GoKawiilis editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.
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Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 131, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, happy last week of productivity before the World Cup starts, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
I also have for you a YouTube phenomenon-turned-Hollywood hit, a bunch of Lego sets I bet you’ll want, new places to play Final Fantasy, new headphones and soundbars, and much more. Let’s go.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you watching / reading / listening to / playing / crocheting this week? Tell me everything: [email protected]. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.)
The Drop
Screen share
Last week, I finally caved and bought the tiny Xteink e-reader that has been all over my social feed the last few months. The very first thing I did after opening the box? Install the CrossPoint firmware, an open-source project that has become a huge hit in the e-reading community. (And the center of some interesting drama — I have a story on that coming soon.)
The person at the center of CrossPoint is Justin Mitchell, a developer I’ve known for a long time. I think we first met chatting about Newton Mail, one of my all-time favorite email apps. He also worked on a great voice notes app called Cleft Notes, and a bunch of other cool projects.
After Justin and I chatted this week about the state and future of CrossPoint, I asked him to share his homescreen with us. I half thought he’d just send a picture of his Xteink device, but what I got from him was even more surprising. And delightful. Here’s Justin’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:
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