Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 113, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, please send hot cocoa to my freezing-cold house, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been reading about private garbage collectors and vintage watches and My Favorite Murder, watching The Running Man (which was not great) and Sinners (which was extremely great), giving my Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses another whirl, nostalgia-tripping my way through The Format's new album, sitting in the audience for the first Star Search on Netflix, finally reading Dungeon Crawle …Read the full story at The Verge.

Federal agents in Minneapolis repeatedly punched a man, forced him to the ground, and then shot him multiple times. The man was later pronounced dead. This is just the latest incident of deadly violence involving ICE, which has grown increasingly frequent, especially on the streets of Minneapolis. It's been less than three weeks since an agent murdered Renée Good on January 7th.Just as in the case of the shooting of Good, video of the killing quickly started circulating online. Though I strongly urge readers to use their judgment before clicking through and pressing play. The video is upsetting and includes the graphic death of a human bei …Read the full story at The Verge.

Yes, I know — I'm doing this the wrong way. Most people have the story: they used Plex for years, got tired of subscriptions and sign-ins and random changes, and then they finally jumped to Jellyfin, the open-source, free alternative that lets you host your media library without paying a dime. I get it, I respect it, and over a year of using Jellyfin, I certainly found it impressive for what it is.

Some Gmail users have noticed that promotional emails that normally go to their own siloed tab have started flooding their inbox. Reports have been hitting the Google forums and Reddit that messages are bypassing the Updates and Promotional filters and going straight to Gmail inboxes. Some are also reporting seeing a banner at the top of some messages warning them to "be careful with this message," explaining that it hasn't been fully scanned for spam or malware.Google acknowledged the issue, posting on the Workspace Status Dashboard:Gmail users might see banners indicating missing spam checks.We are experiencing an issue with Gmail beg …Read the full story at The Verge.

Welcome to the weekend, friends! We’re still in a bit of a deals lull before the Presidents Day and V-Day sales begin, the bulk of which we anticipate kicking off the first week of February. However, for now, we’re still seeing some solid discounts on a few newer gadgets and some old, Verge-approved favorites. Anker’s Nano Travel Adapter has returned to its best price to date, for instance, as has Samsung’s last-gen Frame TV. You’ll also find discounts on microSD Express cards, budget-friendly robot vacuums, and more, so let’s get into it.If you have plans to spend some time outside of the US this year, Anker’s versatile Nano Travel Adapter is on sale at Amazon in black and white — and directly from Anker with code WS7DV21AXQQZ — for $19.99 ($6 off), matching its lowest price to date.Anker’s thin, foldable charger measures a mere 0.98 inches thick and sports a pair of USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and a US-style Type A outlet on the front, in addition to four plug types (Type A, C, G, and I). The main drawback, aside from the lack of a voltage converter, is that the maximum power output is 20W (or 15W when sharing power across all four USB ports), meaning you’ll need to bring another adapter if you want to charge a laptop or any other power-hungry device.Anker Nano Travel Adapter (5-in-1, 20W)Where to Buy: $25.99 $19.99 at Amazon (black) $25.99 $19.99 at Amazon (white) $25.99 $19.99 at AnkerIt’s been nearly eight months since the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2 — meaning, if you haven’t already purchased a microSD Express card to level up your storage capacity of your console, you’ll likely need to do so soon. Fortunately, Samsung’s P9 microSD Express card is currently on sale at Amazon and B&H Photo with 256GB of storage starting at $39.99 ($15 off), matching its second-best price to date.As you might expect, P9 is built to handle the Switch 2’s faster storage speeds, with sequential read speeds of up to 800 MB/s, resulting in quicker load and launch times. The Switch 2 features 256GB of internal storage, meaning you’re doubling your storage capacity with a 256GB card, or tripling it in the case of Samsung’s 512GB variant. Most first-party Nintendo games aren’t massive, mind you, but third-party titles like Split Fiction (69GB) and Madden NFL 26 (59GB) can quickly devour dozens of gigabytes. That makes picking up a discounted microSD Express card a no-brainer, especially since they’re also compatible with cameras, drones, and any gadget with a microSD USH-I slot.Samsung P9 microSD Express CardWhere to Buy: $54.99 $39.99 at Amazon (256GB) $54.99 $39.99 at B&H Photo (256GB) $99.99 $79.99 at Amazon (512GB)I hate to break it to you, but so-called “art TVs” are not exceptional TVs, at least not in a traditional sense. Still, Samsung’s 2025 Frame TV — which is on sale at Woot in its 43-inch configuration starting at $597.99 ($302 off) through January 31st — is likely to look far better in your living room when idle than your typical LCD or OLED TV.Samsung’s last-gen 4K TV is vastly different than the company’s 2026 panels, either. The slim QLED display can cycle through a small selection of free art pieces when idle, all of which take on a more textured, canvas-like appearance thanks to an anti-glare matte coating that helps curb unwanted reflections. The Frame is plenty good enough for bingeing Slow Horses and Stranger Things, even if the refresh rate is capped at 60Hz, and you still get support for both HDR10 Plus and Dolby Atmos, along with access to all your favorite streaming apps.Samsung The Frame (2025)Where to Buy: $899.99 $597.99 at Woot (43-inch) $1099.99 $697.99 at Woot (50-inch)DJI’s drones might have been banned in the United States, but you can still pick up some of the company’s other gear stateside (at least for now). Take DJI’s Mic Mini, for instance, which is currently on sale at Amazon with a single mic and two transmitters for $59.99 ($20 off), matching the record-low first set during this time last year.If you want to capture audio that sounds more professional than your smartphone can deliver on the go, the Mic Mini is a commendable option. The compact, 10-gram wireless microphone plugs directly into your phone via USB-C, Lightning, or a standard 3.5mm audio cable, and it can be clipped to clothing or worn using a magnetic mount or lanyard. The receiver lasts up to 10.5 hours and includes an onboard dial, which lets you fine-tune gain settings and adjust your volume levels. The pair of included transmitters, meanwhile, can run for up to 11.5 hours on a single charge and capture audio from up to about 400 meters away, provided they’re connected simultaneously.Just don’t expect built-in backup recording or the option to connect a smaller lav mic, neither of which is available on the Mic Mini.DJI Mic Mini (with one mic and two transmitters)Where to Buy: $79 $59 at AmazonMore ways to save this weekendOf all the games coming out this year, Resident Evil Requiem might be at the top of my list. If you’re in the same camp, you can preorder the Steam version (via a digital key) for PC through Fanatical for $57.39 (about $13 off), which is likely the best price we’re going to see in the next mainline RE before it launches on February 27th. I, for one, can’t wait for my return to Racoon City, especially since the ninth installment of the survival horror game will let you toggle between first- and third-person perspectives on the fly.If you find the price of most robot vacuums intimidating, Tapo’s RV30 Max Plus is down to an all-time low of $179.99 ($150 off) at Amazon. The RV30 remains our favorite budget vacuum / mop, namely because it offers a bevy of features found in robovacs that cost twice the price, including an auto-empty dock, smart lidar-based navigation, multiple suction and water levels, and room-specific cleaning with the ability to add virtual walls and no-go zones via the app. You also get a large 300ml tank and 5,200Pa of suction power, which is terrific for a bot in this price range.The JLab Go Air Pop ANC are on sale at Amazon, JLab, and Best Buy for $19.99 ($10 off), which is about $2 shy of their best price to date. They come up a little short in terms of audio quality, but you’d be hard-pressed to find another pair of wireless earbuds that offer a customizable EQ, ANC, multipoint connectivity, and seven hours of playback for under $20. Then there’s the translucent design, which is an even bigger selling point in my book.

