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.

Pok Pok Playroom Releases Major Town Toy Expansion

Pok Pok Playroom, the delightful collection of digital toys that won an Apple Design Award earlier this year, got a big update today that expands the app’s town toy significantly. In the months since the app’s launch, the Pok Pok team has been hard at work adding to and refining the app’s digital toys, but today’s update is particularly noteworthy for its depth.

Source: Pok Pok.

Source: Pok Pok.

It’s not surprising that the town toy is among kids’ favorites. The town’s wide variety of buildings, people, animals, and other elements provided a rich environment for exploration and imagination. Today’s update grows the town into a thriving, diverse metropolis. The original parts are still there, but kids will also find more occupations, green spaces, new means of transportation, a farm, and even a movie set complete with a dinosaur.

Pok Pok's revamped town has a movie set.

Pok Pok’s revamped town has a movie set.

The all-new town was developed in collaboration with Sarah Kaufman, an urban planner from New York City, who helped the Pok Pok team incorporate the cultural, design, and community elements of modern cities. The results are fantastic. There’s a wealth of new areas available that I expect kids will find engaging and fun.

If you have kids and haven’t tried Pok Pok yet, now is a great time to do so. You can learn more on the Pok Pok website and donwload the app on the App Store. Also, if you want to hear from the Pok Pok team themselves, listen to the interview we did with them on AppStories when they won an Apple Design Award.


AppStories, Episode 252 – Obsidian In Depth: Core Plugins (Part 2)

This week on AppStories, we continue our series on Obsidian with a discussion of the app’s core plugins, which control many of its most advanced features.


On AppStories+ this week, we discuss Apple’s 2021 Apps of the Year and take a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming MacStories Selects Awards.

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Obsidian In Depth: Core Plugins (Part 2)

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 252 - Obsidian In Depth: Core Plugins (Part 2)

0:00
43:21

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John continue their series on Obsidian with a look at the app’s core plugins, which enable many of the app’s most advanced features.

Read more


‘Where Are They Now?’ – Twitter Apps

The App Store is more than a decade old at this point, and with Issue 300 of MacStories Weekly looming, I spent some time looking at the apps we covered in those early days. I expected most would have fallen by the wayside, and many had. However, there were a surprising number that we still...


Get Alerts When the Batteries in Your HomeKit Devices Run Low

The Shortcuts actions for Apple’s Home app are helpful but limited. You can determine the state of HomeKit accessories and control them, but the data you can get back and the control you have over accessories is less than what is possible with the HomeKit framework. For example, Eve door and window sensors run on...


Thank You From the MacStories Team

I started working on MacStories Weekly around issue 25, and I could never have imagined we’d be at issue 300 someday. Add the Monthly Log and we’re well past 350 newsletters in total that are packed with hundreds of apps, automations, long-form stories, interviews, and a lot more. Those earliest issues of Weekly and the...


Interesting Links

Engadget reports that Twitch has added SharePlay to its app, which allows you and up to 31 friends to watch livestreams together via FaceTime. (Link) If you’re a Roomba owner and never thought about whether it could topple a Christmas tree, is it good news to hear that two of iRobots’ most expensive and...


App Debuts

Vinegar Another Safari extension has gained attention this week. Vinegar is an extension designed to make using YouTube’s website better. The extension eliminates ads, tracking, allows video to play in the background, and enables picture-in-picture. You can also access video quality settings more easily, set a preferred quality, and turn auto-play on or off....


MacStories Unwind: The Best Music of 2021

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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44:29

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps


This week on MacStories Unwind:

Our Favorite 2021 Albums and Singles

Federico

Albums:
- Screen Violence by CHVRCHES
- If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey
- 30 by Adele
- An Evening with Silk Sonic by Silk Sonic
- Who Am I? by Pale Waves
- SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo
- Knebworth 1996 by Oasis
- Draw Down the Moon by Foxing
- Futures: Phoenix Sessions by Jimmy Eat World
- XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time by The Maine
- Pressure Machine by The Killers

Album of the Year:

Singles:

Song of the Year:

John

Albums:

Album of the Year:

  • SOUR by Olivia Rodrigo

Singles:

Songs of the Year:

Rewind

MacStories and Club MacStories Highlights

AppStories
- Obsidian In Depth: The Basics (Part 1)