John Voorhees

5638 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.

MacStories Unwind: An Interview with Craig Federighi and Picking an iPad Pro

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps
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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps


This week on MacStories Unwind:

MacStories

Club MacStories

AppStories

Unwind


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Infuse 6

Infuse is a video app for the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV with two big advantages. First, the app can play nearly any type of video file you throw at it. Second, those files can be pulled into the app from almost any source imaginable. I use Infuse primarily as a way to play...


App Debuts

Portal Last week I featured Portal as the Favorite in our newsletter because it’s been an essential app for me during this time of working from home and maintaining focus in a small studio apartment even while my wife has video calls throughout the day. I wasn’t planning to write about the app again...


The MacStories Team’s iPad Home Screen Widgets

Left to right: Federico, John, and Ryan's iPad Home screen widgets.

Left to right: Federico, John, and Ryan’s iPad Home screen widgets.

I suggested to Federico and Ryan that we share our iPad Home screen widgets with Club members in Weekly today because I had an ulterior motive. I’ve been experimenting with my widgets lately, and I needed to commit to a setup. Because I’ve been trying new widgets, my list had grown a little too...


iPadOS and Pointer Support with Craig Federighi

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 162 - iPadOS and Pointer Support with Craig Federighi

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

In this special episode of AppStories, Federico interviews Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering Craig Federighi about iPadOS, pointer support, and more.

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iPadOS and Pointer Support with Craig Federighi

It has been quite a couple of months for the iPad and iPadOS. It started with the new iPad Pros and the Magic Keyboard with Trackpad, which were announced on March 18th. That was promptly followed by iPadOS 13.4, which wasn’t your typical late-cycle OS release. Along with modifier key remapping, key up/down events for developers, iCloud Drive shared folders, Mail toolbar adjustments, and new Memoji sticker reactions, Apple surprised everyone by revealing mouse and trackpad support.

The announcements came at a momentous juncture for the iPad, which turned 10 on April 3rd. As Federico explained on the anniversary, the iPad, and especially the iPad Pro, has become a modular computer that has stayed true to its tablet roots, while gaining the ability to transform to suit its users’ needs. Nowhere is the iPad’s modularity more evident than with the release of the Magic Keyboard with Trackpad.

Against that backdrop, Federico was fortunate to have the opportunity to once again chat with Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President for Software Engineering, for a special episode of AppStories about iPadOS and its new pointer support. Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the interview from being conducted in person as it was last year at WWDC, FaceTime facilitated a terrific conversation that delves deep into the latest changes to iPadOS and what they mean for users and developers alike.

Thank you to Craig Federighi for taking the time for the interview, everyone at Apple who helped arrange it, and as always, thank you for listening to AppStories. We hope you enjoy the show.


AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 162 - iPadOS and Pointer Support with Craig Federighi

0:00
49:50

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps


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Apple Announces WWDC Will Begin June 22

Apple has announced that its annual WWDC conference, which will be online-only this year, will be held beginning June 22, 2020. The company also announced the Swift Student Challenge, in which students can submit a Swift playground that creates an interactive scene between now and May 17th.

The online-only conference will be held through the Apple Developer app and Apple’s Developer website.

In Apple’s press release, Phil Schiller is quoted as saying:

“WWDC20 will be our biggest yet, bringing together our global developer community of more than 23 million in an unprecedented way for a week in June to learn about the future of Apple platforms,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “We can’t wait to meet online in June with the global developer community and share with them all of the new tools we’ve been working on to help them create even more incredible apps and services. We look forward to sharing more details about WWDC20 with everyone as we get closer to this exciting event.”

Commenting on the Swift Student Challenge, Craig Federighi says:

“Students are an integral part of the Apple developer community, and last year WWDC saw attendance from more than 350 student developers spanning 37 different countries,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “As we look forward to WWDC20, although our gathering will be virtual this year, we want to recognize and celebrate the creative contributions of our young developers from around the world. We can’t wait to see this next generation of innovative thinkers turn their ideas into a reality through the Swift Student Challenge.”

Students can learn more at developer.apple.com/wwdc20/swift-student-challenge. Winners chosen from the entrants will win an exclusive WWDC20 jacket and pin set.

Additional information about sessions and other programming announcements will be made through the Apple Developer app, on the Developer website, and by email.


AppStories, Episode 161 – The Apps Federico Will Use for His Annual iOS Review

This week on AppStories, we discuss the apps Federico uses to research, write, and edit his annual iOS and iPadOS review, including the changes he anticipates making this year and the new apps he’s considering.

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 161 - The Apps Federico Will Use for His Annual iOS Review

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45:20

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

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The Apps Federico Will Use for His Annual iOS Review

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 161 - The Apps Federico Will Use for His Annual iOS Review

0:00
45:20

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John discuss the apps Federico uses to research, write, and edit his annual iOS and iPadOS review, including the changes he anticipates making this year and the new apps he’s considering.

Read more