O'Grady's PowerPage

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  • Apple brings back six-month Apple Music free trial for eligible students until October 31st

    If you’re headed back to school this month or next month, you’ll probably like this. Apple has brought back its extended Apple Music trial. Up until October 31st, eligible college students who are also new Apple Music subscribers will receive six months of the service for free.

    Apple typically offers a three-month free trial of the service, sometimes extending it to four months when offered through retailers and carriers. The company offered a similar six-month free trial of Apple Music for students during the back to school season of 2019.

    Apple Music student discounts are verified through UNiDAYS, and students must verify enrollment by linking their accounts through this service. If you’re already an Apple Music subscriber and a student, you’re still eligible for a $4.99/month plan.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via 9to5Mac

  • Rumor: Apple’s ARM-based Macs due this fall, first ARM-based MacBook could retail for $799

    If this rumor is true, you’re going to like it.

    Per a credible leaker, Apple’s conversion to ARM-based/Apple Silicon processors could reduce the price of the first ARM-based MacBook this fall to about $799.

    As predicted, it’s “…much cheaper to make its own A-series Apple Silicon chips than to buy” from Intel. Granted, it’s unknown as to whether this would be for a 12-inch MacBook (its short-lived predecessor being produced between 2015 and 2019) or its 13-inch counterpart.

    Such a price point could also make these notebooks more affordable to the education market, which in some school districts, has been devoured by Google Chromebooks.

    Still, savings are savings, and with Apple making its own iron, the Mac you’re hankering for could become that much more affordable in the near future.

    Via The Mac Observer, Tom’s Guide, and @Komiya_jp

  • Adobe Photoshop for iPad updated, adds Refine Edge Brush, canvas rotation tools

    This should come in handy.

    Adobe released an updated version of Photoshop for the iPad recently, the new version adding two much-anticipated features: Refine Edge Brush and canvas rotation.

    The Refine Edge Brush tool allows for making selections, and is especially useful for selecting fine details such as hair and fur. Simply brush over an area with the regular select brush, and go over it again with Refine Edge. Adobe gave examples in its blog post so you can see the level of detail the tool is able to capture.

    Further improvements to the Refine Edge brush will appear in future updates.

    With Rotate Canvas, users can use a two-finger gesture to rotate while simultaneously zooming in or out. The rotation can snap at 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees. The rotation doesn’t “stick” so when you reopen a file it returns to 0 degrees.

    Photoshop for iPad is available for free and requires iOS 13.1 or later or iPadOS 13.1 or later to install and run

    Via The Mac Observer

  • Rumor: Apple to unveil updated Intel-based iMac this week

    The leak/rumor mill has it that Apple will be unveiling a new Intel-based iMac this week.

    Minus the radical design change that has been predicted with the introduction of its Apple Silicon hardware, the next-gen iMac, according to a tweet from leaker @Soybeys, is thought to be a specification bump as opposed to a radical new design.

    A second leaker, @Jioriku, further emphasized this by claiming “The iMac redesign is not coming for this 10th-generation Intel refresh. They are saving it for their own silicon.” 

    According to icons discovered in an alleged iOS 14 build released in June, Apple was thought to be redesigning the iMac with thinner bezels that were akin to an iPad Pro. Such an overhaul may be a bit down the road, and could present itself with the overall shift to Apple Silicon.

    A DigiTimes report from mid-June also claimed there would be new iMac and iPad models on the way sometime in the second half of 2020. 

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via AppleInsider, @Soybeys, @Jioriku, 9to5Mac, and DigiTimes

  • AT&T’s 5G network available across the United States, will activate for current plans on August 7th

    AT&T announced today that its 5G network is now available nationwide, and that all of its current unlimited wireless plans will come with 5G at no additional cost as of August 7th.

    Additionally, starting August 7 5G will be added to the AT&T Business Unlimited Web-Only, Starter, Performance, and Elite plans, again at no extra cost. Unfortunately, the fine print says that both consumer and business plans may find their speeds throttled if the network is congested. For the Business Unlimited Performance plan, throttling will only happen after 50GB of data has been used.

    iPhone users won’t have true bragging rights for a few more months, as the only smartphones with 5G capability include the Samsung Galaxy Note10+ 5G, the Samsung Galaxy S20 family, the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G, the LG V60 ThinQ 5G, and the LG VELVET 5G.

    The current rumors have 5G capabilities arriving in one or more of the iPhone 12 models slated to arrive later this year.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer and AT&T