John Voorhees

5804 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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Apple Spotlights the Use of Its Products at Work in ‘The Underdog’

The Caffè Macs pizza box was already something of a legend, but now it has its own Apple video too.

Earlier today, Apple posted a three-minute video title ‘The Underdogs’ which tells the story of a group of co-workers who stumble into the opportunity to pitch their idea for a round pizza box to their bosses. One of the group is rear-ended in a company parking lot at the start of the day. To make amends, a meeting to pitch the box is arranged.

The quartet of co-workers gets to work turning a simple sketch of a round pizza box into a finished product in a few days’ time. They use a combination of Macs, iPhones, iPad Pros, and the Apple Watch running a variety of apps including Microsoft Office apps like Excel, a 3D-design tool, and an AR app to get the job done. The video closes with the tag line ‘This is Apple at Work’ as the group jumps into an elevator on their way to make their presentation.

The video is nicely done capturing the frantic pace of a the group as they try to make the most of the opportunity presented to them. As Cabel Sasser of Panic notes though, what’s even better about the video is that the pizza box they design is the same pizza box that Apple patented and uses at its Caffè Macs cafeteria at One Infinite Loop in Cupertino.

Apple’s patented pizza box has been featured before including in a 2017 feature onThe Outline.

‘This is Apple at Work’ is featured on a special Apple at Work webpage on Apple.com that showcases how its products can be used in a collaborative work environment. The page walks through each stage of the design of the pizza box and the tools the team in the video uses to create it. The six-part feature even includes a downloadable USDZ augmented reality file of the pizza box featured in the video.

I like this video a lot. It does a great job of telling a compelling story in just a few minutes that’s relatable to a wide audience and demonstrates how Apple believes its products can help solve everyday problems faced by people at work. Whether or not the lives of this quartet of co-workers parallels yours, this is a video worth watching for its sheer comedic entertainment value.



AppStories, Episode 105 – Pro iPad Apps and Where iOS Holds Them Back→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we cover pro iOS audio, photography, video, and art apps that stretch the platform and discuss where the OS is holding them back.

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 105 - Pro iPad Apps and Where iOS Holds Them Back

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Pro iPad Apps and Where iOS Holds Them Back

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 105 - Pro iPad Apps and Where iOS Holds Them Back

0:00
33:42

↓

AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John cover pro iOS audio, photography, video, and art apps that stretch the platform and discuss where the OS is holding them back.

Read more


Humanizing Apps

Last week, I was at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. One of the things that struck me is how different and separate the game industry is from the app industry. Mobile apps divide along platform lines most of the time. For example, there are lots of conferences for iOS and Android...


Matthew Panzarino Explains How the Apple Card Will Work→

The Apple Card has been the subject of a lot of attention and speculation since it was announced at Monday’s Apple event. The US-only card won’t be out until this summer, but Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch’s Editor-in-Chief, has details on exactly how the card will work that weren’t covered during the keynote.

Panzarino sums up the card’s benefits nicely:

Overall the Apple Card has some relatively unique and interesting takes on data transparency for users, who are getting what appears to be an information rich but easy to interpret interface that rivals the best apps (like the AMEX app) out there for consumer cards. It’s also got a solid set of security features that are missing only a couple of small improvements like per-merchant or per-transaction numbers that would make them the best offering in the industry.

The security and financial tracking the card will enable is attractive and the cash benefits are competitive, but there are limitations that may be an issue for some potential customers. For instance, the Apple Card is a single-user card, which means multiple family members cannot use the same account.

Panzarino’s piece clears up misinformation that has spread since the keynote and uncovers other tidbits that make it easier to compare the new card side-by-side with competing offerings. If what you’ve heard about the Apple Card interests you, Panzarino’s article is an excellent one-stop destination to learn more.

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Apple Arcade: Hoping for Better Apple Gaming

I know better than to pin too many hopes on a newly-announced Apple product, but despite the lack of details, it’s hard not to imagine what Apple Arcade might do for gaming on the company’s platforms. I don’t expect it to solve all of the shortcomings, which are many and varied, but implemented well,...


App Debuts

Darkroom Darkroom, the popular photo editing app on iPhone and iPad, received a big update this week that made it a lot easier to manage importing and exporting photos thanks to a variety of new system integrations. iOS 11’s drag and drop is now supported, offering a natural way to move multiple photos into...


AppStories, Episode 104 – OS Wish List Part 2 - HomeKit and Shortcuts→

On this week’s episode of AppStories, we continue our discussion of iOS 13 wishes, this time focussing on HomeKit and Shortcuts.

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AppStories Episode 104 - iOS Wish List Part 2 - HomeKit and Shortcuts

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