Mastodon: @johnvoorhees@macstories.netEmail: voorhees@macstories.net
John, MacStories’ Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015. He also co-hosts MacStories’ podcasts, including AppStories, which explores of the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, a weekly recap of everything MacStories and more, and MacStories Unplugged, a behind-the-scenes, anything-goes show exclusively for Club MacStories members.
Great reads and links from around the web.
Kobo introduced a page turning accessory this week. I don’t know – a button on the device itself seems like a better solution for most people. (Link)
Wi-Fi 8 is in the works, and according to Jess Weatherbed at The Verge, the next iteration of the wireless networking standard will focus on stability and reliability instead of increasing speed. (Link)
Tips and tricks to master your apps and be more productive.
Yesterday, Anthropic released a new tool for its Claude chatbot called Skills. The feature is similar to Projects but has greater potential because it’s far more flexible.
The advantage of Projects is that they allow you to provide detailed instructions and reference materials to Claude that it uses as context for your queries; however, those instructions and reference materials only provide context within the confines of the project. That means, for example, that if you have a proofreading project but find yourself working with documents elsewhere in Claude, you can’t take advantage of your proofreading instructions without moving whatever you’re working on into that project.
Exploring topics beyond our day-to-day coverage.
This week, Apple debuted the M5 chip in the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro. Real-world tests will have to wait until reviews are out, but I wanted to share some initial thoughts on the M5 and a handful of other things announced this week.
With all three product announcements, Apple’s focus was squarely on the capabilities of the M5, which is understandable. After all, little changed in the products announced other than their chipsets.
Noteworthy new app releases and updates, handpicked by the MacStories team.
Former Apple Mac App of the Year finalist Portal has been updated with a new Liquid Glass design. Whatever you want to say about its implementation in other apps, Portal seems like the ideal use case for the new design system. Portal is a focus app that combines incredible, live imagery from the natural world with appropriate soundscapes. It can even take over your entire desktop, absorbing your whole Mac into whichever location you choose.
Since elements like text aren’t nearly as important as the atmosphere the app creates, Liquid Glass is ideally suited to Portal. The UI showcases its impressive refracting qualities without feeling like it’s getting in the way of the beautiful visuals. This update also adds new ways to adjust the environment controls, makes transitions smoother, and more.
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Exploring topics beyond our day-to-day coverage.
While cleaning up my office earlier this week, I realized I had accumulated a few smaller gadgets worth sharing with Club members that I haven’t covered anywhere else, so it’s time to dive into the Gadget Grab Bag.
My latest battery acquisition is probably the weirdest, but when I came upon this review by Liz Lopatto at The Verge, I headed straight to Amazon. This Haribo gummy bear-branded battery is pretty standard except for one feature - it’s the lightest 20,000 mAh battery around. At 9.9 ounces, it puts every battery I’ve ever used to shame. Like a lot of Anker and other batteries, it has a built-in USB-C cable (but with a fake gummy bear decorating it) and a USB-C port for charging the battery and outputting 30W to other devices. I’ve been using my friendly Haribo bear battery for a few weeks now, and it works as expected, but what I appreciate most is that it lightens my load a little while delivering enough power to help get me through a long day away from an outlet.
Noteworthy new app releases and updates, handpicked by the MacStories team.
Created by Comfort Zone’s Matt Birchler, Best-o-Masto is a Mastodon app that takes a different approach to browsing your timeline by automatically surfacing the most engaging posts. Rather than showing everything chronologically, the app analyzes your timeline to find and present the posts that have gotten the most interaction, which should help you catch up on what’s been happening without scrolling through the entire timeline and potentially getting distracted.
The app includes a ‘Top 8’ feature that lets you create a list of your favorite accounts whose posts will get priority treatment. (However, I wish I could search the list of Top 8 users I follow to find accounts more quickly.) While Best-o-Masto supports Mastodon features like composing, liking, and boosting posts, it notably doesn’t include quote posts or replies. The app works with any Mastodon server and can integrate with other popular clients like Ivory and Mona. I’ve been using the app for the past couple of weeks, and it’s a terrific way to see what’s been happening on Mastodon without getting sucked in. Highly recommended.
Great reads and links from around the web.
I bought an Amazon Echo Show earlier this year to check out the new Alexa AI assistant, and I have to agree with Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on this: the ads ruin the experience and are only getting worse. (Link)
1Password claims to have solved the security problem around letting an AI agent fill in your passwords on websites. “Huge if true” as they say, but I think I’ll sit this one out until it’s been tested a bit more. (Link)
