Maxis studio will release The Sims 4 for the Mac and PC in 2014.The company released no other details about the game, but said more information would be forthcoming.Today we are revealing to our top fans the fact that The Sims™ 4 is coming to PC and Mac in 2014.The Sims franchise is fueled by the passion and creativity of its millions of fans around ...

The Vox Music Player was originally created as a universal media player in 2007. Its simple design and its support for a wide range of file types led to a surge in popularity, but development stalled and it largely fell out of the public eye. Coppertino, an independent development studio that focuses on Mac and iOS software, has since adopted and redesigned the media player. Vox 1.0 retains...

German auction house Breker (via ComputerWorld) is set to put a working Apple 1 on auction later this month and it may fetch between $240,000 and $400,000. There are an estimated six working Apple 1 computers in existence. The Apple 1 is signed by Steve Wozniak and was originally owned by Computer Data Systems' Fred Hatfield. The computer is also bundled with the original manual and a...

German Apple website ifun.de has posted a collection of images from the beautiful new Apple Store Kurfürstendamm in Berlin, Germany. The store is located in a century-old theater building in one of the city's major shopping districts. The building measures some 48,000 square feet, though it's unclear how much of that space Apple is occupying.Apple first posted job listings for the...

Developer Flying Meat has released an update to its popular Photoshop alternative Acorn, bringing it to version 4.0 and adding an improved user interface, speed upgrades, non-destructive filters, multiple layer selection and more. The developer claims that the new version of Acorn is "a lot faster than its predecessors" in a variety of ways, including applying filters and selections and...

Apple today issued build 12E40 of OS X Mountain Lion to developers, a week after build 12E36 was released. Build 12E40 marks the fifth beta iteration of OS X 10.8.4. Apple continues to ask developers to focus on Wi-Fi, Graphics Drivers, and Safari. The update is available through the software update tool in the Mac App Store and Apple's Developer Page...

With Apple's stock price at its lowest levels since 2011, Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov -- one of the main investors behind the Digital Sky Technologies investment group -- has purchased $100 million of Apple stock, reports Bloomberg.“I believe in the future of this company even after Steve Jobs,” Usmanov, 59, said in an interview at Bloomberg’s Moscow offices, referring to...

More than a year and a half after it showed off its first concept for a Thunderbolt docking station, Belkin today officially began ">shipping its Thunderbolt Express Dock. The $299.99 dock offers users a single-cable connection for a docking station supporting a FireWire 800 port, a Gigabit Ethernet port, three USB 3.0 ports, audio in/out, and Thunderbolt passthrough.Designed to be an easy and...

Consumer Reports today released the results of its annual computer tech support survey, which revealed that Apple bested its own scores from last year while also topping every other brand-name computer manufacturer.The company scored far higher than the other big companies for the elements that make for successful online and phone support: ease of contacting staff, clarity of advice, technical...

Adobe is offering customers a 20% spring discount on some of its editing software (via AppleInsider), dropping the price of Lightroom 4, Photoshop Elements 11 and Premiere Elements 11 by $30. Lightroom 4, originally priced at $149, is designed for photographers, offering up an array of powerful image adjustment tools. Though Adobe recently launched a beta version of Lightroom 5, the updated...

Two brothers, Patrick and Daniel Klug, recently released their first game called 'Game Dev Tycoon'. In it, players start a small game development company in the 1980's and attempt to build it up to a development powerhouse over the next 30 years.In a bit of an experiment, the Klugs released a cracked version of their game and uploaded it themselves to a torrent site. However, in the pirated...