Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 78, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, sorry everything’s about to get so expensive, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
Technology
One streaming app to (almost) rule them all
This week, I’ve been reading about baseball bats and work-life balance and BYD and Scarlett Johansson, watching Paradise, rekindling my love of pear-flavored jelly beans, sharing Robin Sloan’s AI take with anyone who will listen, grooving to the greatest unexpected Doechii remix of all time, and finally finding the monitor mount that makes my webcam upgrade work.
I also have for you a couple of great new apps for streaming and gaming, a look back into Microsoft’s history, the latest on the Switch 2, a screed against screen time, and much more.
Oh, and a programming note: Installer is off next week. Taking a little break before we ramp up for Developer Conference season. But we have lots to do today! Let’s get into it.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you into right now? What should everyone else be reading / listening to / watching / downloading / sipping on this week? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)
- Plex. Plex has spent a lot of time and energy trying to become a proper, legit streaming platform, and the new mobile app is by far the most mainstream-useful thing it has ever made. Mixing streaming media with my library, and lots of discovery tools, feels really nice. Fair warning, though: you’ll need a $4.99 monthly sub to get a lot of Plex’s best features.
- Delta 1.7. The iPhone’s best game emulator, now with online multiplayer! (At least for DS games.) It also has nice screenshot support and some new N64-specific updates, which gives me great hope for the Mario Golf ROM I’ve already put too many hours into.
- Skylight. It looks exactly like TikTok, but it runs on the same AT Protocol that powers Bluesky. That is a very enticing combination — and it’s a really nice app for something so brand new. Bluesky is really starting to look like the fediverse.
- Celebrate 50 years of Microsoft with the company’s original source code. This week was the 50th anniversary of Microsoft, and Bill Gates marked the occasion by releasing all its original Altair BASIC source code — via one of the cooler retro-style websites you’ll ever use.
- The Nintendo Switch 2. I know, we’ve talked about this before, and I know, it’s not launching until June. But the new Switch — a console I am outrageously, maybe unprecedentedly, excited about, especially now that we’ve learned more about its specs and its game lineup — is officially launching in June, and I just needed you to know so you don’t miss it. I will be there. You can’t preorder it yet, because of chaos, but I’ll keep you posted.
- “I hate my phone so I got rid of it.” Been a while since a 46-minute YouTube rant had me nodding this hard — but Eddy Burback does a great job of explaining both why our phones are a problem, and why life without a phone feels increasingly impossible. Using a landline? Can you imagine?
- A Minecraft Movie. The reviews are meh, because of course they are. But I’ll watch Jack Black in anything, and I’m genuinely curious to see both what the blocky movie world looks like and how this very clearly Lego Movie-inspired flick pulls off the whole “just keep building” bit.
- DEVONthink 4.0. DEVONthink is, like, the ultimate Mac app for just storing all your junk. The design’s a little ’90s for my taste, but the new beta has some nice updates and a huge set of AI tools for finding, summarizing, and organizing content. I’m tempted to throw my whole life back in the app.
- Koira. Another delightful entrant (for Steam and PS5) in one of my favorite game genres — the quiet, simple puzzler that never tries to do too much but somehow seems to keep your attention forever. Plus, you get a puppy friend!
We’ve talked about the app Sofa a few times here in Installer. It’s a really good-looking, powerful app for Apple devices that lets you manage all the stuff you want to watch, read, listen to, and everything else. I’ve come to appreciate having it as the app I go to when I deliberately want to relax. Rather than just aimlessly scroll on Reddit or whatever, Sofa is just a giant list of stuff I actually want to consume.
Sofa’s big new feature this week is a podcast player, which is full-featured enough that you can use Sofa as your one and only podcast app. Like everything else in Sofa, it’s really nicely made and is already as good at queue management as any app I’ve tried.
On the occasion of the new update, I asked Shawn Hickman, Sofa’s developer, to share his homescreen with us. I figured he might have some widget ideas, you know? Here it is, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:
The phone: iPhone 16 Pro Max. I love the big phones and have embraced the PopSocket life.
The wallpaper: My homescreen rotates images from my photo library (one of my favorite iOS features), and I use the blurred version of it as my “wallpaper.”
The apps: Camera, Phone, Apple Maps, Clock, Wallet, Settings, Photos, Reminders, App Store, Music, Safari, 1Password, YouTube, Bear, YouTube Studio, Lightroom, Things, Blackmagic Camera, Reeder, Discord, RevenueCat, ChatGPT, Apple Sports, Mail, Messages, Sofa, Apple Notes.
I keep very few apps on my homescreen and tend to rely on search more. Also, I’m not a big widgets person. I have a few on my first page (Photos, Weather, and Calendar), but I prefer scanning app icons rather than widgets 🤷♂️.
