This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico returns from the beach, he and John discuss the explosion of classic videogames being ported to the iPhone, iPad, and Android, and they share a couple of Apple TV picks.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes AI Assisted Ports and Homebrew Drama

• PC ports of old console games are the new AI vibe coding battleground (PC Gamer)
• AI-Coded Slop, No Thanks: Animal Crossing's Native PC Port Was Made Using Claude Code (Time Extension)
• A Hollow Victory: 100% AI-Generated Smash Bros. PC Port Comes Under Fire (Time Extension)

Pokémon Gen 1 Recomp

• Gen1Recomp
• This amazing Pokémon Red and Blue voxel mod adds a 3D perspective without an emulator (XDA)

Native iPhone and iPad Ports

• Kahris on GitHub
• HarkinianPad
• SunPad
• SpaghettiPad
• Developer uses AI to bring a native version of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time to iOS (Tom's Hardware)

Handheld Setup and Dual Screen Mods

• AYN Thor
• Cocoon
• Minish Cap Dual Screen Mod
• Dual Screen Games for Android Handhelds
• Mcon

Coding Agents and Models

• OpenAI Codex
• Claude Code
• DeepSeek V4 Flash

Picks

• Federico's Pick:

• Ted Lasso

• John's Pick:

  • Silo

Unwind Deal

• The Matrix: Déjà Vu 4 Film Collection for $19.99 in the TV app

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This week on Unwind, John realizes that too much Wi-Fi is never enough, Federico wonders what he's going to do with a Linux PC, and John recommends Apple TV's Lucky.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes Networking Projects

• John's existing setup
  • TP-Link Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 BE22000 Whole Home Mesh System
  • Added 2 TP-Link Deco 7 Pro BE63 Tri-Band WiFi 7 BE10000 routers
• Federico's Beelink SER9 Pro mini PC
• More of our networking and other gear is on MacStories Setups

Picks

• John's Pick:
  • Lucky on Apple TV

Unwind Deal

• Meet the Parents Triple Feature starring Ben Stiller and Robert DeNiro is on sale for $17.99 in the TV app.

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This week on MacStories Unwind, app launchers, universal truths about ISPs, and an epic movie.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes Unplugged Segment

• TinyStart
• Rocket
• Raycast
• Alfred
• LaunchBar

Picks

• John's Pick:
  • The Odyssey

Unwind Deal

• Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga 9-Movie Collection - All 9 movies for $69.99

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This week on a special Saturday edition of MacStories Unwind, Federico and John talk live music, blockbuster movies, and their ongoing experiments with Markdown text editors.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes Live Music

• Bruno Mars tour dates
• My Chemical Romance tour dates
• Phoebe Bridgers tour dates

A Summer Blockbuster

• The Odyssey

Text Editor Experiments

• Bear
• Lettera
• Ulysses
• MWeb

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This week on MacStories Unwind, John heads to the mountains, while Federico cooks on a beach, the origin of "the boonies," and narrow mountain roads, plus a TV and movie pick.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes Out in the Boonies

• Boone, NC
  • The Boonies (or Boondocks)
• Gaeta, Italy

Picks

• Federico's Pick
  • The Bear on Hulu
• John's Pick
  • Enola Holmes 3 on Netflix

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and John are burning up Claude Fable 5 tokens as fast as they can, while Federico finds the time to try a brand new Switch 2 game.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes Fable 5

• Anthropic's Fable 5 is only available on Claude subscription plans for one week, so Federico and John are making the most of the time by tuning up ongoing projects.
  • Statement on the US government directive to suspend access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5
  • Trump Administration Allows Anthropic to Release Mythos to Select US Organizations
  • Redeploying Claude Fable 5

Picks

• Federico's Pick:
  • Rhythm Heaven Groove for Switch.

Unwind Deal

• Sherlock from the BBC is just $24.99 in the TV app

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and John share their Amazon Prime Day finds before Federico recommends a pair of videogames for the weekend.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes Amazon Prime Finds

• John
  • Anker Portable Power Station SOLIX C300 - to power my fiber router and Wi-Fi in power outages
  • XTEINK X3 eBook Reader (Developer Edition)
  • Razer Wolverine V3 Pro Wireless Gaming Controller
• Federico
  • Aqara Roller Shade Driver E1
  • Aqara M3 Smart Home Hub
  • UGREEN USB-C to USB-C 240W Fast Charging Cable with Digital Display

Picks

• Federico's Picks:
  • 007 First Light (Steam, PS5, Xbox)
  • Starfox Remake

Unwind Deal

• A Decade of Action: The 2010s 10-Film is $14.99 in the TV app

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico learns about Philadelphia and college mascots before making a sitcom plea. Meanwhile, John's been listening to Olivia Rodrigo's new album and buying concert tickets.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes Philadelphia

• The Best Cheese Steaks in Philly

Picks

• Federico's Pick:

  • Federico needs your help with sitcom and romcom picks.

• John's Pick:

  • you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love by Olivia Rodrigo
  • Phoebe Bridgers Tour Dates in the U.S. and Europe
  • Apple: The First 50 Years (Audiobook version)
  • Widow's Bay on Apple TV

Unwind Deal

• Coming of Age 4-Movie Comedy Bundle for $14.99 in the TV app
  • Garden State
  • Juno
  • Napoleon Dynamite
  • (500) Days of Summer

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and John talk about what makes WWDC special, share some memorable moments from past years, and think about how to spend their in-flight downtime.

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes Returning to WWDC

• A look at how the conference has changed, how we spend our days there, and how we plan to spend our long trips to California.
• Mentioned
  • Widow's Bay
  • Your Friends and Neighbors
  • Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
  • 007 First Light
  • Gaming
    • RG Rotate
    • Legion Go 2
    • Switch 2

Unwind Deal

• Ferris Bueller's Day Off: The classic 80s comedy about a trio of friends ditching high school is just $4.99 in the TV app.

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This week on MacStories Unwind, Federico and John share their WWDC gear guides, John recommends a quirky indie movie, and Federico continues to tear his way through a trio of great TV comedies

Also available on YouTube here.

Links and Show Notes WWDC 2026 Travel Gear

• AirPods Pro
• AirPods Max
• Beats Studio Pro
• iPad Pro
• MacBook Pro
• AYN Thor
• Nintendo Switch 2

Federico's Games

• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

Picks

• John:
  • Dust Bunny
• Federico:
  • Running Point
  • Hacks
  • Your Friends and Neighbors
  • For All Mankind

Unwind Deal

• 🤫👂🎬 A Quiet Place Part II is just $7.99 in the TV app.

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