John Voorhees

5429 posts on MacStories since November 2015

John is MacStories' Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015, and today, runs the site alongside Federico. John also co-hosts four MacStories podcasts: AppStories, which covers the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, which explores the fun differences between American and Italian culture and recommends media to listeners, Ruminate, a show about the weird web and unusual snacks, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about the games we take with us.
@johnvoorhees@macstories.net
@johnvoorhees.macstories.net
voorhees@macstories.net

Last Week, on Club MacStories: A Special Apple Event Town Hall, ShareMenu 2.0, a Typefully Shortcut, and a Home Office with a View

Because Club MacStories now encompasses more than just newsletters, we’ve created guide to the past week’s happenings along with a look at what’s coming up next:

Town Hall: Apple’s Peek Performance Event

  • Last week, Federico, John, and Alex were joined by MacStories Discord moderator Lachlan Campbell for a live Town Hall event in the Club MacStories+ Discord community to recap and share first impressions of Apple’s Peek Performance keynote, which introduced a new iPhone SE, iPad Air, Mac Studio, and the Studio Display.
  • The Town Hall was recorded and published as part of the Club MacStories+ Town Hall podcast feed, which members can access from the Club podcasts page.

MacStories Weekly: Issue 311

  • ShareMenu 2.0: an update to Federico’s ShareMenu shortcut that’s designed to replicate the behavior of the old ‘Run Workflow’ extension. Version 2.0 includes improved macOS integration and support for more file types.
  • Draft Tweet: A shortcut that John created for sharing articles using Typefully, a web app for scheduling tweets and managing multiple Twitter accounts.
  • Club member Dan Stucke’s home office setup that has a beautiful view of the English countryside.
  • Plus:

Visit plus.club to learn more about Club MacStories.

AppStories - Ep. 264 - 44 minutes

Apple Event Impressions: The New iPad Air, Mac Studio, and Studio Display

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 264 - Apple Event Impressions: The New iPad Air, Mac Studio, and Studio Display

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John cover their first impressions of the iPad Air, Mac Studio, and Studio Display, including Federico’s thoughts on where the Air fits into the iPad lineup and John’s take on what to keep in mind when customizing a Mac Studio.

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MacStories Unwind: A.P. Bio and House by Shout Out Louds

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico updates us on the latest software changes to the Xbox Series X|S and recommends A.P. Bio, a TV comedy from Peacock and John discovers his favorite album of 2022 so far: House by Shout Out Louds.

Follow-Up

Federico’s Pick:

John’s Pick:

The Shift in Apple’s Hardware Strategy→

John Porter writing for The Verge puts a finger on a strategic shift that has slowly been emerging at Apple for a while.

Summoning the era of butterfly keyboards and the Mac Pro’s infamous thermal corner, Porter says:

There was a time not long ago when it seemed like Apple spent more time telling its customers what they wanted rather than just giving it to them.

In contrast,

with yesterday’s announcements, which include the powerful and port-rich Mac Studio and a new monitor that costs a fraction of the price of Apple’s previous attempt, Apple is now consistently doling out consumer-friendly features its fans have been calling for.

Porter traces the roots of Apple’s shift in approach back to 2017 when the company gathered a small group of writers to announce that it was hitting reset on the Mac Pro. Two years later, Apple introduced a new Mac Pro, and ever since then, there’s been a steady stream of devices released that underscore the company’s new hardware approach.

Reading the tea leaves to discern strategic shifts like this is always fraught with peril, but I think Porter is onto something. As he lays out, there are plenty of signs of the shift stretching back five years, and no better evidence than the Mac Studio, which is bristling with utilitarian conveniences like ports and an SD card slot on the front of the computer and plenty of other I/O options tucked away on the rear of the machine.

Apple’s shift has left users with an abundance of excellent computing options. Next, I hope we see a similar shift in the company’s approach to its software, concentrating on taking better advantage of the devices now available to users.

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Jason Snell on the Implications of Apple’s Major League Baseball Deal→

If you came away from yesterday’s Apple event with the impression that TV+ will be airing two Major League Baseball games every Friday, you wouldn’t be wrong. However, there’s a lot more to the story than meets the eye, as Jason Snell explains at Six Colors.

In addition to a two-games per week exclusive, TV+ will be adding a show called MLB Big Inning, which Apple says will feature “highlights and look-ins.” As Jason explains:

If you’re familiar with the NFL Red Zone product, in which a studio host zips the viewer around to different live games when interesting things are happening, it’s a little like that—but for baseball.

TV+ will also offer what’s known as linear programming, airing a 24/7 feed of “MLB game replays, news and analysis, highlights, classic games, and more.” The difference with linear programming is that instead of streaming individual shows on-demand, a steady stream of MLB content will be available allowing viewers to drop in and watch whatever happens to be playing.

This is not unprecedented for Apple. In 2020, the company debuted Apple Music TV, a TV+ channel that streams music videos 24/7. Like the music videos before it, 24/7 baseball content will help fill the gaps in TV+’s lineup for those times when subscribers don’t feel like picking something specific to watch.

The big picture implications of Apple’s deal with MLB provide an insight into where televised sports is heading. In the case of baseball, Jason says:

Right now, baseball is propped up by revenue from regional sports networks (RSNs) that have paid enormous amounts of money to sequester their product on cable so that it’s impossible for fans to cut the cord. The problem is, fans are like everyone else, and they are cutting the cord. At some point, the guaranteed revenue from RSNs will collapse, and leagues that rely on that revenue will be in deep trouble.

This isn’t the sort of transition that will happen overnight, but given the rise of streaming services, which has accelerated in recent years, I expect we’ll see even more deals like the one struck by Apple and MLB in the future.

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Apple’s ‘Peek Performance’ Event: All The Small Things

Today, Apple covered a lot of ground quickly, and as usual, more details have emerged in the aftermath of the event. We’ve been combing apple.com, Twitter, and other sources to learn more about its new services, iPhones, iPads, Mac Studio, and Studio Display, which we’ve collected below:

Services

  • Apple is adding live baseball (when the lockout ends) to TV+. Two games will be broadcast every Friday. The games will be available in United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom initially, with more countries to come later.
  • Apple will also be producing “MLB Big Inning,” a live show that will air every weeknight and include game highlights.
  • Apple also said in its press release that fans in the US and Canada can enjoy a 24/7 livestream of game replays, news, and more.

iPhone 13, 13 mini, 13 Pro, and 13 Pro Max

  • Apple introduced two new colors of iPhones.
  • The iPhone 13 and 13 mini’s new color is simply green.
  • iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max customers get a darker shade called alpine green.

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