Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 140, your guideline to the champion and Verge-iest worldly successful the world. (If you’re caller here, welcome, don’t hide to hydrate, and besides you tin publication each the aged editions astatine the Installer homepage.)
This week, I’ve been reference astir Will Ferrell and Fabrizio Romano and Heather Cox Richardson, scrolling and scrolling done Ordinary Abundance, watching Avatar Aang (which is arsenic bully arsenic you said it was), yet getting proficient successful CapCut, obsessing complete the latest ungraded unearthed by PTFO, rewatching Tires now that the 3rd play is out, trying Spark’s AI devices for solving my inbox (so far… meh), revisiting Reply All aft the awesome Hyperfixed section astir its end, and trying to get each my dentist, doctor, haircut, and different appointments done earlier this babe arrives.
This is my past Installer before heading retired connected parental leave! Thanks to everyone who has sent good wishes and slumber tips. I request them all. For the adjacent respective weeks, you’ll beryllium successful the very bully hands of Jay Peters, and I’ll beryllium backmost successful early October. For now, though, I besides person for you the caller telephone hotness from Google, a shockingly bully dinosaur movie, a look astatine the Chinese tech industry, and overmuch more. Let’s do this.
(As always, the champion portion of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you watching / reference / playing / listening to / packing successful a cooler this week? Tell maine everything: [email protected]. And if you cognize personification other who mightiness bask Installer, guardant it to them and show them to subscribe here.)
- The End of Oak Street. A small spot Wizard of Oz, a small spot Jurassic Park, a premise that cipher expected to activity that apparently completely, totally, 100 percent works! This seems to beryllium everybody’s prime for the astonishment deed movie of the summer, and I cannot hold to spot it.
- Unforgetful. Marco Arment likes the Apple Reminders strategy but doesn’t for illustration the Reminders app itself, truthful he built a amended 1 — and wow is it a amended one. With the amended notifications and snoozing, positive a creation I overmuch prefer, I deliberation this could beryllium each the to-do database a batch of group need.
- The Google Pixel 11. Look, I don’t deliberation this is the astir breathtaking twelvemonth successful Pixel history. (And the Galaxy Z Fold 8 is still the astir absorbing telephone of 2026.) But Google has the champion return connected Android, the astir useful AI tools, and successful this lawsuit immoderate really thoughtful ideas astir smartphone cameras. If you’re going Pixel this year? I’d commencement pinch the guidelines model.
- Lanterns. Speaking of surprises! “Let’s do much Green Lantern stuff” is simply a condemnation nary 1 has said successful a very agelong time. But a gritty, buddy-cop play brought to you by Damon Lindelof appears to beryllium conscionable the point this communicative needed — I’m beautiful difficult to hook connected a superhero story, honestly, but I’m signing up for this one.
- “What I recovered successful China’s metropolis of the future.” Tom from Byte Review went to Shenzhen — arsenic did Isaac from Canoopsy — and came backmost pinch absorbing footage and absorbing ideas astir really China has embraced tech. Boy are the reasons for that complicated, and astir a batch much than the tech industry. But location are immoderate fascinating products successful these videos.
- The Commodore TAC-2. An all-time awesome joystick controller, resurrected pinch supposedly identical features and attraction to detail, positive a small other resilience. A batch of retro gamers still usage the original model, and the caller squad astatine Commodore has done correct by the aged products truthful far… this should beryllium great.
- Matic Cues. Matic was astir apt already the champion robot vacuum connected the planet, and this update mightiness cement its place. Telling it wherever to spell pinch your voice, aliases what to cleanable conscionable by pointing astatine it? That’s the bully robot stuff.
- Bingers. How did I miss this past week?! A caller media-tracking app from the creator of TV Time, pinch a smart accent connected find and reviews. There’s thing Letterboxd-y astir this app, successful a awesome way.
- Finalist 4. This app has slow but surely turned into 1 of the astir robust and clever planner / to-do apps retired there. The caller update adds a note-taking characteristic I really like, and while I still find the creation a smidge busy, I really for illustration its expertise to tally your life each connected 1 screen.
I’ve been watching Silo precocious — it took maine a mates of tries to get into, but erstwhile I sewage to astir section 3, it perfectly hooked me. The show has successful move gotten maine into the books they’re based on, by Hugh Howey. I’ve followed Hugh’s activity for years, some arsenic an writer and arsenic that jacked dude who sometimes appears connected my Instagram feed, but I besides discovered this week he’s a merchandise guy!
After almost a decade of work, Hugh conscionable launched a penning instrumentality — the 1 he’s been building for himself — called Neo. It is very specifically a instrumentality for penning books, and very specifically for penning books the measurement Hugh Howey writes books, but I really bask the app moreover arsenic a look into someone’s very peculiar process. I don’t cognize immoderate writer who likes the devices they usage to constitute books; possibly Hugh’s onto something.
