Two new tech documentaries you really need to see

Nov 24, 2024 08:00 PM - 2 weeks ago 17857

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 61, your guideline to the champion and Verge-iest worldly successful the world. (If you’re caller here, welcome, happy Hallmark season, and besides you tin publication each the aged editions astatine the Installer homepage.)

I missed you each past week — acknowledgment to everyone who told maine you missed Installer, too! Warms my heart, and besides makes maine consciousness unspeakable for not being there, but mostly warms my heart. Let’s get backmost astatine it. This week, I’ve been reference astir venom and deadly car races and hockey phenoms, mounting up the caller Mac Mini I yet caved and bought, watching The Day of the Jackal (which is spectacular) and Wolfs (which is fine), devouring the Dark Matter and Say Nothing books earlier I watch the shows, seeing if Google’s Gemini app tin switch my hunt engine, trying to restart my notebooking wont pinch MyMind, and listening to the Halt and Catch Fire soundtrack connected repeat.

I besides person for you a delightful caller music-making gadget, a mates of absorbing caller documentaries, a humongous Alexa device, the adjacent large point successful Dune, and overmuch more.

And I person a question: what’s connected your gift database this year? Stuff you want, worldly you’re giving, it’s each adjacent game. I’m putting together an Installer-y gift guideline for adjacent week and would emotion your ideas! (And adjacent warning, I’m going to beryllium asking for tons of your recommendations the adjacent fewer weeks — I have immoderate nosy year-end things planned.)

Okay, tons going connected this week! Let’s get into it.

(As always, the champion portion of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into correct now? What should everyone other beryllium watching / reference / playing / listening to / air-frying this week? Tell maine everything: [email protected]. And if you cognize personification other who mightiness bask Installer, show them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

Surveilled. First, publication Ronan Farrow’s latest New Yorker article astir really the US authorities could very easy hack your tech. Then watch this caller doc astir really this benignant of point is happening each complete the world, and Farrow won’t look truthful melodramatic erstwhile he fundamentally advocates hucking your telephone retired the window.
Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy. This looks for illustration it belongs successful the bequest of The Great Hack and The Social Dilemma, which is to say, very alarming and somewhat overstated documentaries astir really the world really works. But the tricks companies usage to get you to support spending money, moreover the evident ones, are beautiful alarming to spot laid retired for illustration this.
Teenage Engineering’s OP-XY. The OP-1 is still Teenage Engineering’s classical and astir iconic synthesizer, but this caller synthesizer / sampler / sequencer looks for illustration an moreover much powerful portable euphony maker. TE is possibly the only institution that makes maine wish I were a musician, conscionable truthful I’d person a logic to bargain this.
Dune: Prophecy. My obsession pinch each things Dune is not a concealed if you’ve been reference Installer for a while. So far, this super-prequel isn’t precisely fizzing pinch action, but it’s melodramatic and large and I’m into it.
Year of the Ring. Our friends complete astatine Polygon put together this epic communicative astir an epic tale: Lord of the Rings. Stories astir the books, the movies, the characters, the fanfiction, and truthful overmuch more. If you’re a Tolkien-head, you won’t want to miss this.
Queue. A perfectly minimalist iPhone podcast app, this one. You adhd a show, it puts caller episodes successful a list, you play things from the list. The much I usage it, the much I wonderment why immoderate podcast app does thing else.
Tokyo Override. Intense commentary astir capitalism, fascism, AI, and the surveillance state, dressed up successful a stylishly animated communicative astir hackers riding motorcycles successful futuristic Tokyo? Extremely into it.
The Amazon Echo Show 21. I’m sorry, but a 21-inch “smart display” is conscionable a TV. But I deliberation Amazon’s thought pinch these new, bigger Echo devices — which is fundamentally to person 1 elephantine surface arsenic the hub of your smart location — is the correct one.
One Billion Users. The folks astatine Techdirt person a amazingly beardown deed complaint for nosy games. I bought their CIA paper game a while backmost and played the heck retired of Startup Trail. This one’s a paper crippled astir starting a societal network, and it’ll beryllium a deed astatine my Thanksgiving 1 of these years.
The JVC HA-NP1T “Nearphones”. Another cool-looking group of open-ear headphones, which fto you perceive your euphony and the world astir you. And dissimilar truthful galore others, these don’t costs a fortune! A 100 bucks, successful that acheronian greenish color, sounds for illustration my benignant of thing.
IMG_0001. A fewer weeks ago, Ben Wallace recovered a trove of videos connected YouTube that had been uploaded straight from iPhones a twelve years agone aliases so. Riley Walz went and compiled 5 cardinal of the videos, and they’re some incredibly mundane and often weirdly intimate? It’s just, like, people’s existent lives, uploaded earlier anyone knew not to.

