Posts in news

Relay FM Kicks Off Its 2023 Fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Today, Relay FM kicked off its annual fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to help combat childhood cancer. We’d love it if MacStories readers joined us in supporting this cause.

You can make a donation by visiting here.

If you’re a MacStories reader, there’s a good chance you have listened to one of the shows Federico co-hosts on the network or have another favorite, in which case you may have already contributed. However, if not, please consider donating.

St. Jude plays an important role in the fight against childhood cancer, treating kids, and doing research with other medical facilities around the world. Your donations help ensure that families aren’t charged for treatment, travel, housing, or meals, so their sole focus is helping their child get better.

Relay FM, which has raised $2.2 million for St. Jude over four years, will be raising money through the end of September, culminating in the Podcastathon, a 12-hour video streaming event featuring the hosts of many of Relay FM’s network of podcasts that will be held September 22nd. As in past years, the Podcastathon will be streamed on Relay FM’s Twitch channel.

Like last year, you can create your own fundraising campaign to help Relay FM achieve its goal and earn limited edition rewards in the process.

Thanks in advance for checking out Relay FM’s fundraiser for St. Jude and to all who donate.


MacStories Unwind: The Most Sought-After Tech in All of Arizona Circa 2010

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This week, John is joined by Alex Guyot to talk about old gadgets and handmade tech accessories, plus a movie and TV show.

Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!

John’s Old Tech Pick:

The Danger Hiptop aka T-Mobile Sidekick.

The Danger Hiptop aka T-Mobile Sidekick.

Alex’s Old Tech Pick:

John’s Media Pick:

Alex’s Media Pick:

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Snailed It to Continue Development of Toolbox Pro and Alex Hay’s Other Apps

After the tragic passing of Alex Hay earlier this year, many in the Shortcuts community wondered what would become of his many excellent apps.

Today, Snailed It, a development company consisting of Rosemary Orchard, David Stephens and Dom Chester, announced that it would be taking over all of Hay’s apps including Toolbox Pro, Logger, and Nautomate. In a press release, Snailed It said:

Alex was well known in the industry for his series of apps that focused on expanding Apple’s Shortcuts eco-system, the most well known of which was Toolbox Pro, which adds over 130 Shortcut Actions to allow users to create incredibly powerful automation workflows. Alongside Toolbox Pro, he also created Logger for Shortcuts, allowing users to log text and images to a console within their complex Shortcuts, making development a breeze. His third app, Nautomate provides an expansive set of Shortcut Actions for controlling Notion. Snailed It have taken over each of these services and are in process of ensuring they’re updated to handle the transition, before continuing their development in memory of Alex.

It’s wonderful to see Snailed It honoring Alex Hay’s legacy by continuing his apps. I can’t wait to see what’s next for Hay’s trio of apps.


Apple Publishes Reactions by Attendees of Its Worldwide Vision Pro Labs

Today, Apple published the reactions from some of the people who have attended the Vision Pro labs being held in cities around the world. Those quoted include developer David Smith, the creator of Widgetsmith, the chief experience officer of Pixite, Ben Guerrette, the maker of the video creation and editing app Spool, Chris Delbuck, the principal design technologist at Slack, and Michael Simmons, the CEO of Flexibits, the company whose developers make Fantastical. All four came away from the experience impressed with visionOS and the Vision Pro hardware.

According to Smith:

I’d been staring at this thing in the simulator for weeks and getting a general sense of how it works, but that was in a box. The first time you see your own app running for real, that’s when you get the audible gasp.

Guerrette struck a similar chord:

At first, we didn’t know if it would work in our app. But now we understand where to go. That kind of learning experience is incredibly valuable: It gives us the chance to say, ‘OK, now we understand what we’re working with, what the interaction is, and how we can make a stronger connection.’

Any time new hardware with its own operating system is announced, the challenge is to get it in front of as many developers as possible to ensure there are apps for the launch. Apple has tackled the problem with a combination of an app evaluation process, labs in big cities around the world, and developer kits shipped to developers who had to apply for access. From the reactions quoted in the story published on Apple’s Developer website, hands-on time with the Vision Pro sounds as though it was well worth the effort to travel to one of the labs.

