Posts tagged with "MacStories"

Introducing the All-New MacStories Shortcuts Archive

Alongside Federico’s release of Shortcuts Playground, we have a new and improved Shortcuts Archive page. The design adopts a new modular card system for navigation, search, filtering, and the shortcuts themselves, making it easier than ever to find what you’re looking for from among over 400 shortcuts.

With so many shortcuts spread across multiple categories, it was important to design something that is easy to navigate, which is why there are a variety of ways to do so:

  • Categories lets you jump straight to a collection such as Music, Health, Photos, the Action button, and many more.
  • By default, the Shortcuts Archive shows you a featured collection followed by an alphabetically organized list of all our shortcuts. However, by clicking Filters in the navigation bar, you can rearrange the archive to display the shortcuts alphabetically or in reverse alphabetical order, arrange shortcuts by category, or start with the recently updated shortcuts.
  • Search is a brand new feature of the Shortcuts Archive, too, allowing you to run keyword searches against the name of the shortcut and its description. The search field helpfully adds a pill indicator beneath the search field if you have a filter applied that will impact your search results.

The Archive also includes a new featured collection. With the release of Shortcuts Playground today, that collection spotlights over 100 shortcuts that were built using Shortcuts Playground and verified by Federico. From here, you can also access our special Shortcuts Playground landing page that includes more details about what it can do and links to the agent plugin, announcement post, and more.

If you have an app or service to promote, the Shortcuts Archive is a great place to do so.

If you have an app or service to promote, the Shortcuts Archive is a great place to do so.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that we also have a dedicated callout slot for advertisers at the top of the Shortcuts Archive. The Archive is the second most visited page after the MacStories homepage, which makes it a great place to promote apps and developer tools to a an audience of creative professionals, developers, and app enthusiasts who care deeply about the apps and services they use. Currently, it promotes Club MacStories, but if you have an app or service to promote get in touch. We’re offering exclusive monthly and annual spots.

The Shortcuts Archive represents years of work and is packed with excellent automations that are ready for you to use off the shelf or as inspiration for your next automation project. And, with Shortcuts Playground, it’s never been a better time to try your hand at automation. Enjoy browsing the Archive. We hope you like it.

MacStories One Week Later: An Update and a Look Ahead

It's good to have everything in one place. Finally.

It’s good to have everything in one place. Finally.

A week ago, we merged Club MacStories and AppStories into MacStories.net. It was the culmination of months of work, which, along with a new tech stack we implemented last summer, allows us to iterate on MacStories faster.

As with any large project, there were a few bumps along the way. However, we’ve been able to address them quickly thanks to the site’s new architecture. In fact, since last week, we’ve:

  • significantly improved the load times of the Club MacStories landing page;
  • restored Discord access for Club members who have joined since the launch;
  • added a MacStories-only feed for Club members who want to separate free content from Club content;
  • reimplemented JSON feed support;
  • enhanced the AppStories+ RSS feed to better differentiate it from the free, ad-supported version of the show;
  • updated the Club RSS feeds to work with Readwise Reader;
  • added new category pages for Club members where they can access Federico’s Automation Academy column and my Mac Hacks column;
  • removed ads from Club-only content;
  • updated FAQs, author pages, and other pages across MacStories;
  • eliminated visual glitches, restored missing content, and fixed broken links across the site;
  • improved the layout of Club newsletters published on MacStories;
  • resolved caching and URL redirect issues; and
  • fixed various other smaller bugs and issues.
Club members' special RSS feeds.

Club members’ special RSS feeds.

A big thanks from all of us here at MacStories to everyone who has visited the site to check out the changes and share your feedback and bug reports. Your feedback and support have been terrific. As always, if you see something or have an idea you’d like to share with us, the best place to submit it is this Notion form, which goes directly to Federico, our developer, and me. Also, for any Club members who have not yet logged in on MacStories, resubscribed to AppStories+, and browsed where all your perks now live, Federico’s announcement post and my follow-up article have all the details to guide you.

One week later, the dust has finally settled, and we’re beginning to take the next steps towards redesigning MacStories. So far, most of the work we’ve done has been behind the scenes, but it sets the stage for ideas we’ve tossed around for years. Soon, we’ll settle on a path forward that’s designed to accomplish two things:

  • Create an experience for readers and listeners that will make MacStories their favorite place to visit on the web; and
  • Do it in a way that is sustainable and reflects the values that guide us.

