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Origin officially launches on Mac
Origin has had an alpha client on Mac since back in September, and today the service officially launches. Origin features on Mac are pretty much the same as on PC – you can upload saves to the cloud, interact with friends and the community through Origin's social feeds and, uh, play games.Select EA games that are compatible on both Mac and PC will also support cross-platform play – if you purchased a game on PC and it's also compatible with Mac, you also get access to that. Sound familiar?EA launched its digital distribution platform Origin in the summer of 2011. During its first year, the service garnered 12 million downloads and signed 50 publishing partners. As of October 2012, Origin has accrued 30 million registered players, 4.4 million of whom have forked over cash for content.
How long will it take to install Mountain Lion?
You're about to spend US$19.99 on Mountain Lion and want to know how long it will take to update your Mac. Fortunately, the folks at Tekserve have updated several machines and shared the results. The New York-based company keeps several demo machines running on its sales floor for customers to try, including laptops and desktops. The team recently updated every last one to Mountain Lion (we assume they were on the latest version of Lion previously). Note what a difference SSD made in the chart below: Apple servers are very busy today, as the company is distributing new Mac versions of iPhoto, iMovie, Safari and iWork in addition to the OS. Our readers have reported a range of download times from one to three hours. The Mountain Lion installer is 4.05 GB in size. All this means you should set some time aside and get comfortable. Tell us how it goes. #next_pages_container { width: 5px; hight: 5px; position: absolute; top: -100px; left: -100px; z-index: 2147483647 !important; }
Approved Mac OS app boasts 'Retina graphics'
As if there wasn't enough speculation already, what with WWDC just around the corner, bets are already being placed on the possibility of "Retina Display" Macs. So, when an app turns up in Mac App store mentioning "Retina graphics" under the new features list, eyebrows are understandably going to rise. Of course, this isn't the first such tease we've seen, but it's not the least convincing either. So, we're still not ready to put our money down on a retina-reveal next week just yet, but those odds do seem to be getting ever shorter.
Wasteland 2 Kickstarter passes $1.5 million, game coming to OS X and Linux
When Brian Fargo revealed his Kickstarter project to fund Wasteland 2, he laid out some goals. One of those tiers was $1.5 million, which at the time seemed kind of ridiculous. It has since been pledged by backers, meaning Wasteland 2 will also be available on Mac OS X and Linux at launch.Wasteland 2 has well exceeded its original goal of raising $900,000 on Kickstarter, and there are still 24 days to go. We don't expect it'll beat Double Fine's current record-level of pledges, but we're certainly ready to be surprised again.
Psychonauts comes to Mac, gets Steam update and iOS app
If your allegiance to the Mac platform was the only thing holding you back from playing Psychonauts, then today is your day: Double Fine has announced the game is available for Mac OSX. The Mac port is currently available on the Mac App store and Steam, along with other digital distribution channels. Accompanying it is a free iOS app that allows you to view all of the game's Memory Vaults right on your iDevice, along with new commentary from Tim Schafer and Scott Campbell. The PC version of the game has also been updated to allow for achievements and cloud saves on Steam, plus it scales down the difficulty of the Meat Circus. Additionally, we'd like you to do a us a favor and not google "meat circus."
iTableous is a white iPhone 4 fit for a giant (video)
If you like flying unicorns, you probably love giant flying unicorns, right? Well, the white iPhone 4 has officially gone from myth to reality, but it seems some folks are still chasing the dream in a BIG way. Case in point: iTableous, an outsized tabletop bearing a striking resemblance to the long-awaited iOS handset. Unlike previous iPhone tables we've seen, this one doesn't support multi-touch -- a wireless keyboard and mouse hold the keys to navigating this behemoth -- but it does offer 4GB of DDR2 RAM, 500GB of internal storage, a 5.7 megapixel camera, 720p video recording, as well USB, HDMI and a good old 30-pin connector for hooking up the real-deal. What's more, this iPhone's a dual-booter, capable of running Mac OSX 10.6.7 (via Hackintosh) and Windows 7 Professional. If you're living at the tip of a beanstalk and need to shake that tired old 3GS, check out the video of iTableous in action after the break.
iSync: Who stole my software?
