The New and Improved Windows PCs Are Finally Here

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 43, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. If you’re new here, welcome—so psyched you found us! You can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.

This week, I’ve been diving into some fascinating reads on memexes and telepathy, exploring John Lennon’s wristwatch, watching Presumed Innocent and Ren Faire, testing Genspark for AI search, redoing my homescreen with Dumbify, and experimenting with overnight oats (peanut butter makes everything 20 percent better).

But that's not all! I also have for you a new tech podcast, handy new gadgets, a new calendar app, the game that will take over your weekend, and much more. Let’s get into it.

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into right now? What great apps, books, podcasts, shows, games, recipes, or anything else have you discovered and loved recently? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)

The Drop

The Asus VivoBook S 15

Copilot Plus PCs are here! Despite a somewhat rocky rollout due to Recall complications, we’re finally seeing what this new era of Qualcomm-powered Windows devices can do. So far, I’m pretty optimistic, though I'm still waiting to see how the new Surfaces pan out.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

The overall vibe of this huge new DLC is essentially “it’s Elden Ring, but even more so.” Given how expansive and engaging the original game already is, that’s about all you can ask for. Prepare to dive deep once again into this beautifully intricate world.

Pissing out Cancer

If all the Dropout Presents stand-up specials are as fun as this one from Hank Green, we’re in for a treat. Green is as funny and goofy as ever, delivering an hour of entertainment you won’t regret.

The Xreal Beam Pro

Xreal has a fresh take on smart glasses: instead of cramming all the tech into the glasses themselves, they’ve created a separate, affordable smartphone-style device that handles all the smart functions. I’m excited to test this one out.

Backfired: The Vaping Wars

The Juul story remains one of Silicon Valley’s strangest tales. This podcast delves deep into that saga, exploring the societal debates about vaping, government responses, and what might come next.

Arc for iPad

Still my favorite browser, now available on almost all my devices. The iPad app isn’t perfectly optimized yet—it’s a scaled-up version of the iPhone app and lacks some keyboard shortcuts—but it syncs well and is a welcome addition.

Amie for Windows

It’s a big week for cross-platform apps! Amie, one of my favorite calendar/to-do apps, has become much more polished lately. If you love all-in-one productivity tools with delightful design, give this one a try.

The Logitech Keys-to-Go 2

I’ve been using the original Keys-to-Go for years as a lightweight way to get work done on my phone or iPad. The new version looks like a major upgrade: still light and small, but with a better set of keys. At $80, it’s pricey, but I suspect I’ll end up buying one.

A Sense of Rebellion

This podcast offers an amazingly well-produced and deeply reported look at decades-old ideas about AI and how we might live with technology. The story, involving hippies, capitalists, the government, and big business, is a fascinating dive into tech history.

Clipbud

Clipboard history is handy, but having a place for all your frequently typed text—addresses, stock email responses, important links—can be a game-changer. Clipbud’s delightful interface makes it a joy to use, complementing built-in text replacement features on iOS and Android.

Screen Share

Nick Quah has introduced me to more great podcasts than anyone else. Through his early work on Hot Pod and his 1.5x Speed newsletter at Vulture, he’s always on top of the best new shows. Recently, he wrote a fun piece on how chat podcasts have taken over, naming some of the biggest names in New Radio.

I asked Nick to share his homescreen because I was curious about his podcast app and hoped for some new show recommendations. Here’s what he shared:

The phone: Recently upgraded from my trusty iPhone 12 to an iPhone 15. It’s doing fine so far; I’m no longer stressed about losing battery on long flights.

The wallpaper: My sweet, sweet baby boy Siobhan (aka Shooby).

The apps: Calendar, Photos, Clock, Weather, Google Maps, To Do, Google Calendar, Gmail, Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, Steam, Delta, Strava, Discord, Slack, Stocks, LastPass, Messages, Phone, Firefox, Pocket Casts.

Nick uses Pocket Casts for podcasts and keeps all his frequently used apps easily accessible. He’s a big runner, a gamer constantly trawling Steam for deals, and loves checking Google Maps for navigation and snooping.

I also asked Nick for a few recommendations. Here’s what he’s into right now:

• TV: Rewatching Halt and Catch Fire for the sixth time. It’s the show’s 10-year anniversary, and it remains a lovely watch.

• Music: Chappell Roan’s “Red Wine Supernova.”

• Books: Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love by David Talbot.

• Podcasts: My Perfect Console by Simon Parkin, a great “Desert Island Discs for Video Games” interview show.

Crowdsourced

Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more recommendations than fit here, check out the replies to this post on Threads.

• Daulton: “This little camera. I’ve been going over ways in my mind to justify it because it’s so cute but also the photos are surprisingly decent.”

• Adnan: “Check out Ditto. It’s a Nostr server that exposes Mastodon API to its clients, allowing you to use your favorite Mastodon app with Nostr integration.”

• Peter: “I’ve been getting back into Pokémon trading cards and hooked on watching TheBulbaStore on YouTube. It’s fascinating to see a vendor’s perspective and the prices some cards fetch now!”

• Kendrick: “The Hawthorne & Horowitz mysteries by Anthony Horowitz. They’re metafictional murder mysteries where Horowitz himself is the main character, and they’re some of the best contemporary mysteries paying homage to Agatha Christie.”

• Ryan: “Playing and watching chess is cool again! Chess.com is great for beginners, and there’s fantastic YouTube content from Eric Rosen, Irina Krush, Levy Rozman, and Hikaru Nakamura.”

• Dev: “Loving ‘Jet Lag: The Game’ on YouTube. It’s like The Amazing Race but actually good and unscripted. The hosts are likable, and the game has decent complexity. The Australia season has been a nail-biter.”

• Jesse: “Reading Hell Divers II: Ghosts by Nicholas Sansbury Smith. Post-apocalyptic sci-fi about halo jumpers diving into radioactive wastelands to scavenge supplies from mutant monsters—yes, it’s as good as it sounds.”

• Jonathan: “Obsessed with my new Klydoclock, a digital take on the classic analog clock with artist-curated faces and optional ticking and chiming. It’s minimalism and elegance at its finest.”

• Voltaire: “More people should have their own Plex server, Pi-hole, self-hosted cloud storage, Minecraft server, or self-hosted VPN. An old PC or even a cheap Raspberry Pi clone can do the job if you don’t mind learning a bit of Linux.”

Signing Off

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I can’t get enough of watching/listening to/reading about how people excel at their craft. One of my recent favorites is this interview with Zane Lowe talking to Finneas and Billie Eilish about the making of Eilish’s latest album. They discuss process, fear, microphones, editing, and more. It’s fascinating to see behind the scenes of creativity and expertise.

For the latest tech news and updates, keep following Kushal Bharat Tech News.