Our ambitions are big, but our love for MacStories and the community surrounding it is even bigger, so while we can move faster than ever, we’ll also be taking the care needed to preserve what makes MacStories special even as it changes. We can’t wait to share more with you soon.

Welcome to the New, Unified MacStories and Club MacStories

The same MacStories, now with everything under one roof.

The same MacStories, now with everything under one roof.

Today, I’m pleased to announce something we’ve been working on for the past two years: MacStories and Club MacStories are now one website. If you’re a Club MacStories member, you no longer need to go to a separate website to read our exclusive columns and weekly newsletters: everything has been unified into the main MacStories.net website you know and love. The subscription plans are the same. We’ve imported 11 years of Club MacStories content into MacStories, with everything running on a new foundation powered by WordPress; going forward, all member content – including AppStories – will be published directly on MacStories.

To get started, simply log into your existing Club MacStories account on the new MacStories Plans page or by clicking the Account icon in the top toolbar. Members can still access a special homepage of Club-only content at macstories.net/club or club.macstories.net – whatever you prefer. A few things will be different as part of this transition, and some parts of the previous Club MacStories experience haven’t been migrated yet, which I will explain in this story.

The short version of this announcement is that this has been a massive undertaking for me, John, and our new developer Jack. We’ve been working on this project in secret for months, and our goal was always to ensure a smooth, relatively pain-free migration for our members and MacStories readers. Now more than ever, the Club MacStories membership program is a core component of the entire MacStories ecosystem of articles, exclusive perks, and podcasts; it’s only thanks to the Club that, in this day and age, MacStories can continue to thrive with its editorial independence, vibrant community of members, and focus on producing high-quality, well-researched content written and spoken by humans, not AI.

The longer version is that the last few years have been complicated. We faced some challenges along the way, made some wrong technical calls, and have been working to rectify them – with the ultimate goal of propelling MacStories into its third decade of existence on the Open Web. We’re turning MacStories – the website that millions of people visit every year – into a destination that (hopefully!) will put a stronger spotlight on all the things we do. But to get to this point, we had to break a few things, iterate slowly, start over, and refine until we were happy with the results.

If you’re a Club member: thank you, and we hope you’ll enjoy the more intuitive and integrated experience we’ve prepared. If you’re not, I hope you’ll consider checking out the (many) exclusive perks of a Club MacStories subscription.

And if you’re curious to learn more about what we’re launching today and how we got to this point…well, do I have a story for you.

Read more

Introducing First, Last, Everything and Cozy Zone

The latest additions to the MacStories podcast family.

The latest additions to the MacStories podcast family.

Tomorrow is Apple’s big day, but today is ours. We’re pleased to introduce you to a brand new podcast, and more of one of your favorite shows.

First, Last, Everything

First, Last, Everything is a brand new MacStories podcast that explores people’s relationships with the technology that has shaped their lives. Each week, Jonathan Reed – who is a regular contributor to MacStories Weekly, our Club community manager on Discord, and the author of our annual watchOS reviews and other stories – gets to know a guest through three pieces of tech:

  • the one that first inspired them,
  • their latest obsession, and
  • the thing that’s meant everything to them.

From apps and computers to weird gadgets and more, Jonathan and listeners get to know someone from the unique perspective of the technology they love. Plus, in each episode, Jonathan shares an aside about a bit of technology you may have never heard of during the ‘Something’ segment.

Jonathan is a great interviewer and has a fantastic slate of guests lined up for season one of First, Last, Everything. You’ll hear new perspectives from familiar voices as well as brand new ones. Gadgets are fun, but it’s the people who use them that bring them to life through their stories. If you’re curious about technology, how others use it, and how new perspectives could inform your tech use, First, Last, Everything is your kind of show.

First, Last, Everything is a seasonal podcast, with new episodes releasing every Tuesday throughout the season. Season one includes eight episodes that will take the show well into the fall. Then, after a brief break, the podcast will be back with a new slate of interviews.

As someone who cares a lot about the human side of technology, I’m absolutely in love with this show. Federico and I dabbled with a similar concept years ago, so I’m really happy to see Jonathan putting his own spin on the idea and bringing together such a great lineup of guests that I’d love to spoil for everyone but will keep as a surprise.

You can listen to the first episode with YouTuber Tom Hitchins, whom, coincidentally, Federico and I hung out with a lot at WWDC this year, today. You can find Tom on his YouTube channel, Byte Review, or his website, Kiroku.co.uk, where he’s making calm, aesthetic videos about Apple products, creating wallpapers and Lightroom presets, and selling stickers and other great products. I think you’ll love the interview.

