GeekwithEnvy

MacBook Pro Retina

Apple Pushes Out OS X Update 10.8.3 and SMC That Fixes Game Lag

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Just the other day I put together a brief article on how to fix low frame rate issues on the Macbook Pro Retina, which were being caused after a recent update. Fortunately, You should no longer have to worry about those issues as Apple has just pushed out update 10.8.3 which also came with an SMC update version 1.1 that has corrected these frame rate issues.

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Update 10.8.3 Details

  • The ability to redeem iTunes gift cards in the Mac App Store using your Mac’s built-in camera
  • Boot Camp support for installing Windows 8
  • Boot Camp support for Macs with a 3 TB hard drive
  • A fix for an issue that could cause a file URL to quit apps unexpectedly
  • A fix for an issue that may cause Logic Pro to become unresponsive when using certain plug-ins
  • A fix for an issue that may cause audio to stutter on 2011 iMacs
  • A fix for an issue in Contacts that may cause cards to print out of order
  • A fix for an issue that may cause the desktop picture to change after logging out or restarting
  • A fix for an issue in Messages that may cause messages to appear out of order after waking from sleep
  • A fix for an issue that may cause the screen to display incorrectly after waking from sleep
  • Improves compatibility with IMAP servers in the Notes app
  • Allows the Slideshow screen saver to display photos located in a subfolder
  • A fix for an issue in Contacts that may cause addresses to print in the wrong location
  • Reliability improvements when using a Microsoft Exchange account in Mail
  • Xsan reliability improvements
  • A fix for an issue that could cause Active Directory accounts to be locked out after accessing the Security & Privacy pane in System Preferences
  • A fix for an issue that could cause link aggregation to not complete after a restart
  • A fix for an issue that could cause delays when logging into an Active Directory account on high latency networks

For more information on the OS X 10.8.3 update you can head to Apple’s official support page.

How to Fix Lag With Diablo III and More on Macbook Pro Retina

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OS X Version 10.8.2 brought a few unwanted features to Macbook Pro Retina display owners. The main issue seems to be serious lag in many games, most notably Diablo III. Another issue  users were reporting seems to be the fan not running correctly, and that’s never good.

There’s Good News

Apple has released an update along side OS X 10.8.3 that corrects these issues. You can get more information on that update here. If your not interested in that update for some reason or are unable to update, you can follow the instructions below for a temporary fix, otherwise this issue should be resolved.

There’s a quick fix for this issue that will get your Macbook Pro Retina (MBPr) back to it’s peak performance in no time. All you should need to do is reset the System Management Controller (SMC). For the best instructions on how to do this I recommend just going straight to Apple’s documentation which you can find here.

*This should speed up everything, from Desktop UI to gaming!

*Be sure to follow the instructions specifically for your type of computer. In this case it seems that only the MBPr is having issues.

 

 

MacBook Pro Retina Display A Bit Fuzzy

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The latest version of the MacBook Pro from Apple features a retina display screen that crams 5.1 million pixels into a 15.4 inch display with a max resolution of 2880 x 1800, which looks absolutely stunning. This is the kind of technology that makes you wonder how you ever used any other display.MacBookRetina

However, once you get your new MacBook Pro home and unboxed and once you finish choosing your picture for your desktop as you drool over how much detail you can see in each image, you decide it’s time to move on and start browsing the inter webs. You open Safari and see the ever-so familiar Apple website appear and of course it looks amazing but as you begin to navigate the web, you start to see something a bit unsettling, you notice that things look a bit blurry.

Yes, it sucks but its true, much of the web just isn’t made for a retina display. Sometimes it can be bad enough to make your eyes water and that’s no fun at all, but what makes things worse is that as you begin to install and work with your favorite applications, you notice that they don’t look so good either.

There is a solution, albeit temporary but nonetheless, a solution. You can adjust your display settings by going to System Preferences->Display, then choosing “scaled” instead of ” Best For Retina Display”. Once you choose scaled, you can choose to work with larger text or more space in order to accommodate your needs. This does work well enough to get you by in most cases but it’s really only a temporary solution.

When you first run into this problem you might tend to look at this as an Apple problem but as you step back and look at the big picture here, it’s really more about the display it self being a bit ahead of everything else. Let’s not get too frustrated here, as most likely your apps will get an update to work correctly with the new display and sooner or later your favorite sites may follow, but by no means do I think that this puts the new MacBook at any disadvantage. Overall, the Retina display MacBook is designed with the future in mind as it moves away from optical drives, replaces the old hard disk with a new solid state drive, and adds in one of the clearest displays we’ve ever seen.