Hello friends! Welcome installer No.42, the best guide VergeThe most amazing thing in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, we’re so excited you found us. Also, all the old versions are installer Please visit our homepage.
We also have a ton of other info, including a new minimalist phone, books to read, documentaries to watch, and some fun hacks for the Rabbit R1.
(As usual, installer Your ideas and tips. What will you be playing, reading, downloading, buying or immersing yourself in this week? What are you obsessed with that you think other people should be obsessed with? Tell us all at: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone who would enjoy it, installertell them to register here.
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- Light Phone 3. This new version of one of the best minimalist phones has a better screen, camera, and NFC chip, making its lofty ambitions of replacing your cell phone a reality. I know it’s physically impossible for me to throw away my smartphone, but I really want this device.
- Apple Password. We’ll have more to say about Apple’s WWDC announcements once they begin, but it’s worth thinking about this one now: Apple’s cross-platform and presumably well-integrated Passwords app looks really great. It might be time to start consolidating all your passwords and passkeys.
- Moon Boundary. Robin Sloan is one of my favorites. Writers on the Internetand his two previous books were both fantastic. This very meta sci-fi epic seems like his weirdest one yet. And I mean that in a good way.
- How music became free. For those of a certain age, this Paramount Plus documentary will feel like reliving your growing up years. Remember Napster, Kazaa, LimeWire, and how the Internet completely disrupted the music industry? There are plenty of fun stories to be told in this one.
- House of the Dragon Season 2. To be honest, I wasn’t very interested. House of the Dragon I didn’t watch last season, but a lot of people have told me how excited they are for the new one starting this weekend, so I feel like I need to catch up to prepare. I feel like everyone will be talking about it on Monday.
- “I installed Android on the Rabbit R1 and tried using it conveniently.. ” The top comment on this video simply says “They made a great dumb phone by accident.” And that’s kind of true! The R1 is a fun gadget that runs terrible software. As a little Android tablet, I confess I love it again. I pulled it out of the drawer to try it out for myself.
- Yahoo!News. Yahoo bought and shut down Artifact earlier this year. Too bad. This is for the better. The new Yahoo News brings back some of that recommendation technology and adds a bunch of cool features like personalization, streaks, badges, and more. I’ll be using Yahoo again. Who would have thought this would happen?
- “Inside Disney’s “Area 51,” where lightsabers and other technology are invented.” Lanny Smoot seems like a very cool guy with a very cool job, and this video does a great job showcasing all of the wild and futuristic things he and Disney are working on for the company’s theme parks and other products. Give me an omnidirectional treadmill. now.
- Phantasmus. This is from a week ago, but I’m making an exception because about 100 people recommended it this week. (Thanks to everyone who shared it!) This is a really unusual show, and I can’t watch it more than halfway through, but I’m loving it so far.
Screen sharing
Andrew Liszewski is one of my long-time favorite bloggers on the Internet. Gizmodo He writes about the weirdest, funniest, silliest, coolest stuff on the web and I’ve definitely spent thousands of dollars on him just because he writes about it.
Currently, Andrew is The VergeHe’s only been using Slack for a week, and he’s already making a big splash. It’s awesome. I asked him to show me his home screen and give me some hints at how he navigates the web. He didn’t give away all his secrets, but it was good to learn more about Canadian weather.
Below is Andrew’s home screen, along with a description of the apps he uses and why.
phone: iPhone 12 Pro (battery is getting old).
wallpaper: I like a very simple wallpaper under my apps, but I find the screen too reflective if it’s solid black, so I created a custom subtle blue gradient that I’ve been using for 5 years. Mikael Gustafsson’s Dreamy natural scenery.
App: Google Calendar, Clock, Photos, Camera, Google Home, Google Photos, Find, Instagram, Google Maps, WeatherCAN, Nest, Google Chat, Settings, Clock, Chrome, Apple Books, 1Password, App Store, Apple Notes, Phone, Gmail, Messages, Apple Photos.
My iPhone’s main home screen is home to all the apps I use every day, including Instagram, Google Home, the aging Nest app (which includes features for my Nest thermostat that you won’t find anywhere else), Chrome, 1Password (I finally switched over and it has pretty much eliminated my password anxiety), IMDb, Paprika 3, countless smart home remotes, and most importantly, the Environment Canada weather app that helps me know when to mow the lawn before it rains. I’m picky about clearing notifications from my main home screen, but I don’t mind them piling up on a second screen, where I still want to have access to all my other installed apps.
