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Winterfest 2024

The Festival of Artisanal Software

Wallace and Gromit Video Shot on iPhone and Projected onto Battersea Power Station→

If you were around London’s Battersea Power Station – home to Apple’s UK headquarters – over the weekend, you might have spotted plasticine heroes Wallace and Gromit projected onto the station’s two 101-meter-high chimneys. While this could be dismissed as some giant-sized promotion for the duo’s new film, set to be broadcast on the BBC this Christmas (and Netflix outside of the UK), the story behind it is more interesting.

These short animations were created by Aardman Animation using the iPhone 16 Pro Max. Apple shared the details in a press release:

iPhone 16 Pro Max was mounted on motorised heads on set to capture two angles of the Christmas trees, shooting a total of 6,000 frames. Eight iPhone 16 Pro Max devices used the 5x Telephoto camera to shoot super-high-resolution images in ProRAW, which were then assembled frame by frame to produce a stunning 6K video.

Apple even created a special page on its website featuring a behind-the-scenes video (also available on YouTube), details of how to visit Battersea Power Station, and another video with quick tips for making your own stop-motion video using Aardman’s app.

Additionally, the director of the short, Gavin Strange, will be giving a talk at Apple’s Regent Street store on Thursday, December 12.

The projection will be on display every night from 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. until New Year’s Eve. It follows artist David Hockney’s Christmas display from last year, which was created on an iPad and similarly projected onto the Battersea Power Station.

It’s lovely to see Apple commission projects that highlight artists’ talents, with the use of Apple devices serving as the thread between them rather than the focus.

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BetterTouchTool: Introducing Floating Menus [Sponsor]

BetterTouchTool is a powerful macOS application that enables users to completely customize their various input devices such as Keyboards, the (Magic) Mouse and Magic Trackpad, the Touch Bar, the Siri Remote or even things like the Stream Deck.

Today let’s have a look at a new feature that has recently been integrated into BetterTouchTool and is getting more powerful with every update: Floating Menus / Widgets.

Imagine them as highly flexible, widget-like menus that you can place virtually anywhere on your screen. You can attach them to specific positions in specific windows, to specific screens, the current mouse position and many more. You can specify whether they float on top, stick them to your desktop or have them behave like normal windows (and more). 
They can always be visible, expand on mouse hover or be shown/hidden via any trigger in BTT.

You can find various Floating Menu examples on https://share.folivora.ai. For example have a look at the Notch menu, which is invisible by default but expands from your Macbook’s Notch on hover.  Another nice example is the “Mini Emoji Menu” preset, it places a little transparent dot on the left edge of the focused window. When hovered it shows multiple custom emoji which you can insert by clicking.

The documentation for this new feature is available here and you can always visit our community page to discuss or request features.

Try BetterTouchTool now (45 day free trial) or go and purchase a license with this 20% coupon code: MACSTORIESBTT2023 at https://folivora.ai. BetterTouchTool is also included a Setapp subscription.

Our thanks to BetterTouchTool for sponsoring MacStories this week.

The Latest from Comfort Zone, Magic Rays of Light, and MacStories Unwind

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

Comfort Zone

“The gang has so much to be thankful for, including you, dear listeners. ❤️

Oh yeah, and they find new ways to listen to music before being revealing their absolute favorite Apple app.”

Magic Rays of Light

Sigmund and Devon discuss Steve McQueen’s Blitz, new Apple Original documentary Bread & Roses, and the first episode of Concert for One featuring an immersive performance by RAYE.

MacStories Unwind

This week, a Thanksgiving guessing game, neighborly pies, NotebookLM, the Infamous Cousin Dave’s emoji habits, and getting started with retro gaming.

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HomePass 2 Brings a New Design, Maintenance Features, and a Freemium Model

Back in 2020, John opened his review of HomePass 1.7 in this way:

My HomeKit setup started out simple enough with a few Hue bulbs, but over time, it has grown to include security cameras, door sensors, electrical outlets, and more. As the number of accessories connected to my network grew, so did the hassle of managing them.

I know this is the case for many people, myself included. There seems to be an ever-growing selection of third-party apps for HomeKit, and developer Aaron Pearce has released some of the best. Where other apps add more functionality and, thus, complexity, Pearce has focused on simplicity and pure utility. The best example of that approach has always been HomePass.

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Over 400 Indie Apps On Sale From Black Friday Through Cyber Monday→

It’s almost Black Friday, and Matt Corey gathered indie developers to organize an app sale that runs from November 29 to December 3rd, 2023. Corey, the maker of Bills to Budget, Signals for HomeKit, and other apps that are part of the sale, has put together a collection of over 400 apps that will be offered at a discount tomorrow and Wednesday. The list is too long to publish here but includes many we’ve covered here on MacStories and on Club MacStories in the past, including:

There are a lot of great deals, and many more than what’s listed above, so be sure to visit Indie App Sales for all the details and support these great indie apps.