Screen share

There aren’t galore group who do arsenic bully a occupation explaining tech to regular humans arsenic Rich DeMuro. You mightiness cognize him arsenic “Rich connected Tech” from the teevee if you unrecorded successful LA, wherever he’s a tech newsman for KTLA. You mightiness besides person heard his power show / podcast aliases publication his newsletter. I’ve been pursuing his activity forever, and we’ve crossed paths a fewer times astatine various events arsenic we tally to play pinch caller iPhones aliases Pixel phones.

Like immoderate bully reporter, Rich is perpetually utilizing a cardinal gadgets. So I asked him to stock his existent homescreen and show maine a small astir really it each works. I sewage moreover much than I bargained for.

The phone: I typically transportation 3 phones pinch me... my superior SIM is successful an iPhone, past I usually person the latest Samsung and Pixel for reference. I reply a batch of questions astir these phones connected a regular ground for my followers and talk astir what you tin do pinch them connected my power show (and podcast!), Rich On Tech. So it’s useful to person them opinionated by, since the measurement you do things is somewhat different connected each.

The wallpaper: My homescreen wallpaper is usually beautiful boring. I don’t put a full batch of thought into it. Sometimes I will person my kids prime thing cool for maine for the season, but otherwise, my wallpaper tin linger for months. I ever get it from the app Backdrops. I conscionable caput into the “Abstract” class and find it there.

Usually, the wallpapers connected my phones will match, but sometimes I’ll alteration them independently.

The apps: On iPhone: YouTube Music, Notion, Apple News, ElevenReader, Settings, Google Photos, Google Maps, Google Calendar, Claude, Microsoft To Do, JustWatch, Techmeme, Gmail, Email Me, Instagram, X, Phone, Telegram, Messages, Chrome. On Android: mostly the same, positive Samsung Voice Recorder and Voicenotes.

When it comes to my iPhone, I support it beautiful elemental pinch conscionable the apps that I usage connected a regular basis. I precocious switched to YouTube Music from Spotify because it’s included successful my YouTube Premium membership. I really for illustration the supermixes that they generate. I still deliberation Spotify is better, but YouTube Music useful conscionable fine.

I person tried each azygous note-taking app successful the world, and Notion really seems to do a mostly of the worldly I like. Before that, it was Obsidian, and I liked really it was benignant of self-hosted, but Notion is overmuch easier crossed various devices, and it conscionable works. I person besides tried each azygous to-do database successful the world, and erstwhile I put thing connected my to-do list, it’s almost guaranteed it’s not going to beryllium done. There are 2 things I for illustration astir Microsoft To Do: you tin commencement each time caller pinch a caller database conscionable for that day, and you tin connect a record to your to-do items.

I usage my email inbox arsenic benignant of my to-do list, truthful each articles, random notes, and websites I want to cheque retired later spell location first, and I triage erstwhile I person time. That intends I ever person immoderate benignant of “email myself” app. On iPhone, I emotion Email Me, and connected Android, I conscionable recovered a caller app to switch my aged one, besides called EmailMe, but not from the aforesaid developer. It fundamentally opens up a Gmail aliases Outlook constitute model pinch your email reside already populated.

Any clip I put an article successful a read-later app, I ne'er ever get to it. I’m really trying to find a amended measurement for that system, but I emotion really ElevenReader tin publication articles to maine while I’m astatine the gym if I want to brushwood up connected things earlier my power show.

My preferred AI is Claude. I emotion really it deals pinch much summarizations of things and the English connection versus image procreation and such.

A mates of different apps that I perfectly love: 1 is an iOS app called Whisper Memos. It will usage AI to transcribe what I opportunity pinch eerie accuracy, and it will email that accusation to maine truthful I tin woody pinch it later. It’s awesome for podcasts erstwhile you’re successful the car and perceive thing you want to remember. Another is called Voicenotes: it’s much of a integer sound notebook. It’s connected iOS and Android, and you tin hunt your notes utilizing AI, benignant of for illustration ChatGPT for your notes.

I support going backmost and distant connected Twitter / X. It’s decidedly doomscrolling for me, but I haven’t really gotten utilized to Threads, nor do I for illustration the thought of 1 institution controlling each of my societal media betwixt Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. So I’m still there.

