A Fresh Comedy Series Poking Fun at Tech Entrepreneurs

Hey gamers! Welcome to Installer No. 123, your go-to source for the coolest and quirkiest finds in the gaming universe. If you’re new here, we’re glad to have you! What’s your favorite Artemis wallpaper? And don’t forget, you can catch up on all our previous editions at the Installer homepage.

This week, I’ve been diving into the worlds of Sam Altman and Satoshi Nakamoto, getting lost in chess drama and the antics of Iranian meme-makers, gathering supplies to mod an old iPod, creating videos with the nifty DualShot Recorder, binge-watching Crime 101 now that it’s streaming, finally getting my Stream Deck Mini to manage my office lights, revisiting the mind-bending 17776 series, organizing my cable chaos with a new Anker power strip, and tackling my closet organization—only six months after moving in!

I’ve also got some exciting new seasons of shows, a deep dive into stunning space photography, a book exploring our gadget-obsessed minds, and a lot more in store.

I want to try something different this time around. I often receive pitches for various projects, but I usually prefer to focus on what others are excited about rather than self-promotion. However, for this issue, I’m opening the floor to you! Share your creations—apps, games, podcasts, quirky gadgets—anything you think the Installer community would love. I’ll check out as many as I can and highlight my favorites in a couple of weeks. Plus, I’ll share what I’ve been working on too.

Let’s dive into this fun week of content!

(As always, the best part of Installer is your input. What are you watching, reading, or listening to this week? I want to hear all about it: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone who might enjoy Installer, feel free to share it with them!)

The Drop
* The Audacity. This show might end up being so spot-on that it becomes hard to watch over time, much like Silicon Valley and Mountainhead. Still, I’m all in for a good tech bro satire, especially with this cast. Plus, it’s hilarious that you can watch the entire pilot in three-minute chunks on TikTok when it drops on Sunday.
* Artemis II Journey to the Moon. I can’t stop marveling at the photos from the Artemis II crew. The shots of Earth showcasing the atmosphere! The eclipse images! Even the crew’s onboard photos are a blast. But the dark side of the Moon? That’s now my desktop wallpaper.
* Star Wars: Maul — Shadow Lord. As I write this, this show boasts a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes. I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but I can’t wait to explore this gritty animated universe.
* Pokémon Champions. The buzz around this game is that it’s a lot of fun but feels a bit unfinished. You might want to hold off for a few updates before diving in, but early players seem to enjoy the core battle mechanics, so I’m feeling optimistic.
* Dimension 20: City Council of Darkness. The D20 crew consistently delivers, and this season’s tabletop adventure is as bizarre and entertaining as ever. If the trailer doesn’t convince you to subscribe to Dropout, I’m not sure what will.
* Transcription. I keep hearing great things about this new novel from Ben Lerner, which explores the themes of temporality and permanence, memory and recording, and the impact of screens and devices on our lives. I’ve been in a reading slump lately, and I think this might just pull me out of it.
* Kara Swisher Wants to Live Forever. The whole immortality trend among tech enthusiasts strikes me as mostly silly, so I’m glad to see Kara Swisher poking fun at it while trying out some of the movement’s wackiest ideas. I’ll stick to my Sun Chips, thanks!
* Jackbox Party Essentials on Netflix. During the pandemic, Jackbox games were a staple of my social life (Quiplash FTW!). These party games fit perfectly on Netflix—Jackbox titles have always been a bit pricey, but now they’re included with your subscription. Give a few a try!
* Obsidian Reader. I missed this last week, but it’s worth mentioning. You don’t even need to use Obsidian to benefit from it—it’s the best tool I’ve found for making any website more readable, highlightable, and saveable. Whether you’re taking notes or building a collection for your OpenClaw, this extension is a must-have.

Screen share
Tom Hitchins is one of those creators whose work I can instantly recognize, even among a sea of thumbnails. You might know him from Byte Review, a tech-focused YouTube channel that doesn’t shout at you all the time. I’ve always appreciated Tom’s work, especially his aesthetic sensibilities; he knows how to create a calm and cool vibe.