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How 3D Pets Uses the iPhone to Create Prostheses for Pets

It’s easy to forget how powerful the computers we carry with us everywhere are. While most of us are firing off text messages to our friends, companies like 3D Pets are using the iPhone’s LiDAR and TrueDepth camera in innovative ways to help dogs and other animals with missing or deformed limbs.

Yesterday, both Apple and Marques Brownlee published videos spotlighting the work 3D Pets is doing to create custom prostheses for pets. The process includes taking a 3D scan of the animal using the iPhone’s TrueDepth camera and then modeling and 3D printing a one-of-a-kind prosthesis.

The tech is cool, and the stories are heartwarming and worth taking a break during your day to watch.


MacStories Unwind: I’m 35, I’ve Had a Hot Dog!

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This week on MacStories Unwind, with vacation season rolling into review season, we check in on OS review preparations and our building excitement for widgets everywhere. I learn that a hot dog and a slice of pizza are a common combo in Rome. Federico questions the nature of hot dogs themselves. Plus, we have a music and TV show pick for everyone.

Vacations, OS Updates, and Widgets

Hot Dogs

John’s Pick:

Federico’s Pick

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Game On: Papers, Please Milestones, Netflix Eyes TV Gaming, Vampire Survivors and Rolando News, Plus an RPG for the Weekend

Lucas Pope’s critically acclaimed dystopian puzzle game Papers, Please celebrated a big milestone this week. As reported by Engadget, the game just passed its 10th anniversary and has sold 5 million copies, which is huge for an indie title. Of course, the game is on every platform imaginable these days, but if you still haven’t checked it out after all of these years, you can pick up Papers, Please for just $1.99 on the App Store for a limited time.

Netflix's Game Controller app.

Netflix’s Game Controller app.

Netflix released an iOS app called Netflix Game Controller this week with a UI that consists of standard onscreen versions of game controller buttons and a message that the app can be connected with games on your TV. As TechCrunch’s article on the app points out, though, there are no Netflix games that connect to it yet. An in-app message notes that Netflix Games on TV are currently in beta, and the app’s description simply says the games are coming soon. Netflix declined to comment about the app to TechCrunch.

Vampire Survivors.

Vampire Survivors.

Next week, Vampire Survivors will introduce a co-op mode on all platforms, including iOS. The highly addictive 8-bit style monster shooter that beat Elden Ring, Cult of the Lamb, and God of War: Ragnarök for a BAFTA game of the year award has an extensive FAQ covering how co-op mode will work if you’re interested in learning more.

Also on the horizon, according to TouchArcade, is a Steam version of Rolando that will be compatible with the Steam Deck. Rolando was a sensation on the early iOS App Store, disappeared with the transition to 64-bit apps, but triumphantly returned in 2019 as Rolando: Royale Edition. If you’re interested in videogame history and preservation, Andrew Hayward has a fantastic article on Polygon about Rolando’s 2019 comeback.

Stone Story RPG.

Stone Story RPG.

Finally, I want to leave you with a game recommendation for the weekend: Stone Story RPG. This isn’t a new game, but it was new to me, and I was so impressed with its all-ASCII artwork that I wanted to pass it along.

The game, which is available on iPhone, iPad, and other platforms, is a classic RPG with incredible art throughout, as well as an excellent soundtrack. An AI handles most of the action, leaving you to strategize your next move and craft items to help you on your quest. If you’re looking for something a little different to play on your iPhone this weekend, Stone Story RPG is a great option.


Game On is a periodic roundup highlighting the biggest news in gaming on Apple’s platforms. From the iPhone and iPad to the Mac and Vision Pro, we’ll cover the big-name games on Apple devices, along with notable industry and developer news.


MacStories Unwind: The Beanie Baby Craze

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This week on MacStories Unwind, we chat about Universal Control, update listeners on the status of our OS reviews, and I recommend The Beanie Bubble on Apple TV+.

  • Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!

Universal Control

John’s Pick:

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MacStories Unwind: AV Club Edition: Silo, on Apple TV+

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This week on MacStories Unwind, John is joined by Jonathan Reed and Club member David to discuss the Apple TV+ show, Silo. This week’s show was recorded live in the Club MacStories Discord community as part of the Club MacStories+ AV Club.

This episode is sponsored by:

  • Kolide – It ensures that if a device isn’t secure it can’t access your apps.  It’s Device Trust for Okta. Watch the demo today!

Silo

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