Things, Bear, and Reeder are a few of my favorite apps of all time. I’ve used Reeder (now Reeder Classic) for a long time and have always been impressed with the app’s craftsmanship. The new Reeder is even better. I actually like the “news feed” approach more than the traditional RSS feed / inbox approach. I find it to be a low-stress way to keep up with different news sources.
Bear is where I write and store a lot of my “work” notes. I love writing in markdown, the flexibility of the app’s tagging system, and its visual design. Things is my favorite app ever. I’ve been using it for so long and couldn’t imagine managing my work without it. Simply the best.
I have a YouTube channel. I’ve been experimenting with shooting Apple Log, and the Blackmagic Camera app is by far the most flexible. You need to do a bit of learning, but it’s pretty sweet once you’ve gotten a handle on it. I love photography, and really love editing photos, so I tend to spend a lot of time in Lightroom. I find it relaxing, and tend to edit photos when I’m stuck on a problem. It weirdly helps me think.
RevenueCat is a great service that makes implementing and managing Sofa’s app subscriptions much easier.
I also asked Shawn to share a few things he’s into right now. Here’s what he sent:
- Severance. It’s probably my favorite TV show since the first season of Stranger Things… and I really want to buy one of the keyboards the MDR team uses! Now we must all endure the long wait for season 3.
- I’ve been on a history kick, and there are a few documentaries I’ve really liked: Benjamin Franklin, The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, and I’m currently watching The War.
- Framelines: I’m a photography enthusiast, and one of my favorite YouTube channels, and now magazines, is Framelines. They focus a lot on street photography but expand beyond that quite a bit. Their channel is great, and I love getting their physical magazines, too.
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 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 and this post on Bluesky.
“I played Dungeon Pages for the first time on my iPad last night and REALLY enjoyed it! Would be even more enjoyable on paper to get away from doomscrolling for a while.” – Dylan
“I initially had my heart set on the Fujifilm X100VI, but a friend suggested the X-T50. It’s been a great learning experience, and I’m pleased with the photos I’ve taken. I’m still discovering all the nuances of the Fujifilm ecosystem.” – Paul
“If you’re liking your SodaStream, you should check out Simpli Soda — they’re a family business out of SE Wisconsin that does mail-in cylinder swaps for all brands (including quick-connects like your SodaStream Art uses) for less $$.” – Cori
“Late to the party, but Baldur’s Gate 3. I was blown away by how quickly I got immersed, and I’m only on my first playthrough. I didn’t realize that it ran natively on macOS until last month.” – Drake
“Wanted to recommend a great app I have been happily using (+ paying for) for five years that no one else seems to talk about: Mealime. It’s the perfect app if, like me, you struggle not only at planning recipes for the week but also the act of shopping itself. Normally, when I make a grocery list, I crisscross the grocery store looking for what I need. Mealime gives you tons of recipes, lets you filter by dietary preferences, make a meal plan, and then it makes a grocery list grouped by section of the grocery store. It’s a total game-changer for me.” – Drew
“I absolutely love Li Hing pineapple rings. I’m told they’re common in Hawaii, but on the East Coast, they’re new to me. Sour and delicious. I order mine from Wholesale Unlimited Hawaii, and they’re fun and delicious and unique. The store has tons of snacks I’ve never seen around where I live, and everything I’ve bought is really good.” – Steve
“I finished watching Reacher season 3 on Prime Video. I liked the season as an action flick, but it doesn’t feel like a Reacher-level story. The investigation element was missing from this season. Season 1 was the strongest offering in this series.” – Ankur
“I just found out about the Johnny.Decimal system last night. Diving in to reorganizing my work files as I descend further down the PKM rabbit hole.” – Dirk
“Otherwise Objectionable is an excellent history of Section 230. Hosted by Mike Masnick and featuring recollections from the folks who were there at the inception of the ‘26 words that created the Internet.’ Section 230 is under threat (yet again), so it’s a good time to learn why it’s so important we don’t screw it up with badly written and misguided legislation.” – Zip
If you were extremely online during a very specific time period, the names Jake Hurwitz and Amir Blumenfeld might mean a lot to you. They were two of my first favorite online comedians, part of a brilliant CollegeHumor gang that was way ahead of its time making funny stuff on the internet.
If you’ve never watched a Jake and Amir, head to their YouTube channel, sort by oldest, and give it a whirl. But if you can quote as many of their bits as I can, you really should check out the “Greatest Jake and Amir Episode Ever” tournament the two guys are doing on the channel, rewatching and commenting on some of their best work. (If you’re on their Patreon, you can already see who won the tournament, but as I write this, the YouTube channel is only up to the Final Four.) I was shocked at how many of these videos I can still recite, pretty much word for word, all these years later. No keeding.
