A webcam that's almost like a real camera

The Verge

a day ago

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 92, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, I've kept my phone case on all week, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
This week, I am finally smashing my way through Donkey Kong Bananza, perusing the Panama Playlists, wishing I had a yard so I had an excuse to buy Ultra Skelly, clenching my stomach at JerryRigEverything's Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 durability test, wondering if Apple will actually make a Pro iPhone in orange, thinking about where I could put Twelve South's PowerBug wall outlet magnetic phone charger, and listening to Wet Leg's 'Moisturizer' (while perusing the band's incredible Windows 95-inspired website).
I also have for you: a new Elgato webcam, LG's next portable TV, a game about being a fly, and more.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What do you want to know more about? What awesome tricks do you know that everyone else should? What app should everyone be using? Tell me everything: [e-mail]. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.)
Today, I'm featuring Kallie Plagge, who joined The Verge from Polygon as a senior copy editor earlier this year. I am very glad she's with us — she consistently makes our work look and sound great, and she has an incredible wealth of knowledge on all things Pokémon, as you'll see.
Here's Kallie's homescreen and her explanation of what's on it.
The phone: An iPhone 14 Pro.
The wallpaper: It's an official Pokémon wallpaper. There's one for each Eeveelution plus Eevee, so I've been swapping them out based on the season. It's Vaporeon's turn!
The apps: I'm big on folders, but there are a few apps I need out and easy to access — mainly the Clock app, because I am very paranoid about accidentally not setting an alarm and missing work. I also always have the NYT Games app and Threes there, plus games on rotation based on what I'm playing lately. Right now that's mostly Umamusume, which literally means 'horse girls,' and it's all about — you guessed it — training horse girls to win races. It's based on the anime, which I haven't seen, but it's a good raising game!
I also asked Kallie to share a few things she's into right now. Here's what she said:
Here's what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you're into right now as well! Email [e-mail] 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 The Verge, this post on Threads, and this post on Bluesky.
'Watching Foundation and Smoke and liking them pretty well.' – Paul
'I've been absolutely housing the YouTube shorts of Master Builder Alec, the Lego master builder in Arizona. His series 'Masterbuilderizing Kid's LEGO Models' is such an education in creativity and execution.' – Alex
'Currently playing The Drifter on PC. It's a modern point-and-click adventure that's got time travel elements. Not for the faint of heart but very, very good.' – BaltMatrix
'I finally got to F1, sponsored by Expensify, Shark|Ninja and Brad Pitt's Abs. Cars go vrrrm. I was duly entertained.' – Iain
'I recently came across Folio, which bills itself as a replacement for the recently shut down Pocket. I've been using it for the last couple of weeks and it's a great alternative and available cross-platform, too. Importing my Pocket history was seamless and easy. It's still in startup mode, and there's a few key features like keyboard shortcuts missing, but it has a lot of potential.' – Gordon
'My friends and I came across a site run by two people called Reconnect, which is like Reddit or Hacker News just for gaming blogs. The two people running it have put hundreds of gaming blogs into one place, and they run a Substack newsletter every week that does a roundup, like Installer, of some of the best articles from that week. Makes finding good articles and new bloggers really easy.' – Christian
'I've been reading The Convenience Store by the Sea. It follows the popular Japanese literature 'a different chapter focusing on one person and their relationship with food' trend but if anyone has been to Japan and been charmed by the convenience stores it's worth checking out.' – ashleytwo
'Lately, I've been playing a lot of Descenders, an indie mountain biking game. Everything about it feels super satisfying, whether I'm flying down a hill at 40 MPH or hitting flips and tricks off a huge jump. There's a huge feeling of speed, but you still feel pretty vulnerable — hit a rock or land too hard, and you'll wipe out. I've never been mountain biking before, but this makes me want to hit the trails.' – Cr4shMyCar
'I just rewatched all of Entourage, all at night, all while holding a sleeping baby. The show is way better than I remembered for about two seasons, and WAY worse than I remembered after that. Still: no regrets.' – David (yes, that David!)
Any fellow non-QWERTY typers that read Installer? I type using the Colemak layout. I switched to it years ago when I was dealing with some issues with my wrists and was looking for a more ergonomic layout. The first few weeks of learning it were tough, but now, it's just how I type — even though my wrists are mostly better now (which I attribute more to things like my ergonomic keyboard and my standing desk than Colemak). Now, if I try to go back to QWERTY on a computer keyboard, I really have to think about it, but oddly, I have no issues typing with QWERTY on my phone.
Anyway, I wanted to do an informal poll of Installer readers: have you tried a non-QWERTY keyboard layout, why did you do so, and have you stuck with it? No need to share your typing speeds or anything. I just want to know a little more about how and why people type. I'll probably share some of the answers in a future issue.
See you next week!
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