LIFE

Windows 10 - final sprint and anniversary

Sven Krumrey

The big countdown

The final days have come! At least that is the feeling users of older Windows version get when they see the Windows 10 countdown. With a little flair for the dramatic, Microsoft uses it to signal that the free Windows 10 upgrade will soon be history. But the question is: Who's really running out of time here since many users (including many of you!) vehemently refuse to upgrade - often with good reason? Maybe the "anniversary update" is reason enough to upgrade at the last minute?

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LIFE

Pokémon Go – a self-experiment

Sven Krumrey

Hype or great fun?

Whenever the media are raving about a particular topic it's enough to spawn reluctance. I am no exception which is why I quickly decided to deem the overhyped Pokémon Go as rubbish and not bother looking into it. There's already an add-on for Chrome available that will filter out anything Pokémon-related and I was on the verge of installing it. But isn't it a bit premature to judge something you never tried out? After all, "Too much media coverage" is not a valid argument, it doesn't make or break a game. Maybe I was missing out on loads of fun?

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LIFE

Hot ears - the question of cell phone radiation

Sven Krumrey

Cell phones emit radiation - but what are the consequences?

I recently visited a nice couple that lives on the tranquil outskirts of an average city. These friendly people are always laid-back and so they were this evening until it got my cell phone out and put it on the table. "Would you please put your cell phone away or turn it off? It's so close to the crib." As a well-mannered guest with a liking for worried parents, I naturally switched it off. But did I really endanger their child? I had to look into the matter!

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LIFE

True love - guaranteed?

Sven Krumrey

That's what we'd all like online dating to be

Many are searching for their big love online. My friend Dave* (name was changed at his request) is one of them and has already registered with four different dating services. He keeps me posted on his dating experiences there and I have begun to seriously doubt the validity and integrity of these portals. With slogans such as "Guaranteed contacts" and the premise that members will fall in love at second intervals, I believe there's only one guarantee - there will be considerable costs.

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LIFE

12 quadrillion email addresses hacked! - Fear in advertising

Sven Krumrey

A healthy dose of skepticism is in order

A few days ago, a story first took common IT portals by storm and then spread to big media outlets like wildfire: 1.2 billion email account credentials had supposedly been offered for sale at ridiculously low prices. The focus was on Russian users but it was a world-wide issue. What made my pulse skyrocket and sounded like another data leak may have been something else entirely.

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