Enjoy the latest episodes from MacStories’ family of podcasts:

AppStories

This week, Federico and John complete their tour of holiday projects with a look at the tools both of them built with the help of Claude Code, Codex, and other tools.

On AppStories+, John pushes Claude Code by building a Safari web extension that integrates with Notion.

NPC: Next Portable Console

This week, rumors swirl about the Steam Machine’s pricing, AYANEO pauses to collect itself, and GameSir’s Pocket Taco goes live – plus, the lack of foldable phone controllers and our first videogames.

On NPC XL, Federico, John, and Brendon share what they do when they’re not obsessing over handheld consoles.

Comfort Zone

Matt’s on his own for this one, as Chris and Niléane managed to both get sick at the same time. Fear not; we get to rant and rave about the latest “Xbox”!

On Cozy Zone, we roast each other’s backpacks. One’s all black, one’s full of color, and the other is just a mess.

MacStories Unwind

This week, John shrugs off a once-in-a-decade winter storm and watches a great movie, while Federico has a returning comedy series to share.

---

AppStories, Episode 468, ‘A Very “Just Build It” Holiday’ Show Notes

Holiday Coding Projects Continued

• Federico’s Projects:

• HTML tools collection (12+ tools) inspired by Simon Willison’s approach

• MacStories Markdown Preview tool

• MarkdownFixer (Python in browser via Pyodide)

• Custom MCP servers for: Feedbin, Readwise Reader, YouTube Transcript, and Raindrop

• Home automation tools: NAS Control, Roon Visualizer, Custom TV Remote (LG webOS + Philips Hue Sync Box)

• Notion tools: DailyNote Append, DailyNote Viewer, Notion Clippings web app, YouTube Watch Queue

• Liquid Glass CSS design guide for web apps

• Using Claude Code vs OpenAI Codex comparison

• Remote coding workflow with Termius and Pushover notifications

• John’s Projects

• MacStories Common (shared code library)

• Podcast production tools (loudness matching, transcription improvements)

• Obsidian plugins for sending to Matter and Readwise Reader

• Article Highlights tool

• Notion OAuth integration

• Reviving Blink app (Objective C to Swift/SwiftUI conversion)

• Other Tools and Services Mentioned

• GitHub

• Cloudflare Workers

• Tailscale

• Secure Shellfish

• FFmpeg

• Wispr Flow

AppStories+ Post-Show

• John’s LinkSlinger Safari web extension for Mac, iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS

Subscribe to AppStories+

Visit AppStories.net to learn more about the extended, high bitrate audio version of AppStories that is delivered early each week and subscribe.

---

NPC, Episode 64, ‘Foldables, Fex, and a Forgettable CES’ Show Notes

The Latest Portable Gaming News

• Steam Machine pricing may have leaked
• Meta has closed three VR studios as part of its metaverse-focused layoffs
• GameSir Pocket Taco phone controller Kickstarter is now live
• AYANEO Pocket PLAY delayed
• AYN Thor gets major OTA update, Batch 2 shipping January 15, prices rising for Batch 3
• Retrocade is coming to Apple Vision Pro
• A FEX announcement is coming

Subscribe to NPC XL

NPC XL is a weekly members-only version of NPC with extra content, available exclusively through our new Patreon for $5/month. Each week on NPC XL, Federico, Brendon, and John record a special segment or deep dive about a particular topic that is released alongside the “regular” NPC episodes. You can subscribe here.

---

Comfort Zone, Episode 84, ‘Where Is Everybody?’ Show Notes

Main Topics

• ROG Xbox Ally X
• Matt’s Review

Cozy Zone

For even more from the Comfort Zone crew, you can subscribe to Cozy Zone. Cozy Zone is a weekly bonus episode of Comfort Zone where 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. You can subscribe to Cozy Zone for $5 per month here or $50 per year here.

---

MacStories Unwind, ‘Snowmageddon, Billionaire Blackmail, and Water Beds’ Show Notes

Snowmageddon

• Ice threat continues to grow as weekend winter storm nears Carolinas
• When was the last time Charlotte had a significant ice storm?

Picks

• Federico’s Pick:

• A Man on the Inside on Netflix

• A Man on the Inside Season 2 Cast, Plot, Release Date: Meet the Stars Joining Ted Danson, First Look Photos

• John’s Pick:

• Licorice Pizza

Unwind Deal

• 🍄 The Super Mario Bros. Movie is just $9.99 in the TV app.

MacStories Unwind+

We deliver MacStories Unwind+ to Club MacStories subscribers ad-free with high bitrate audio every week. To learn more about the benefits of a Club MacStories subscription, visit our Plans page.

---

MacStories launched its first podcast in 2017 with AppStories. Since then, the lineup has expanded to include a family of weekly shows that also includes MacStories Unwind, Magic Rays of Light, Comfort Zone, NPC: Next Portable Console, and First, Last, Everything that collectively, cover a broad range of the modern media world from Apple’s streaming service and videogame hardware to apps for a growing audience that appreciates our thoughtful, in-depth approach to media.

If you’re interested in advertising on our shows, you can learn more here or by contacting our Managing Editor, John Voorhees.

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

---

Devon Dundee

Devon Dundee is the co-host of Magic Rays of Light, a podcast exploring the world of Apple TV, where he’s covered Apple TV, tvOS, and Apple Originals since 2021. He’s also written about apps, TV, and film on his personal website for over ten years. Devon lives in Arkansas with his wife, their son, and their dog Winter.