Mac-based blog publishers are welcoming the release of MarsEdit 3, Red Sweater Software's long-awaited upgrade to the popular blog editor for Mac OS X. In development for more than two years, MarsEdit 3 has added a rich text editor, a new media manager and an updated syntax highlighter to the award-winning platform.
MarsEdit 3 requires Mac OS X 10.6 and higher, and has custom-tuned support for blogging services such as WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, Movable Type, TypePad and Squarespace. The platform also supports numerous other systems through the MetaWeblog and AtomPub publishing interfaces.
A free, 30-day trial version is available from the MarsEdit home page, and the full package is priced at $39.95 for new users. Customers who purchased MarsEdit 2 in 2010 are entitled to a free upgrade, and other existing users may upgrade to the new version for $14.95.
The new rich text editor is the most celebrated feature of the upgrade, but the syntax highlighter now has different colors for attributes, keywords and tag structures, and the media manager now integrates with iPhoto, Aperture and Lightroom. Publishers can now write and save posts offline and schedule them for later posting, and the new version supports Pages in WordPress blogs.