Anyway, I asked Hugh to stock his homescreen pinch us, to get different peek into his process and life. Here it is, positive immoderate info connected the apps he uses and why:
The phone: It’s a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra. I consciousness kinda bad, what pinch a show connected Apple TV correct now, but Android is conscionable better. I usage a MacBook Air and iPad to thief offset the guilt.
The wallpaper: It’s a photograph of my wife, Shay, and maine connected the platform of a friend’s boat, 1 of the fewer times we were connected a vessel and afloat clothed, truthful I wanted to archive the occasion.
The apps: Orca, Windy, SmartLife, Smart Fittings, Navily, Threads, Instagram, Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, Clock, QRme, Board Game Arena, Pocket Casts, Stellarium, Moon Phase Calendar, Chase, Gmail, Calendar, Play Store, Photos, Phone, Messages, Google Maps, Chrome.
The apical statement is location because my woman and I unrecorded connected a sailboat full-time. Orca is for navigation. Smart Fittings tells maine the existent load successful tons connected the main shrouds, truthful we cognize erstwhile to put successful a reef. SmartLife lets maine power the basking h2o heaters truthful the batteries and Shay are some happy. Navily gives america reviews of anchorages and wherever to clear customs. BGA (Board Game Arena) mightiness beryllium the astir intermezo you tin perchance person connected a telephone (Ark Nova is my fav). And Pocket Casts is by acold the champion podcast programme ever made.
I besides asked Hugh to stock a fewer things he’s into correct now. Here’s what he sent back:
- We precocious binged Widow’s Bay for the 2nd time. Flawless show.
- My longtime podcast obsession is Omnibus, wherever Ken Jennings and John Roderick effort to talk astir an esoteric taxable but mostly stray and ramble successful the champion measurement possible.
- An app that’s keeping maine engaged these days is Neo, a novel-writing portion of package I created. It mostly keeps maine engaged because I’m penning successful it each the time.
Here’s what the Installer organization is into this week. I want to cognize what you’re into correct now arsenic well! Email [email protected] aliases connection maine connected Signal — @davidpierce.11 — pinch your recommendations for thing and everything, and we’ll characteristic immoderate of our favorites present each week. For moreover much awesome recommendations, cheque retired the replies to this station connected Threads and this station connected Bluesky.
“I’ve had a chat pinch my coworker astir the Tin Can telephone for kids. Looks retro cool.” — Bart
“Guildrun, the champion demo for a crippled I’ve ever played.” — Adam
“I’m training for the Berlin Marathon adjacent period and I downloaded an app called CheerMyRun. My family and friends will beryllium capable to nonstop maine audio messages that will play astatine circumstantial miles during the race. I told them it could beryllium encouraging, aliases conscionable shouting expletives astatine me. Should beryllium fun!” — Brian
“After a three-year break, I’m watching the last play of Servant. Penultimate episode.” — Simon
“Big Walk. A crippled that people turns into conscionable hanging retired pinch friends. I’d usage it alternatively of Zoom if I could.” — BTTK
“Just wanted to outcry retired the caller 8BitDo FlipPad. Being capable to transportation astir classical games connected your telephone is amazing, but on-screen controls for these tin dice a very basking decease successful a very basking fire. This sucker is ace mini and lightweight, clips connected successful a second, and feels damn adjacent to the original inputs. I people went for the very Nintendo-inspired colour version.” — Ryan
“Watching Spider-Noir. In achromatic & white, of course.” — DHRME
“Been enjoying Standard Reader arsenic a reference app for blogs connected the ATmosphere.” — Tynan
“Just publication The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami, group successful a slightly-distant early wherever group tin person ‘dreamsaver’ exertion implanted successful their heads. Upside: much restful, restorative slumber successful little time. Downside: the authorities harvests and surveils dreams to place ‘risky’ citizens.” — Jennifer
“Games for illustration Truxton Extreme don’t ever get the spotlight, but I americium a shmup instrumentality done and done and it is simply a decent shmup that tries its champion to salary tribute to its predecessors. For each of the jaded gamers retired there, shmups are live and good — some retro and modern — and we invited you to the arcade accuracy pinch unfastened arms!” — Vin
Okay, truthful each the worldly we’re learning astir The Social Reckoning suggests it mightiness not beryllium a awesome movie. Fine! It has already fixed america 2 awesome things: a Jeremy Strong property tour that is going to beryllium 1 of the all-time method character moments, and this really fabulous interview pinch Aaron Sorkin astir writing, humanity, societal networks, AI, and overmuch more.
I know, “Aaron Sorkin is simply a bully writer” is simply a ace basking take, right? Here’s a hotter one: Sports Night is the champion show he’s ever written. If you tin find it streaming, watch it ASAP.
I’ll beryllium backmost successful a fewer weeks — you’re successful bully hands pinch Jay. See you soon!
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