Rough Cuts Ltd Blog

Buying and setting up a new computer is a big pain in the bottom. If you're planning on treating yourself to a shiny new laptop this summer, then there is a whole host of things you'll need to do before you can start using it as your main machine.  I've just helped my two daughters set up their new machines and realised what a faff it is, if you're not really sure where to start. I tend to do myself a personalised 'to do' list, but, if, like my two daughters, you're at a bit of a loss where to begin, then hopefully, this might help.  1) Update The first thing the PC will most likely convince you to do, is several minor and perhaps major updates. If, (like me) you're a bit of a bargain hunter, then it's likely your PC will have been in storage for some amount of time. During that period, Microsoft boffins will have been releasing updates to their software, to iron out bugs and introduce improvements to make your machine, and millions like it, run...

Sometimes, it's comforting to know that your loved ones are ok. Find my friends is a great way to do this on iOS, but Android solutions, until now have been somewhat convoluted. Some families have a mixture of iOS and Android users in them too, so a cross platform solution would be more useful. Glympse is a great app for letting a client or friend know where you are on your journey. You can share your location via whats app or text, but some friends I know have had problems seeing the location and it's available on both Apple and Google devices. Google have just stepped in with a fantastically lightweight application called trusted contacts. The fact that this is a separate app sits nicely with me, I like the fact that if I want to share my location, or check the location of a loved one, I can safely open this app, and action that need straight away. The options for 'Trusted Contacts' are really very straighforward, 1) Send an alert.  This will contact all o...

Generally speaking, advances in software are usually worth adopting. Sure sometimes software fixes actually take a step backwards, but for the most part, updates tend to enhance interoperability. Over the last few years we've seen the introduction of DLNA. A universal platform for a multitude of devices to exchange information easily. In theory, this ought to allow your tablet or phone to cast media (from the Youtube app on your phone for example) to your DLNA TV (or DLNA ready Set top box.) Or files from a USB drive plugged into your router, to your devices around your home. However after a recent router upgrade, I found many of these services (I used more than I realised) stopped working. The chances are, like me your network is secured with a password. The chances are unless you've got devices over 10 years old, (March 2006 to be exact) these devices will be using WPA2 (not WPA). This technology encrypts your data, with a password to exchange across devices that use DLN...

If you've a modern router, the chances are somewhere embedded in the side is a USB port. Perhaps you're using it for wireless printing? Perhaps you've attached a drive as a handy place to back up all of your vitally important files? Maybe you're using it for your Mac Time Capsule backups (anyone tried this; it ought to work shouldn't it?) Or maybe, you weren't aware you could? I have a wealth of important (to me) files backed up on a 500Gb Buffalo drive, in order of importance Videos of the children growing up (yes they're also backed up on Mega) The contents of my daughters old computer (ready for when we can get her a new one of her own) My Music (also synchronised with Google Music) My Photos (also synchronised with Google Photos) All of this data takes up over 250gb of a 500gb drive.  So when the new vodafone router wouldn't work with it, after I'd got my number back, I set about solving this quandary. On the first night this drive w...

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...