Federico Viticci

10919 posts on MacStories since April 2009

Federico is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of MacStories, where he writes about Apple with a focus on apps, developers, iPad, and iOS productivity. He founded MacStories in April 2009 and has been writing about Apple since. Federico is also the co-host of AppStories, a weekly podcast exploring the world of apps, Unwind, a fun exploration of media and more, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about portable gaming and the handheld revolution.
@[email protected]
@viticci.macstories.net
viticci@macstories.net

Introducing MacStories Dark Theme and Telegram Channel

Seven years ago today, I published my first post on MacStories.

I had no idea back then that this website would become my job one day – in fact, I really had no idea what I was doing. Every day, I’m incredibly thankful for the luck and privilege to have found friends, colleagues, and an audience that have guided us with their honest advice, help, and daily support.

MacStories wouldn’t be possible without you.

To celebrate the occasion, I’m thrilled to announce two changes that I think are going to make the MacStories experience more enjoyable for everyone.

Read more

Connected, Episode 87: Ticci on the Scene→

A sleep-deprived Myke joins Federico and Stephen to talk about WWDC, new MacBooks and App Store search.

On this week’s Connected, the first details of our upcoming trip to San Francisco for WWDC, some fun speculation on Apple’s announcements, and some hints on what we’re announcing tomorrow at MacStories. You can listen here.

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Igloo: An Intranet You’ll Actually Like [Sponsor]

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Igloo is an intranet you’ll actually like.

Our thanks to Igloo for sponsoring MacStories this week.

Apple Announces WWDC 2016: Kicks Off June 13 with Sessions Live Streamed Daily

After confirming the dates via Siri earlier today, Apple has announced the official dates for WWDC 2016 with a press release and a website update. This year’s WWDC will start in San Francisco on June 13 and runs through June 17.

“With four innovative operating systems and a new, intuitive programming language powering over 1 billion devices worldwide, there has never been a more exciting time to bring our developer community together,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “WWDC 2016 is going to be a landmark event for developers who are coding in Swift, and building apps and products for iOS, OS X, watchOS and tvOS. We can’t wait for everyone to join us — in San Francisco or through the live stream.”

For the first time, the initial keynote address and Monday’s kickoff events will be held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco; the rest of the event, including the technical sessions, will be held at the usual Moscone West location (the company’s traditional Bash event will also be held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Thursday).

Apple writes:

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off at the historic Bill Graham Civic Auditorium for an unforgettable Monday as Apple’s renowned developer community comes together to learn about the future of OS X, iOS, watchOS, and tvOS. The Keynote and State of the Union promise exciting reveals, providing inspiration and new opportunities to continue creating the most innovative apps in the world. End the day by honoring the most remarkable developers of the year at the Apple Design Awards.

Like last year, Apple will be awarding tickets to attendees through a random selection system (effectively, a lottery). Developers will be able to apply today through April 22 at 10 AM PDT, and they will know their status by Monday, April 25 at 5 PM PDT. There are also 350 WWDC Scholarships available, giving students and members of participating STEM organizations a chance to get a free ticket.

This year, Apple will celebrate apps that apps that “demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design” with Apple Design Awards for all their major software platforms – iOS, OS X, tvOS, and watchOS.

In addition to a heavily Swift-themed website, Apple has also confirmed that they will live stream sessions from WWDC daily through the WWDC app and website. Those interested in attending WWDC can check out the dedicated webpage here.

MLB’s At Bat iPad App Live Video Viewing Up 86% Thanks to Picture in Picture→

Sarah Perez, reporting for TechCrunch, on the effect iOS 9 multitasking had on MLB’s At Bat app since they added support for Split View and Picture in Picture two months ago:

During these first two weeks, MLB fans spent 20 percent more minutes per day, on average, watching live video on iPad compared with the 2015 season, when multitasking was not available. (MLB says that any form of multitasking behavior was counted here, not just spilt-screen viewing.)

In addition, fans who were using the new multitasking features and watching live video of MLB games in the At Bat application were spending 162 minutes per day on average consuming MLB.TV on iPad. That’s an increase of 86 percent from the 2015 season.

Picture in Picture fundamentally transforms the video experience of an iPad. Now imagine if two of the biggest video services around also realized this.

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Updates to Ulysses’ URL Scheme

Question: I was wondering how I could leverage Workflow to download files from Safari to my cloud storage provider, Box? (Anonymous)

Federico

Unfortunately, Workflow doesn’t have support for native Box actions yet. I’ve also wanted something like this for a while – hopefully it’ll be possible in the future. I’ll keep you posted. Question: I’ve...

iOS Apps with Great Dark Themes, Vol. 1

Federico

In this week’s collection, I’ll highlight some of the best apps that offer a dark theme on iOS. If you have suggestions for other apps that should be included in this list, let us know. Overcast Marco Arment’s excellent podcast client Overcast has a dark theme that switches the app’s popular white-and-orange mix to...