I just got a rMBP yesterday. It's surprising/disappointing to me how gross non-retina apps and websites look. Almost worth switching back.. almost. Retina apps are so buttery smooth. I really hope there is wider adoption over the next couple of months.
I actually submitted a bug to the chrome team about this. Both Apple and Google have screwed up their scaling algorithm, they're using bicubic scaling instead of nearest neighbor scaling and it make everything as you say look "gross"
Why is nearest neighbor scaling better? It would make images look like on a non-retina display, but is that the best use of the additional pixels? Nearest neighbor scaling is usually considered one of the worse scaling algorithms, unless you're looking at pixel art.
I just got one last night. I am overall very impressed, although I agree that it really is jarring to hit an app that's not designed for Retina.
Have you tried running the native resolution? It gives you tons of real estate and avoids the retina compatibility problem, assuming your vision is good enough :)
I recommend SetResX on that page, it's free and works really well, and just sits in your menu bar. Just watch out on the downloads page, there are a bunch of ads that look like the download link, make sure you get the right one.
I can use it at 2880x1800 when I'm sitting down at a table and can sit still close to it, but it's too small for casual use. I've mostly been using 1920x1200. It is impressive though!
I wouldn't be too concerned on the app front. The situation was the same when the iPhone first got its retina display but these days most apps are optimised for it.
The web side of things is a different story. AFAIK, there isn't even a nice way to send hires images to hires displays without adversely affecting those browsing with standard DPIs.
Gross compared to a non-retina MBP. The anti-aliasing tricks that many apps use for their text rendering are broken in HiDPI mode. Use SwitchResX to change the resolution from 1440 x 900 HiDPI to regular 1440 x 900 mode and there is a noticeable improvement. I'm often forced to switch (to 1680 x 1050 so it's like the old high res MBP) because shockingly Apple's iWork and iBook Author aren't updated for the retina display.
I was under the impression that games could run at 2880x1800 natively, but this only shows a few games. Can anyone confirm whether other games are supported?
The only game I've played so far on my new rMBP was Civ V, which supports Retina in that its buttons and controls are blocky and double size and the map itself is rendered at full resolution.
My essential app on iPad using new retina display is Beesy. Very useful in meeting with I can take note and send minutes at the end of the meeting by mail very quickly and easily. http://www.beesapps.com/beesy-ipad-to-do/