We also asked Andrew to share some of his current interests. Here are his answers:
- I’m a big fan of retro games, and recently I Ambernic RG28XX I’ve added the Game Boy Micro to my ever-growing collection of handheld emulators. The Game Boy Micro remains one of my favorite handheld consoles, and with the RG28XX I can leave all my cartridges at home.
- Our family is a bit obsessed with reality TV. aloneand I’m super excited to dive into the season 11 premiere this week.
- Bill Hammack’s “Engineer Guy“ YouTube) Books, What we makeIt contains fascinating insights into everything from medieval cathedrals to the invention of the microwave oven.
- When I can’t fall asleep, the most effective way to calm my brain is Joe DIY Instagram accountfeatures a detailed restoration video of a classic die-cast toy. Give it a try! It’s incredibly satisfying to see a rusty dump truck transformed into a bright yellow Tonka toy.
Crowdsourcing
This is installer Let us know what the community is obsessed with this week. We want to know what you’re obsessed with! Email installer@theverge.com Or send us a message on Signal (@davidpierce.11) with any of your recommendations. We’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For more recommendations than we can fit here, This post in the thread.
“I recently came across an Australian company. Juicy breadcrumbs They specialize in making custom motherboard replacements for older iMacs that can easily be repurposed as monitors. For iMac G4Believe me when I say I’ve never hit the “buy” button so quickly lol. Anyway, I ordered one a few months ago and recently installed it on my 20″ G4 and it’s worked beautifully. I connected it to an M1 Mac Mini I had and now I’m using my iMac G4 like it’s 2004 again.” – Ryan
“I love the kickstand on my Surface, I love typing on the screen (I’ve been doing it for 14 years to be honest), and I hate cases on Apple devices. This magnetic back cover Includes a kickstand for the iPad. I was only able to get it from Amazon in Germany, but they shipped it to New Zealand for free. Great results.” – Brendon
“I love keeping a diary. DiariumIt’s especially handy because it’s completely private and local, and if you want to sync across devices you can use cloud sync of your choice. You can also sync read-only with apps like Fitbit, Instagram, Strava and more to add everything you did that day to your journal entries.” – Michael
“Recently, Scott Belsky’s Implications I believe that anyone interested in the future of technology and culture should read the newsletter.” – Ricky
I just discovered this app Croutons It’s a recipe collector and by far the best at finding actual recipes from URLs. You can also take a photo of a cookbook page and generate a recipe. It’s probably the best real-world use of AI I’ve come across.” – JT
“new MLB Morning Lineup It’s a podcast. Each episode is under 10 minutes long and recaps the previous day’s box scores and news. It’s a great way to stay up to date on the best sports happenings.” – Mario
“I’ve tried Star Wars: The Hunter The iOS version has finally been released, so I gave it a go. It’s a PVP arena combat game, and so far I’m really loving it. The hunters are all unique and fun, the pay-to-play element isn’t too strong, and it’s surprisingly good for a game you can play in a short amount of time. It’s not perfect (the UI is awful), but it’s a good start.” – Matt
“Puzzmo has added a new game to its catalogue. Pile-up Pokerand it’s great.” – Luke
“A friend introduced this to me. call of dutyA shooting game that is apparently very popular in India. Free Fire MaxThe reason for its popularity is that it can be run on any device.
Do give it a try. The graphics are mediocre but the experience is amazing.” – Rudrajit
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A few days ago, I posted on Threads that my number one productivity tip is to take a 25-minute nap during the day. I’m absolutely right, but a lot of people are emotional and skeptical. (This is just science. I don’t make the rules.) But for all of you who have asked for tips, here are my tips.
The perfect 25-minute nap has three components: First, even if you can’t fall asleep, lying there with your eyes closed for 25 minutes feels restful enough, and not stressing about falling asleep makes it easier to fall asleep. Second, you can choose to listen to an episode of a TV show you’ve watched before (I often Parks and Recreation) can help quiet your brain and make it easier to fall asleep. Third, wear a smartwatch and set an alarm. Waking up to a vibration on your wrist is so much better than a blaring sound. Naps are great. Naps forever. Happy naps everyone.