I’ve found my new favorite browser.
Hey gamers! Welcome to Installer No. 129, your go-to source for the coolest and quirkiest finds in the gaming universe. If you’re new here, welcome aboard! You can catch up on all the previous editions at the Installer homepage.
This week has been a bit of a wash for me as I’ve been under the weather, which led to a near-complete binge of Parks and Recreation while I alternated between napping and feeling sorry for myself. On the bright side, I’ve been diving into some intriguing topics about Nick Fuentes and clowns, revisiting old episodes of Short History Of, testing out the NextSense Smartbuds during my sleep, writing in the Outerline Markdown app beta, and eagerly anticipating what I can do with the upcoming Flipper One.
Today’s edition is a bit shorter since I’ve been out of commission, but I didn’t want to leave you hanging. There’s still plenty to be excited about this week, including my favorite new browser in years, a fresh Star Wars movie, two fantastic tech books, an unexpectedly great pair of earbuds, and more. Let’s dive in!
The Drop
* Vivaldi 8.0. After about five years, I’ve finally switched to a new default browser across all my devices. (RIP Arc.) I’ve always appreciated Vivaldi for its speed, customization options, and clever organizational features, but its previous design was a bit of an eyesore. The new look is much cleaner, making it a pleasure to use all the time. Just be prepared to spend some time in the settings to get it just right, but trust me, it’s worth it.
* Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. The reviews for this one are all over the place, as is typical for Star Wars content, but I’m genuinely excited to see these whimsical space adventures back on the big screen. I’m all in for more Grogu, as much as possible!
* Steve Jobs in Exile. It’s tough to find fresh stories about Steve Jobs, but Geoff Cain’s new book seems to be packed with them. It covers the saga of NeXT, Pixar, Jobs’ personal evolution, and how the man who nearly brought Apple down ended up saving it. Plus, it’s a fun read!
* How to Rule the World. Another great tech book this week! This one comes from a Stanford student who explores his own world and its bizarre, problematic, yet wildly successful ties to the tech industry. Stanford and Silicon Valley have always been intertwined, and this book offers an excellent perspective on what that really means.
* The Anker Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro. I didn’t expect to be so hyped about a pair of Anker earbuds priced similarly to AirPods, but my colleague John Higgins claims they’re the best earbuds for phone calls he’s ever used. Now I’m tempted to grab a pair!
* Age of Audio: The Inside Story of Podcasting. A fantastic history lesson from the folks at Twenty Thousand Hertz, featuring great stories from legendary podcasters. It’s connected to a recent documentary of the same name that I’m eager to check out.
* Forza Horizon 6. Stunning, ultra-realistic cars that you can customize and drive endlessly through breathtaking Japanese landscapes. While it can be an intense racing game, I’ve come to see Forza as almost… cozy. Sometimes, you just need a chill Sunday drive, right?
* The MacStories Shortcuts Playground. Federico Viticci and the MacStories team are true experts in Apple Shortcuts, and they’ve created something really cool: a way to use Claude Code or Codex to describe the Shortcut you want and have it magically generated. They’ve also released a massive set of Shortcuts they’ve created, many of which are incredibly useful. This is how Shortcuts should work!
Crowdsourced
Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to hear what you’re enjoying right now too! Shoot me an email with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week.
“Got an Oculus Go at a thrift store for $10. Most of the apps are nonexistent except for YouTube, and it’s surprisingly… fine? I wonder if future AI wearables will be useful for a long time; Apple devices seem to be the only ones still usable after half a decade.” — Allen
“My mom gave my son a Stickerbox for his 9th birthday. My kids and their friends have spent hours making stickers for everything. I love that it embraces simplicity while incorporating AI and a screen. Plus, no subscription!” — Matt
“A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaikin is one of the best nonfiction audiobooks I’ve listened to in a long time. I don’t often run to books anymore, but I kept my pace while listening to the Apollo 11 moon landing section.” — James
“I’m experimenting this weekend with a couple of Google Docs alternatives — Writer and Ellipsus — and working on transitioning away from Gmail (I’ve had my account since you needed an invite).” — Wintersong
“I bought a new pair of headphones this month: the Sony WH-1000XM5. They’re amazing, and the sound quality feels incredibly professional.” — Seb
“You recommended a cable last week, and it inspired me to share the Allroundo Eco cable from Vonmahlen; a short, coiled USB-C to USB-C cable in a little case. It also includes USB-A, microUSB, and Lightning adaptors. I don’t know the rated speed for power or data delivery, but it’s such a brilliant package that I’ve used for years now!” — Mitch
“Almost done with Light Bringer (Red Rising book 6) on my Xteink X4!” — Tynan
“Been exploring Record Club, a European indie site that’s like Letterboxd for music. I wish they had a section for vinyl/CD/cassette collections, but it’s a really nice site, and the new social-sharing images are a lovely touch.” — comicallytinyhat
“Rewatching Scavengers Reign because it’s leaving Netflix at the end of the month!” — Fry
“After bouncing between multiplayer games for a few years, my friends and I have a standing Monday evening Diablo IV date, especially with the new Lord of Hatred expansion.” — Luis
Signing off
This week marked the end of Stephen Colbert’s run on The Late Show (and also the end of the show itself, as late-night TV is changing), but one bright spot was the reunion of the Strike Force Five crew. If you don’t recall, Strike Force Five was a podcast started by five late-night hosts during the writers’ strike in 2023, and they produced at least one episode that had me laughing so hard I had to pause for a bit.
Anyway, the guys got back together for one last episode to celebrate Colbert’s tenure, along with a long hangout on his show, and it was predictably delightful. It made me think I should start dressing up for every Vergecast episode, though that might be a bit odd in my basement studio. Lots to ponder.
Catch you next week!
