Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer<\/em> No. 23, your guide to the best and Verge<\/em>-iest stuff in the world. (If you\u2019re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer<\/em> homepage<\/a>.)\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This week, I\u2019ve been reading about the sudden rise in freight train heists<\/strong><\/a> and the strange state of Air Jordans<\/strong><\/a>, watching Jon Stewart\u2019s Mark Twain Prize speeches<\/strong><\/a> all over again, wondering if I should buy an original Macintosh on eBay<\/strong><\/a> instead of continuing to pay my mortgage, scheming to get my hands on the \u201creal\u201d Star Wars<\/em> lightsaber<\/strong><\/a>, tracking at-home workouts with Weller<\/strong><\/a>, and trying to replace doomscrolling on my phone with the Chess.com app<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I also have for you a new show from the Silicon Valley <\/em>creator, a(nother) new calendar app, the hottest new game on the market, a camera worth lusting over, and much more. Let\u2019s get to it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n (As always, the best part of Installer<\/em> is your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What awesome tricks do you know that everyone else should? What app should everyone be using? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com<\/a>. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer<\/em>, forward it to them, and tell them to subscribe here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Last week, I asked you to share what you use to read the news. Or not even news, really, just where you go when you want to know what\u2019s new, what\u2019s going on, what\u2019s the haps. (Sorry for saying \u201cwhat\u2019s the haps.\u201d) I\u2019ve gotten some great answers and thoughts, and next week, we\u2019re going to dive into that \u2014\u00a0keep \u2019em coming to installer@theverge.com<\/a>. Tell me everything.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This week, I want to do something a little different. On The Vergecast<\/em><\/a> this week, I talked to Ali Abdaal<\/strong><\/a>, a creator and author (and doctor!), all about his new book, Feel Good Productivity<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, and what it means to be a productive and happy and fulfilled person on the internet. Or if it\u2019s even possible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the end of our chat, we talked a bit about Ali\u2019s new life as a digital nomad and the gear he\u2019s using to make everything work while he\u2019s on the road. That bit didn\u2019t make it into The Vergecast<\/em>, but I figured I\u2019d share here. So here\u2019s Ali Abdaal\u2019s setup for life as a creator on the road:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Along with all of that, there\u2019s also the requisite set of cables and dongles and an extension cord. Ali says the whole thing just manages to get underneath the 50-pound limit for checked luggage. He\u2019s also carrying a 14-inch MacBook Pro<\/strong><\/a> and an iPad Pro<\/strong><\/a> in a Peak Design Everyday Sling<\/strong><\/a>. And in the course of our chat, I convinced him not to throw it all away and buy a giant gaming laptop, which he seems to desperately want to do. I told him to just get a Switch<\/strong><\/a> instead.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One of my favorite new apps in a while officially launched this week. It\u2019s called Amie<\/strong><\/a>, and it\u2019s this delightfully designed, slightly bonkers take on managing your time. And after talking to Dennis M\u00fcller, Amie\u2019s founder and CEO, I learned he\u2019s up to some really interesting stuff<\/a> in the calendar space.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I also learned Dennis has strong feelings about software design and how we ought to interact with all our digital stuff. So I asked him to share his homescreen, guessing it would be carefully curated and nicely designed. Other than one outrageously long folder name that makes me itchy to look at, I was right.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Here\u2019s Dennis\u2019 homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The phone<\/strong>: iPhone 15 Pro, titanium.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The wallpaper<\/strong>: Apple\u2019s weather one, I LOVE the ambience it provides. I think that design will move a lot more into this direction (and also align with what Brian Chesky said<\/a> about bringing more depth into design that is unequal to skeuomorphism).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The apps<\/strong>: Photos, Health, Google Maps, Safari, Dennis, Spotify, Chrome, Apple Maps, Amie.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Especially notable is probably my JOY folder. As the name says, they\u2019re there because they create a feeling of joy for me. Often not functionally, but more through their design, interactions, etc. Some of the apps inside are:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I also asked Dennis to share a few things he\u2019s into right now. Here\u2019s what he came back with:\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Here\u2019s what the <\/em>Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you\u2019re into right now as well! Email <\/em>installer@theverge.com<\/em><\/a> or message +1 203-570-8663 with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we\u2019ll feature some of our favorites here every week.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cLoved the first episode of Delicious in Dungeon<\/strong><\/em><\/a> on Netflix \u2014\u00a0beautifully drawn, delightfully unhinged, absolutely earnest.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Jordan<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cSomething dead simple but so helpful \u2014 a shared Reminders Smart List<\/strong><\/a> on iOS. My gf and I moved in last fall and wanted an easy way to keep track of groceries as we alternate who goes. Nice use of AI without trying to be more than a shopping list.\u201d \u2013 Connor<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI was looking for a new comfort show, so I have started watching Superstore<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. It\u2019s an incredibly funny and heartwarming show. And it\u2019s very addictive.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Tirth<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cLuck be a Landlord<\/strong><\/em><\/a>. <\/strong>I\u2019ve been spending too much time playing this silly game. It\u2019s a perfect 10-minute break game.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Tara\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cStarted back my (however-many-I-lost-count) rewatch of Psych<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, with the added benefit of increased playback speed on my iPad.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Sean<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m really enjoying the memoir Small Fry<\/strong><\/em><\/a> by Lisa Brennan-Jobs! Steve Jobs\u2019 daughter shares a personal, more down-to-earth experience with the person the world idolizes. I think it humanizes him, which doesn\u2019t necessarily detract from his impact on the world but makes it more well-rounded. It\u2019s been very compelling!\u201d \u2013 Ben<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIf your jam is videos of experts showing you their process, I strongly recommend Baumgartner Restoration<\/strong><\/a> on YouTube.\u201d \u2013\u00a0Gaetan<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Drop<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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