Hello, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 80, your go-to guide for the latest and greatest in the world of consumer technology. If youre joining us for the first time, were thrilled to have you aboard. I hope your experiences with preordering the much-anticipated Switch 2 were better than mine. For those curious about past editions, you can explore all previous issues at the Installer homepage.

A big thank you to everyone who has shared their thoughts regarding wallpapers! Your feedback has sparked numerous creative ideas for expanding the Screen Share section. Im excited to showcase more of your unique setups in the near future, so stay tuned!

This week, I have an impressive lineup for you, including a captivating new addition to the Star Wars universe, a stylish flip phone that merits attention, new apps launched by Instagram and Perplexity, two fantastic games that you won't want to miss, and much more. Be prepared for a week of high-priced techsorry in advance for the wallet impact. Lets dive into the details!

As always, the most enjoyable aspect of Installer is your contributions. What are you currently playing, reading, watching, scrolling through, buying, or building this week? I want to hear all about your experiences and recommendations; please send them to installer@theverge.com. Also, if you know someone who might appreciate Installer, kindly encourage them to subscribe here.

The Drop

Screen Share

I first encountered Jeff Sheldon, the talented founder of Ugmonk, a couple of years back when I penned an article about his Gather collection of desk accessories. However, I truly became an admirer of his work after discovering his Analog productivity systeman ingeniously crafted method designed to help individuals effectively manage their tasks using classic pen-and-paper techniques. For all the fans of Analog systems, theres a new Steel version available that not only looks stunning but also adds a touch of elegance to productivity.

Jeff is one of those meticulous individuals who strives for perfection, a quality I greatly admire. I asked him to share a sneak peek of his homescreen, curious to see if it would reflect his attention to detail. I was not disappointed. Below is a snapshot of Jeffs homescreen along with insights into the apps he frequently uses and the rationale behind his choices:

The phone: iPhone 16 Pro.

The wallpaper: A solid black background. Jeff states, I never understood how people can see their apps with a busy photo behind them. His lock screen features a photograph he took in Copenhagen.

The apps: Photos, Fantastical, Ugmonk, Google Maps, Weather, Apple Podcasts, MyMind, Dropbox Paper, X, Instagram, Threads, Apple Notes, Camera, Spotify, Phone, Shopify, Mail, Messages, Slack, Safari.

He utilizes the Due app widget to quickly jot down to-do items while on the move, transferring them onto an Analog Card once he returns to his desk to ensure they get completed. He appreciates Fantastical for its natural language input, stating that it is far more user-friendly than iCals. For example, he can easily input reminders like, Call with David Pierce tomorrow at 10 AM.

All of his saved content is kept in MyMind, which he describes as a private Pinterest board that is not only easier to search but also devoid of ads. Jeff has relied on Dropbox Paper for a number of years, favoring its cleaner interface compared to Google Docs, featuring built-in markdown and smart links. Unfortunately, he finds the iPhone app to be somewhat clunky, so he prefers to use it on desktop for input and primarily uses the mobile version for viewing documents. Apple Notes serves as his catch-all for various types of content.

Crowdsourced Recommendations

This week, lets check out what the Installer community is immersing themselves in. Id love to know whats currently captivating you! Feel free to email your recommendations to installer@theverge.com or reach out to me via Signal at @davidpierce.11. Every week, well highlight some of the best suggestions.

Heres what some community members are eager to share this week:

• Ive been in love, and at times frustrated with my Apple MagSafe wallet. I recently found this case called OpenCase that effectively resolves all my MagSafe worries. It features a cutout perfectly sized for the Apple wallet which prevents it from sliding off unintentionally. Mike
• I discovered an incredible game thanks to a comment on Hacker News: A Short Hike. Its a beautifully crafted, brief experience that I thoroughly enjoyed. Fil
• In an effort to challenge the algorithms that dictate our choices these days, I've subscribed to a free newsletter that recommends just one movie every Tuesday. Its called Tuesday Night Movie Night. Phillip
• Ive been going through my backlog of the Blank Check podcast and have watched an overwhelming number of Steven Spielberg films in just a few days. This guy is definitely on the rise! Luis
• I found a unique driving game called Slow Roads, which offers a zen-like driving experience without traffic. Its a relaxing game that allows you to alter the environment. Srirudran
• Ive recently started using a weather app called Lume for iOS that employs GPT technology. Im really impressed with the user interface, though I wish it had a widget feature. Daniel
• Aerospace is a terrific window-tiling system for MacOS that simplifies keyboard navigation across multiple windows once you grasp the tiled window management concept. James
• I just finished reading an insightful essay in Hearing Things that made me reflect deeply on how music has influenced my worldview and the cherished memories I hold of listening to and playing music with loved ones. Rhoades
• Ive been enjoying Everybodys Live with John Mulaney recently, and last nights episode was undoubtedly one of the best. This live talk show format is a refreshing change in the US! Bob

Signing Off

This week, I spent considerable time delving into the traveling salesman problem (TSP), a concept often casually mentioned by tech-savvy individuals as shorthand for seemingly simple problems that turn out to be extremely complex, even for advanced algorithms. The basic premise of TSP is this: if given a list of cities along with the distances between them, what is the shortest route that visits each city once before returning to the starting point? While there are numerous solutions to various iterations of this problem, it remains a critical part of algorithm research.

This week, I came across an intriguing project called Korea81998, which managed to tackle the traveling salesman problem for all 81,998 bars located in South Korea. The projects website begins with an accessible explanation of the problem and delves into the intricate mathematics and computations necessary for solving it. This particular bar crawl would take nearly six months to complete, and unfortunately, there is no way to make it any faster!

If youre interested in exploring this topic further, a user on Hacker News shared a fantastic hour-long talk featuring one of the researchers who discusses the intricacies of solving TSPs. While it may not be light weekend viewing, it is certainly worth a watch.

Until next week!