I besides asked Rich to stock a fewer things he’s into correct now. Here’s what he sent back:

Because of my chaotic activity schedule (I activity early mornings, truthful I don’t person the emblematic downtime astatine nighttime to conscionable watch immoderate TV), I seldom watch TV shows aliases movies. I mostly watch erstwhile I’m walking — correct now, I’m bingeing That ‘90s Show, which I find easy to digest and silly. But I mostly instrumentality to movies.
Right now, I’m really into the writer Teddy Wayne. I loved his book The Winner and person been reference his older stuff.
I besides for illustration immoderate sci-fi and person been reference the writer T.J. Newman, who was a formation attendant and wrote her first book doing red-eye flights. Cool occurrence story.
As for podcasts, I ever perceive to Techmeme Ride Home each greeting (ironically connected my measurement to work) and cheque Techmeme successful wide astir a gazillion times a day. Fun fact: I was an editor location for a twelvemonth aliases so.

Crowdsourced

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. That’s right, we’re doing Bluesky now, too. Come bent out!

“A caller timed crossword puzzle crippled called SnowFall. Love really it takes the elements of a crossword puzzle and throws them astatine you 1 astatine a time. Builds a small worry to the unlimited clip of a accepted crossword. Starts easy but gets difficult fast. Helps capable the pockets of clip erstwhile I cannot do a afloat crossword.” – Neal

“Deep successful Apple TV Plus this past mates weeks. Silo is back, and the 2nd play of Bad Sisters continues to beryllium compelling TV. Small surface rules going into the holidays.” – Matthew

“Cooked has been a immense thief turning my ever-growing postulation of societal media recipes into thing really usable.” – Dylan

“I switched to Thunderbird connected my Pixel device, and it is amended IMO than the Gmail app. My biggest title pinch the Gmail app was not being capable to spot if my different accounts person emails without afloat switching complete to them. When you unfastened up the navigation pane, you tin easy spot what accounts person an unread email. (I don’t for illustration unified inboxes, either.) Also, the split-pane position connected the Pixel Fold’s soul show is very overmuch welcome.” – Sean

“Trying to determine if I want to splurge connected the caller Razer Wolverine. It’s yet wireless for Xbox, but past the mobility becomes whether I tin tolerate the package connected PC. It’s been fascinating yet seeing wireless Xbox controllers from different brands.” – Luke

“Learning astir the fascinating and morbid history of vampire burials pinch the hilarious Milo Rossi!” – Josh

“Sill, by Tyler Fisher, is simply a caller instrumentality that connects to your Bluesky and / aliases Mastodon accounts, collecting each links posted to your timeline and displaying the astir celebrated ones successful your network. It’s akin to Nuzzel for Twitter and free to use. I’ve been uncovering it incredibly useful to get a emotion for what’s trending.” – Paulo

“Lately, I’ve been really into KarmaZoo, a unsocial small multiplayer puzzle platformer that features you, arsenic a tiny small pixel animal, wordlessly teaming up pinch a bunch of different player-animals — each pinch their ain typical abilities — to navigate levels arsenic a team. It’s giving and gracious and an absolute blast.” – Dan

“Vehicle Motion Cues connected iOS to do 2 things: 1) Prevent mobility sickness utilizing the telephone while riding successful a car and 2) Remind myself that I should not usage my telephone while riding successful a car.” – Johnson

“I bought a mates of these 3-in-1 chargers from Anker for traveling, and I emotion them truthful much. My fiance tin ne'er retrieve to bring some of his cords to complaint his telephone and his watch erstwhile we travel, truthful I’m very excited.” – Luke

“I’m excited that I scored tickets to spot Interstellar successful 70mm IMAX for its 10th anniversary. It’s 1 of my favourite movies of each time, and I conscionable hap to unrecorded by 1 of the fewer theaters that tin play it successful 70mm. I’m pumped!” – Tony

“I’ve been getting backmost into listening to euphony I really own. It’s reliable to find an artistic and useful FLAC-compatible euphony subordinate connected the Mac, but Doppler has been filling that domiciled beautiful well. A elemental interface and Last.fm scrobbling are my favourite features.” – Russ

“Reeder conscionable added Bluesky relationship integration! Now, it has Mastodon, Bluesky, YouTube, RSS, podcasts… It is slow becoming my first and only app open!” – Kelly

Signing off

It’s officially the astir awesome clip of the year: Holiday Movie Season! I americium almost embarrassed to explicate really overmuch I emotion crappy vacation movies and really excited I get erstwhile I some get to statesman the rotation of the favorites (The Holiday, Love Actually, Elf, and Home Alone are astir apt my Mount Rushmore, but location are galore others) and the seemingly infinite proviso of caller ones Hallmark and others crank retired each year. I person Us Weekly’s full guideline to the season bookmarked successful my browser, and I americium only somewhat ashamed to admit that I conscionable signed up for Hallmark Plus. I committedness you this: I will beryllium getting my money’s worth. Just please thief maine to retrieve to cancel earlier New Year’s Eve. And if you person a vacation favorite, nonstop it my way! The worse the better.

See you adjacent week!