The techlash has gone Hollywood

# The techlash has gone Hollywood Source: [https://www.theverge.com/tech/1008836/social-reckoning-cupertino-techlash-installer](https://www.theverge.com/tech/1008836/social-reckoning-cupertino-techlash-installer) Hi, friends\! Welcome to*Installer*No\. 147, your guide to the best and*Verge*\-iest stuff in the world\. \(If you’re new here, welcome, I missed you all, and also you can read all the old editions at the[*Installer*homepage](https://www.theverge.com/installer-newsletter)\.\) I’m back from parental leave\! Part time, anyway\. Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes and tips for managing three kids\. I need ’em all\. This week, I’ve been reading about[**McMansions**](https://thebaffler.com/outbursts/bad-manors-wagner)and[**data centers**](https://www.mlive.com/business/2026/10/outmaneuvered-outmatched-and-outspent-how-data-centers-are-overwhelming-small-town-america.html)and[**sports cards**](https://www.gq.com/story/sports-cards-gambling)and[**ICANN**](https://www.wired.com/story/icann-top-level-domains-meow/), trying to run my life on[**the Dell XPS Googlebook**](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=87443X1797501&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.anrdoezrs.net%2Fclick-101881227-12839518%3Furl%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.dell.com%252Fen-us%252Fshop%252Flaptop-computers%252Fspd%252Fxps13dx13267), testing a new and[**very purple Kindle**](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXJ8VZ39?th=1&linkCode=ll2&tag=vergenewsletter-20&linkId=d63c4a5c47d46b22793ba74dec5bc218&language=en_US&gaOptInStatus=true&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&tag=theverge02-20), reinventing my whole note\-taking system now that Google Docs can[**handle Markdown files**](https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-google-docs-vs-obsidian/), listening to episode after episode of[***No Such Thing as a Fish***](https://www.nosuchthingasafish.com/),and watching all of[***Shrinking***](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/136311-shrinking)between the hours of 1 and 5AM while feeding a baby\. I also have for you the new Facebook movie, a tech\-related procedural, a couple of great new gadgets, the*Star Wars*game that is going to destroy my productivity, a terrific book about the AI industry, and much more\. Let’s do this\. \(As always, the best part of*Installer*is your ideas and tips\. What have you been watching / reading / playing / listening to / putting in the air fryer this week? Tell me everything:[installer@theverge\.com](mailto:[email protected])\. And if you know someone else who might enjoy*Installer*, forward it to them and tell them to[subscribe here](https://www.theverge.com/subscribe)\.\) ## The Drop - [***The Social Reckoning***](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1281331-the-social-reckoning)**\.**My hopes were not super high for this movie, and the reaction so far suggests it’s good but a far cry from*The Social Network\.*\(Which I just watched recently, and absolutely still rips\.\) Still, Aaron Sorkin and Jeremy Strong will end up in the annals of Big Tech Movies, and I will not be missing this one\. - [**The Amazon Alexa Tablet 12 Pro**](https://www.amazon.com/b?node=221942416011&linkCode=ll2&tag=vergenewsletter-20&linkId=519718459c8f146000dd13bbabc20f6a&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl&tag=theverge02-20)**\.**For the first time ever, Amazon decided — and I know this might sound far\-fetched — to just build an awesome tablet\. And it seems it may have\! There’s lots of testing to do, and I’m particularly curious about this high\-end model with the fancy screen, but I’m hopeful this is the “iPad but cheaper” we’ve been waiting for\. For*years\.* - [***The AGI Chronicles***](https://theagichronicles.com/)**\.**However bizarre you think the AI industry is, I promise Kevin Roose’s book will convince you it’s even more so\. Roose has been deep inside the AI labs for the last few years, and I think came out with the most important story in AI: how a few executives, and the relationships between them, somehow came to determine the future of everything\. - [***Star Wars: Galactic Racer***](https://www.starwars.com/games-apps/star-wars-galactic-racer)**\.**It’s a super high\-fidelity*Star Wars*racing game in which you \(eventually\) get to[pilot a podracer](https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1002887/star-wars-galactic-racer-review)\. That’s all I needed to hear\! Oh, and if you’re a Prime subscriber, you can[**play it for free**](https://luna.amazon.com/game/star-wars-galactic-racer/B0HLN4GG5K)on Amazon’s Luna service\. - [***Cupertino***](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/303630-cupertino)**\.**The folks who made*The Good Wife*made a show about technology, and it is[exactly what you think it is](https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/1007492/cupertino-cbs-tv-review)\. I kind of love it\! What I’ve seen so far is pretty thoughtful about some complicated real\-life legal stuff in tech and AI, and the procedural setup is frankly a nice break from all these miniseries and four\-hour docs\. - [**The Surface Laptop Ultra**](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-laptop-ultra)**\.