Tech

Stardew Valley, Mario & Luigi, and other chill games for a chill weekend

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 60, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, it’s a lot of gaming stuff this week, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)  This week, I’ve been… doomscrolling about the election, if I’m honest. But let’s not talk about …

Read More »

Spotify’s AI is no match for a real DJ

At the risk of stating the obvious, AI is absolutely everywhere lately. There’s AI in your car, AI in your messaging app, AI in your glasses. I’ve gotten pretty desensitized to it all as a hazard of the job, but it was Spotify’s AI DJ that actually got my attention.  I’ve listened to a top 40 radio station in the …

Read More »

There’s a lot more Red Hulk in the new Captain America: Brave New World trailer

The Brave New World preview opens on Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) visiting one of the first supersoldiers, Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly), in prison after his attack on the president. Isaiah, who doesn’t seem to remember the attack, warns Sam to “be careful.” The trailer then sets up some heavy tension and intrigue, using a fun splitscreen theme to build to …

Read More »

Intel exec says Arrow Lake launch ‘just didn’t go as planned’

Reviews of Intel’s new Arrow Lake-based Core Ultra 9 200S-series processor have been lackluster, specifically when it comes to gaming performance, but Intel says that’s not the end of the story. Its new chips should be performing better, and the company will have an ETA on getting them there soon, according to Robert Hallock, Intel’s VP and GM of client …

Read More »

A new iOS 18 security feature makes it harder for police to unlock iPhones

There is an apparently new iOS 18 security feature that reboots iPhones that haven’t been unlocked in a few days, frustrating police by making it harder to break into suspects’ iPhones, according to 404 Media. 404 Media, which first reported police warnings about the reboots on Thursday, writes that restarted iPhones enter a more secure “Before First Unlock,” or BFU …

Read More »

Seagate’s 2TB Xbox Expansion Card has returned to its best price to date

Black Friday won’t be here for several more weeks, but the holiday promos are beginning to take shape at Amazon, Best Buy, and other retailers. We expect to see steep discounts on a number of gaming goods when many of the early sales kick off next week, but if you want to shop ahead of time, Seagate’s 2TB Storage Expansion …

Read More »

How to use the latest AI video editing tools in Google Photos

Google Photos continues to get new and improved features on a regular basis, and one of the most recent Android updates has focused on video editing. Even if you don’t have the latest Pixel 9 phone (which is required if you want to try out the weird new Reimagine tool), you can now speed up, slow down, and enhance your …

Read More »

Mobvoi Home Walking Treadmill review: the smart features stressed me out

2024 has been a stressful year. Other people might pick more relaxing ways to de-stress — a spa day, a nice cocktail, or maybe a social media detox. Not me, baby. I’ve decided to cope the same way I always do: ramping up training instead of stress eating my weight in mini-muffins. Except it’s unreasonable to abandon my desk and …

Read More »

Arcane’s season two review: a revolutionary powderkeg

The first season of Netflix and Riot’s Arcane animated series fashioned disparate pieces of League of Legends lore into a beautiful, devastating tale about a society on the brink of collapse. The show infused each of its characters with a depth and complexity that felt unlike anything Riot had done elsewhere in the longrunning franchise. And its commitment to telling …

Read More »