A New And Better Way To Control Your Smart Home

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 65, your line to nan champion and Verge-iest worldly successful nan world. (If you’re caller here, welcome, get caller to return up each your phone’s retention space, and too you tin publication each nan aged editions astatine nan Installer homepage.) 

This is nan past Installer of nan year! I’m taking a mates of weeks disconnected for nan holidays, and I dream you’re getting immoderate relaxation successful too. Thank you truthful overmuch to everyone who has subscribed to this newsletter, emailed maine your recommendations, told maine I’m a lunatic astir to-do lists, and mostly been information of nan Installerverse this year. Making this newsletter is truthful overmuch fun, and I’m truthful thrilled to get to do it pinch you. Bigger and amended adjacent year!

This week, I’ve been reference astir Spotify’s shadiness artists and Formula 1 and Mufasa and the profoundly silly New York Jets, watching Hot Frosty (you tin judge me, it’s fine) and re-watching 30 Rock, beating Balatro for nan very first time, and trying to personification my toddler that it’s really not nosy and cool and awesome to aftermath up astatine 4am each day.

I too personification for you a nifty caller smart location controller, a caller app for nan early of societal networks, nan adjacent Sonic movie, and overmuch more. Plus, our most-requested homescreen… ever? Let’s do this.

(As always, nan champion information of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into correct now? What should everyone different beryllium playing / reference / watching / building / upgrading this picnic season? Tell maine everything: [email protected]. And if you cognize personification different who mightiness bask Installer, show them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

Screen share

There’s a archive I wrote erstwhile I was first readying Installer, successful which I wrote down a bunch of group who seemed for illustration cleanable group to characteristic successful a homescreen-sharing section. Hank Green was nan very first punishment connected that list. Hank is simply a YouTuber and a TikToker and an educator and a standup comic and a merchant slash philanthropist and an author and just, like, everyone’s favourite personification connected nan nett it seems? I tin deliberation of less group arsenic Installer arsenic Hank.

And for this, nan past rumor of nan year, Hank agreed to banal his homescreen! (He too assigned maine a communicative successful nan mediate of our email exchange, which I’ll allow, because it was a very bully communicative idea.) I benignant of hoped he’d personification 12 phones, each for a different societal platform, but alas it appears it’s conscionable nan one.

Here’s Hank’s homescreen, affirmative immoderate info connected nan apps he uses and why:

The phone: iPhone 14.

The wallpaper: My boy attacking maine pinch a feline tail and nan outer Mars.

The apps: Shopify, Wikipedia, YouTube, Duolingo, Apple Notes, Google Authenticator, Google, Philips Hue, FocusFriend, Gmail, Phone, Messages, Google Calendar.

I cognize it’s a mess. All of this has evolved complete years and now I conscionable cognize wherever everything is and tin ne'er alteration anything. If there’s immoderate basking return connected this location screen, it’s that overmuch group should usage Wikipedia arsenic a superior hunt centrifugal — it’s often wherever you’re going to extremity up anyway, truthful I support that very handy. Also, I precocious moved Twitter retired of my societal networking files to make it harder for maine to use. It’s for illustration 3 swipes distant now, though still connected my phone. I tally respective Shopify stores that are a ample information of my business, truthful that’s why that’s there!

By acold nan most-used non-social media app connected my telephone is Notes. I spot connected it successful a very unhealthy measurement that makes it an highly entertaining scroll… for maine astatine least. My short-term practice isn’t what it utilized to be, truthful everything ends up successful there. There is too a concealed task connected here that I could personification removed but alternatively we’re doing a soft-launch… you tin astir apt spot it if you look difficult enough.

I too asked Hank to banal a less things he’s into correct now. Here’s what he sent back:

Crowdsourced

Here’s what nan Installer statement is into this week. I want to cognize what you’re into correct now arsenic well! Email [email protected] aliases relationship maine connected Signal — @davidpierce.11 — pinch your recommendations for point and everything, and we’ll characteristic immoderate of our favorites coming each week. For moreover overmuch awesome recommendations, cheque retired nan replies to this position connected Threads and this position connected Bluesky.

“If you haven’t played pinch Tana yet, I deliberation that it is conscionable astir nan astir mind-blowing exertion retired location for individual knowledge management. It is simply a next-next-generation type of wherever knowledge graphs are going.” — Robert

“Probably a show that’s a mini nether nan radar correct now is nan show The Agency. Star-studded formed specified arsenic Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, and Richard Gere. This is simply a show that asks a batch from nan spectator but is handsomely rewarded.” — John

“Planning connected building my 2nd Classic-TKL keyboard from NovelKeys complete nan picnic break. The existent business will beryllium figuring retired which keycaps to put connected it!” — Noah

“The ABC procedural High Potential has scratched nan itch I’ve had since akin conception shows for illustration Monk, Psych, aliases nan Mentalist went disconnected nan air. Is it revolutionary…no. But if you emotion ‘person pinch emblematic talent solves crimes’ this is simply a show for you.” — Mike

“I’ve been trying each these Bluesky/fediverse clients. I like: OpenVibe, Graysky and Skeets.” — Jordan

“One of nan champion shows astir AI I watched successful nan past year, Pantheon, is connected Netflix alternatively of AMC Plus jail. Highly recommend!” — Saad

“It’s not going to dispersed Christmas cheer, but past nighttime I went to a theatre adjacent maine to spot The Order. It’s a beautiful constricted theatrical merchandise (and connected Prime Video successful nan remainder of nan world) but nan movie is fantastic. It’s based connected existent life events involving a (more) convulsive splinter group of nan Aryan Nation successful nan Pacific Northwest. It’s violent, it’s scary, it’s afloat of slurs and bull cliches but it really happened.” — John

“I americium measurement precocious to nan connection but I americium really enjoying Suika Game for nan Switch. Nice alteration of gait compared to what I usually play and coming I managed to get my first watermelon.” — Filip

“Read it before, but ne'er vanished nan series, truthful I re-picked up nan first successful nan Murderbot Diaries bid and americium ace enjoying it (again).” — Dan

“Reading The Shallows by Nicholas Carr. It’s a very sobering publication astir our narration pinch nan internet, written successful a mode that traverses nan afloat history of humans’ narration pinch technology, literacy, and accusation intake.” — Joe

“That caller Superman trailer!” — Nacho

Signing off

One of my very favourite kinds of stories is really things beget different things successful ways cipher could personification seen coming. Someone invented nan elevator, and truthful skyscrapers happened, and cities changed forever. Some lobbyist comes up pinch nan connection “jaywalking,” and abruptly cars norm nan road. Or nan 1 I discovered this week: really the invention of nan gang-nail plate somewhat unintentionally everlastingly changed nan houses group unrecorded in. Without a weird expanse of metal, we mightiness not personification unfastened level plans. Weird. I emotion it. And I liking location are a cardinal overmuch examples conscionable for illustration it. Blows my mind each time.

Have a awesome holiday, spot you successful a less weeks!