Latest news with #CharlesDickens
Tom's Guide
19 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
I'm a tough critic when it comes to audio gear, but these $199 headphones still have me hooked
I spend a lot of my life reviewing some of the best headphones... and I also spend a lot of my life reviewing some of the worst headphones. Charles Dickens, who? I think I just rewrote "Great Expectations" for the audiophile crowd. Anyhoo, I reviewed the Soundcore Space One Pro back in February, and I still can't believe how good these headphones are. I gave them a near-perfect 4.5 stars and struggled to fault them. And the best part? They're just $199. (Well, they're often on sale for $169, which makes them like a 4.75 star product.) I've tested my fair share of headphones, and I think the Space One Pros absolutely blow the Bose QuietComforts out of the water in terms of value, and I'll tell you why. What makes the Space One Pro headphones so good? For starters, they're a fraction of the cost of other headphones of this caliber. But my favorite part is the personalized EQ (HearID), which I'll get into in full in 3...2...1... I know some headphone brands offer personalized EQs now (Denon, JBL, Jabra, etc), but the Soundcore version is straight-up entertainment. I've never been so enthralled by a silly little game on my silly little phone before. Let me walk you through it. The Soundcore app runs you through a game (called HearID), where you select which EQ sounds better. Have you ever been to the opticians for a vision test, and they ask you which lens is better? It's like that, but with the same song under different EQ styles. After you complete the game, the headphones generate your perfect EQ, based on what you like. So if you choose the bassier songs, it'll create a bass-heavy EQ. Similarly, if you choose the enhanced vocal (treble) track, it'll provide you with treble-focused EQ. I found this way more effective and fun than a manual EQ slider. Sure, I'm more than capable of adjusting my own frequency volumes — that's all an EQ is, after all — but this made it so much more fun. I was immediately enamored with these headphones. Kind of ironic, but I think the Soundcore Space One Pros are more comfy than the Bose QuietComforts. The soft cups felt like clouds against my ears, and I couldn't feel the plastic driver casing through the mesh. As soon as I put the Space One Pro headphones on, I was shocked at how cheap they are. Usually, even mid-range headphones have thin mesh between the cups and the drivers, but not the Space One Pros. Look at that! So flexible! I feel like a little kid when they say "Mommy! Look at me!" and do some wild contortion that only kids under five are capable of. (I used to be a kindergarten teacher, and that happened to me about 10 times a day. They also used to ask me if I, too, could put my foot over my head. I can't.) The Space One Pros are comfy and flexible, so they can easily be stowed away in a bag or even in a jacket pocket without being too bulky. I'd definitely grab these right before leaving the house and not worry about accidentally breaking them while stuffing them in my bag, running after the bus. As much as I love the Soundcore Space One Pro headphones, they're not perfect. The ANC is good, don't get me wrong. But it's not great. They won't be the best noise-canceling headphones any time soon. When I was testing them, I could still hear traffic noise when I was walking around the city. However, when I was in the office, my colleagues had to wave their hands in front of my face to get my attention. So, swings and roundabouts. If you want to be aware of your surroundings on city walks, then the ANC might not be a negative. All that being said, if you need mind-blowing ANC, then you have to spend $$$ and go for the $349 Bose QuietComfort headphones. Bose is renowned for its industry-leading ANC, and the QuietComforts are no different. My colleague Nikita says that Bose's ANC is "so good you feel lonely", which I think is the best way to describe it. So if you want to save some dough and get mind-blowingly good value headphones? The Space One Pros are calling your name. But if you need ANC that will block out the world? The Bose QuietComforts might just steal the crown here. Me? I'm more than happy with my $150 saving and my Space One Pros.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Which serial killer was described as the WORST villain to ever set foot in the Old Bailey? New Mail podcast explores the horrifying history of murderous doctors that terrorised Victorian England
