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This Friday, EA’s Origin distribution platform will finally go all-digital

Super publisher Electronic Arts is finally bidding a fond farewell to optical media as its Origin platform is going all-digital this coming Friday, April 4.

For those unfamiliar with Origin (formerly EA Download Manager), it's a digital distribution software that lets players purchase DRM-enabled games for desktop and mobile and download them to their system using the Origin client.

Origin for Mac has been available since February of last year and now the Origin game store will be entirely digital downloads for PC and Mac, the publisher announced...

Total War: Shogun 2 hitting Mac this Spring

Strengthen your citadel, gather your samurai and prepare to lead your clan through the legendary warfare of the Sengoku period because Total War: Shogun 2 is coming to a Mac near you this Spring, developer Feral Interactive announced this week.

The sequel to the popular 2000 turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game, Shogun: Total War, the game is set in Japan's Sengoku, or Warring States period of the 16th century.

You, the leader of one of nine competing clans, are challenged with using diplomacy, espionage and military brilliance to dominate the feudal Japan and unify the country under one undisputed ruler, the shogun...

Realmac teases Reminders coming to Clear to-do app in early-April

Not to be outdone by fellow developer Flexibits who yesterday teased the upcoming iPad edition of its popular calendar and to-do app, Fantastical, today Realmac Software shared a few tidbits concerning a forthcoming Clear update featuring Reminders integration.

The company is currently wrapping up work on the iOS and Mac releases of Clear with Reminders integration. They were originally shooting to launch the apps in March, but refining the Reminders functionality took longer than expected so now they're looking to release the updates in early-April.

Read on for more...

Rumor: Retina MacBook Air and iPad Pro due in second half of 2014

Following a forum post by a reputable user on the Chinese website WeiPhone claiming Apple could soon release a new 12-inch MacBook model without a fan and featuring the Retina display and a redesigned trackpad, Taiwanese trade publication DigiTimes is now reporting that a new version of the company's ultra-thin notebook, the MacBook Air, is getting a Retina display treatment later this year, around the same time when a rumored 12.9-inch iPad Pro is reportedly dropping as well...

Google Now cards now rolling out on desktop in Chrome for Mac

Rich desktop notifications have been available in Google’s Chrome browser for the Mac for some time now, provided you were on the Canary channel where Google hosts early and unstable alpha releases of its browser. The normals, however, had to wait until desktop notifications for the Now cards made their way into the stable Chrome channel.

According to Google itself, that day is today - people on stable Chrome releases should start seeing Google Now alerts being pushed to their Macs and PCs. The handy alerts are nested right inside the browser’s notification center that sits in your Mac’s status bar (bottom-right if you're using Windows)...

Tweetbot for Mac gains thumbnail size option and three-finger swiping

Tapbot's popular Twitter client for iOS and OS X, Tweetbot, has been refreshed on the Mac with a few fixes and two new features.

Version 1.5, now available in the Mac App Store as a free upgrade to existing users, lets you choose the size of inline image thumbnails in your timelines, a feature developers added to the iPhone and iPod touch client earlier this month.

And for those who take advantage of multitouch gestures in OS X, Tweetbot now supports swiping left and right with three fingers to navigate through your timelines without having to manually click on the back button...

GarageBand for Mac gains three new Drummers, can now export to MP3 and more

If you're an aspiring musician and a user of Apple's free music-making software for the Mac, you should know there's a new GarageBand update sitting in the Mac App Store.

The free GarageBand version 10.0.2 edition contains multiple enhancements to Accessibility and adds the option to export a song as an MP3 file.

The latter is much welcomed as you were previously required to export songs as QuickTime or some other format and then use iTunes or a similar app to manually convert the digital file into the commonly used MP3 format. There are also some new Drummers, but more on that after the break...

Microsoft’s OneNote hits Mac App Store, available free for a limited time

The rumors were true: Windows giant Microsoft has just released its note-taking app, OneNote, for the Mac.

It's available right now in the Mac App Store free of charge for a limited time and includes a brand new clipper feature akin to Evernote, as well as a host of other capabilities designed to boost your productivity.

OneNote is also available for Android, Windows and Windows Phone devices.

As a result, your notes are platform-agnostic, synchronize across all devices, multiple people can collaborate on them and more. The full reveal is right below the fold.

Apple seeds second OS X 10.9.3 beta to developers

Apple has seeded the second OS X 10.9.3 to registered Mac developers this afternoon. The release comes one week after Apple released the first beta of 10.9.3, which added enhanced 4K display support.

The new beta build is available to registered Mac developers through the Software Update tab in the Mac App Store, or as a complete download via the Mac section of Apple’s online developer portal…

Titanfall for Mac? You bet!

Released with great fanfare on Tuesday, Titanfall is seemingly destined to become the next smash hit for super publisher Electronic Arts and developer Respawn Entertainment (of the Call of Duty fame). For the uninitiated, Titanfall is a fast-paced first-person shooter multiplayer video game which has players fighting as mech-style Titans and their pilots in six-on-six multiplayer skirmishes.

You can assume control of the Titan's pilot or the Titan itself at any time. When playing as a Titan's pilot, you can run along walls and link jumps together parkour-style. After entering your Titan - well, what can I say - all hell breaks loose as you shatter your opponents to pieces using destructive armaments and special protective shields.

And now, Respawn's co-founder Vince Zampella has officially confirmed that the studio is in talks with Aspyr Media on delivering a Mac version of Titanfall.

Count us excited!

1Password 4.2 for Mac improves upon 1Password mini, AutoSave and item editing

We're pretty big fans of AgileBits's 1Password for iOS and OS X (Jeff and myself are converts). But why bother with a third-party app when Apple's new iCloud Keychain feature in iOS 7 and OS X Mavericks keeps all your website and app passwords, Wi-Fi logins and credit cards synced?

Lots of reasons, mainly because iCloud Keychain won't sync plenty of personal items like private notes, software serial numbers, bank accounts, passports and what not.

That's where 1Password comes in handy. First and foremost, 1Password uses a robust architecture to ensure that your private data remains private. Apps to manage passwords usually tend to be cumbersome, but that's never been the case with 1Password.

The software has been praised for its sleek interface, rich feature set and handy tools like browser extensions and the 1Password mini app which patiently sits in your Mac's menu bar to make remembering new passwords a hassle-free affair.

AgileBits is now introducing a new edition of 1Password for Mac which further refines the experience of using 1Password mini, the AutoSave feature and item editing. Read on for the full reveal...