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Photos for Mac won’t be dumbed down, says Apple

Apple's surprise announcement that it will cease development of its Aperture app in favor of Photos for OS X Yosemite has left watchers scratching their head. There's also the problem of prosumers and iPhone photography enthusiasts, many of whom have grown dependent on Aperture workflows.

The problem is even more pronounced given concerns that any feature-parity between Photos on iOS 8 and the upcoming Photos for OS X Yosemite Macs would inevitably lead to significant dumbing down compared to Aperture's feature set.

Case in point: the iWork for iCloud effect.

Anyway, Apple has now official confirmed via a written statement that Photos for Mac will include certain pro-grade features such as photo editing, image search and third-party effects and plugins...

Apple’s Back to School launches with free $100 store credit on Mac purchases

As predicted, Apple on Tuesday launched the 2015 Back to School promotion in the United States and in several countries around the globe, depending on their respective educational calendars.

Somewhat similar to last year's Back to School promotion, Apple this year is providing students with a $100 Gift card with the purchase of any new Mac model.

Students who opt for an iPhone or iPad will be treated to a free $50 Apple Store gift card. However, this is the first time that Apple's Back to School promotion is offering gift cards, redeemable against any Apple Store item purchase...

Apple to launch yearly ‘Back to School’ promo tomorrow

MacRumors is reporting that Apple is set to launch its annual ‘Back to School’ promotion in the US and several other countries beginning tomorrow—Tuesday, July 1st. The company runs the promo at various times in different regions, depending on their respective educational calendars.

According to the site, Apple will be offering up iTunes Store/App Store gift cards to students that purchase a Mac, iPad, or iPhone. Similar to last year, it sounds like students will receive a $100 App Store gift card for the purchase of a new Mac, and a $50 card for new iOS device purchases...

How to jailbreak iOS 7.1.x untethered with Pangu on Mac OS X [video]

Pangu for the Mac was just released today, and it brings with it the ability to jailbreak iOS 7.1.x untethered. The Windows version, which was released last week to much fanfare, has already allowed many people to enjoy the fruits of jailbreaking iOS.

I think it's safe to say that the Mac version has been highly anticipated since word of Pangu first hit the Internet. For those of you who remained patient, your patience has paid off. You can now jailbreak iOS 7.1 and iOS 7.1.1 using your Mac. Check our our full video walkthrough inside for all of the details.

Apple updates its pro apps: Compressor, Final Cut Pro, MainStage and Motion

As we continue to chew on the ramifications of Apple's eyebrow-raising decision to stop development of Aperture and iPhoto for OS X and focus exclusively on the upcoming Photos for OS X Yosemite (due in 2015), the Cupertino firm has just issued a round of updates to its pro apps: Compressor, Final Cut Pro, MainStage and Motion.

New versions of these apps are now available in the Mac App Store under the Updates tab. I've included release notes for each app right after the break...

Apple to stop development of Aperture in favor of Photos on OS X Yosemite

Apple has confirmed that it will no longer be developing its professional photo editing software Aperture when OS X Yosemite is released later this year. The company is shifting focus to the new Photos app that it previewed at the WWDC keynote, which effectively replaces both iPhoto and Aperture on previous versions of OS X. The app is set to launch early next year… 

Apple seeds OS X 10.9.4 build 13E25 to developers

Apple has seeded the fourth beta of OS X 10.9.4 to registered Mac developers for testing. This latest OS X Mavericks beta has the build number 13E25 and arrives just six days following the third OS X 10.9.4 beta release. As with most of these minor build releases, it is unknown exactly what changes that Apple has made, but we should be nearing a public release soon… 

12-inch MacBook Air rumored to enter production in third quarter

A new report from a hit-and-miss Taiwanese source claims that Apple's new 12-inch MacBook Air will enter mass production in the third quarter of 2014. The notebook will position itself between the current 11-inch and 13-inch models in the MacBook Air lineup, strengthening Apple's position in the small-to-medium, ultra-thin notebook market. But that's not all…

Aspyr game sale: Star Wars, Borderlands, Call of Duty, Civilization and more now half price

Yesterday, my colleague Joe Rossignol's well-received daily App Recap column touched briefly on a few newsworthy discounts on premium Mac games such as SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition, BioShock Infinite and Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Turns out the price drops are actually part of Aspyr's broader promotion, with additional premium titles like Star Wars games, along with Civilization V: Campaign Edition, Borderlands 2 and The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, being offered half price for a limited time.

Your iTunes download links follow right after the break...

Deal: BioShock and BioShock 2 for Mac slashed from $20 down to $5 each

Feral Interactive is running a not-to-be-missed sale offering a noteworthy deep discount on the original BioShock Mac game, as well as on its sequel, BioShock 2.

Starting today, you can now grab both BioShock and BioShock 2 for $5 each in the Mac App Store, down from their respective asking price of $20 apiece.

Quickly, do the math in your head - that's a cool 75 percent discount right off the bat, valid until June 29...