Parseword is a enjoyable new puzzle sport from the creator of Wordle

Hi, associates! Welcome to Installer No. 119, your information to the perfect and Verge-iest stuff on this planet. (If you’re new right here, welcome, hope your brokers are properly, and likewise you possibly can learn all of the outdated editions on the Installer homepage.)

This week, I’ve been studying about Pixar’s future and flight MH370 and sports gambling and YouTube Face, lastly digging into Dungeon Crawler Carl after you advisable it so many instances, hoping Rooster retains being pretty much as good as its premiere, shopping for a MacBook Neo I undoubtedly didn’t want, redesigning my Obsidian setup to James Bedford’s specifications, testing the Fairbuds XL headphones, and placing away all my winter garments — solely to pull them out once more as a result of it began snowing. Good instances.

I even have for you a brand new sport so as to add to your day by day record, an attractive new Sonos speaker, an enormous new guide about Apple’s first half-century, a enjoyable new method to YouTube, and way more. Let’s get into it.

(As all the time, the perfect a part of Installer is your concepts and suggestions. What are you watching / studying / listening to / taking part in / taking over spring break this week? Tell me the whole lot: installer@theverge.com. And if you realize another person who would possibly take pleasure in Installer, ahead it to them and inform them to subscribe right here.)

Over the previous few months, I’ve been listening to from numerous you that you just need to see how different persons are utilizing AI. Their instruments, their setups, the stuff they’re constructing, the whole lot. What a great and Installer-y concept! So on this house, not each week however actually once in a while, we’ll swap homescreen sharing for AI sharing.

First up: Brian Lovin, who works as a designer at Notion and can be a prolific developer and designer on the facet. (If you checked out Shiori, the bookmarking app I discussed right here a few weeks in the past, you’re already accustomed to his work.) Brian and I jumped on a name the opposite day to speak about his setup and the way he will get all of it accomplished. Here’s a screenshot he despatched me, for when he’s AI-ing from cell:

The very first thing Brian informed me about was a immediate he loves, which he attributed to Notion cofounder Simon Last: “Step back and think really hard. How can we make this simpler and dumber while still achieving our goals?” He says he makes use of that immediate 20 instances a day with AI coding brokers. I sort of find it irresistible.

With the caveat that his setup is altering on a regular basis, listed here are some apps Brian says he loves for AI work proper now:

Right now, Brian informed me, he’s spending most of his side-project time doing back-end coding with AI and front-end work himself. (He identified that Claude Code specifically has a really particular, purple-gradient-y fashion, and says it’s more durable to teach the bot in the proper course than to simply do the work himself.) But like so many folks I’ve talked to, he says he’s regularly shocked by how significantly better AI coding instruments are getting. In three months, his entire setup may be completely different once more.

Here’s what the Installer neighborhood is into this week. I need to know what you’re into proper now as properly! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal — @davidpierce.11 — together with your suggestions for something and the whole lot, and we’ll characteristic a few of our favorites right here each week. For much more nice suggestions, try the replies to this post on Threads and this post on Bluesky.

“I’m finally starting to understand Android Studio. Maybe I have too many options and tools (Claude, Gemini, Manus, Firebase Studio, Android Studio, Replit, whatever else is in my inbox). But I’m getting there. Trying to create a notes/ to-do app where notes with tasks show up on my to-do side with a link to the note while taking advantage of Gemini Nano on my phone with sync to my Google Calendar and Tasks. Podcast app next.” — Omar

“My current obsession is Cosmic Princess Kaguya, which is playing in theaters all over Japan even though it’s been on Netflix for a month. Nothing beats sitting in a crowded room full of fans and watching a great film.” — Bea

“Just discovered All Creatures Great & Small. It’s about a small, rural veterinary practice in 1930s Great Britain. It’s endlessly wholesome, surprisingly moving, and unflinchingly British. I’m streaming it on PBS.” — Zac

“Been thinking about this Maggie Appleton essay, ‘Home-Cooked Software and Barefoot Developers,’ a lot recently!” — Jacob

“I have a book rec I think you’re gonna love: The Prize. This book does a fantastic job of covering oil from start to now, and with it, lays out the economic background of oil then and now, the history of Western companies vs. national ownership and production, and why our modern society absolutely orbits around an energy-dense consumable fuel.” — Christopher

“I’m reading The Power Broker and listening to the 99% Invisible companion podcast with Roman Mars and Elliott Kalan.” — craigkocur

“Have you tried Rematch? It was released almost a year ago now, and it’s still my favourite football-related game.” — Eldar

“For the person looking for MP3 taggers for all the music they’re ripping off CDs, I would suggest: MusicBrainz Picard or (if you enjoy the command line) Beets.” — Daryl

“I can’t say enough good things about Mist as an AI health and fitness companion. It’s an AI chatbot but it’s ONLY focused on health. It’s super minimalist and clean. It has its own stats built in but it also syncs with Apple Health and other health services. It’s cheaper than a Gemini subscription and has an active and responsive developer as well!” — Justin

I don’t know if it’s simply my specific YouTube algorithm, nevertheless it actually looks as if paper notebooks are having a second. All the productiveness nerds I observe are suddenly recommending their favorite analog systems, and sharing the ways by which writing longhand has made them feel saner and likewise get extra accomplished.

I really like this concept, however I’ve two issues: My handwriting is trash, and I don’t know which pocket book to purchase. I assume this implies I want to purchase a bunch of pens and notebooks, as a result of gear will remedy these issues, proper? RIGHT?! Anyway, I want suggestions. If you’ve gone analog, or have been that method all alongside, I’d love to listen to the gear you picked. Someday, perhaps, I’ll even be capable of learn my very own writing.