A nice upgrade for Apple’s simplest gadget
A nice upgrade for Apple’s simplest gadget

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 114, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, send Arc Raiders tips, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about wind turbines and phishing scams and oboes, keeping organized […]

ChatGPT isn’t the only chatbot pulling answers from Elon Musk’s Grokipedia
ChatGPT isn’t the only chatbot pulling answers from Elon Musk’s Grokipedia

ChatGPT is using Grokipedia as a source, and it’s not the only AI tool to do so. Citations to Elon Musk’s AI-generated encyclopedia are starting to appear in answers from Google’s AI Overviews, AI Mode, and Gemini, too. Data suggests that’s on the rise, heightening concerns about accuracy and misinformation as Musk seeks to reshape […]

12 top tech items I’d buy to host the best Super Bowl party — TVs, soundbars, appliances, drinks dispensers, speakers, games, and more

My guide to a selection of the top tech items worth buying if you’re planning to host a Super Bowl party this year, including TVs, appliances, soundbars, games, and more.

The latest Instax printer is a pricey but worthy upgrade
The latest Instax printer is a pricey but worthy upgrade

FujiFilm’s Instax Mini Link 3 printer is a much-loved $100 accessory in my travel journal kit. I often tape a printed image next to my handwritten thoughts to preserve a moment in time. The prints produced by the instant film can, however, be soft and muddy – something the new $169.95 Instax Mini Link+ promises […]

Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live
Jeffrey Epstein was permanently banned from Xbox Live

Would it surprise you to learn Microsoft booted Jeffrey Epstein from its online gaming platform? As spotted by XboxEra, the latest batch of Epstein’s emails shows that in December 2013, he was “permanently suspended due to harassment, threats, and/or abuse of other players.” But it appears the real reason may be simpler: A second email […]

Peloton lays off 11 percent of its staff just a few months after launching its AI hardware
Peloton lays off 11 percent of its staff just a few months after launching its AI hardware

Peloton said on Friday that it’s cutting around 11 percent of its staff, mostly impacting “engineers working on technology and enterprise-related efforts,” reports Bloomberg. Last August, Peloton laid off six percent of its workforce and told investors it would continue layoffs globally in 2026, in an attempt to cut at least $100 million of annual […]

Video game company stock prices dip after Google introduces an AI world-generation tool
Video game company stock prices dip after Google introduces an AI world-generation tool

The stock prices of some major video game companies, including Take-Two Interactive, Roblox, and Unity, had notable declines on Friday, just a day after Google announced its Project Genie tool that lets users prompt AI to generate interactive experiences, Reuters reports. Take-Two’s stock price closed at $220.30 (down 7.93 percent from yesterday), Roblox’s closed at […]

Sonos’ Super Bowl sale knocks hundreds off its audio gear
Sonos’ Super Bowl sale knocks hundreds off its audio gear

Sonos isn’t exactly synonymous with the Super Bowl, although the brand discounts its gear every year around this time like clockwork. It’s knocking 20 percent off many of its marquee products, including soundbars and standalone speakers — all of which can be paired together to improve sound quality and to put audio in more places […]

Fitbit users now have until May to migrate to a Google account
Fitbit users now have until May to migrate to a Google account

Fitbit users who are holding out on moving their data over to a Google account now have until May 19th, 2026 to make the switch. The previous deadline was just days away on February 2nd, but that date has been updated on Google’s help page for Fitbit account migration. The post also now specifies that, […]