Rough Cuts Ltd Blog

Watching the international space station pass over your house is exciting. Even before you start capturing the experience on camera, just knowing that this hulking great big metal mass is flying around the earth every 1 and a half hours, with people on board is extraordinary in itself. Tracking it as it flies over Paris at 200,000 feet as far as Poland and still being able to see it as it disappears into the distance is mind boggling. If you're in the least bit interested (and I've yet to meet anyone who isn't) then the first thing you need to do is check where it is, and if a visible pass is likely. These clear warm summer evenings are by far the best time to see it. However, it's not difficult once it comes into view. It's totally obvious as it looks like a star, that's moving fast! http://www.isstracker.com/ is a good place to start. but if you want an app, try ISS?   for Android. The orbit shows up as a sine wave on a flat map, but of course the orbit is...

Technology suits people with a certain mindset. Many a time I hear defeatist language being used when someone shuts off, or has run out of patience when troubleshooting a technical problem together. It's peculiar. Anxious people also have similar unhelpful thoughts, perhaps a defeatist mentality; not weakness. People who can't solve computer problems aren't weak, they just think differently (about certain things). Likewise, I don't see myself as weak because I suffer with Anxiety, I'm just wired differently. It's curious, because when it comes to resolving computer problems I am totally determined and tenacious. "I will do this" "What's wrong with this, I need to sort it" "This is frustrating, but I'm absolutely not giving up" "If that doesn't work and this doesn't work, then maybe this is the answer" is the type of language I use when I'm troubleshooting computer issues. "I'll never be...

If like me, you've had Skype for several years, but you rarely use it because, well, it's a bit of a pain, then there is a better free way that you can communicate. If you use a team networking app, such as Slack, then perhaps this solution will also usurp it in another way. Many years ago, Charles Dunstone predicted the end of traditional mobile phone calls. Mobile phone companies charging people for how many minutes they'd been on the phone would cease, and all calls would be routed via VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). It hasn't happened yet, but Whats App voice calling, Skype, Facetime calls are all doing their best to make it a reality. To be honest, I don't think I'm alone when I say I loathe video calls. For one, I can see my own ugly mug all of the time, reminding me how old I'm getting and how many extra chins I have, who wants that eh? Not only that, but it's prohibitively intensive on your hardware and it requires fast and stable interne...

Today Ransomware has crippled the world. The WannaCry malware program has (at the time of counting) infected 47,000 computers. This is astronomical, catastrophic and unprecedented and has caused the NHS to crumble. For the typical man on the street, this may be cause for concern, but there are a number of reason why these morons do not cause me any worry at all (apart from the fact that I might be a bit stuffed if I fall ill now!). By changing the way you look after your data, you too could prepare yourself (and improve your digital life) by changing the way you use a computer and manage your data. These changes will also protect you against a personally catastrophic loss of your mobile device too, or your tablet. First you have to imagine, worse case scenario, if you destroyed your device, so it was completely unusable, what steps could you take to get your stuff back? And what might you lose? Contacts - your business could revolve around your contacts, so why on earth would ...

Drones are now everywhere.  Remote control flying machines used to be a niche hobby. Like minded, middle income shed dwellers would meet up to compare their creations; in a wide open field, they'd race around the skies and eat away their Sunday afternoons.  Not any more, a handheld controller and a lethal four bladed cutting machine can be seen in most busy tourist sites. And this is a problem, someone soon is going to get seriously hurt, or killed by one. Mark my words, the news channels are hungry for the scoop on this story, as the popularity grows, seemingly exponentially, it's not long off happening in the UK.  Drones are not for the fainthearted. The majority of the time they behave exactly as you expect them to, but they are difficult to learn and thus, hard to master. You can never be too cautious though and you always have to have your wits about you. You may  get the left/right or forward/back controls confused depending on which way your drone is fac...

Yesterday I had another experience of 'drone prejudice'. I get it, drones can be a pain in the neck. This very weekend, whilst enjoying some time in Rhos on Sea, a hobbyist was taking off from a crowded pavement. Kids playing a few metres away from sharp spinning blades. In Liverpool a few weeks previously, I saw someone taking a DJI Mavic off from the walls of Albert Dock on a very busy Sunday afternoon. Not ideal, or indeed legal. However, many of us have seen the business potential of these magnificent machines and want to do things the right way; politely and safely. I'm working on a an exciting project of historical interest, something local schools may want to use in the future. For it to work, a local talented 3D modeller requires aerial footage of a small nearby town. After careful flight planning, checking the KP index, completing a risk assessment and site visit, working out the best launch sites, taking wind speed measurements, looking at the latest NOTAM repor...