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Alex Lee
Tech + Culture Journalist

WIRED

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Why Netflix keeps cancelling your favourite shows after two seasons

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee

Last month, sci-fi show Altered Carbon joined Sense8, The OA and Luke Cage in being axed from Netflix after just two seasons. Despite passionate fan protests, for the streaming service, it’s all about data
FEATURE

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The messy legal scrap to bring celebrities back from the dead

Posted on December 28, 2021January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
The messy legal scrap to bring celebrities back from the dead

James Dean is being brought back to life for a new movie. It’s just the start – as the image rights to old celebrities expire, we’re set for a resurrection free-for-all
FEATURE

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BritBox has a plan to take on Netflix – appeal to boomers ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
BritBox has a plan to take on Netflix – appeal to boomers

UK-centric streaming service BritBox is releasing a slow stream of original content. But will its focus on over-45s and Brits abroad be enough to compete with Netflix?
FEATURE

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Why is Netflix buying cinemas? The answer is Martin Scorsese

Posted on December 28, 2021January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Why is Netflix buying cinemas? The answer is Martin Scorsese

Netflix has bought a cinema in New York. It could be the start of a big screen revolution
FEATURE

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Quibi was meant to revolutionise entertainment. What happened?

Posted on December 28, 2021January 9, 2022by Alex Lee

The founders of the flailing short-form video platform are pointing the finger at coronavirus. But with shoddy content and a poor user experience, Quibi was doomed to fail from the start
FEATURE

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Are ultra-short episodes the future of streaming? Hollywood thinks so

Posted on July 6, 2019January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Are ultra-short episodes the future of streaming? Hollywood thinks so

Small bites of episodic television ten minutes long and made for viewing on our mobile phones are vying for our short attention span
FEATURE

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Netflix’s movie machine is coming to steal Christmas ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Netflix’s movie machine is coming to steal Christmas

Hallmark reined supreme over festive films. Now Netflix is going after its Christmas crown
FEATURE

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This is what the pandemic has done to Christmas TV adverts

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
This is what the pandemic has done to Christmas TV adverts

Be prepared for less hugging and big family meals and more animation and forced optimism as advertising agencies grapple with the grim prospect of a Covid-19 Christmas
FEATURE

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Love Island’s real genius is in its money-making app ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee

ITV has made millions by teaming up with an app developer on Love Island – and its success hints at the future of the TV business
FEATURE

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EastEnders is back, with added face masks and social distancing

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee

The pandemic forced soap opera producers to hit pause. Now they’re back – and tackling the challenge of weaving Covid-19 into the plot
FEATURE

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The Oscars won’t be diverse until they become more transparent

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
The Oscars won’t be diverse until they become more transparent

Another year, another #OscarSoWhite. To fix the Oscars, the Academy needs to start by becoming more transparent
OPINION

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My weird, nostalgic quest to hunt down a lost online fruit game

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
My weird, nostalgic quest to hunt down a lost online fruit game

As a kid, I vividly remember playing a 2D chat game full of colourful characters with fruit for heads. So why has it seemingly vanished without a trace?
LONG READ

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Reddit sucks for visually impaired people. Online altruists are helping

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Reddit sucks for visually impaired people. Online altruists are helping

Volunteer transcribers are filling their spare time describing image posts, videos and screenshots on Reddit so that visually impaired people can access them
FEATURE

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The Premier League’s return will be met with a new era of crowd noise

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee

Fans are using giant screens, Zoom calls and video game soundboards to create an atmosphere for games played behind closed doors
FEATURE

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Science explains why there hasn’t been a hit Christmas song in years

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Science explains why there hasn't been a hit Christmas song in years

From Mariah Carey to Wham! to The Pogues, we only ever listen to Christmas music that’s decades old, but there’s a reason
FEATURE

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Airline safety videos are upping the gimmicks – but are passengers in danger?

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Are gimmicky airline safety videos putting passengers in danger?

In-flight safety videos are governed by strict rules. That doesn’t mean that people remember the advice
FEATURE

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Reddit’s r/LastImages is a shrine for those lost to coronavirus

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Reddit’s r/LastImages is a shrine for those lost to coronavirus

People whose loved ones have died during the pandemic are turning to strangers on the internet for support
FEATURE

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Coronavirus is bad news for Big Porn but great news for OnlyFans

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee

Even before the pandemic, traditional porn studios were struggling to compete with premium upload sites like OnlyFans. Coronavirus has only made things worse
FEATURE

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Gin! Tea! Dildos! The oddball rise of alternative advent calendars

Posted on January 4, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Gin! Tea! Dildos! The oddball rise of alternative advent calendars

Advent calendars have swapped chocolate for luxury goods as retailers fight for consumer cash. But where and when will it end?
FEATURE

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Britain’s illegal coronavirus raves are impossible to police

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Britain’s illegal coronavirus raves are impossible to police

As the lockdown is eased, people are heading to illegal raves organised on social media. The authorities will struggle to police them
FEATURE

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The Xbox Series X gaffe shows all that’s wrong with product naming

Posted on January 5, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
The Xbox Series X gaffe shows all that’s wrong with product naming

