MacStories Team

3376 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.

MacStories Unplugged

One Xbox Enters, One Xbox Leaves [[unplugged_artwork]] In this episode, John explains Microsoft’s Xbox All Access pass and the troubles he had getting it set up, Federico forsakes the Xbox for his new gaming PC and Steam Deck, while somehow finding time to dabble in design using Excalidraw too. SHOW NOTES Xbox All-Access Pass Elden...


In This Issue

This month, Federico explains why he let go of due times in Reminders and John considers what makes a purchase worth it and how value is handled in reviews....


MenuBar Stats: Advanced System Monitoring [Sponsor]

MenuBar Stats is a suite of 9 menu bar modules for monitoring your Mac that has been developed over the course of 9 years of listening carefully to customer feedback. The app tracks your Mac’s:

  • Battery
  • Bluetooth devices
  • CPU
  • GPU
  • Storage
  • Memory
  • Network connection
  • And, with a helper app, your Mac’s temperature and fan speed

The app, which is highly customizable, provides essential details, with even more extensive information just a click away. Modules can be combined into a single window, displayed as individual windows, and anchored to always be visible. The stats monitored are available as a collection of more than 10 widgets and accessible through MenuBar Stats’ Shortcuts actions. The app has been extensively tested on and tuned for Apple’s latest M1-based Macs and includes a tool to clean your Mac’s memory too.

MenuBar Stats goes beyond monitoring and reporting with the ability to set up notifications to alert you of the details that matter most to you. Whether that’s when your battery reaches a certain level or when there’s a process that is monopolizing your CPU, MenBar Stats can alert you, so you’ll know the moment your Mac needs your attention.

Acting on those notifications couldn’t be simpler. MenuBar Stats can take you to a long list of Mac system utilities from your menu bar or using global keyboard shortcuts that you define. There’s also backup and restore functionality, so you can recreate your carefully-crafted setup anywhere.

It’s easy to see why MenuBar Stats has an average rating of 4.5 stars worldwide. Download MenuBar Stats today to see for yourself why so many people rely on it to monitor their Macs.

Our thanks to MenuBar Stats for sponsoring MacStories this week.


In This Issue

In This Issue: Federico shares the latest installment of his Obsidian setup series, featuring On My Mind, a shortcut for capturing ideas in multiple contexts, John shares his studio setup, plus the usual Links, App Debuts, the latest happenings in the Club MacStories+ Discord community, a recap of MacStories articles, and a preview of upcoming...


Up Next on MacStories’ Podcasts

Next week on AppStories, Federico and John are joined by a special guest to talk about Universal Control, Shortcuts, Live Text, and more. This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico explains the advantages of being able to take PC games on the go with Valve’s Steam Deck, while John recommends a weekend double-feature: Spider-Man:...


Previously, on MacStories

Stories Overcast Redesign Enhances Podcast Navigation with an Emphasis on Playlists and Recent Episodes Alto’s Adventure: Spirit of the Mountain Released on Apple Arcade Apple Expands Analytics and Other Features Available to Podcasters Last Week, on Club MacStories: Calliope 1.2.0, the M1’s New Computing Baseline, and an Upcoming A.V. Club Town Hall ComicTrack: A Beautifully-Designed,...


AV Club Town Hall: The Afterparty on TV+


Club MacStories Town Halls are part of the monthly and other 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. - AV Club Town Hall: The Afterparty on TV+

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John and Alex are joined by Sigmund Judge and Jonathan Reed of Screen Times to talk about Season 1 of The Afterparty, a whodunit comedy on Apple TV+.

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Collections: A Powerful Database with iCloud Sync [Sponsor]

Collections Database is the premier personal database app for organizing anything and everything on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

The app features more than 20 field types, linkable sub-databases, reusable lists, and a robust customization system. It’s a powerful and flexible solution that makes Collections easy to get started with for beginners, while meeting the needs of advanced users too.

Collections provides essential templates to get started, including Expenses, Contacts, Subscriptions, Books and more. However, you’re always free to start from scratch by building your own custom templates.

A long, complete list of field types is available for your databases too. The set includes everything you’d expect from a modern database app, including Text, Number, Date, Picture - even Barcode fields. Collections can also import spreadsheets from other apps, using its powerful CSV import functionality. Collections also offers quick filters, sorting, password protection, smart text-based search, and more.

Collections is free to try, but by upgrading to the Pro version via In-App Purchase, you’ll gain access to an unlimited number of database entries and files, plus advanced filters. The Pro version also includes a unique visual formula editor the makes building complex formulas intuitive and easy.

The app is a universal purchase, so your purchase will be available on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. At the same time, though, Collections has been carefully optimized to each Apple platform for the best experience on every platform.

Collections is regularly updated to take advantage of the latest Apple technologies and is privacy-minded. Your data isn’t collected or sent anywhere else.

To learn more, and download Collections Database visit the App Store today.

Our thanks to Collections Database for sponsoring MacStores this week.


Up Next on MacStories’ Podcasts

Next week on AppStories, Federico and John dig into the details of the iOS and iPadOS 15.4 and macOS 12.3 updates that were released by Apple this week. This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico springs a surprise on John that he never saw coming. ?...