As we’re fond of saying, you can get First, Last, Everything wherever you get your podcasts. The show is still rolling out across the Internet, so it may show up in some places before others, but you can always visit macstories.net/podcasts/first-last-everything for links to the show on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, and good, old-fashioned RSS. Plus, you can follow the show on Mastodon and Bluesky.

Cozy Zone

We’re equally excited to bring you Cozy Zone, a members-only extension of Comfort Zone hosted by Matt Birchler, Niléane, and Chris Lawley. It was a no-brainer to add Comfort Zone to MacStories, and the reaction from listeners has been beyond our expectations. It’s the perfect blend of information and entertainment sprinkled with the hosts’ weird obsessions.

In each weekly bonus episode of Comfort Zone, Matt, Niléane, and Chris invite listeners to join them in the Cozy Zone, where they’ll cover extra topics, invent wilder challenges and games, and share all their great (and not-so-great) takes on tech. The show is an excellent way to get to know the hosts better and participate in the fun you already enjoy on Comfort Zone. Here’s the trailer.

The first episode of Cozy Zone is being released publicly so everyone can get a taste of it right now. You’ll find it today in the Comfort Zone feed and on YouTube. Going forward, Cozy Zone will be audio-only for now, but if we hear from enough listeners who want it, we’ll work on making video versions a regular option, too. The first episode is available to watch here:

Episode 1 of Cozy Zone is available in the Comfort Zone audio-only podcast feeds too.

You can get cozy with the Comfort Zone crew for just $5/month or $50/year, which not only makes the bonus episodes possible, but supports Comfort Zone, too. The gang has already recorded the first few episodes, and they’re great. We think you’ll love them as well. To keep up with Cozy Zone, be sure to follow the existing Comfort Zone accounts on Mastodon and Bluesky.

Finally, thanks to everyone who reads MacStories and listens to our shows. It means a lot to us. We have no shortage of ideas of ways we can make MacStories even better than it was yesterday or is today, but without you all reading, listening, and spreading the word about what we do to your friends and family, it wouldn’t be possible. The MacStories community is strong and the kind of foundation that has allowed us to weather fundamental shifts in the online media world. Thank you for all you’ve done and continue to do for MacStories.

MacStories Won’t Stand for Meta’s Dehumanizing and Harmful Moderation Policies

Just over two years ago, MacStories left Twitter behind. We left when Elon Musk began dismantling the company’s trust and safety infrastructure, allowing hateful speech and harassment on the platform. Meta is now doing the same thing with Threads and Instagram, so we’re leaving them behind, too.

We were initially optimistic about Threads because of its support for federation and interoperability with Mastodon. The relatively young service has never done as much as it should to protect its users from hateful content, as Niléane documented last year. Yet as bad as it already was for LGBT people and others, things took a much darker turn this week when Meta announced a series of new policies that significantly scaled back moderation on Threads and Instagram.

Meta has abandoned its relationships with third-party fact-checking organizations in favor of a “community notes” approach similar to X. The company has also eliminated filters it had in place to protect users from a wide variety of harmful speech. As Casey Newton reported yesterday, the internal Meta documents that implement these new policies now allow for posts like:

“There’s no such thing as trans children.”
“God created two genders, ‘transgender’ people are not a real thing.”
“This whole nonbinary thing is made up. Those people don’t exist, they’re just in need of some therapy.”
“A trans woman isn’t a woman, it’s a pathetic confused man.”
“A trans person isn’t a he or she, it’s an it.”

Newton also reports:

So in addition to being able to call gay people insane on Facebook, you can now also say that gay people don’t belong in the military, or that trans people shouldn’t be able to use the bathroom of their choice, or blame COVID-19 on Chinese people, according to this round-up in Wired. (You can also now call women household objects and property, per CNN.) The company also (why not?!) removed a sentence from its policy explaining that hateful speech can “promote offline violence.”

For more on Meta’s new policies and their impact, we encourage MacStories readers to read both of Casey Newton’s excellent Platformer articles linked above.

This is ugly, dehumanizing stuff that has no place on the Internet or anywhere else and runs counter to everything we believe in at MacStories. We believe that platforms should protect all of their users from harm and harassment. Technology should bring people together not divide and dehumanize them, which is why we’re finished with Threads and Instagram.