Actually, if you upgraded to Lion, Apple did. When you installed the new OS, Apple decided to delete Apple software that wasn't part of the Lion distribution. It's left a lot of hacked off customers who were using iSync with some older phones to sync contacts and calendars. iSync still functions just fine under Lion, but if you didn't preserve it, Apple reached into your hard drive and obliterated it. It's not just iSync that has gone to the world of Apple discontinued software. Front Row is also a goner, probably because Apple would love to sell you an Apple TV. Front Row will work under Lion, if you can get a copy via a Time Machine install for example, though it's a less-than-optimal experience now that iTunes support has been pulled. Apple has posted a download link for a Front Row update, but not the whole app. Or follow this advice. It's a bit hard to understand why Apple does this. If they don't want to support a piece of software, that's surely up to them. It's quite another thing, however, to erase perfectly functional software from your computer. Sure iSync is pretty long in the tooth, and I expect the majority of Apple owners also have iPhones. But if you were syncing to an old Nokia or some other ancient phone, you're pretty much out of luck. Of course if you have Time Machine running, or some other back up you can get the software that way. Or find someone who hasn't upgraded and hit them up for a copy. If you are really in the weeds you could look at some paid alternatives to iSync, like Missing Sync, which works with some phones but not all under Lion. As for Front Row, there is software like Plex which is free and Media Central from Equinux which isn't. This issue is a little different from the tightening specs that have messed up Apple Mail for some, and created problems for network attached storage drives. What do you think? Is Apple being a bit too proactive for you at deleting working software?
Firefox 4 beta 5 for mobile released, available on Android, N900, your computer
Tired of using the default browser on your smart phone to browse Engadget? Got a thing for Firefox? Great, 'cause Mozilla just pushed out the fifth beta of Firefox 4 for mobile. You might be familiar with the on-the-go version of Mozilla's creation, but if not, here's your chance to grab the latest (and probably) the most stable build to date. In addition to the Android and Maemo version, the company has released a Fennec build for use on Windows, OS X and Linux. We tinkered with the OS X build of the browser on our Macbook Pro and although pages appear to render quickly, we can't quite figure out how to navigate backwards. You can pinch-to-zoom with the trackpad and scroll with the d-pad, but once you've loaded a page, it seems you need to be on a mobile device do any further navigation. Of course, as you'll see in the gallery below, the beta comes packed with the usual -- preferences, downloads, add-ons, bookmarks and Firefox Sync. If you want to give the software a whirl, hit the source link to grab the build of your choice.%Gallery-117565%
10.6.5 now available on Software Update
And just as foretold, here it is -- the 10.6.5 update to OS X is now available in a Software Update window near you. As you can see above, the new version provides a little more security, stability, and reliability in a few areas, helps out iPhoto and Aperture image processing, and should fix some outstanding issues with various apps and accessories. And of course, like any other solid OS update, it requires a restart, so if you're in the middle of something, make sure you finish and save up before applying the update.
Skype 5.0 Beta for Mac finally available, includes group video calling
Well, finally! That's right, you no longer have to be jealous of your friends who've all been group video calling using Skype 5.0 for Windows for months -- Skype's new Beta 5.0 for Mac finally brings the ability to video chat with up to ten of your Skype contacts to OS X client. Obviously, that's the premiere feature of the new release, but the software has also been retooled to mesh more with the look and feel of the OS -- there's even a cover flow-like contact window -- and a new pop-out call control bar that can be moved anywhere on the screen or be kept open while in another program. We just downloaded the beta and it's certainly a lot better looking than the previous version, but we also noticed that it integrated our Mac address book right into the contacts pane and when we initiated a call it automatically muted the song we were listening to in iTunes. Naturally, we went searching for that Facebook integration that we just saw rolled out in the Windows version, but it's nowhere to be found at the moment, and Skype tells us it's focusing on video and UI tweaks for the Mac version. We could go on and on about the new software, but it's available for download at the source link below, so run along and throw your own virtual cupcake party!
OSX and Balance Board play nice, have fun together
If you're a Mac user, this video is likely to interest you. An aspiring individual hacked the program Wiiji (which is designed to allow Wiimote integration with Macs) to recognize the Balance Board as a joystick, allowing the use of Nintendo's peripheral with games that allow for joystick control. In the video above, you can see it in use through games Neverball and Extreme Tux Racer. Looks fun, if we may say so. Enjoy this kind of thing? Then you'll definitely get a kick out of our Revolutionary feature, where the extremely talented Mike Sylvester tinkers around with all kinds of things. Aside from making his own homemade Balance Board, he helped us train with the Wii Wheel and also showed us what is really crappy about our favorite console.
Heroes V hits Macs for the holidays
The Heroes of Might and Magic series has long been a mainstay of Mac gaming, and Freeverse plans to continue the tradition by delivering HoMM V for OS X this Christmas. However, it is uncertain if Ubisoft's popular strategy title will ship as a native Mac app, or if it will come wrapped in TransGaming's Cider emulation software.Freeverse's Colin Smith had previously indicated the game would be a full blown port, but at the end of last week, he told Inside Mac Games that his company is now "actively evaluating" Cider for HoMM V. This would be an interesting test for Cider, given Heroes V's hefty hardware requirements, and it could be just what TransGaming needs to get their new portability engine off the ground.See also: Cohen on Mac Pro's gaming prowess
