MacStories Team

3288 posts on MacStories since July 2011

Articles by the MacStories team. Founded by Federico Viticci in April 2009, MacStories attracts millions of readers every month thanks to in-depth, personal, and informed coverage that offers a balanced mix of Apple news, app reviews, and opinion.

Club MacStories+ Town Halls: Avatar: The Way of Water


Club MacStories Town Halls are part of the special live audio events we hold in the Club MacStories+ Discord community. The show is a recorded and lightly edited version of the Town Halls that we produce, so Club MacStories+ and Club Premier members who can’t attend the event live can listen later. To learn more about Club MacStories+ and Club Premier, visit our Club plans page.

Ep. - Club MacStories+ Town Halls: Avatar: The Way of Water

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For the first AV Club Town Hall of 2023, Federico and John are joined by Jonathan Reed, who is helping organize AV Club picks and Town Halls going forward, to discuss 2009’s Avatar and its 2022 sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.

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Zones: Easy Time Conversion to Help You Stay Connected with Family and Friends [Sponsor]

Zones makes time zone conversions effortless. It’s simple, beautifully designed, and available on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac, so no matter where you are or what you’re doing, knowing the best time to connect with family and friends in other cities is easy.

With just a glance, you’ll always know exactly what time it is no matter where your friends and family live. Plus, Zones includes:

  • Detailed weather information with Apple Weather integration for every time zone you track
  • Information about holidays around the world
  • The ability to create reminders for each time zone, so you’ll recall the best time to reach out to someone on their birthday or an upcoming holiday, for example

Zones is perfect for remote teams too. The app has a built-in event creation feature that integrates with Apple’s Calendar app, making it easy for colleagues to coordinate meetings and calls.

With Zones, you also get support for the latest Apple technologies. Lock and Home Screen widgets, iCloud sync between devices, an iMessage app for sharing time zone information, and a Mac menu bar app add up to a fantastic user experience.

Of course, Zones is also privacy-focused. It doesn’t collect user data, the app doesn’t require an account, and all versions are ad-free.

Download Zones today for free on the App Store to stay in touch with family and friends. And when you’re ready to take Zones even further, sign up for Zones+ for just $1.99 per month or $19.99 per year to unlock holiday and weather information, plus the ability to create reminders.

Our thanks to Zones for sponsoring MacStories this week.



WinterFest 2022: The Winter Festival Of Artisanal Software [Sponsor]

WinterFest 2022: The Festival of Artisanal Software is back with a fantastic collection of carefully-crafted software for writing, research, thinking, and more at tremendous prices. As in past years, software artisans from around the globe come together to offer discounts direct to you on 19 carefully-crafted apps and a book collection to assist you with everyday knowledge work:

  • Aeon Timeline: The timeline tool for creative thinking
  • BBEdit: The leading text and code editor for the Mac
  • Bookends: The reference manager you’ve been looking for
  • DEVONagent Pro: Your smart research assistant
  • DEVONthink: Your powerful information and knowledge manager
  • Easy Data Transform: Merge, clean, reformat data without coding
  • Hookmark: Supplies the missing links
  • HoudahGeo: Photo geotagging for Mac
  • HoudahSpot: Powerful file search
  • HyperPlan: Flexible visual planner
  • ImageFramer Pro: Add creative borders and frames to photos
  • Panorama X: Collect, organize, and understand your data
  • Scapple: Quickly capture and connect ideas
  • Scrivener: Your complete writing studio
  • SmallCubed Mail Suite: Manage mail like a maven
  • Take Control Books: eBooks from top authors that help you navigate the latest Apple tech and apps
  • Tinderbox: Visualize and organize your notes, plans, and ideas
  • Trickster: Your recently used files, at your fingertips
  • Yojimbo: The Mac app that empowers users to effortlessly and securely manage the onslaught of information

There are no gimmicks, no bundles, no gotchas – just saving of hundreds of dollars on great software from thoughtful developers. 

Visit the WinterFest website now for links to these amazing deals or use the coupon code Winterfest2022 at checkout.


Also, in mid-January, the WinterFest folks are organizing an online symposium about the art and craft of software. There will be interviews and panel discussions with leading designers and thinkers, tackling the big issues in software design, including:

  • Interlinked systems 
  • Tiny methods, tiny objects
  • Software ecologies
  • AI, agents, and self-organizing documents
  • Test-driven development and Improvisatory architecture
  • Community and synergy
  • Digital humanities

Stay tuned for more information soon.

Our thanks to WinterFest 2022 for its support of MacStories this week.