Federico Viticci

10618 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

Vision Pro Chronicles: My Custom ‘Dual Knit Open’ Setup for Maximum Comfort and Awareness

My custom Vision Pro setup. [This is the stand](https://www.etsy.com/listing/1679187530/dock-for-apple-vision-pro-apple-vision) I'm using.

My custom Vision Pro setup. This is the stand I’m using.

Vision Pro Chronicles is a MacStories series about our journeys with the Vision Pro. In this series, we’ll explore the potential of visionOS as a brand new platform in our workflows and personal lives, share how we’re using the Vision Pro on a daily basis, and cover interesting apps and accessories for the device.

You’ll be shocked to learn that I’m not using the Vision Pro in any of the default Apple configurations.

After two months spent testing a variety of different options for bands, straps, and other “mounting” solutions, I’ve found my ideal setup. It looks somewhat ridiculous at a glance, and it’s not for everyone, but it allows me to use the Vision Pro for longer sessions.

Most importantly, it helps me enjoy the Vision Pro more.

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Making a Macintosh Studio→

I’ve lost track of how many MacStories readers have sent me this over the past few days (thank you; you know me well), and, unsurprisingly, the latest project by Scott Yu-Jan is extremely my kind of thing. Scott 3D-printed a Macintosh-like shell to host a Mac Studio with an iPad mini used as its display thanks to wired Sidecar. It’s magnificent:

Obviously, as someone who relies on Sidecar on a daily basis now, I find this project a masterpiece in creativity and taking advantage of Apple’s ecosystem. I would pay serious money to have a version of this for my Mac mini and 11” iPad Pro.

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AppStories, Ep. 376 - 44 minutes

Shortcuts Wishlist (2024 Edition)

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 376 - Shortcuts Wishlist (2024 Edition)

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43:38

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John take a hard look at Shortcuts to discuss what needs fixing and the new features they hope to see Apple announce at WWDC this year.

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Tweaking the Position of Control Center for visionOS

I’m ramping up the amount of work I can perform on the Vision Pro on a daily basis, but lately, something kept annoying me whenever I was wearing the headset: I was getting a lot of accidental Control Center activations just by looking at the upper section of app windows. After some helpful Googling earlier...

Apple Frames 3.2 Brings iPhone 15 Pro Frames, Files Picker, and Adjustable Spacing

Apple Frames 3.2.

Apple Frames 3.2.

Today, I’m releasing version 3.2 of Apple Frames, my shortcut to put screenshots taken on Apple devices into physical device templates. If you want to skip ahead, you can download Apple Frames 3.2 at the end of this story or find it in the MacStories Shortcuts Archive.

Version 3.2 is a major update that introduces brand new frames for the iPhone 15 Pro line, improves the reliability of framing screenshots from devices with the Dynamic Island, and, perhaps most importantly, extends the Frames API with new configuration options to give you even more control over framed images.

Let’s dive in.

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AppStories, Ep. 375 - 35 minutes

Why’d You Download That?

FedericoJohn
AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

AppStories Episode 375 - Why’d You Download That?

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35:08

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AppStories+ Deeper into the world of apps

This week, Federico and John take a look at their latest app downloads on a variety of Apple devices.

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MultiButton 1.1 Makes the Action Button Change Its Behavior Based on the Currently Open App

The same Action button; multiple behaviors for different apps.

The same Action button; multiple behaviors for different apps.

What if the Action button could change its behavior depending on which app is currently open?

That’s what I started wondering months ago after I released MultiButton, my shortcut for toggling between two commands assigned to the Action button rather than being limited to only one. Having the choice between two distinct commands is great, but can you imagine if MultiButton could become a truly contextual shortcut system that adapted to whatever app is currently on-screen?

I’ve spent the past few months working on this idea, and I’m happy to report that I was able to get it to work. In the process, I realized that what I’d designed was a comprehensive, advanced automation system that can be extended beyond MultiButton to a variety of use cases.

Later this week in MacStories Weekly and exclusively for Club MacStories members (of all tiers), I will release my latest creation that makes contextual app automation possible. It’s called CAPS, which stands for Contextual Apps Plugin System.

CAPS is comprised of three standalone shortcuts that allow you to define rules for which shortcuts should be run when the Action button is pressed while using a particular app. CAPS supports creating an unlimited number of rules for as many apps as you want; best of all, it’s based on an open file format that can be integrated with all kinds of shortcuts.

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