Tech firms are giving their products ridiculously confusing and complex names and it’s not helping anyone
FEATURE

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Beats Solo Pro review: Apple’s influence beefs up build and sound

Posted on January 5, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Beats Solo Pro review: Apple’s influence beefs up build and sound

With strong improvements in both audio and design, as well as active noise cancelling, Beats’ new on-ear headphones are all grown up
REVIEW

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Magnets failed Motorola but the iPhone’s MagSafe gets them right

Posted on January 5, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Magnets failed Motorola but the iPhone’s MagSafe gets them right

Motorola was already touting the power of magnets long before the iPhone 12. But where Motorola failed, Apple’s MagSafe will most likely succeed
FEATURE

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Coronavirus criminals are touting fake cures and fictitious masks

Posted on January 5, 2022January 5, 2022by Alex Lee
Coronavirus criminals are touting fake cures and fictitious masks

Thousands of coronavirus scams have hit the web. All have one thing in common: they’re preying on people’s desperation
FEATURE

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Dyson’s Lightcycle Morph smart lamp is all kinds of odd ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 5, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Dyson's Lightcycle Morph smart lamp is all kinds of odd

Dyson’s at it again with a smart light that aims to tweak its brightness and colour temperature according to the light around you
INTERVIEW

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Beats Flex review: an ideal EarPods replacement ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 5, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee

They won’t blow your mind, but for just £50, the Beats Flex will deliver a reliable headphones experience
REVIEW

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Why you should never use pattern passwords on your phone

Posted on January 5, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Why you should never use pattern passwords on your phone

Facial recognition, fingerprints and iris scanning have all joined PINs, passcodes and swipe patterns. But which should you be using?
FEATURE

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Inside the warehouses where dud Amazon orders go to be reborn

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Inside the warehouses where dud Amazon orders go to be reborn

As online shopping thrives during the pandemic, so does the market for mystery boxes filled with our unwanted goods
FEATURE

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Fraudsters and thieves are cashing in on the pandemic puppy boom

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Fraudsters and thieves are cashing in on the pandemic puppy boom

Unscrupulous online sellers are making huge sums selling ill and dying dogs as interest in pets soars during the pandemic
FEATURE

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Why is Ryanair taking to the skies when there’s nowhere to fly?

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Why is Ryanair taking to the skies when there’s nowhere to fly?

Ryanair, Wizz Air, Lufthansa and British Airways have led the charge as major airlines plot a return to the skies. For passengers, this means empty planes, no refunds and a logistical nightmare
FEATURE

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How the UK’s just-in-time delivery model crumbled under coronavirus

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
How the UK’s just-in-time delivery model crumbled under coronavirus

The radical cost-cutting model was never built to withstand coronavirus, let alone panic-buying
FEATURE

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Supermarkets have a rubbish problem ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Supermarkets have a rubbish problem ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

They thrived during the pandemic. Now supermarkets want to tackle their mountain of waste
MAGAZINE FEATURE

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WeWork’s rapid fall from grace might drag down Meetup too

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
WeWork's rapid fall from grace might drag down Meetup too

In 2017, WeWork bought the burgeoning community-building website. But after putting in place controversial changes, the coworking firm has put its acquisition up for sale again
FEATURE

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A Spanish resort perfected Covid-friendly holidays. Then Britain pulled the plug

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
A Spanish resort perfected Covid-friendly holidays. Then Britain pulled the plug

One of Spain’s most successful resorts is doing everything right to protect guests from coronavirus. But Britain’s travel block could still ruin holidays and finances
FEATURE

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Coronavirus has ruined the great, orderly British queue ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Coronavirus has ruined the great, orderly British queue

The British may be champions of standing in line, but the pandemic has made us hate it
FEATURE

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Lockdown is a feeding frenzy for door-to-door salespeople ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Lockdown is a feeding frenzy for door-to-door salespeople

Armed with face masks and visors, door-to-door salespeople aren’t going to let a pandemic get in the way of a deal
FEATURE

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The pandemic changed how everyone uses Slack ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
The pandemic changed how everyone uses Slack ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Co-founder Cal Henderson shares what Slack has learned about communication as the world switches to remote working – and how our behaviour has changed
MAGAZINE INTERVIEW

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How hotels are preparing for the holiday season from hell ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
How hotels are preparing for the holiday season from hell

From John O’Groats to Land’s End, thousands of UK hotels and B&Bs closed down during the pandemic. They may not survive the summer
FEATURE

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Covid has turned universities into healthcare startup factories

Posted on January 9, 2022January 9, 2022by Alex Lee
Covid has turned universities into healthcare startup factories

The pandemic has sparked a new generation of academic-led healthtech startups, and universities are raking in millions
MAGAZINE FEATURE

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Why the hell isn’t there a McPlant burger yet? It’s complicated

Posted on January 9, 2022January 10, 2022by Alex Lee
Why the hell isn’t there a McVegan Burger yet? It's complicated

Trials in Finland and Canada proved that meat alternative burgers can be a huge fast food success. But logistics stand in the way of a wider rollout
FEATURE

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