Pokemon Legends ZA is a good reason to catch them all again

Hello friends! Welcome to Installer No. 102 is your guide to the best and edge-The most wonderful things in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, happy spooky season, and you can also read all the old issues at Installer Home.)

This week I was reading about it Personal bosses and TikTok algorithm and Deep sea diversbrilliant shredding Cory Doctorow Activation A book that helps organize wonderful things Sunday long read Newsletter, she suddenly became emotional during last What nonsense episodeI’m trying to convince my child to watch Idiotsfinally learn How does the NATO phonetic alphabet work?Eat plenty of dried mangoes.

I also have you a Pokemon A game worth canceling your weekend plans, a powerful new Apple laptop, a doc all movie nerds will love, and so much more.

And I have a question: What is your favorite thing to watch on repeat? I’m talking about the show, the movie, the YouTube video, TikTok, anything you can watch a million times and not get bored of. They’re the things you wear when you don’t want to think about them. (My two favorites are New girl and Mission: impossible Movies, for example.) I want to create a big list of the best things to watch over and over again. Send me all your favorites!

Well, a short week but still good. Let’s dig.

(As always, the best part of… Installer These are your thoughts and advice. What are you watching/reading/playing/cooking/pinning on your wall 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.)

I always like to have something new edge Team members share their home screens here, so we can get to know them a little and also so I can subtly judge them on all their life choices. We have a few new people here, actually, so it’s time to catch up! Firstly, Terence O’Briena weekend editor who’s not new anymore — I’ve read his work for years at Engadget And I’ve always enjoyed it Deep knowledge of music equipmentbut I had no idea what to expect from its home screen setup. Maybe he doesn’t have a phone and just carries some cool teen engineering stuff?

Turns out I wasn’t completely Off base. This is Terrence’s home screen, plus some information about which apps he uses and why:

wallpaper: Only black color.

Applications: Calendar, Obsidian, Apple Music, Pocket Templates, Kobo Books, Reading Reader, Libby, Headspace, Phone, Camera.

My home screen was called up Minimum phone. I’m trying to spend less time staring at a screen in general, but especially at my phone. I wanted to do my best to recreate the experience of Light Phone or something similar, without having to give up things like RCS or ticketing apps. (I go to a lot of concerts and not having Dice, AXS, or Ticketmaster on my phone is a deal breaker.) I try to keep my home screen focused on “productive” apps. Nothing would encourage doom.

Obsidian Is there purely for reference purposes (recipes, combination lock codes I can never remember, etc.). Although the desktop app is great, the mobile interface is slow and kind of terrible. For actually taking notes on the go, I much prefer a pocket notebook for field notes and a pen. I use Readwise reader Because it automatically generates time-synced transcripts for YouTube videos and because of its integration with Obsidian, it makes collecting research and taking notes much easier, although I kind of hate its UI.

I also asked Terrence to share some of the things he’s interested in right now. Here’s what he sent back:

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 just finished Dan Charnas’s biography of J Dilla, Dila Timewhich was astonishing—not just as a biography but as a cultural history detailing the technological developments that enabled hip-hop producers to make beats in new ways. It feels especially timely with the sad passing of D’Angelo, who features heavily in the book as someone J Dilla worked with. -Jake

“a task on HBO is a fun miniseries. I’m looking forward to the finale next week.” – Ibukun

“Abyss 2 I similarly consumed my time playing in the same way Hades I did five years ago. The sequel somehow improves on a game that for me was almost flawless and I thought it couldn’t get any better. And yet…” – Nick

“Picapods It hosts and manages instances of open source software at a very cheap price. I migrated from Google Images to a Photoprism example. It has been used for over 4 years with no problems and no maintenance. It costs about $10 a month, and PikaPods takes care of the hosting, database, image storage, everything. I get daily backups, a custom domain, SSH access, etc. —Luke

“Playing Donkey Kong country On my country Mio mini plus It was a fun way to relax the first few weeks with my newborn daughter, Amelia! Something cozy and comforting about old games and transparent technology! -Dylan

“I just found my perfect wallet, and I want to share it: Topsider Bifold LT. It’s small, it’s pretty, it’s handmade in Hawaii, it smells amazing (not that it was on your list of wallet needs), and it’s completely customizable: I got the Olmo Pueblo with Olive Pueblo for the primary and secondary colors with orange stitching. Also check out Michael video With the history of his wallets, handcrafting each one as he talks about it. – Felipe

“Strange effects! Amazing game in and out of scary season. – Alison

“My wife and I finally started watching Slow horses And boy, what a show. Short, fun seasons featuring great acting and writing. Each season feels different (in a good way) and unfolds things in a very satisfying way. Highly recommended. -Jonathan

“A friend recommended it Johnny Ashry Long ago, I was able to actually do this process after I enjoyed reading the workbook itself. I’m so excited to finally have my many, many lists sorted.” — Laszlo

My oldest child is about to turn 3, and I think we’ll give him a chance Toniebox For his birthday. (Don’t tell him!) It’s a pretty cool idea: an audio player with these little toy-like cartridges that let kids choose what they want to listen to. It’s very expensive, but I only hear good things. This, like so many other things right now, has me wondering: Are we on the cusp of, or overdue for, a huge explosion in new devices? Everything you do with the Toniebox, I could technically do with dozens of other things in my house, but there’s something about the way it’s made and the actual mechanics of it that completely changes the appeal.

Suddenly here I was, shopping for an iPod to see if it would do the same for my listening behavior. Maybe I’m just a gadget hoarder. But maybe there is something here. I’m curious to know what you think – and if you have any great gift ideas for a three-year-old who loves Cookie Monster and Buzz Lightyear, I’m all ears.