FedericoFile Widgets I love this app idea: as the name suggests, File Widgets brings the functionality of the Files widget from iOS and iPadOS to macOS, where Finder doesn’t offer a similar widget to quickly see recent files from a folder. To use the app, you pick which folders you want to monitor in...
John’s iOS Game Picks
Last week, when I linked to a couple of stories about the tenth anniversary of Monument Valley, I got feedback that the days of good mobile games on iOS are over. While I agree that iOS gaming has changed a lot since Monument Valley and its contemporaries were released, it goes too far to write...
Interesting Links
Both good and bad news for fans of PC gaming: NVIDIA is gearing up to release the RTX 5080 and 5090 graphics cards later this year. Where by “bad” I mean that these are going to be expensive. (Link) Can you watch a solar eclipse in the Apple Vision Pro? The Verge investigated this...
MacStories Unwind: It’s All Been Leading up to This→
This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico has reached the pinnacle of handheld gaming with a setup that he’s been working toward for years.
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Unplugged
- Espresso soda follow-up
- Moka Drink from Cosenza
- Brasilena
A Federico Videogame Surprise
- SteamOS-like Linux Projects
- Lenovo Legion Go
- ONEXGPU
- Also, the GPD G1
- LMP Fiber Optic Thunderbolt 3 Cable
- 240W GaN AC Adapter and USB-C Faster Charger
- SGWZONE Gaming & AI BOX eGPU Dock
MacStories Unwind+
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Apple Announces Expansion of Support for Used iPhone Parts in Repairs
Today, Apple announced that it is extending its repair program to make it easier for repair shops to work with used parts while also limiting the use of lost or stolen devices.
A complaint leveled at Apple by right to repair advocates is that its use of parts pairing limits the use of used parts by repair shops. With its announcement today, Apple says that it has developed a system that satisfies customer privacy, security, and safety while broadening the use of used parts:
The process of confirming whether or not a repair part is genuine and gathering information about the part — often referred to as “pairing” — is critical to preserving the privacy, security, and safety of iPhone. Apple teams have been hard at work over the last two years to enable the reuse of parts such as biometric sensors used for Face ID or Touch ID, and beginning this fall, calibration for genuine Apple parts, new or used, will happen on device after the part is installed. In addition, future iPhone releases will have support for used biometric sensors. And in order to simplify the repair process, customers and service providers will no longer need to provide a device’s serial number when ordering parts from the Self Service Repair Store for repairs not involving replacement of the logic board.
The iPhone’s Activation Lock and Lost Mode are being extended to used parts as a deterrent to thieves pulling apart iPhones for their parts. If a lost or stolen part is detected, Apple says its calibration capabilities will be restricted. Also, Apple says it will expand the Parts and Service History section of its Settings app to include information about whether parts used in an iPhone are new or used.
Automattic Acquires Messaging Integrator Beeper→
Mark Gurman, writing for Bloomberg, reports that Beeper, the messaging app that ultimately lost its fight to bring blue bubbles to Android, has been acquired by Automattic, for $125 million according to his sources.
You may recall that Automattic, the company behind WordPress, Tumblr, Day One, Pocket Casts, and other endeavors, acquired a company called Texts last fall. Roughly two months later, Beeper took advantage of a loophole in iMessage’s architecture to offer iMessage natively on Android. After some back and forth, Apple ultimately blocked the technique Beeper was using.
According to Gurman, Automattic is acquiring Beeper’s team of 27 employees, its app, which integrates services like Signal, Facebook Messenger, and Slack, and about 100,000 customers. Of those things, I suspect the people and the customers were most important to Automattic because, as I explained in my story about the company’s purchase of Texts, the two services run on different technology stacks. Regardless of Automattic’s underlying motivations, it’s more apparent than ever that the company is betting that consumer demand, government regulation, and antitrust lawsuits will open up messaging platforms for companies ready to integrate them.
AppStories, Episode 378 – Are We Entering a Post-App World?
This week on AppStories, we explore whether we’re experiencing the beginning of the end of apps and consider what might replace them.
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- Genius Scan – A scanner in your pocket.
- Jam – Developer friendly bug reports in 1 click.
Are We Entering a Post-App World?
- Trends that may point to a post-app world:
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On AppStories+, we explain why we’ve said goodbye to time tracking.
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Are We Entering a Post-App World?
Monument Valley at 10: The Story of the Most Meticulous Puzzle Game Ever Created→
Earlier this week, I linked to The Ringer’s profile of Monument Valley on its 10th anniversary, which focused on what’s become of mobile gaming since the game’s release. Today, I have another story about Monument Valley that focuses on the game’s origins and beautiful design.
Jonathan Bell’s article for Wallpaper explores the Monument Valley team’s approach and influences:
The end result had a pixel-perfect axonometric aesthetic that not only went hard on its references to Dutch master artist and printmaker Maurits Cornelis Escher, but also dug deep into classic video game design, going right back to early arcade machines and 8-bit titles. Each of the ten levels is like a piece of fine furniture, built with invisible dovetail joints and inlaid with marquetry, stuffed with secret compartments and little design flourishes. Gray cites the world of theatre and stage design, as well as graphics, as important keystones in the way the levels were constructed. ‘Ken would always talk about flower arranging, and how you frame a silhouette of a level on the screen,’ he says
I love this anecdote about the game’s last minute naming:
The small team was so laser-focused on delivering the best game they could that the name wasn’t even considered until the very end. ‘Right before launch we were going to be interviewed by Edge magazine – the morning of that day we hadn’t picked the name.’ Monument Valley was chosen as being familiar, yet unusual, implying a sense of mystery, grandeur and travel.
Monument Valley is one of the most important indie games ever published on the App Store, so it’s great to see its backstory told in detail by Bell. Be sure to check out the full story, which includes photos of early design sketches of the game’s interface and characters.