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TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 11 December 2017

MarsEdit 4.0.1 — Red Sweater Software has released MarsEdit 4.0, a significant upgrade to the long-gestating blog editor that has been under development for seven years (TidBITS last covered the app in 2011; see “MarsEdit 3.4.1,” 2 December 2011). The new MarsEdit boasts a refined new look, enhanced WordPress support (enabling you to set a featured image for posts and select the Post Format), an improved editor with new visual button bar for common editing changes and live image size editing in the Rich Text editor, automatic preview template generation, native preview
filters for Markdown, MultiMarkdown, and Convert Line Breaks, and expanded blog archiving for backing up your posts to your Mac.

After the release of version 4, Red Sweater Software quickly put out version 4.0.1 to fix an issue that could cause in-app purchases to be disregarded, resolve a problem with configuring a site that required HTTPS with an HTTP-based URL, and fix a cosmetic glitch that caused toolbar icons to be blurry.

MarsEdit 4.0 offers a free, full-featured 14-day trial from either the Red Sweater Software Web site or the Mac App Store, after which the app costs $49.95. If you have a MarsEdit 3 license, you can upgrade to version 4 for $24.95, and anyone who purchased MarsEdit 3 on or after 1 June 2017 is eligible for a free upgrade. ($49.95 new from Red Sweater Software or the Mac App Store, 24.95 upgrade, 14.5 MB, release notes, 10.12+)

Read/post comments about MarsEdit 4.0.1.

Firefox 57.01 — Because of Mozilla’s non-stop minor Firefox releases with major integer version numbers, we haven’t covered Firefox in the TidBITS Watchlist for over a year (see “Firefox 49.0,” 22 September 2016). However, the release of Firefox 57 — dubbed Firefox Quantum — is worth mentioning, thanks to its speed enhancements, revamped user interface, and improved memory usage. Mozilla has overhauled Firefox Quantum’s browser core with a new CSS engine that takes better advantage of multi-core processors optimized for low power consumption. The new version
now prioritizes the tab you’re viewing over all others to make better use of system resources, and it shuts down video decoding when the tab playing the media is sent to the background or the video is not visible on the screen. The new release also brings a unified address and search bar, a revamped new tab page that includes top visited sites, and an expanded preference section to manage all Web site permissions. (Free, 52.5 MB, release notes, 10.9+)

Read/post comments about Firefox 57.01.

Slack for Mac 3.0Slack has released version 3.0 of its Mac desktop client, a substantial release for the group messaging system and collaboration tool that uses less memory and starts up faster, particularly when you have a lot of workspaces. The app now flips between workspaces more quickly, badges workspaces you aren’t signed in to, improves the speed of reloading during drag-and-drop operations, moves the sidebar out of the way when viewing full-screen video, fixes some crashes experienced in macOS 10.13 High Sierra, and ensures that scrolling through messages is flicker-free. (Free from Slack and the Mac App Store, 71 MB, release notes, 10.9+)

Read/post comments about Slack for Mac 3.0.

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