Rough Cuts Ltd Blog

Ebikes are fun.If you've never experienced one, you really should, once you start pedaling you feel like a 10 year old who's been given a push. If you've ever ridden on an exercise bike, you'll know that the effort required is pretty similar to that of a normal bike, assuming that bike is on a perfectly flat surface and constant. The experience of riding an ebike is pretty similar, only instead of going at a normal pace indoors looking at your wall, you'll be going 40-50% faster, in the fresh air, enjoying nature, sunshine and beautiful scenery. A 10mph cruise on a normal cycle will be closer to 15 mph on an ebike. A slight incline will likely not affect your speed or have much effect on the effort required, steeper and, depending on your fitness level, you'll start to really feel the benefit of an electric motor on your side. But, too steep and because of the laws in the UK, you'll need to be physically fit to continue. Upwards of 8% inclines and you'll...

I am truly blessed to work with a number of outstanding teachers and head teachers in close proximity. I didn't know it, but I've accidentally stumbled on my dream job, creating ways to educate students on the wonders of technology and digital creation is more rewarding than I ever thought it could be (who'd have thought after 20+ halcyonic years in retail) , and helping teachers navigate the ever changing world of technology makes me feel useful and valued. Throughout the covid crisis, the schools I work in, have coped amazingly well, receiving praise from teachers and colleagues, pupils and parents for effective communication and workload distribution. But what has struck me is the difference with which the schools have done things. Whilst highly effective, their approaches are completely different and I know that these two opposing approaches aren't the only solutions that schools have adopted. There is a massive spectrum of solutions in-between these two methods, ...

With lockdown, childrens time spent online is naturally going to increase, and thus, the likelihood of bumping into an idiot online and children being targeted or bullied is increased. It seems pertinent to start with the basic facts. If your child is going online to play games in situations that allow players from around the world to join, they will, (as in real life) occasionally encounter unpleasant people. I'm lucky as I am naturally interested in gaming, but if you're not, it pays to ask your child to show you what they play, how they play it and with whom they are mixing. It's also worth noting that Xbox Live and Playstation Plus, despite being for gaming, are not services that are designed for minors. The age for an account is 18 on both. It is anticipated, sometimes incorrectly, that minors will have an adult to steer them through the pitfalls of using the service. But there are ways we can keep our children safe and confident online.  Online bullying can be in...

I can only take some of the credit for some of the images that were described by a fellow tweeter, Ken, as 'amazing' last night. Knowing about photography helps capture these shots, but anyone who knows me well, knows I always prefer the easy way to do things, and if there isn't an easy way, I'll usually find one. This also makes it easy to explain to others, how they can do the same. So here goes. Everyone is capable of spotting what a great image looks like. "Look at that view" and "What a beautiful sunset" aren't phrases exclusive to photographers, we all know what beautiful countryside looks like. But sometimes it's the contrasting light that makes the scene what it is. This happens more in the golden hour; an hour after the sun is rising or the hour before it sets. In these moments, we get huge variations in contrasting light. We have bright skies and deep dark shadows falling over the land, which create depth that give us texture. Our...

If you're a music lover that prefers to own their music than subscribe to a music streaming service, be it on vinyl, CD that you back up digitally, or that you buy digitally, you may have been disappointed yesterday to hear that Google Play Music is swapping to YouTube Music. While YouTube music is ok, it's not quite the same as Google Play Music. Google Play Music simply offered 50,000 song storage capacity and a pretty neat app that allowed you to stream that entire library to your mobile devices. There are apps for iPad, iPhone, Android phone and tablets. It was ok. Sometimes it would muddle up your library and put songs in the wrong album, but hey iTunes used to do the same. Currently the You Tube app doesn't let you stream music in the background though, without a subscription, which is pretty lame. You also can't 'buy' music through it, you can only subscribe to the service, like Spotify, that lets you have access to all of the current music in their ent...

Here are my Top Ten recommendations that you might not know, to help you get the best out of your Smartphone ... 1) Turn off Notifications for Social media - Be the boss of your phone, not the slave to it's chimes, because mental health matters. 2) Clean your lens before you take a photo -This makes a much bigger difference to the clarity and sharpness of your images than you might imagine. 3) Buy a Sim only deal - There's no reason to pay one company for your service and your phone anymore. Check your data usage and buy what you need. £10 will get you 8GB and unlimited social media use on Voxi. My whole family pay less for 4 agreements, than I see many individuals pay for one phone. 4) Buy a Sim free phone - Budget smartphones are now incredible, mid range phones are mind blowing. Save your pennies and don't get suckered into a contract that'll see you lose money if you crack your screen, and on that.... 5) Get a good case - Nano technology is...

So for Christmas I bought my Mum a computer book from a very well known (slightly insultingly titled) series of books that allegedly make computing simple. Absolutely 100% up to date, with everything about how to make her Apple Mac do exactly what she wants. Initially the gift was well received, but from conversations I had, it appeared to be draining. Too much, and perhaps not written the way normal people read or talk. In the same way if someone bought me a ladybird book about gardening or er, ladybirds, regardless of how well it was written, I'd likely struggle after page 4. It lacked engagement. I am very privileged to teach and support in 2 schools in sunny North Wales. With groups of both 6-10 year old's starting out with computers for the first time, and more mature teachers, some of whom are totally stuck in their traditional ways of using a computer. Both groups of computer users, make  similar mistakes though, fall into the same pitfalls, or simply don't know, e...