Federico Viticci

906 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.
voorhees@macstories.net

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AppStories, Ep. 373 - 51 minutes

Introducing the MacPad

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 373 - Introducing the MacPad

0:00
51:28

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico introduces the world to the MacPad, a hybrid Mac/iPad that he built from an M2 MacBook Air and 11” iPad Pro, and John quizzes him on the build process, software involved, and what it’s like to use.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Concepts: Sketch, Note, Draw.
  • Nom Nom: Healthy, fresh food for dogs formulated by top Board Certified Veterinary Nutritionists. Prepped in our kitchens with free delivery to your door. Get 50% off.
  • Notion: Do your most efficient work with Notion AI. Try it free today.

The MacPad

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App Debuts

[[federico]] Visionboard We’ve seen our fair share of digital status boards and menu bars for visionOS already, all typically designed with the goal to bring glanceable clocks, weather forecasts, and battery indicators to the Vision Pro to go beyond what’s offered by default in Control Center. Visionboard is another entry in this crowded space, and...

Interesting Links

[[federico]] The Threads API is on track to launch by the end of June, and it’ll allow third-party apps and services to authenticate, publish threads, and fetch content posted on Threads. (Link) The folks at Hyper have released a new USB-C to HDMI cable (which is quite a rare find to begin with) that supports...

Creating a Markdown Article Archive

Last week on MacStories, I wrote about how I process RSS quickly using the ability to mark articles with a star and Feedbin’s Starred RSS feed to pipe those into Readwise Reader. Then, in the Monthly Log, I explained how I use Markdown and MP3 files to supplement my reading in Readwise Reader. Today, I...

AppStories, Ep. 372 - 33 minutes

Apple Vision Pro Entertainment Apps

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 372 - Apple Vision Pro Entertainment Apps

0:00
33:26

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John share some of their favorite visionOS entertainment apps.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Memberful – Help Your Clients Monetize Their Passion
  • Porkbun – Get $1 off your next domain name with the code APPDEVFOO1.

Vision Pro Entertainment Apps

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Automation Academy: My Collection of Advanced Shortcuts for Things→

Earlier today, Federico released a series of seven advanced shortcuts for the task manager Things as part of his Automation Academy column, an exclusive perk of Club MacStories+ and Club Premier.

Federico explains in the introduction of the story why he returned to Things a few months ago and has been happy with the decision:

not only does the design of the Things app create a more relaxed environment for me to manage my responsibilities, but Cultured Code’s embrace of Shortcuts automation has allowed me to create dozens of custom enhancements for Things.

It’s the flexibility that Things’ Shortcuts actions offer that allows for such deep customization. The shortcuts shared today include automations to:

  • Automatically move tasks scheduled for a certain time to Things’ Evening section
  • Postponing evening tasks
  • Rescheduling tasks to the next evening
  • Tag selected tasks as active
  • Pin tasks
  • Select from a menu of Things shortcuts
  • Create tasks, an updated version of a previously-shared shortcut

All of the shortcuts are ready to be used immediately and are accompanied by a detailed walk-through of the techniques used to build them and an explanation of how Federico is using them.

Discounts are just one of the many Club MacStories perks.

Discounts are just one of the many Club MacStories perks.

Automation Academy is just one of many perks that Club MacStories+ and Club Premier members enjoy including:

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  • An early and ad-free version of our Internet culture and media podcast, MacStories Unwind
  • A vibrant Discord community of smart app and automation fans who trade a wealth of tips and discoveries every day
  • Live Discord audio events after Apple events and at other times of the year

On top of that, Club Premier members get AppStories+, an extended, ad-free version of our flagship podcast that we deliver early every week in high-bitrate audio.

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Permalink

Apple Music Replay Updated with Monthly Listening Statistics

Apple has updated its Replay website with monthly totals for top artists, albums, songs, and milestones, giving Apple Music listeners a reason to visit the site more than once a year. The update bears some similarities to the sort of monthly statistics available from sites like Last.fm, although less detailed.

Here’s what Apple had to say about the new features:

Once logged in [to Apple Music], users can check out their top songs, top albums, top artists, and milestones of the month, every month. They can also listen to their personal top songs chart of the year with their Replay Mix, which updates weekly.

The update extends the existing Replay site’s beautiful, interactive design. Selecting milestones provides additional details about the music you were listening to when you reach each one.

Currently, only January’s statistics are available. The site says February statistics will appear in early March. However, the monthly stats have been added for 2023, too, so you can browse last year’s musical obsessions as you wait for February’s. The deeper year-round statistics are a welcome addition to Replay. I still wish I could access all of this inside the Music app itself, but I love the new level of detail about my listening habits.

AppStories, Ep. 371 - 42 minutes

Exploring visionOS

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 371 - Exploring visionOS

0:00
42:27

↓

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John move on from hardware to explore visionOS, where it hits, where it misses, and what they’d like to see in the future from the OS.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Paste – Endless clipboard for Mac and iOS devices
  • Crouton – A home for your favorite recipes from wherever you find them

Exploring visionOS

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We deliver AppStories+ to subscribers with bonus content, ad-free, and at a high bitrate early every week.

To learn more about the benefits included with an AppStories+ subscription, visit our Plans page, or read the AppStories+ FAQ.

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The Tools I Use to Proofread My Writing

One thing I’ve learned about myself as a writer is that I’m not a very good proofreader. No matter how carefully I think I’m proofing something I wrote, typos slip through. There are a few things going on here. One is that by the time I’m proofreading, my brain has already moved on to the...