In the latest episode of the Mail's 'An Appointment with Murder' podcast, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Johns and police surgeon Dr. Harry Brunjes examine the Victorian period's most notorious medical murderers. Medical murderers are those who pervert their positions of trust, as doctors or nurses, to prey on the public. As modern medicine emerged during the Victorian period, so too did a new breed of killer – doctors who turned healing into harm. One medical murderer featured on the podcast has been almost forgotten by history, but in his day was described by Charles Dickens as 'the worst villain to ever set foot in the Old Bailey'. His name was William Palmer, but the press knew him as 'Palmer the Poisoner', after his role in one of the most notorious murder cases of the 19th century. Palmer the Poisoner William Palmer, born in Rugeley, Staffordshire in 1824, was a doctor who used cyanide and strychnine to systematically murder family members and friends for financial gain. His subsequent trial became one of the first high-profile poisoning cases to capture national attention. 'Before Jack the Ripper, there was William Palmer', Dr Harry Brunjes told the podcast. 'William studied medicine in London and qualified at the age of 22. He had a reputation different from most doctors – he was known to be profligate, a drinker, a womaniser and a gambler. 'He poisoned family and friends for money – to cash in on a legacy or an insurance policy. 'The case which brought him to public attention was that of John Cook, a friend who he had murdered by poisoning in 1855. Palmer received £12,000 from Cook, which in today's money would be worth £1.2 million.' Before his conviction and execution for Cook's murder, Palmer is believed to have killed several family members, including his wife, brother, mother-in-law, and four of his children. As a doctor, Palmer could sign his own family members' death certificates, suspiciously listing 'convulsions' as the cause of death for all of his children. The era worked in his favour - potent poisons like strychnine and cyanide were relatively new and produced symptoms that mimicked common diseases like cholera. High infant mortality rates also provided cover, making it believable that one family could lose four children in the unsanitary conditions of Victorian cities. 'It was thought that he killed his children to avoid the expense', Dr Harry Brunjes explained. 'He also found a way to stop more children recurring, because he killed his wife Anne Palmer, not long after taking a life insurance policy out against her. 'He gave her a diagnosis of cholera, but poisoning was later the suspicion. A year after killing his wife, he killed his brother, Walter, who died shortly after William took out an insurance policy. 'Later that year, he murdered Cook and in 1856, was hanged at Stafford prison.' Palmer was caught when a post-mortem examination of John Cook revealed evidence of poisoning, leading to his immediate arrest for murder. While Palmer may be overshadowed by other notorious Victorian murderers, his crimes have an enduring legacy, as Dr. Andrew Johns explained. 'Palmer's preferred poison was strychnine added to an alcoholic drink. His notoriety gives us the expression, what's your poison – when you're asked – what would you like to drink?' For a complete and chilling history of medical murderers of the Victorian period, search for An Appointment with Murder now, wherever you get your podcasts.
Economic Times
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Economic Times
Worrying cracks hiding behind MG Motor's own ‘house of Windsor'
'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' – reads the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The beginning of the famous 1859 novel perhaps best describes an automobile manufacturer in the country – Morris Garages India (now JSW MG Motor India). It is the best of times for the company, which has a vintage British lineage and a Chinese patronage through SAIC Motor Corporation, is smiling through the lanes of India's
Time of India
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Worrying cracks hiding behind MG Motor's own ‘house of Windsor'
Worrying cracks hiding behind MG Motor's own 'house of Windsor' Synopsis India's most successful EV is powering JSW MG's rise. But internal fragilities and external challenges threaten the fairytale. By RAJIV GHOSH 8 Mins Read, Jun 16, 2025, 05:00 AM IST SHARE THIS NEWS Close Font Size Abc Small Small Abc Normal Normal Abc Large Close 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' – reads the opening line of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. The beginning of the famous 1859 novel perhaps best describes an automobile manufacturer in the country – Morris Garages India (now JSW MG Motor India). It is the best of times for the company, which has a vintage British lineage and a Chinese patronage through SAIC Motor Corporation, is smiling through the lanes of India's
Washington Post
08-06-2025
- Washington Post
Maybe my father's Dickens tale wasn't fiction after all
James Thellusson is the author of 'School's Out: Truants, Troublemakers and Teachers' Pets.' Charles Dickens despised the Victorian legal system. In 'Bleak House,' he invented the epic, decades-spanning Jarndyce v. Jarndyce legal battle over a family inheritance to expose the system's cruelty, cost and complexity. 'The one great principle of the English law,' he wrote in the novel, 'is to make business for itself.'