**Microsoft revealed all the details of its most impressive laptop, and while it’s expensive \($2,600\!\), it also looks and sounds fantastic\. Microsoft is pushing the device’s AI capabilities, but this also looks like the uncompromising MacBook Pro competition a lot of Windows users might want\. - [***Gears of War: E\-Day***](https://www.gearsofwar.com/en-us/games/gears-of-war-eday/)**\.**When it comes to raw, brutal combat,*Gears*doesn’t miss very often\. This one also seems to deliver on story and exploration, which aren’t always the series’ strong points; a lot of people have been waiting for the origin\-story title, and I’m thrilled the game pulls it off\. - [***Blockers***](https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324131656)**\.**Michael Lewis tells the story of Elon Musk and DOGE, and in particular of the government employees who tried to stop them from running roughshod over the federal government\. I really enjoyed[***The Fifth Risk***](https://wwnorton.com/books/the-fifth-risk/)*,*Lewis’ last book about the government, and I expect to like this one too\. One thing about parental leave is that it involves a lot of time with one hand free\. Over the last seven weeks I’ve spent dozens, maybe hundreds of hours on the couch while a tiny potato of a baby sleeps or cries or farts on top of me\. So what did I do with all that time? Goofed around on my phone, mostly\. Too much Reddit, too much TikTok, mercifully at least a little reading and crosswording\. I also redid my entire homescreen, because of course I did, and I figured I’d share\. Here’s my current setup: [](https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/10/David-Pierce-homescreen-2.jpeg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100) **The phone:**iPhone 17\. I have no desire to upgrade to the 18… but I find myself hopelessly lusting after a Duo\. I must not give in\. **The wallpaper:**Black\. I am on an endless quest to make my phone less interesting to look at, and this helps\. It also helps make my phone a little less blaring when I’m looking at it in the dark, which I do a lot these days\. **The apps:**Unread, Instapaper, Google Maps, Capacities, Daygame, Flora, Phone, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Camera, Prism, Mimestream, Arc\. A few things I want to mention here: - The widgets at the top are[**Calendars**](https://readdle.com/calendars)and[**Acme Weather**](https://acmeweather.com/app)\. Acme is a fabulous weather app, and I love the hourly widget; Calendars is, like, fine\. I switch between it and Fantastical all the time\. I don’t think I like any calendar app\. - The only truly new things on my homescreen are[**Flora**](https://harshitbeni.com/journal)and[**Prism**](https://prism.you/)\. Flora is a journaling app currently in TestFlight for Apple devices, and it is fabulous\. It’s simple and straightforward, but also pulls in workout data, photos, and more to give a really cool snapshot of your day\. Prism is a note\-taking app that is as fast as texting yourself but with many more organizational powers\. I have spent forever looking for a quick, transient way to jot stuff down and organize it later; Prism might be it\. - In case you’re following my endless search for notes apps: I’m back on[**Capacities**](https://capacities.io/), which finally clicked for me\. It is a project to get the app fully customized, but it turns out to work exactly like my brain does\. - I switched from[**Readwise Reader**](https://read.readwise.io/)to[**Instapaper**](https://instapaper.com/)because I recently bought a Kobo, and Instapaper is so nicely integrated into the device\. I like the whole setup, but also the[**Boox Palma 3**](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=87443X1797501&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fshop.boox.com%2Fproducts%2Fpalma3)is coming, so my reading universe might be in for yet another overhaul soon\. - [**Daygame**](https://daygame.xyz/), in the middle there, is a thing I built for myself to manage all the daily games I play — it’s just a page full of links to games, which open in various apps and tabs\. I might try and spruce it up and share it more widely\. Send games I should include\! Before I forget, a few more recommendations from my parental leave: - [***Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die***](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1119449-good-luck-have-fun-don-t-die)**\.**Maybe the strangest movie I watched over the last couple of months, and certainly the one that made me think the most about tech and AI and the future we’re heading toward\. - [***Tuner***](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1340206-tuner?language=en-US)**\.