The Acer Nitro Blaze Link might run on Linux, but it’s no Steam Deck. Acer says it’s a “streaming-first handheld and companion device,” like a PlayStation Portal for your PC. Announced ahead of Computex on Friday, it’s launching in Q4 2026 with a 7-inch (1920 x 1200) display, Wi-Fi 6, just 1GB of LPDDR4 RAM, and 8GB of eMMC storage. That’s technically not even enough RAM to run Stardew Valley, but the Blaze Link isn’t meant for playing games locally.
Logitech launched a similar handheld a few years ago, the Logitech G Cloud, that cost $350, included 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, and ran on Android. It was a tough sell at that price considering that its performance was dependent on a good internet connection.
Acer hasn’t yet announced a price for the Nitro Blaze Link. But its specs suggest it could cost significantly less than proper handheld gaming PCs — which have been skyrocketing in price — potentially offering a more affordable and streaming-first alternative.
Correction, May 29th: The Nitro Blaze Link was announced ahead of Computex 2026, not at it.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
It shows up in your junk folder with a subject line that practically yells at you: “ATTENTION 1!!!” That alone should raise suspicion. Still, the message quickly escalates. It claims to come from the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and says you are approved for a $4.5 million grant.
That is where things start to fall apart. This type of scam is designed to trigger both excitement and urgency. It also pushes you to hand over sensitive information before you stop to think.
Let’s break down exactly what this email says and why each part signals trouble.
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NEW EMAIL SCAM USES HIDDEN CHARACTERS TO SLIP PAST FILTERS
A fake IMF grant email promises millions of dollars while asking recipients to share personal details and identity documents. (Rawf8/Getty Images)
The sender behind this IMF scam email
The email claims to be from the IMF. Yet the reply address is a Gmail account. That mismatch matters.
Legitimate financial institutions do not use free email services for official communication. They also do not ask you to reply to a personal inbox for something this serious.
Why the subject line is a warning sign
“ATTENTION 1!!!” is not how a global financial organization communicates. It is how scammers try to grab you fast.
Urgency lowers your guard. When you feel pressure, you are more likely to respond without verifying anything.
The greeting reveals a mass email
The message opens with “Attention: Sir/Madam.” If your name were truly selected for a multimillion-dollar payment, the sender would use it.
Generic greetings often mean the email was blasted out to thousands of people.
How the story tries to hook you
The email mentions debts tied to contracts, inheritance, lottery and loans. That wide net is intentional.
It increases the odds that something in the message feels familiar. Once that happens, the scam starts to feel personal.
The $4.5 million promise is the bait
The promise of $4.5 million is not random. Large numbers create excitement. They also make you more willing to overlook obvious problems.
Real financial grants do not appear out of nowhere like this.
YOUR EMAIL DIDN’T EXPIRE; IT’S JUST ANOTHER SNEAKY SCAM
Scam emails may use real organization names, official titles and urgent language to pressure people into responding quickly. (Pekic/Getty Images)
Why scammers use real names
The email mentions IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. That sounds official, which is the point.
Scammers often include real names or titles to make fake messages feel credible. It is a shortcut to trust.
The writing and grammar feel off
Phrases like “Kindly reply me directly” and awkward sentence structure stand out. One odd sentence might not mean much. However, repeated issues like this point to a lack of professional communication.
Major institutions have strict standards for how they write.
The most dangerous request in this email
This email requests:
- Full name
- Address and location
- Phone number
- Age and occupation
- A copy of your passport or driver’s license
That is everything needed for identity theft. Once someone has those details, they can open accounts, target you with more scams or impersonate you.
The payment method adds false legitimacy
The email promises a bank-to-bank wire transfer. That detail adds a layer of realism. It also sets up the next step. Many scams later ask for “fees” to release the funds.
You send money, and the payment never arrives.
Even the spam excuse is part of the scam
At the end, the email tries to explain away the biggest red flag: “If you have received this message in your SPAM/BULK folder, it is simply because your ISP has introduced restrictions. We urge that you treat it as a matter of urgency.” That is not a reassurance. It is a warning sign.
Scammers know their messages look suspicious, so they try to explain it away before you question it.
THE ONE THING SCAMMERS CHECK BEFORE TARGETING YOU ONLINE
Users should delete suspicious grant emails, avoid links and verify claims directly through official organization websites. (Photographer: Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
How to stay safe from scam emails
Scams like this follow a pattern, and once you know what to look for, you can shut them down quickly before any damage is done.
1) Ignore and delete the message
Do not reply or engage in any way. Even a quick response tells scammers your email is active, which can lead to more targeted attacks. The safest move is to delete it and move on.
2) Do not click links or download attachments
Scam emails often hide malicious links or infected files. One click can take you to a fake login page or install malware on your device. If you were not expecting the message, do not interact with anything inside it.
