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

AppStories, Episode 260 – Shortcuts Wish List, 2022 Edition→

This week on AppStories, Federico and John revisit their 2021 Shortcuts wishes to see what came true and share a long list of additional ways they’d like to see the app evolve in 2022.

[Subscribe here.](https://staging.macstories.net/podcasts/appstories/plans)

Subscribe here.

On AppStories+, John makes the case for a shelf for Universal Control and Federico explains how to update the firmware of an Xbox controller to take advantage of the latest macOS controller features.

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Last Week, on Club MacStories: Parsing Shortcuts as XML and JSON, Apps That Extend Apple Apps, Safari Tips, and Developer Interviews

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

MacStories Weekly: Issue 307

Parsing shortcuts as JSON.

Parsing shortcuts as JSON.

about App Store In-App Events to see how they’re being used and what developers’ experience with them has been.

Up Next

On Wednesday, February 16th, at 11:00 am Eastern US time, Federico, Alex, and I will be joined by Club members to discuss the Matrix movie series during a live audio Town Hall in our Discord community for Club MacStories+ and Club Premier members as part of the community’s A.V. Club channel.

AppStories - Ep. 260 - 35 minutes

Shortcuts Wish List, 2022 Edition

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 260 - Shortcuts Wish List, 2022 Edition

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34:50

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John revisit their 2021 Shortcuts wishes to see what came true and share a long list of additional ways they’d like to see the app evolve in 2022.

Read more

MacStories Unwind: The Video Game History Hour and Playing Classic Games with the Dolphin Emulator

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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31:29

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, John recommends the Video Game History Hour, a podcast from the Video Game History Foundation, and Federico takes us along on his videogame emulation journey from handeld Windows PCs to the Apple’s M1 Max MacBook Pro.

John’s Pick:

Federico’s Pick:

Luigi's Mansion.

Luigi’s Mansion.


Luigi's Mansion.

Luigi’s Mansion.


Metroid Prime.

Metroid Prime.


The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker


The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker

Apple Releases a Statement on Its Efforts to Deter The Misuse of AirTag and the Find My Network

Apple has released a statement about its efforts to prevent unwanted tracking using AirTags. The company’s statement outlines its cooperation with law enforcement to apprehend people who have misused AirTags and details the steps it is taking to improve AirTags and the Find My network, including:

  • New privacy warnings when AirTags are set up
  • Making it clear when AirPods have caused a Find My network alert
  • Expansion of AirTag and Find My network support documentation
  • A new Precision Finding feature for the iPhone 11 and later that will make it easier to locate a nearby AirTag
  • On-device alerts to accompany audible alerts that an AirTag is with you
  • Refinements to the logic used to decide when to alert users of unwanted tracking
  • Adjustments to the sounds played by an AirTag traveling with you

It’s good to see Apple open up about the steps it’s taking to address the misuse of AirTags. As I said last month:

This is also a topic where some added transparency about what Apple is doing to address concerns about stalking would help observers decide whether it’s enough instead of having only anecdotal news reports to go on.

Today’s statement is exactly the sort of increased transparency I was hoping we’d see from Apple. I’ll leave it to people with expertise in personal safety to comment on whether these steps go far enough. I’m just glad that those experts’ opinions can now be based on facts instead of speculation.