**A movie about a piano tuner who falls into a world of safecracking\. Nothing I say about this movie will make it sound compelling, but I promise: It’s great\. - [***Furious***](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/287238-furious?language=en-US)**\.**One of the most intense, propulsive crime shows I’ve seen in forever\. Could barely put it down\. - [**Footnotes**](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/footnotes-notes-for-noticing/id6803869918)**\.**A really cool \(Apple\-only\) journaling and notes app, with emphasis on taking pictures and video right next to your notes\. One of the most uniquely designed mobile apps I’ve ever used\. - [**Podcast Shuffle**](https://www.spiderweb-security.com/podcastshuffle)**\.**I had no idea I needed this app until I tried it\. You just press a button, and it randomly plays an episode from whatever podcast or podcasts you’ve selected\. I use it for falling asleep, I use it for long drives, I love not having to scroll just to get something playing\. ## Crowdsourced *Here’s what the*Installer*community is into this week\. I want to know what you’re into right now as well\! Email*[*installer@theverge\.com*](mailto:[email protected])*or message me on Signal — @davidpierce\.11 — with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week\. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies to*[*this post on Threads*](https://www.threads.com/share/Hqy9ubsez/)*and*[*this post on Bluesky*](https://bsky.app/profile/davidpierce.xyz/post/3mxeqtwe4hk2n)*\.* “Playing[***StarCraft II***](https://starcraft2.blizzard.com/en-us/)since the announcement of a new*StarCraft*in 2030\. Just learned that macOS will drop support of Rosetta 2 in 2028 so no more*StarCraft*for Mac\.” — Christian “I’m going on a 13\-hour road trip, once again guided solely by an old\-school Garmin dashboard\-mounted GPS\. \([**DriveSmart**](https://www.anrdoezrs.net/links/101881227/type/dlg/https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/612620/)series; I forget what size\.\) I like that it’s a single\-purpose device with no ads, no subscriptions, and that continues to get map updates\.” — sringsmuth “The[**recent*****Hyperfixed*****podcast episode**](https://pod.link/1762447440/episode/cHJ4XzgwMTNfODkzYmIxOTAtMjdkOC00ZTYzLWJjMDYtYmY5ZmJjNzM3YTQ1)about the microwave popcorn button is one of the Verge\-iest non*Verge*podcasts I’ve heard in a long time\. A BUTTON IS A PROMISE\.” — MrEnthusiasm “I recently finished playing[***Wolverine***](https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/marvels-wolverine/)on PS5, and I’m blown away by its incredible story and graphics\. Insomniac delivered on that unspoken promise of slashing and dashing through bad guys — it feels like a whole new level for the character and for fans of Wolverine\.” — Josue “Just saw[***Other Mommy***](https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1400837-other-mommy?language=en-US)\. It’s like a fun amusement park ride in the form of a campy horror film\.” — Kevin “I’m building a shed\. The tech angle is learning new things using YouTube, online library books, and some AI reviews of local building code pdfs to check if I missed anything\. I’m probably doing it all wrong, but that’s what the fire pit is for\.” — Tim “I have fallen headfirst into retro gaming on a[**Nintendo 3DS XL**](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=87443X1797501&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nintendo.com%2Fen-gb%2FHardware%2FNintendo-3DS-Family%2FNew-Nintendo-3DS-XL%2FNew-Nintendo-3DS-XL-955921.html)\. The catalog of DS & 3DS games is absolutely massive\. Running on native, easily reparable hardware, it’s hard to beat in terms of performance and cost\. Ok…back to[***Picross 3D***](https://go.skimresources.com/?id=87443X1797501&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nintendo.com%2Fen-gb%2FGames%2FNintendo-DS%2FPicross-3D-272244.html)\.” — Jacob “The[**Ezra Klein interview**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIMXEuT_ZAU)with the ex\-OpenAI guy and the[**Jon Stewart interview**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnLDjXy2kRA)with the other ex\-OpenAI guy\.” — Chung “I have been listening to[***World War II***](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/316992-world-war-ii-with-tom-hanks)by Tom Hanks from the History Channel\.” — Michael ## Signing off You might already know about the[**HTX Studio**](https://www.youtube.com/@HTXStudio)YouTube channel, but if you don’t,*trust me*, you need to check it out\. It’s a team of makers and creators from China who are making some of the most innovative tech videos I’ve seen in years\. I have watched[**their video about AirDesk**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvLWuK2TU-w)approximately 25 times, and I want that desk more every single time I see it\. The channel is a bit over a year old, and I have yet to find an HTX video that isn’t worth the time — even[**the one about the cow**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLX9Ls7FUGs)\. See you next week\! **Follow topics and authors**from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates\. - David Pierce