3) Use strong antivirus software
Strong antivirus software adds another layer of protection. It can flag suspicious emails, block dangerous websites and stop malicious downloads before they cause harm. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at Cyberguy.com
4) Never send personal documents
No legitimate organization will ask for your passport, driver’s license or other sensitive documents through an unsolicited email. Sending that information can open the door to identity theft and financial fraud.
5) Look closely at the sender
Do not rely on the display name alone. Check the full email address carefully for misspellings, random numbers or free domains like Gmail. Small details often reveal a fake.
6) Go directly to official sources
If the message seems important, verify it on your own. Type the organization’s website into your browser or use a trusted contact method. Do not use the links or contact details provided in the email.
7) Remove your personal data from the internet
Scammers often rely on publicly available information to make their messages feel convincing. Data removal services can reduce what is out there, making it harder for criminals to target you in the first place. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting Cyberguy.com
8) Turn on two-factor authentication
Add an extra layer of security to your accounts. With 2FA enabled, a stolen password alone is not enough for someone to get in. This simple step can stop many attacks before they start.
9) Monitor your financial accounts and credit
Check your bank statements and credit reports regularly. Look for unfamiliar charges, new accounts or changes you did not make. Catching fraud early can limit the damage.
10) Consider placing a credit freeze
If you think your personal information was exposed, a credit freeze can help protect you. It prevents new credit accounts from being opened in your name without your approval.
11) Add identity theft protection
Because this scam asks for your name, address, phone number, age, occupation and a copy of your passport or driver’s license, identity theft protection can help you spot trouble faster. A good service can monitor your credit files, alert you to new activity and help you recover if someone uses your information to open accounts or commit fraud in your name. See my tips and best picks on Best Identity Theft Protection at Cyberguy.com
12) Report the scam
Mark the email as phishing in your inbox. This helps your email provider block similar messages and protects other people from falling into the same trap.
Join CyberGuy Live: Lock Down Your Phone in 30 Minutes (Saturday, June 13, 10 am ET)
Your phone holds your email, passwords, photos, banking apps and personal data. In this free, live online class, Kurt the CyberGuy will walk you step by step through simple phone security fixes you can do in real time. You’ll learn how to improve your privacy settings, spot the latest phone scams, use trusted security tools and walk away with a simple checklist to stay protected. Register here: CyberGuyLive.com
Kurt’s key takeaways
This email tries hard to look official. It uses a real organization, a real name and a convincing story. Still, the cracks show up quickly once you slow down. A Gmail reply address, a massive payout, a vague greeting and a request for identity documents all point in the same direction. Scams like this rely on one thing: getting you to act before you think. Take a second look, and the whole thing falls apart.
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If a message promises millions and asks for your personal information, would you pause long enough to question it, or would the urgency pull you in? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Technology
Blue Origin explosion is a major setback for NASA’s Moon plans and Amazon’s Starlink competitor
While Blue Origin investigates the root cause behind last night’s spectacular explosion of its New Glenn rocket, it’s already clear that this will be a major setback for NASA’s Moon base plans and Amazon’s fledgling Leo space internet constellation.
The incident occurred at about 9pm at Blue Origin’s Florida launch site during a hot-fire test, where seven engines in the booster stage are lit while keeping the 322-foot-tall rocket fixed to the launchpad. The explosion and ensuing fireball severely damaged the only launchpad Blue Origin has for its New Glenn rocket.
“It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it,” wrote Blue Origin boss Jeff Bezos on X. “Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
According to sources speaking to Ars Technica, the transporter-erector and one of the lightning towers at LC-36A may not be salvageable. “New Glenn almost certainly will not launch again in 2026, and frankly a launch during the first half of 2027 would be heroic given the launch site concerns,” writes Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica.
Such a delay would affect NASA’s Moon base plans. NASA announced on Tuesday that New Glenn would deliver a robotic lunar lander as soon as fall 2026. In 2027, Blue Origin is also scheduled to participate in the upcoming Artemis III mission, which will see astronauts docking their Orion capsule with lunar landers developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
“Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult,” said NASA administrator Jared Isaacman on X. “We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”
The New Glenn rocket that exploded Thursday night was being prepped to carry 48 Amazon Leo satellites — the largest batch ever slated for a single launch — into low-Earth orbit on an upcoming mission. The satellites were not onboard.
To date Amazon has launched just over 300 of the 1,618 Leo satellites the FCC requires by July 30, 2026. Amazon has applied for an extension to keep its license.
Amazon had been counting on New Glenn’s massive payload capacity and reusable boosters to accelerate a launch schedule that is already behind. Without its primary workhorse, Amazon will be forced to rely more heavily on secondary providers like United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Arianespace — and its chief rival, SpaceX.
“Sorry to see this,” wrote fellow billionaire spaceman Elon Musk on X. “I hope you recover quickly.”
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