Mark Tiddy

All You Need to Know About Smart Homes in 2021 The homes in which we live are changing, becoming increasingly automated and self-sufficient. The so-called smart home is a collection of devices that can all speak to each other, or be controlled remotely, to improve your quality of life. Some can be programmed to carry […]

Those who follow me on YouTube will know I’m a big fan of smart home tech but also a fan of tech being accessible for as many people as possible and so affordability being an important factor. Recently, I’d seen a lot on social media (thanks to promoted Facebook ads) on a new company called […]

Getting your carefully crafted presets from AmpliTube 4 to AmpliTube 5 is really simple. On your computer head to your old presets folder. (On a Mac this is in: Documents > IKMultimedia > AmpliTube 4 > Presets. On a Windows machine this is at C:\Users\*USER*\Documents\IK Multimedia\AmpliTube 4\Presets Go into the preset folder where the presets […]

Check out my latest video review on Youtube

My review of Apple’s latest handset is now live over on my YouTube channel.

Back in October 2019 I started my Full Stack Web Development bootcamp with CareerFoundry, a part-time, self-paced bootcamp which is taught through their online learning platform but also assigns you a tutor who is there to mark your work and offer support when you get stuck and a mentor (someone who can help you understand […]

Disclaimer: I am writing this as an independent graduate of the CareerFoundry course. I started in October 2019 and graduated at the end of June 2020. I’m writing this review (and posting a video review soon on my YouTube channel) because when I was trying to find out more about the course I struggled to […]

Switchbot recently reached out to me and sent me their thermometer and hygrometer monitor to review. After using it for a couple of weeks here’s my review. You can also watch a video review on my YouTube channel. The Thermometer and Hygrometer is a small, plastic device with a LED screen (no backlight). It comes […]

The Switchbot Hub mini is a £29 smarthome hub for adding extra features to Switchbot devices and making your remote controls smart. You can watch a video review over on my YouTube channel. The Switchbot Hub mini is a way of adding voice control and out of home control to Switchbot’s devices alongside allowing you […]

Switchbot are a company who have been on my radar for a while and so when they reached out to me recently and offered to send me 3 of their products I jumped at the opportunity! I’ve made video reviews including a giveaway of these over on my YouTube channel. So, what is the Switchbot […]

Note: This will also apply to the Citroen C1 and Peugeot 106. The Toyota Aygo is a great city-car, it’s super economical on fuel and is fun to drive however whilst the built in Touch radio has bluetooth connectivity the ‘AppInCar’ technology shipped in the models prior to 2018 isn’t fit for purpose as it’s […]

Note: This will also work for the Peugeot 106 and the Citroen C1. Recently I needed to remove the factory stereo from my Toyota Aygo but not a single tutorial talked about the 2014 onwards ones…so here’s how (you can also watch a video here). Around the stereo and down under the dials is a […]

Read on for the written review or watch the video review on my YouTube channel. A week ago I picked up the Comica BoomX-D2 microphones with the hope of improving the sound quality of my YouTube videos and I haven’t been disappointed! Retailing at £225 these are very much a premium product and feel like […]

A few months back I picked up the Teminice 4 in 1 Wireless Charger from Amazon and this is my review. Spoiler…I now own two of these! If you’re well and truly part of the Apple ecosystem then you probably have a need for something that can charge your phone, watch, AirPods and pencil (1st […]

A walk-through on how to build a cloud function that turns a page to a PDF using Puppeteer

For over 10 years I’d been familiar with HTML & CSS and able to get by when I’d needed to and was even able occasionally able to hack about PHP in WordPress without (completely) breaking it but I’d always wanted to learn to code properly…but I’d tried…and it was hard, and I didn’t get it! […]

Way back in 2002 Jennifer Lopez told us to remember where we started as she sung ‘I’m still Jenny from the block’ and over the last few months as I’ve re-learnt HTML & CSS after nearly 15 years and started learning JavaScript I’ve come to believe that Jennifer’s advice is pretty essential for the programmer. […]

