John Voorhees

5780 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.
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@johnvoorhees.macstories.net
voorhees@macstories.net

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AppStories, Episode 380 – Obsidian Setup Check-In→

This week on AppStories, we revisit our Obsidian systems, themes, and favorite plugins.

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An Obsidian Check-In

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On AppStories+, Federico ponders what notes are, what they should be, and whether he should document more of what he learns on the web.

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AppStories - Ep. 380 - 38 minutes

Obsidian Setup Check-In

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 380 - Obsidian Setup Check-In

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37:48

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John revisit their Obsidian systems, themes, and favorite plugins.

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Interesting Links

John

Sean Hollister, writing for The Verge, covers Formlabs’ Form 4, a 3D printer that uses an LCD screen with a bright backlight to print up to five times faster than previous models. (Link) Engadget reviews the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 and concludes that it’s not just another laptop for gamers, but a great high-performance...

The Power of Delta Deep Links

You can grab a deep link to any game in Delta from the share sheet.

You can grab a deep link to any game in Delta from the share sheet.

Earlier this year, I wrote about GameTrack 5.4, which added Vision Pro support. That update had a few other new features that I touched on, including deep linking to games in the Delta game emulator. With Delta sitting at the top of the free app chart since its App Store launch earlier this week, I...

App Debuts

Federico

Carousel I’ve been thinking about the fact that, in the age of spatial computing, Apple should probably consider bringing back their old Cover Flow UI for browsing music, and it looks like I’m not alone. Carousel (great app name) lets you flick through hundreds of albums from your Music collection with a simple swipe...

MacStories Unwind: Cattywampus→

This week on MacStories Unwind, I’m a little wired, we explore Southern expressions, share some Legion Go follow-up and have app, hardware, TV, and music picks.

This episode is sponsored by:

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Federico Updates His Setup with the Lenovo Legion Go and More→

The sands beneath Federico’s videogame setup have shifted. As he explained on Unwind last week, Federico has gone all-in with the Lenovo Legion Go, a Windows-based handheld that he’s paired with a ONEXGPU eGPU, a fancy fiber optic Thunderbolt cable, a compact GaN charger, and more. As a result of the changes, Federico has also trimmed a handful of devices from his setup.

For the latest, visit the MacStories Setups page to find the full changelog and all the other gear Federico and I are using.

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How to Load Your Game Boy Games Onto the iPhone to Play in the Delta Emulator

So, you’ve probably seen the (totally justified) hype surrounding the Delta emulator’s launch on the App Store and downloaded it because, why not, it’s free. You may have also recalled that, like a lot of people, you have a box of old Game Boy cartridges stored somewhere that are gathering dust. Or, like me, maybe you spent way too much money on second-hand videogame sites during the COVID lockdown. Regardless of your Game Boy cartridge origin story, today I’m going to show you a simple way to breathe new life into those games by bringing them, along with your save files, to your iPhone.

The GB Operator. Source: Epilogue.

The GB Operator. Source: Epilogue.

The easiest way I’ve found to pull the game files from a Game Boy, Game Boy Color, or Game Boy Advance cartridge is with a little USB-C accessory called the GB Operator by Epilogue, or as I like to call it the Game Boy Toaster. That’s because the device looks like a top-loading transparent toaster that takes game cartridges instead of bread. If you have a big collection of game cartridges, the GB Operator is a great investment at $50 because it allows you to both play and back up your games using a Mac.

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The Delta Videogame Emulator Launches on the App Store

Delta, the videogame emulator for a long list of Nintendo systems, is now available worldwide. In the US and many other countries, you’ll find it in Apple’s App Store, while in the EU, it is part of the AltStore alternative marketplace.

I’ve been using Delta for years. The app was available using a clever system that took advantage of an Apple Mail plugin and developer account to allow it to be side-loaded onto iPhones. It wasn’t the most convenient way to use the app, but it worked, and legions of classic videogame aficionados flocked to it for its excellent performance and design.

Today, however, anyone can download Delta from the App Store for free, load their game files, and play their favorite NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, SNES, N64, and Nintendo DS games on the iPhone. Delta has been in development for years, so the experience of playing your old games on it is superb, incorporating native features like haptic feedback and quality-of-life enhancements like the ability to save a game’s state, fast forward, and use cheat codes. Delta also supports controller skins, local multiplayer, and syncing of save state, save data, and more.

Delta is the Nintendo emulation standard bearer on iOS. I expect we’ll see other emulators that work with the same games, as we did briefly last week, but Delta is going to be a tough app to beat.