David Withington makes modern technology easy, entertaining and enjoyable with a blend of stories, engaging multimedia and practical jargon-free information. Perfect for non-techies. Drawing on his 40 years of solving problems for large tech companies, he shows us how to get the most from our phones, use modern tech for travel, avoid modern-day scams, and much more.

You can find out more at TechitEasyWorkshop.co.uk

1. The Brilliant Free Google Tools
Did you know your phone can identify objects, buildings, flowers... lots of things around you? And that it can instantly translate any restaurant menu in any language anywhere in the world? Join us as we discover a treasure trove of astounding user-friendly Google tools that promise to sprinkle a dash of magic into our daily lives.

2. Beat the Scammers: How to Identify and Avoid Scams
Do those out-of-the-blue calls frighten you? Unsure if that bank or tax email is genuine? In this enlightening presentation, we uncover the latest online, telephone, and email scams, and equip you with practical strategies to identify and steer clear of them. Who knows, you might even learn how to turn the tables on a scammer!

3. Have Phone, Will Travel – But at What Cost?
What on earth is roaming? And what about that maritime service? Discover how to use your smartphone while globe-trotting or cruising the seas, without succumbing to outrageous charges. We’ll pinpoint the pitfalls to avoid while unveiling clever ways to stay connected no matter where your escapades lead you on this grand planet.

4. WhatsApp Doc?
Want to get the most from WhatsApp? Wondering how to use it without a signal? Is it secure? What else can you do with it? We’ll explore both well-known and surprising features of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, revealing how these platforms can enhance our communication experience for travel and at home.

5. Artificial Intelligence Simplified
What exactly is AI, and how can it benefit us? Join us as we demystify and simplify artificial intelligence, exploring some of its brilliant practical applications that can enrich our daily lives, while also addressing the potential dangers we need to be wary of.

6. What on Earth Does That Mean?
Cookies, Gigabytes, streaming, the cloud, USB, WiFi, PDF… oh my! What do all these techie terms actually mean? We’ll break down these jargon-laden words into everyday language and find out how to benefit from them.

7. Techie Heroes of History
Think the origins of today’s smartphones are recent? Think again! We’ll whisk back to the 19th century and meet some brilliant minds behind the “ancient cutting-edge” technologies that paved the way for our modern marvels. Prepare to be astonished by the history of innovation.

8. Appiness
Need a lifeline to locate your car after a long day? Fancy bypassing the rain? Let's dive into the treasure trove of Android and Apple apps! We’ll uncover unusual yet invaluable free apps for travel, shopping, safety, organisation, budgeting, mental wellbeing, cruising, and even avoiding rain.

9. Social Media: Staying Safe and Sane
Scam posts, dubious friend requests, hacked accounts... How can we evade these threats while making the most of social media? This presentation unveils strategies to protect your online presence whilst ensuring your social media experience is rewarding and enriching.

10. Cybercrime Exposed
What lurks behind the term ‘cybercrime’? How does it touch our lives? We’ll investigate events such as the NHS cyberattack, ponder the complexities of catching cybercriminals, and discover how to safeguard ourselves against becoming victims in this digital age.

11. Financial Fraud: Staying Safe in a World of Scams
How can we outfox the cunning criminals of the digital realm? We dive into riveting tales of contemporary money scams, hear jaw-dropping true stories, and arm ourselves with powerful techniques to stay one step ahead of fraudsters!

12. Charlie Chaplin Meets the Smart HD TV Revolution
How did bulky televisions evolve into sleek flat screens? What transformative journey did the iconic black-and-white Charlie Chaplin films take to become today’s Ultra High Definition masterpieces? What does 1080p mean and do? We’ll also explore how free "metadata" can reveal exactly when and where our cherished digital photos were taken all those years ago.

13. Technology and Your Money
Could technology be our ally in saving money? Join us for an enlightening session on utilising modern tech to trim energy costs, safeguard credit cards, get free financial information, and avoid foreign currency fees. We’ll even dip our toes into demystifying cryptocurrency and contactless payments.

14. Online Shopping & Passwords
Is online shopping truly safe? How do we embark on this digital retail journey? We walk through creating popular shopping accounts, see how to exploit price variations, and then we craft simple yet effective methods for creating strong memorable passwords to protect our online accounts.

15. Mastering Email with Confidence
How do you set up your first email account? What if your preferred email address is already taken? We create a free email account and explore savvy features like reply-all, CC, and BCC. Then, we delve into some brilliant tips and tricks to enhance your email game.

16. Photo Magic
Ever wanted to insert yourself into a stunning scene? We dive into the art of capturing dazzling photos using just your smartphone, and reveal the tricks to seamlessly place yourself into any image using easy-to-use, free tools.

17. Copy, Paste, Cheat
What’s this “copy and paste” malarkey all about? How can we jazz up text by making it bold, italic, or underlined? We’ll make these mega-easy - and then reveal a treasure trove of clever shortcuts to make life smoother and easier on our computers and mobile devices.

18. Digital Demystified
What on earth is digital technology? How does the internet work? How can a tiny memory card hold thousands of photos? Join us as we clarify how this digital realm operates, demystify those ones, zeros, bits and bytes, and see how digital enriches our everyday lives.

19. Blogging: A World Changer
Curious about the blogging phenomenon? Wondering how to start your own blog? We walk through the process of launching a successful blog for free, crafting captivating posts that engage readers, and establishing yourself as a respected authority in your niche.

20. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) [advanced topic]
How can you ensure your content is visible on Google? Discover the principles that will help elevate your website, blog, article, or video to the esteemed first page of search results. This session is specifically designed for those with an existing online presence who want to amplify their visibility.



IN CATEGORIES

Staying Safe & Secure in a World of Scams

Beat the Scammers: How to Identify and Avoid Scams
Do those out-of-the-blue calls frighten you? Unsure if that bank or HMRC email is genuine? In this presentation, we uncover current online, telephone and email scams – and discover practical ways to spot and avoid them. Maybe even get your own back on a scammer.

Cybercrime
What is cybercrime? How does it affect us? What happened when the NHS computer systems were taken out. Are cybercriminals ever caught? And how can we avoid becoming victims of cybercrime?

Social Media: Staying Safe and Sane
Fake Facebook friend requests – how can we stop them? Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram… which is best for me? We simplify social media, and discover ways to protect ourselves from scammers lurking on the socials.

Financial Fraud: Staying Safe in a World of Scams
How can we outsmart tech-savvy criminals? We dive into thrilling tales of modern scams, uncover shocking stories, and learn powerful strategies to stay one step ahead of fraudsters!

Technology for Everyday Life

The Brilliant Free Google Tools
Can your phone identify anything you see, and tell you about it? How can we chat in a foreign language we haven’t learned? We explore some amazing and incredibly useful, cutting-edge, easy-to-use free Google tools that will bring some cool technology into your everyday life and change the way you see the world.

WhatsApp Doc?
WhatsApp tips and tricks. How do we get WhatsApp? How can we use it when we have no signal? Is it secure? We explore the popular and lesser-known useful functions of WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. You might be surprised by how much we can do with them.

Confident with Email
How do I create an email account? How can I get an email address when my chosen one is already taken? We discover how to get and use a free email account, and make good use of facilities such as reply-all, CC and BCC. Then we dig deeper with some smart email tips and tricks.

Appiness
Is there an app to find our car when we can’t remember where we parked? Can we really avoid the rain? We dig into the Google and Apple app stores to make life easier with unusual and incredibly practical free apps for travel, shopping, keeping safe, an organised life, saving money, mental wellbeing, cruising, and even avoiding the rain!

Photo Magic
How can we digitally add ourselves into any picture? We discover the methods for taking snazzy photos with just a basic smartphone. Then we learn, step by step, how to place ourselves magically into any picture using free easy-to-use tools, and share our masterpieces with the world.

Technology and Your Money
Can technology help us save money? In today’s presentation, we use easy modern technology to reduce energy costs, protect credit cards, get free financial information, avoid foreign currency charges… We even take a look at how crypto and contactless work.

Online Shopping & Passwords
Is online shopping safe? How do we start? We create and use popular shopping accounts, take advantage of price variations, and discover easy ways to create strong and memorable passwords for protecting our online accounts.

Keeping Up To Date With Modern Technology

What on Earth Does That Mean?
Cookies, GigaByte, streaming, the cloud, USB, WiFi, PDF… Words that we see often, but what do they actually mean? We simplify them all in everyday language, and find out how to benefit from them.

Artificial Intelligence Simplified
What’s AI? And what can it do for me? We simplify AI and look at its everyday uses, its many benefits, and the dangers to avoid.

Digital Demystified
What’s digital technology? How does the internet work? How can a tiny card store thousands of photos? We demystify those ones and zeros, and those bits and bytes, simplifying how it all works and seeing how it benefits us in everyday life.

Travel

Have Phone, Will Travel – But at What Cost?
What’s Roaming? What’s Maritime service? How can we use our smartphones abroad or on a cruise? Talking, texting, and t’internet shouldn’t cost the earth – but international travel can result in hefty bills. So we identify pitfalls to avoid and discover smart ways to stay connected, wherever we are on the planet.

History

Techie Heroes of History
Who invented today’s smartphone? It began – can you believe – in the 19th century. We look at some smart people’s “ancient cutting-edge” technology that ended up as our amazing 21st century phones.

Charlie Chaplin and the Smart HD TV
How did those heavy TVs suddenly become lightweight flatscreens? How did the old black & white Charlie Chaplin silent movies transform into today’s Ultra High Definition? What does 1080p mean? And how can free “metadata” tell us precisely when and where we took our photos?

"I Wish I Could Do That"

Copy, Paste, Cheat
What’s this “copy & paste” malarkey? How do we make words bold, italic or underlined? We discover how to do these and more. Then we dig deeper with some brilliant shortcuts and tricks to make life easier on our computers and mobile devices.

Blogging: A World Changer
How do we start blogging? What is blogging anyway? We learn how to create a blog for free, how to write great blog posts that people want to read, and how to be seen as an expert in our field.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) [advanced topic]
How do you get found on Google? We discover the principles to get our website, blog, article or video onto page 1 of the search engines. This particular talk is aimed at anyone who already has an online presence such as a website or blog.

After 40 years solving problems for large tech companies, nowadays I do enrichment talks to make modern technology easy, practical, fun and interesting for non-techies. There's nothing better than seeing people enjoying and using technology that they never thought they could. I've done talks on Saga, P&O, Marella. Fred Olsen and Princess cruises.

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.