Read on for the written review, watch the video review here and pick one up here. A few weeks ago Zigma sent me their Zigma Spark Robot vacuum cleaner with mopping function to review ahead of it’s UK launch. I’ve been using it for a few weeks and here are my thoughts. The Zigma Spark […]

Read on for the written review, click here to watch the video review or pick one up on Amazon here. If you’re looking for an external microphone to improve the sound quality of your videos then the Pixel video microphone might just be the one for you! Retailing at £40 the Pixel isn’t going to […]

Read on for the full written review, check out the video review on my YouTube channel here or click here to pick one up! A dash cam is becoming the essential driving accessory and I’ve been using a cheap one off Groupon for a couple of years (which I wouldn’t recommend!). I would however, recommend […]

The Ring Door View Cam is the latest smart doorbell from Amazon owned company ‘Ring’. Read on for the review, pick one up here or watch the video review here. Ring have been making smart doorbells for a while but they haven’t been without their fair share of problems. A dive into Amazon reviews shows […]

Check out my new video looking at the new smart filament bulb from Philips Hue

Robot vacuum cleaners once seemed like something out of the Jetsons but now they’re widely available and the iLife V3S sits towards the cheaper end of the spectrum (£150) (and is one of relatively few with decent Amazon reviews). Here’s my opinion of it after 2 weeks of usage…(You can also watch a video review […]

To watch a video version of this blog on my YouTube channel click here We don’t talk much about car phone holders…mostly because they’re not an exciting topic however as our phones become our main source of navigation on a journey they might be one of the most essential accessories. So here is a blog […]

If you’d prefer to watch a video review of these scales then click here! 1By One are a company making budget devices and one of their products are the 1By One Smart Body scales. These scales cost around £21 from Amazon with a choice of black or white. In my opinion they look pretty smart […]

Ever wondered how to easily update the order of your payment cards on your Apple Watch without removing them? It’s pretty simple really…read on for a written tutorial or click here to watch a video tutorial. One of the frustrating features both the Watch smartphone app and wallet app on the Apple Watch itself lack […]

A full review of the Tile Mate bluetooth tracker

Now, if you’re like me then even when you’re on holiday (or vacation as they say in the USA) you need some tech with you and so here is a blog with my favourite travel tech including my top bank for travel, favourite apps and physical tech. Prefer to watch this as a YouTube video? […]

Wondering how to speed up an older MacBook? Look no further…

The SPD One Kick is one of four percussion pads available from Roland. I’ve been using it for a few weeks so here’s my verdict. Read on for the blog, pick one up on Amazon here or check out my video review. I quite often take out my acoustic guitar and so solo gigs at […]

A review of AmpliTube Max…guitar and bass modelling software for Mac and PC.

Adding your own sounds to a Roland SPD One series should be easy however it’s not included on the manual so here’s a little video tutorial

The iRig Pro Duo USB recording device from IKMultimedia has been around a while but is still worth a review. Read on for the full review, watch the video review here or pick one up on amazon here. The iRig Pro Duo has since late 2015 and I’ve been using it in my home studio […]

Recently I needed to add some more storage to my 2012 MacBook and so I picked up a whopping 2TB hard drive from Crucial…cloning drives isn’t something I’m new too…in fact, I already have Carbon Copy Cloner on my Mac which I use to create a bootable backup regularly and I installed a 1TB SSD […]

A review of the Zoom IQ5 external microphone for iPhone and iPad.

A few weeks ago Amazon upgraded the entry model of their Kindle. Read on for my review or:Watch my video review herePick one up here The all-new Kindle (as Amazon call it) retails at £69.99 with adverts or £79.99 without. The adverts only appear on the lock screen and home screen (not within books) and […]

A review of the Riwbox XBT-880 Wireless Headphones

A review of the iRig Stomp I/O multi effects guitar pedal

A review of the Mixcder E9 headphones…a budget pair of noise cancelling headphones.

There’s been a few Apple product updates and refreshes this week so here’s a video summarising them!

My app ‘100 Questions’ Youth is a finalist in the Premier Digital Awards in the ‘App of the Year and Best Use of Digital Media in Youth Work’ award See the finalists here

The latest post over on my YouTube channel is a review of the Apple AirPods