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The Latest from AppStories and Ruminate

Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, John is joined by his NPC: Next Portable Console co-host Brendon Bigley for a conversation about Control Ultimate Edition coming to the Mac, Bluesky, a friendly interrogation about the apps and gear Brendon uses, and more.

On AppStories+, Brendon and John talk about videogame tracking apps and services.

This episode is sponsored by:

Ruminate

John and Robb consider the legal ramifications of telling people to drink McRib sauce, John nearly gets caught up in notebook hype, then they both discuss Sill, Bluesky, and cross-posting.

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The MacStories Holiday Gift Guide for the Apple Nerd in Your Life

With Black Friday sales in full swing and the holidays around the corner, we here at MacStories thought we’d each share gift ideas for the Apple nerd in your life. Some of these items are currently on sale, so be sure to get your shopping started and check them out soon.

Federico

UGREEN 300W 48,000mAh Battery

I love this big, chunky battery with a handle.

As I recently mentioned on Unwind and NPC, I’ve been really into the idea of gadgets that are “portable, but for the home” this year. These are accessories that are portable in the sense that they can be moved around, but you wouldn’t commute or travel with them. In this case, I was looking for a powerful battery I could place on my living room table to charge multiple devices at once, such as Silvia’s MacBook Pro and my iPad Pro, or my Legion Go and iPhone. The internal capacity of this battery ensures it can stay on for hours when charging a single device like a Steam Deck, too.

The battery comes with a front-facing display with details about its charge and in/out wattages, and it even offers an LED light on the side for illuminating your environment. Plus, if you have a 140W USB-C charger, filling it up completely doesn’t take too long. This has to be one of my favorite tech purchases this year, and I can’t recommend it enough.

UGREEN Nexode Pro 100W Charger

Speaking of UGREEN, I also like their latest 100W GaN charger. Part of the company’s Nexode line, this is a compact USB-C wall charger that can output up to 100W via its first USB-C port when used by itself. This one is actually bag- and travel-friendly, and it’s become my new default for fast-charging the iPhone and iPad Pro.

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Apple Frames 3.3 Adds Support for iPhone 16 and 16 Pro, M4 iPad Pro, and Apple Watch Series 10 (feat. An Unexpected Technical Detour)

Apple Frames 3.3 supports all the new devices released by Apple in 2024.

Apple Frames 3.3 supports all the new devices released by Apple in 2024.

Well, this certainly took longer than expected.

Today, I’m happy to finally release version 3.3 of Apple Frames, my shortcut to put screenshots inside physical frames of Apple devices. In this new version, which is a free update for everyone, you’ll find support for all the new devices Apple released in 2024:

  • 11” and 13” M4 iPad Pro
  • iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup
  • 42mm and 46mm Apple Watch Series 10

To get started with Apple Frames, simply head to the end of this post (or search for Apple Frames in the MacStories Shortcuts Archive), download the updated shortcut, and replace any older version you may have installed with it. The first time you run the shortcut, you’ll be asked to redownload the file assets necessary for Apple Frames, which is a one-time operation. Once that’s done, you can resume framing your screenshots like you’ve always done, either using the native Apple Frames menu or the advanced API that I introduced last year.

So what took this update so long? Well, if you want to know the backstory, keep on reading.

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The Best Amazon Black Friday Gadget Deals, as Selected by the MacStories Team

There’s a lot on sale during Amazon’s weeklong Black Friday event. I’ve been combing through the deals and found some great gadget buys, which I’ve summarized below. For even more deals, Club MacStories+ and Premier members should visit our Black Friday Discord channel, where members are sharing the deals they find throughout the week, too.

Apple and Beats Hardware

Apple AirPods Pro 2 (32% off)

This isn’t quite the best deal I’ve seen on AirPods Pro 2, but it’s close. With Apple’s new hearing protection and assistance features, the AirPods Pro 2 are more capable than ever, so it’s a good time to refresh an aging pair or pick up your first.

Apple AirTag Four-Pack (26%)

I have AirTags on my luggage, on my backpack, and in my glasses cases. Amazon’s Black Friday deal is one of the lowest prices for a four-pack that I’ve seen.

Apple Watch Series 10 (18% off)

It’s wild to me that the Apple Watch Series 10 is already 18% off on Amazon, which is the best deal available since the wearable’s launch according to CamelCamelCamel. I’m sticking with my OG Apple Watch Ultra, but the Series 10 is tempting at this price.

Beats Solo 4 (50% off)

Beats is going all out for Black Friday with 50% off the Solo 4 headphones in various color. I haven’t used either model myself, but Devon recently reviewed the Beats Solo 4 in the Club MacStories Monthly Log. I’m a fan of the Beats Fit Pro, which I’ve been using for about a year whenever I run outdoors; unfortunately, the Fit Pro model isn’t on sale this week.

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