The pre-Christmas season often isn't as magical as one might hope. When the days grow shorter, wetter, and colder, and neither a cozy feeling nor any real excitement settles in, Christmas can feel more like the next big project–just another task to prepare, execute, and check off the list. But every now and then, that special feeling sneaks up on you, catching you by surprise–like when you’re simply searching for holiday decorations.
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Long-time Windows users are familiar with the suspense of system startups: Will the computer boot without hiccups today? Even if you were convinced that you hadn’t changed anything, the screen could stay black or be filled with error messages. This often led to desperation, frustration, time-consuming repair attempts, or even a complete reinstallation. Over the years, I had almost forgotten about all that, but now the suspense is back with a vengeance, bearing names like KB5035853 or KB5035849!
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When managers start chatting freely, you sometimes learn interesting things. Isaac Reynolds, a product manager at Google and "head of photos," recently philosophized about the present and future of digital photography. While I thought it was about capturing the deepest night or minimizing digital noise, his thoughts went in a completely different direction. According to Reynolds, representing reality will no longer be the top priority. Instead, the aim is to create images based on customer expectations, not on the technical limitations of their cameras. With a shift from image processing to image creation, accurately depicting the moment becomes secondary–but is that really the right approach?
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When battery life starts to wane and security updates stop coming, a phone enters its twilight years—time for something new! My requirements were clear: I didn't want a phone that felt like a brick in my pocket, I wanted an exceptionally good camera, and I wanted a clean operating system without bloatware! This ruled out 90% of phones, which now aim for the size of a chocolate bar or, like many Chinese phones, bug you with ads or unwanted software. So, I checked out the Google Pixel 8, which has dropped to a more reasonable price a few months after its launch. Will it shine where it matters to me?
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Recently, I retired my old computer. For 7 years, it had bravely held its own, with only the graphics card being modestly upgraded–and its age gradually starting to show. With the new system, my attention turned to my equally aged monitor. Not only was it unable to display the higher resolutions my new graphics card could display, it also couldn’t handle more than 60 Hz–and had a dead pixel that had been annoying me for quite some time. So, I started looking for a value-oriented replacement and came across the KOORUI 27-inch QHD gaming monitor. Wait a second, QHD resolution, 1 ms response time, and 144 Hz for under $200? It was worth a try–and I got to explain a few technical terms along the way!
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