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Hello friends! Welcome to Installer No. 129 Your guide to the best and edge-The most wonderful things in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, Come on, gunnersYou can also read all old editions on Installer Home.)
This week, I’ve been mostly sick, which means almost a complete rewatch Parks and recreation While I alternately fall asleep and feel bad about myself. But I was also reading about Nick Fuentes and ClownsListen to old episodes of A short history ofa test NextSense smart headphones While I’m asleep, I write in External line Beta version of Markdown, eagerly looking for things to do in the future Flipper One.
Today’s issue is a little short since it’s out, but I didn’t want to leave you completely hanging. Plus, it’s a good week, including my new favorite browser in years, a new one star wars A movie, two great new tech books, a surprisingly cool set of earbuds, and more. let’s do it.
(As always, the best part of… Installer These are your thoughts and advice. What are you reading/watching/listening to/playing/streaming hotspot from shore this week? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy it InstallerSend it to them and let them know Subscribe here.)
- Vivaldi 8.0. For the first time in five years or so, I have a new default browser on all my devices. (RIP Arc.) I’ve liked Vivaldi for a long time – he’s so fast; Incredibly Customizable, full of clever organizational tools – but I always found it irredeemably ugly. The new design is so much cleaner out of the box, that I’m perfectly happy using it all the time. You should set a budget a long You spend time in the settings adjusting Vivaldi to your liking, but this browser is a winner.
- Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. Comments on this are all over the place, as they always seem to be star wars stuff, but I’m thrilled to have these silly space adventures back on the big screen. Give me all the Grogu stuff as big as possible, for as long as possible, please and thank you.
- Steve Jobs is in exile. that it very It’s hard to find new stories to tell about Steve Jobs, but from what I’ve read so far, Jeff Kane’s new book is full of them. This book is the story of NeXT, Pixar, Jobs’ profound personal changes, and how the man who nearly destroyed Apple came back to save it. Also just a very enjoyable read.
- How to rule the world. Two great technical books this week! This post is from a Stanford University student, delving into his own world and his strange, problematic, and highly successful connection to the technology industry. Stanford and Silicon Valley have done it always They were linked together. This is an excellent look at what that really means.
- Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro. I can’t say I expected to get so excited about a pair of Anker earbuds that are roughly the same price as the AirPods, but Says my colleague John Huggins They are the best phone call earbuds I have ever used. How am I supposed to not buy it now!
- The Age of Audio: The Inside Story of Podcasting. A wonderful history lesson from the people in Twenty thousand hertzwith some great stories from a group of legendary podcast creators. Connected to Modern documentary With the same name as I have now very Eager to find a way to see.
- Forza Horizon 6. Gorgeous, ultra-realistic cars that you can manipulate and drive endlessly over the gorgeous, ultra-realistic Japanese landscape. Yes, it can be a very intense racing game, but I came to see that too Forza almost… comfortable. Sometimes you just need a Sunday ride, you know?
- MacStories Shortcuts Playground. Federico Vitici and the gang are in Mac Stories They are true experts at Apple Shortcuts, and they do just that You created something really cool: A way to use the Claude Code or Codex to describe the shortcut you want, and magically make it appear. (And they were released as well Huge collection of shortcuts They make them, and many of them are pretty cool.) This is how shortcuts are supposed to work!
Here’s what Installer community this week. I want to know what you’re up to now too! Email installer@theverge.com Or send me a message on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here each week. For more great recommendations, check out the responses to This post is on topics and This post is on Bluesky.
“I got it Oculus go At a thrift store for $10. Most of the apps are non-existent except for YouTube, and surprisingly… ok? I wonder if future AI wearables will be useful for a long time; Apple devices seem to be the only group that is still usable even after half a decade. – Allen
“My mother gave my son a… Poster box On his ninth birthday. My kids and their friends have spent hours and hours collectively making labels for everything and everyone. I love that you embrace simplicity while still making a game with AI and screen. It’s also great that there’s no subscription! – He died
“Man on the moon By Andrew Chaykin is one of the best non-fiction books I’ve listened to in a long time. I don’t turn to books much anymore, but I kept my racing pace listening to the Apollo 11 moon landing section. —James
“I’ll be experimenting this weekend with a couple of alternatives to Google Docs – author and ellipse “And working on moving from Gmail (I’ve got my account since I needed an invite).” – Wintersong
“I bought a new pair of headphones this month: the Sony WH-1000XM5. It’s amazing, and the sound quality sounds incredibly professional. – Leave
“You recommended Cable last week, and I was inspired to tell you about Allroundo Eco cable from Vonmahlen; A short, coiled USB-C to USB-C cable in a small case. But what makes it special is that it also has USB-A, microUSB, and Lightning adapters in the box. I don’t know what the rated speed of this cable is for power or data delivery, but it’s such a great package that I’ve used it for years now that it’s a moot point for me! — Mitch
“I’m almost done Lightbringer (Red Rising Book 6) on my country Extinc X4!” — Tynan
“It’s been messed up Registration cluban independent European company that sells itself as Letterboxd for music. I wish they had a section for your vinyl/CD/cassette collections, but it’s a really nice site and the new social sharing images are a nice touch. – Comedies
“Rewatch The era of the scavengers Because it’s coming to Netflix at the end of the month!” – Fry
“After a few years of going back and forth between multiplayer games, we would try for about six weeks and then stop. My friends and I were standing on a Monday evening. Diablo IV History, amplified by the new Master of hate Expand.”—Louis
This was the final week of Stephen Colbert’s career Late Show (And also the end Late Showpolitical politics, late-night television is dying, anyway, moving on), and for my money, the silver lining of the whole saga was that Fifth Strike Force The gang is back together. If you don’t remember: Fifth Strike Force is a podcast started by five late-night hosts during the 2023 writers’ strike, and has produced at least one episode (Strike Force Wives!) which made me laugh so hard that I had to stop listening for a while.
Anyway, the guys got back together For another episode To celebrate Colbert’s run (plus Long commentary on The Colbert Show), which is predictably delightful — and made me think I should start dressing everyone in a suit vertcast episode. It can be weird doing this in a basement studio. Lots to think about.
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