Twitter: @johnvoorheesEmail: 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.
Texas Monthly did a great profile on Tapbots and its transition from Tweetbot to Ivory. (Link)
From emails obtained by The Verge, it looks as though Valve notified Nintendo about Dolphin’s submission to Steam, which led to an aggressive take-down demand from the Switch’s maker. (Link)
Noteworthy new app releases and updates, handpicked by the MacStories team.
Stecker, a Mac utility that Federico and I briefly mentioned in our recent macOS wish list episode of AppStories, enables a feature that should be built into Shortcuts for Mac. Stecker lets you trigger shortcuts when you connect or disconnect a device to your Mac. It’s s super simple app that opens up a lot of possibilities, like changing focus modes when you connect to a display or hub when you start your work day or open a set of apps when you plug in a microphone or external camera.
Exploring topics beyond our day-to-day coverage.
I’m leaving for WWDC tomorrow – I have some long flights ahead of me – and, as always, I’ve been stressing over all the little things I may need for the trip. As part of this process, I’ve set up a dedicated Home Screen page on my iPhone that includes some key apps and widgets I may need while I’m in Cupertino for the conference. This page is not replacing my main Home Screen and the “family” page I set up for things I share with Silvia: it’s a third page for quick access to relevant information and apps that I know I’m going to use during WWDC week.
Let’s start with the page itself:
Highlights of the latest Club MacStories+ happenings.
Here are the highlights from the Club MacStories Discord this week:
This week, we opened up our WWDC 2023 channel, a great place to discuss the announcements coming next week.
This year is the tenth anniversary of my first WWDC. I wish I could say it was my 10th WWDC, but COVID spoiled that milestone. Still, eight trips to San Francisco, San Jose, and now Cupertino is a lot.
I don’t get nostalgic about much, but WWDC is a special time of year for me. The announcements are always exciting and interesting, but it’s about so much more than that.
Highlights of the latest Club MacStories+ happenings.
Here are the highlights from the Club MacStories Discord this week:
Rumors that videogame director Hideo Kojima has been spotted at Apple Park and the conspicuous absence of No Man’s Sky, which was promised for the Mac at WWDC 2022, sparked a conversation about Apple’s VR headset and the company’s gaming plans.
Noteworthy new app releases and updates, handpicked by the MacStories team.
Albums by Adam Bell is quickly becoming the best way to create music widgets on iPhone and iPad. With version 1.2, the app’s settings sync with iCloud, allowing you to have a consistent experience with widget creation across platforms. The app can now import albums from a local music library not synced with iCloud, and it also supports the share sheet so you can import albums by simply sharing links from Spotify or Apple Music with the Albums extension. Additionally, the app now comes with an option to set a default style for all widgets, which can be retro-actively applied to all existing launchers.
Great apps, accessories, gear, and media recommended by the MacStories team.
It’s been a while since I recommended an accessory of any kind, so today, I thought I’d pass along my experiences with the ElevationLab DraftTable V2, a shallow-angle iPad stand that I’ve been using since earlier this week. I’m not much of an artist, but Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro for iPad inspired me to spend more time working on my iPad. I had hoped to get the stand before I reviewed both apps, but it came the day after, so it wasn’t until I edited this week’s MacStories Unwind+ that I had a chance to try it.
I immediately fell in love with this stand. There are two versions available. One includes only the stand, and the other adds an Apple Pencil holder and wrist rest. I bought the one without the accessories that costs $79.99. That’s on the expensive side, but you’re paying for one of the sturdiest stands I’ve ever tried. The base that the iPad sits on is made of steel coated with a bumpy silicone coating to protect the finish of your iPad. Along the bottom is a narrow shelf to hold the bottom edge of your iPad.
