TECH

You can't get a decent cellphone for 80 bucks! Or can you?

Sven Krumrey

A simple design: Cubot Note S

The article about XIAOMI RedMi Note 2 had sparked my interest. A high-end cellphone for $150 was nice but was there a cheaper alternative? Not everyone needs the full capabilities of such a device. That's why I started looking through heaps of reviews on the broad subject of cheap cellphones. My search profile was: crisp display measuring at lest 5 inches, current operating system version (Android 5.1 or higher), good performance, no ad-ware bloat and, naturally, no contract. I've skipped LTE and Full HD for now since I thought them unrealistic features for less than $100 (my most recent requirement!).

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TECH

MP3 - Blessing or curse for music?

Sven Krumrey

Exquisite listening experience for some - horror trip for others

Whenever I see my friend Frank kneel in front of his stereo system there's something cultish in the air. He demands absolute silence and concentration when he plays one of his songs. For hours, he can talk about speaker cables, capacitors and image widths. But if you wanted to silence him, all it would take is a single word: MP3. Then, his facial expression would reflect a little bit of pain, he'd be searching for the right words and let his shoulders fall down in resignation. Read on to learn why, to him, this format means the end of music while at the same time the beginning of a comprehensive music collection for many.

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LIFE

Wanted a single application, got five!

Sven Krumrey

You only needed a single program but …

PUP - sounds cute but has the potential to seriously bug you. This acronym stands for potentially unwanted programs of which there are many that would like to infest your PC. What was once an issue only with smaller companies, flimsy freeware or disreputable download portals has unfortunately become common place. Read on to learn what you need to watch out for and why we occasionally get teary-eyed over this situation!

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LIFE

A house call by Dr. Google

Sven Krumrey

When your ears turn on you

An illness had struck me down for more than a week. What would have been described as "hitting a moderately rough patch" by my grandma kept me up at night. With my eardrums flapping like a dying sparrow, I tossed and turned sleeplessly in bed until I finally tumbled into the living room. Instead of letting the TV drown out everything I made a grave mistake: I entered my symptoms into Google and started looking. One hour later, I thought myself on the verge of death.

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LIFE

A romantic evening beneath the death star

Sven Krumrey

Taking command of your movie entertainment can become burdensome

Spending your vacation at home always involves some degree of coziness. Same with me, after a day on the road we decided to ease it out on the sofa with a "fine" movie. We didn't narrow it down further and that's when the problems began. In the past, you were at the mercy of TV schedules (with a whopping 3 different channels in my youth!) but now we had over 40 channels, multiple online media libraries, Amazon Prime and Netflix at our disposal. What was supposed to be a relaxing evening turned into a real challenge.

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