I recently came upon an offer I could hardly ignore. Amazon's Fire HD 8 was being sold in its basic version for just $50 on "Prime Day". Reason enough to give it a go - it's not like there was anything else to do during my vacation. My reasoning was that, at that price point, I wouldn't be getting a high-end device but it was likewise unlikely that Amazon would market a dud under their own name . Oh the excitement!
moreConfessions at the sausage stand are rather unusual yet I recently overheard one. A lady was whispering (surprisingly loudly) to her friend that she could remember exactly one phone number by heart. Her cellphone would take care of the others. While I was moving up in line, I thought about this and found I could come up with a total of seven numbers. This raised a question: how much could I really remember without tools?
moreThere are some things we don't talk about. Googling oneself, taking vain selfies, stuffing oneself with fast food or looking the other way to avoid conversation - we'd rather keep that to ourselves. The one thing where we always lie is when we're checking off T&Cs. Whether we install programs and updates or make purchases, we usually scroll through the often mile-long terms and conditions at lightning speed to click the "I agree" button. The show must go on after all! What we tend to forget: we're entering into a contract sight unseen.
moreIf you roam the depths of the Internet, you'll find many things that'll amaze you and few things that'll make you think. People in fur costumes ("the furries"), bizarre beauty surgeries, the latest nutritional hype or self-proclaimed holy men who are announcing the end of the world (again) - we've gotten used to that. But when people write they no longer follow the news because they simply can't bear it any more - that gets me thinking. One thing is certain: the Internet has changed the news landscape and we all have to learn to live with it.
moreYou might be under the impression that, nowadays, everything is consumed digitally, including music. Vinyls have been among the first victims of the digital revolution and most press plants went out of business between 1988 and 1995, with their former employees scattering in all directions. At flea markets, entire collections were sold at knock-down-prices as if vinyls were relics from primitive, slightly embarrassing times. To the amazement of many, vinyls aren't dead- and the music industry now has to rediscover how vinyl works.
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