I’d like to think other media companies will join us in taking similar action, but we understand why many won’t. Meta’s social networks drive a significant amount of traffic to websites like MacStories, and walking away from that isn’t easy in an economy where media companies are under a lot of financial pressure. We’ll be okay thanks to the support of our readers who subscribe to Club MacStories, but many others don’t have that, which is why it’s important for individuals to do what they can to help too.

We know that in times like these, it’s often hard to know what to do because we’ve felt that way ourselves. One way you can help is to make a donation to groups that are working to support the rights of LGBT people who increasingly find themselves threatened by the actions of companies, governments, and others. With Niléane’s assistance, we have identified organizations you can donate in the U.S., E.U., and U.K. that are working to protect the rights of LGBT people:

Thanks to all of you who donate. The world of tech is not immune from the troubles facing our world, but with your help, we can make MacStories a bright spot on the tech landscape where people feel safe and welcome.

– Federico and John

The MacStories 2024 Year in Review on Flipboard→

I vividly remember when Flipboard first debuted in 2010, kicking off the iPad digital magazine trend that spawned Apple Newsstand, The Daily, Zite and more. Of all those early publications, Flipboard remains, and it just so happens that because we published the MacStories RSS feed to Flipboard early, the site has a larger following there than you might expect.

Over the years, we lost track of Flipboard, but a steadily growing segment of our readership turned to it as a way of reading our work. Then, late last year, Flipboard grabbed our attention again with its forward-thinking push into federation. MacStories was among the earliest to federate our Flipboard presence, which has only increased the number of readers discovering MacStories through it.

So today, we thought we’d test the Flipboard waters further with a collection of 205 of the biggest stories, reviews, and news posts we’ve published in 2024. The MacStories 2024 Year in Review collects our best work in one place. It’s a great way to catch up on stories you didn’t have time to read earlier in the year or browse through and revisit 2024’s biggest stories in the Apple world. We hope you enjoy it.

If you’re a Flipboard reader and would like to see more collections like the MacStories 2024 Year in Review, please let me know on Mastodon, Threads, or Bluesky. I’d love to hear what you think.

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MacStories Is on Bluesky

It’s been another busy year for social networks. It seems more recent, but it was nearly a year ago that Threads became available in the EU and we introduced readers to the MacStories team there.

Now, Bluesky has taken off, with many MacStories readers moving their social media lives there or splitting their time between multiple services. So today, we wanted to let readers know where they can find all of us on Bluesky.

Our [MacStories Starter Pack](https://go.bsky.app/MSyjAAg) includes the accounts for the site, podcasts, writers, and hosts.

Our MacStories Starter Pack includes the accounts for the site, podcasts, writers, and hosts.

MacStories and each of our six podcasts have brand-new official accounts on Bluesky, and you can find each of our writers and podcasters there, too. Best of all, it’s easy to find us using the MacStories Starter Pack, which will take you to a list of every account. From there, you can follow all of the accounts at once or pick and choose among them; you can also browse a timeline of all of our posts.

The MacStories.net Starter Pack: go.bsky.app/MSyjAAg

[image or embed]

— MacStories (@macstories.net) November 16, 2024 at 8:22 PM

Now, I know some of our readers don’t like Bluesky and may be concerned that we’re dumping Mastodon to chase the latest social media trend. We’re not. If anything, in the eleven months since MacStories became active on Threads, we’ve been even more active on Mastodon. So there’s no need for concern.

We’re splitting our attention across three social media platforms, which in some respects isn’t ideal, but that’s simply what social media has become in 2024. And while each of us has our own preferences among the latest crop of social networks, our goal as a team is to reach as much of the MacStories audience – and potential MacStories audience – as possible. So we’re not leaving Mastodon, or anywhere else for that matter.

If you follow MacStories on Mastodon or Threads, you already have a pretty good idea of what to expect on Bluesky. We’ll be posting links to the stories we publish and what’s going on with Club MacStories, as well as highlights of other things the team is doing. The podcast accounts will be posting links to the latest episodes and whatever else the hosts of those shows want to share with their listeners. You’ll also find the entire MacStories team on Bluesky, each doing their own thing.

It’s worth noting that we’re expanding our podcast presence on Threads, too. AppStories is already up and running there, as well as on Instagram, and you can expect to see other shows pop up there in the near future.