Of course ad agencies love AI commercials, this Kalshi ad only cost $2,000 to make. I'll confess, with no shame whatsoever, that I really love ads. Artsy ones, funny ones, weird ones, emotional ones - TV commercials were my childhood TikTok before any of us were using terms like "short-form video." But like most creative things in my life, AI is sucking the joy out of it. And it's only going to suck harder this year.Ads are mini-movies, posters, illustrations, and photoshoots with an underlying purpose: to burn whatever product they're flogging into your brain as quickly as possible. It requires a great deal of creativity, and in some cases, a substantial production budget. And while the creative in me loves to see the fr …Read the full story at The Verge.

I respect Gemini using the royal “we” here. By lots of metrics, Gemini is winning. It has raced ahead of OpenAI, become scarily good at creating convincing imagery, and even won Apple's business. So last week's news that it was enabling something called Personal Intelligence felt like a victory lap. Personal Intelligence allows Gemini to reference past conversations and access your data in other Google services, including Gmail, Calendar, Photos, and search history, without you specifically prompting it to look in those sources. It's entirely opt-in, and you choose which apps Gemini can access and which it can't. It's in beta and only available to people with AI Pro and Ultra subscrip …Read the full story at The Verge.

It's fair to say that a lot of Windows users don't care for all the AI features Microsoft has been cramming into Windows 11 as of late. Since Copilot became a thing, it has pervaded much of Microsoft's operating system in different ways, but it often doesn't offer substantial benefits, if any.

When you’ve spent a long time as a PC user, there’s a high possibility you’ve got a spare rig or two gathering dust. With modern games raising the hardware requirements every year, you probably started your PC upgrade journey one component at a time, before eventually replacing everything and possessing enough spare parts to build your old PC anew.

While the Windows laptop market has been split by Intel and AMD for several years, recent rumors indicate Nvidia has plans to enter the fray with its own Arm-based offering.

There's a lot about Perfect Tides: Station to Station's Mara that I find relatable. Like me, she's recently moved to a place simply called "the City" from the middle of nowhere, and like me, she's an avid writer. But these biographical details aren't the important thing; it's the way she's painted by the game's incredibly sharp writing where I start to feel uncomfortably seen. There are a lot of characters in media that are awkward or socially anxious, but few that are drawn with such piercing specificity. The point-and-click game is minimalist in its mechanics. Consisting mostly of conversations, it's broken up by a few puzzles, object in …Read the full story at The Verge.

Every month, Circana video game analyst Mat Piscatella posts fascinating data about video game sales on Bluesky, highlighting trends like November's historically bad month for game hardware and Battlefield 6's big launch in October. But he doesn't just share data about what is selling the most; as of late, he's also posted delightful lists of games that have sold just a single physical copy over a certain period of time, and the lists often include retro games that take me down memory lane or titles that I didn't even know existed.The list of games that sold one physical copy in October, for example, includes the Xbox 360 version of Burnou …Read the full story at The Verge.