Curious about how he sets up his phone, I asked Tom to share his homescreen and the apps he uses:

The phone: iPhone 17 Pro Max.
The wallpaper: One of my own, from the Cascade pack (possibly my favorite we’ve ever created!).
The apps: Calendar, Photos, Clock, Camera, Mail, X, Threads, Craft, YouTube, YouTube Studio, Settings, Gmail, Todoist, Lightroom, Instagram, ChatGPT, Notion, Messages, Phone, Safari, WhatsApp, Spotify.
My app layout has been the same since the iPhone 6 (yes, I know it’s a bit boring). I’ve tried changing it up, but my muscle memory keeps me locked in!

A couple of newer apps for me are:
* Todoist. I switched from Microsoft To Do, and while it’s better, I find the UI a bit dull. However, the ability to set tasks using natural language—like “tomorrow” or “this evening”—is incredibly useful.
* Craft is a beautiful writing app I’ve been using for about a year for all my YouTube ideas and scripts. Everything else probably speaks for itself. As a creator, I frequently open YouTube Studio and Instagram too!

I also asked Tom to share a few things he’s currently into. Here’s what he sent back:
* I just finished Resident Evil Requiem, which was a blast—definitely a tale of two games, one terrifying and the other delightfully over-the-top.
* I’m still using a FIIO Echo Mini instead of Spotify for music while traveling. It helps me stay off my phone and actually enjoy an album or podcast. I recently made a video discussing why that became important for me.
* I recently picked up an old iMac G3 in the classic Bondi Blue color, which is stunning. I’m hoping to use it for a new YouTube A-roll setup or just to play some classic games!
* A creator I’ve been enjoying lately is Mike Sunday, who offers funny and insightful commentary on the quirky side of graphic design, anime, gaming, brands, and other internet oddities.

Crowdsourced
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to hear what you’re excited about too! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — with your recommendations, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great suggestions, check out the replies to this post on Threads and Bluesky.

“I’m playing the heck out of Timberborn, a city builder set in a post-apocalyptic future where beavers rule the planet. It’s wonderful.” — Joonatan
“I’ve been learning web development from The Odin Project! It’s a completely free and self-directed curriculum that starts with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, then moves into backend technologies like NodeJS or Ruby on Rails. It curates high-quality resources from around the web.” — Evancito
“I re-read Blindsight by Peter Watts. The part about the ship Rorschach and how intelligence without consciousness eerily mirrors what AI is doing today. Definitely worth a re-read.” — Dawit
“Taught Claude Cowork to use NotePlan. It’s creating daily, weekly, and monthly notes that act as memories, referencing those notes as I update throughout the day. It’s scheduling weekly reviews and prompting me for updates on all my open projects, all in .md files.” — Christian
“I’m trying an RSS reader for Android called Capy Reader. It works great with Feedbin, which I use most. It’s free, ad-free, and has no in-app purchases. It does its job well.” — Hansoll
“I’ve been playing the TTRPG Daggerheart from the folks at Critical Role. It has a solid digital version that works well on phones and tablets. Great system if you want more focus on storytelling and less on rules and number crunching.” — Bobby
“Born to Bowl on HBO Max. Same narrator as Hard Knocks, which adds an unexpected twist to the awesomeness.” — Brandon
“TinyStart. It’s a new launcher for Mac that focuses on the basics. It’s faster than Spotlight and less overwhelming than Raycast. Perfect if you just want to search apps and pick emojis.” — Trystan
“With all the attention on the Artemis II mission this week, I was reminded of the video ‘The photography behind Earthrise’ from two years ago. It’s a look at early photography by NASA astronauts and led me down a rabbit hole of learning more about the Earthrise photo and the iconic ‘Blue Marble’ from Apollo 17 in 1972.” — Craig

Signing off
Taskmaster is back! I feel obligated to mention it every time because Taskmaster is amazing and delightful, and everyone should be watching. The new contestants—including Kumail Nanjiani, who I’ll watch in anything—seem perfectly funny and quirky, and the show keeps finding sillier challenges for them. I hope this series runs for a thousand seasons. I’ll be there for all of them.

Catch you next week!