Hello friends! Welcome to Installer No. 58. A guide to the best Verge stuff in the world. (For first-time users, welcome, Batman Forever. You can also read all older editions on the installer’s home page.)
This week I read about Simone Giertz and the Billionaire’s Assistant, Checo Perez and Call Her Daddy, learned about “Earthrise,” listened to talk comedy with Quinta Branson and Conan O’Brien, and watched Blue Sky I’m trying to decide whether to fall in love with it or Blue Sky. Quit socializing completely and throw yourself into baseball so you can pretend you know what you’re saying during the World Series.
We also have great new VR games, fun new reading gadgets, great RSS reader updates, new browsers worth trying, and more.
(As always, the most important part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into right now? What are others watching, reading, playing, baking, scissoring, etc. this week? Do you need to cut it? Tell us all: go to installer@theverge.com and if you know someone who might enjoy the installer, forward them and tell them to subscribe here. )
The Drop
screen sharing
This week I reviewed the new iPad Mini and as a result spent a lot of time setting up the new tablet and learning how to organize the home screen. So far, we’ve intentionally made this space phone-centric. Because I really think you can tell a lot about a person just by looking at their phone. But after spending that much time thinking about my iPad life, I need to broaden my horizons a bit. Would it be better to have people share something like their computer desktop, or the home screen of their gaming console? Maybe the first screen on your smart TV? I don’t know, but there are many home screens. I’ll try some.
So that’s my iPad Mini’s home screen and some information about the apps I use and why.
Tablet: iPad Mini, 2024. I love my iPad Mini. I wish this could have been better and that Apple would have taken better care of the Mini, but this is what it is.
Wallpaper: Apple Weather Wallpaper. Adapt to the current outdoor weather. It’s a complete gimmick and I’m shocked at how much I love it.
Apps: Balatro, Madden, EA Sports FC, Retro Goal, Retro Bowl, Delta, Call of Duty: Warzone, Coffee Golf, Real Racing 3, Tiny Wings, NYT Games, The New York Times, Apple News, The Washington Post, Unread , Netflix, TikTok, Disney Plus, Prime Video, Sling, YouTube, Peacock, Max, Hulu, ESPN, Arc, Kindle, Workflowy, Readwise Reader, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Mela.
I feel like there are two ways to go about the iPad. You can use your iPad to do work on your laptop, or you can use it primarily as a way to avoid working on your laptop. I chose the latter. Almost 100% of my iPad use is reading, watching, and playing. There’s no Gmail, no Slack, no Google Docs here. Nothing is allowed to send me notifications. My iPad is a place for relaxation and fun.
I love and use all of these apps, but there are a few that stand out to me. I’ve tried a lot of recipe apps, and Mela is the simplest and best at pulling recipes from websites. Balatro is the most addictive game I’ve downloaded in years. I finally became an Apple News Plus subscriber and am amazed at how much I use it. The iPad Mini is a great tablet to use as a steering wheel, and Real Racing 3 is a great driving game.
My dock is reserved for the apps I use at least most of the day: reading, notes, recipes, podcasts, and music. (I just realized that I need to move Workflowy instead of between reading apps. I’ll get to that later.) The most used non-dock app right now is probably Peacock. These include Community, Parks and Recreation, and Brooklyn Nine. So Nine is basically a streaming service that you’re always using in the background.
I’ve been trying to turn my iPad into some kind of laptop replacement for years. But the more I lean into it being a purely entertainment device, a screen for when I don’t want to stress over a screen, the more I find myself using it. This is a strange and expensive strategy, but it worked for me.
crowd sourcing
Here’s what the installer community is focused on this week: I’d love to know what you’re into right now! Let us know your recommendations for anything by emailing installer@theverge.com or messaging Signal (@davidpierce.11). We’ll be featuring some of our favorites here each week. Check out the replies to this post on the thread for even better recommendations.
“After seeing Adi asking for an alternative to Goodreads, I wanted to suggest The StoryGraph. Rather than focusing on sharing GR updates, it shows you stats about what you read. is very good and the monthly overview is also very good” – Aurora.
“Reading about Addie’s suffering in LibraryThing reminded me that I started using the hardcover just a few days ago, and so far it feels really great.” – Oh.
“Taskly is a very simple list app for iOS, nothing else. I’m looking for something to manage my grocery list and things I need to buy. Twodos is one such app. , has a very clever way of dividing the list into two categories: Sooner and Later. That’s what I really like about it. ” – Karan.
“I’ve spent about 6 hours with Wagotabi and I’m very impressed. It’s one of the smartest and most effective Japanese learning games I’ve ever played. But instead of catching monsters, you’ll learn Japanese vocabulary and grammar. Instead of fighting, you’ll engage in social interactions that test your new skills. Over time, you’ll replace more and more English text with Japanese. And it’s really fun! Duolingo is king.” – Tom
“I picked up the Steam Deck OLED a few weeks ago and have been binging on games I’ve been missing out on. Uncharted 4 and Uncharted: Lost Legacy were great, and I’m currently digging into the modern Tomb Raider trilogy. I think I like adventure games when FIFA isn’t available.
“I upgrade my phone every two to three years, and always buying a new case is one way to keep my phone fresh. This year’s case upgrade was from Keyway Designs. They make gorgeous wood and metal phone cases (and other goodies). Check them out!
“I’m trying out Sublime, a new second brain app with some interesting additions. I plan to try it out for a few weeks and see how it grows for me.” – Miguel
“I’ve got you a very good Switch controller. The GuliKit Zen Pro is great, supports everything the Pro controller does, and has a Hall effect stick to boot. It’s considerably cheaper than the Pro controller, so , also recommended for new Switch buyers!” – Ben
“I use Capture for iOS, and it’s great to say the least. The level of built-in functionality should be great. Everything I find online can be set aside and used later if I need it. ” – Max.
“The premise of MovieCart is simple: it lets you watch feature films on a real Atari 2600. ” – Tom
sign off
Just about everyone on the internet is talking about the chicken shop date episode with Andrew Garfield, which is truly as charming as you can imagine. (Garfield has a history of great moments on YouTube, including a conversation about grief with Stephen Colbert.) Watching this episode sent me down the rabbit hole of the whole chicken shop date thing. And it turns out host Amelia DiMoldenburg has had a truly fascinating experience. As a creator.
Last year she did a great interview with Colin and Samir. This doubles as a (very funny and silly) masterclass on how to turn your YouTube channel into a show at the heart of pop culture. All of my favorite creator stories are equal parts ruthless execution and constant aimless experimentation, and DiMoldenberg is a perfect example of both.