Thanks as always for reading MacStories.net, joining the Club, and listening to our podcasts. It means a lot to all of us here, and with the addition of Bluesky, we hope that even more people who enjoy what we do now have a way to keep up with us.

Kicking Off Club MacStories’ Fall Membership Drive with Deals and Perks

Last year’s Club MacStories Fall Membership Drive was a big success, so we’re doing it again. There are more details below, but from now through November 1st, we’re offering 20% off on all annual Club MacStories plans plus special columns, a live Discord event, giveaways, deals, and more throughout the event. There’s a lot going on, so let’s look at the details.

To take advantage of the discounted plans, please use the coupon code CLUB2024 at checkout or click on one of the buttons below.

Join Club MacStories:

Join Club MacStories+:

Join Club Premier:

Visit our [Plans page](https://www.macstories.net/club/plans) for more details on each Club option.

Visit our Plans page for more details on each Club option.

Club MacStories is a bigger part of MacStories that ever before. The Club has grown steadily every year since it was started in 2015, and every plan is packed with more of what you love about MacStories. With this month’s event, we want to accomplish three things:

  • Thank our current members with two weeks of what makes the Club special;
  • Offer a special 20% off on annual plans to grow the Club further; and
  • Make switching to a higher-tier membership more affordable for existing members.

The support of Club MacStories members is the foundation of MacStories. It’s given us the freedom to expand, focus on our in-depth stories and reviews, and build a closer relationship with readers. And most recently, while ad dollars have dried up and websites are shutting down and laying off staff due to plummeting ad revenue, we’re still growing and have plans to do even more in the coming year. That wouldn’t have been possible without the Club.

What’s unique about Club MacStories is that it’s the perfect complement to MacStories. If you’re a fan of the site and our podcasts, you’ll find that the Club is a natural extension of what you already love, with more of everything.

Our Club Discord community has become a fantastic resource for Club MacStories+ and Premier members.

Our Club Discord community has become a fantastic resource for Club MacStories+ and Premier members.

That’s been the case since the Club launched over eight years ago. We didn’t hide MacStories content behind a paywall when the Club was started. Instead, the Club has always been designed to supplement MacStories with more app coverage, complex automations, longer podcast episodes, and more. Then, with the introduction of Club MacStories+ and Club Premier, we built on that model further with a vibrant, respectful Discord community of app and automation fans who help each other get the most out of their technology.

Club newsletters are available in our fully-searchable web app for Club MacStories+ and Premier members.

Club newsletters are available in our fully-searchable web app for Club MacStories+ and Premier members.

We know that folks are inundated with subscriptions these days, which is why we work hard to offer what we think is a great value at every tier of the Club. Our nine-year track record of consistency and content, which includes over 500 issues of our newsletters, speaks for itself, but we also realize that committing to an annual plan is still a lot. So that is why we’re excited to offer a big discount during our fall membership drive. Here’s a breakdown of each tier and the discounts we’re offering through November 1, 2024:

Normally Through Nov. 1
Club MacStories $50/year $40
Club MacStories+ $100/year $80
Club Premier $120/year $96

If you’re not familiar with the Club, you can learn more and compare plans side-by-side here and read our FAQ page.

These discounts are available to anyone signing up for an annual Club membership for the first time, reactivating an expired plan, or upgrading a current plan.

To take advantage of the discounted plans, please use the coupon code CLUB2024 at checkout or click on one of the buttons below.

When you change a monthly plan to an annual one, you'll get credit for the remainder of your current month's subscription.

When you change a monthly plan to an annual one, you’ll get credit for the remainder of your current month’s subscription.

Join Club MacStories:

Join Club MacStories+:

Join Club Premier:

As a thank you to members, we’re also rolling out loads of extra content, giveaways, deals, and more this week and next, starting with new additions to our Club MacStories+ and Club Premier app discounts page, which we’ll begin revealing tomorrow on Mastodon and Threads. Then, through Nov. 1st, we’ll have columns, giveaways, a special Discord audio event tomorrow, and more, so keep an eye on the MacStories and Club MacStories Mastodon accounts and the MacStories Threads account every day to hear what’s coming next. We’ll be sure to keep any giveaway entries open throughout the fall Membership Event, too, so no matter when you join, they’ll be available.

Thanks again to our many loyal Club MacStories members, and welcome to everyone joining for the first time. You’ve all helped us grow MacStories, launch new projects, and build MacStories on a strong foundation while staying independent and true to our editorial values. We look forward to bringing you even more of what makes MacStories special for many years to come.