Why You Should Hire an Architect

2010 September 8
by squadron

An architect is a highly trained expert who has experience in planning, designing and the construction of buildings and the management of construction projects.

Also, one is not considered an architect until he or she has properly passed all the necessary education and accredited programs to procure a license in order to practice architecture. When practicing architecture, the architect can have freedom to design the building or group of buildings, as well as the space around it that still counts as part of the project. These ideas form the planning stage of the project and can take months to finalise.

The reason why architects are so crucial to the success of any building plan is simple: they can put your ideas into a feasible and concrete reality. If you have great ambitions for your home or place of business, then an architect can ensure that those visions will come true.

But aside from the actual design of the building, there are so many other complex factors (beyond the scope of inexperienced people) that need to be taken into account, and these are also covered in the responsibilities of the architect.

For example, there are some architectural firms that not only design the building for you, but they also prepare the tender documents for the costing of of the entire project, and are the ones that most commonly talk to the contractors, stakeholders and any third parties involved in the assignment.

When you engage an architect, you will not have to be bogged down by all the small technical details. All you have to be concerned about is if whether or not the building is coming along according to your plans originally devised with the help of the architect.

The architect is also very helpful before the actual construction. If you do not have an actual plan but do have an idea on what you want your structure to look like, then that is where the professional can help you on the endeavor.

All you have to do is to present them with some ideas and they can be the ones to take care of site analysis, the assistance you may need in zoning and planning, any environmental impact studies you may need, bidding and contract negotiation with the contractor and his men, and so much more.

The architect that you hire will be involved in all of the aspects of your project. Essentially, you are hiring an architect because you require a trained professional to take charge of planning and designing the building or dwelling as well as provide the necessary feedback and support throughout the entire project.

Hiring an architect is like taking on a business partner for your project, one who is knowledgeable, knows the risk areas around the project and knows how to minimize those risks, has the necessary people skills to work with contractors in order to hire additional resources within budget.

A good architect will treat the project as though it is his or her own and will devise creative ideas and plans to the manager, and discuss in great detail the advantages, disadvantages, any hindrances of a particular strategy.

These are just some of the many important benefits and key reasons why you should engage an architect. There are so many more reasons that really prove that any project worth going through with has to be under the supervision of a highly qualified architect. In the end, it all boils down to the fact that you have a dream construction project, and your architect is the person to make all these dreams become reality.

Looking for Brisbane architects? For renovation architects Brisbane, contact Dion Seminara Architecture. They are leading home improvement architects. Brisbane office is located in Morningside.

Tents and Marquees

2010 September 2
by squadron

marquees-pavillion-3Event Tents, such as wedding tents are used when you want to make a spectacular outdoor scene. They are generally structures installed at a location for a period of time.

Why A Tent?
Commercial Tents are used as protection from the sun, rain or a gathering place. They can make a stunning and creative atmosphere for any event.

Tent Rentals
Tents can be rented or leased for a day, a weekend, weeks, months, etc. For one or two day events, the Tents are usually installed a few days before the event, depending on scheduling and weather, and remain until a few days after the event. Many rentals are quoted for the entire week, allowing for time to set up and design the interior and exterior. Some Tents are built for exceedingly long-term events and have been installed and remain installed for years.

What Kind of Tent Should I Rent?
Tent rental companies come in all sizes – from small-sized companies with just a few Tents to exceedingly large-sized companies – carrying dozens of several sizes and styles of Tents. Some general rental companies rent from tent rental companies to accommodate their client’s needs.

You may know you want to use a standard Tent for your event, or your event planner may already have in mind to use a Tent. You have options! There are lots of other splendid
structures and Tent styles out there. Some are unique and make a statement of their own. Ask the rental company you’re working with for a list of the type styles they have on hand.

Usually, the varying types of Tents available in most companies are (the names vary depending of the company):

Folding Tents Easy and fast to use and always in demand. Very popular, because usually is the less expensive tent. Fast, flexible, cost effective and long lasting.

They are used by:

  • Corporate brands across most industries
  • Government & Council buyers
  • SME business marketers
  • Franchisees
  • Agricultural exhibitors
  • Emergency services & community groups
  • Folding Tents create brand exposure opportunities.
  • You can reach your audience at the right time, in the right place with the right message.

Inflatable Tents An exciting and entertaining alternative Tent. Easy & fast to set up. Be sure they have removable printed roof because in that way you can share the investment with other licences.

What Size Tent Will I Need?

The size of Tent depends on a few factors:

1. The number of guests you expect
2. Layout or seating arrangements or the style of event:

* Reception with what type of tables?
* Speaker engagement with what type of seating?
* Will you need a dance floor?
* Will you need display areas for your products?

If you are interested in a Tent, you can expect to need about 2,000 – 2,500 square feet for 200-seated guests. That could mean a 40 x 60 size Tent (Always ask the Tent rental vendor directly and they’ll give you the best informationabout the size of Tent you’ll need).

Therefore, the key rule is; know what you are going to use your tent for. The choice of tents is astounding, almost on par with the choice of cars that you can buy.

So if you need a tent for the family BBQ, for example, your needs are fairly rudimentry
and your budget may be low. Look for cheap tents that offers a waterproof Polyester roof and a solid warranty for under $600.

If you need a tent for a school or sports club you will need a range of sizes, and colours. Most plain colour Tents s range between $995- $2900. If you are keen to advertise yourself, you can have your names printed for around $150-$300. Printing logos usually be a little more expensive.

In the last 5 years, portable Tents have become important to businesses for their marketing. The key need for these buyers is a prominent and exact reproduction of their logo. Sign written or printed Tents can be as dull as a website address or they can be a design extravaganza.

Remember, if it is for commercial purposes, the aim is to build recognition of your company with your printed Tent. Printed corporate Tents range in price from $1500- $4000. Good ones will really catch your eye.

Once you have decided on what sort of buyer you are and how you are going to use your Tents, a good Tents company will offer you a choice of frames, a warranty of between 3-5 years and help with designing the printing-if you need it.

For more information about tents, contact Extreme Marquees. We have a range of cheap tents, for all sorts of home and business applications.

New Zealand’s Top Holiday Cities

2010 August 23

New Zealand has a majestic array of astounding landscapes. Like enormous mountain ranges, majestic coastlines, bountiful rainforests, deep fiords, snow capped mountains and steaming volcanoes. These panoramic wonders have all made New Zealand an appealing destination for all kinds of holidays.

Amazing travel packages and holiday specials are available on quality accommodation in modern city hotels and luxurious wilderness lodges at reduced prices. Among the top holiday cities in New Zealand, Queenstown, Christchurch and Auckland would definitely be there. Travel Online is a outstanding online specialist travel operator and provides fantastic tourist services for New Zealand. Travel Online provides an instant quote and booking service for accommodation in cities right across the country.

Queenstown
The international resort town of Queenstown is situated on the shoreline of Wakatipu Lake. This beautiful region is among the most scenic locations on the globe. Throughout the year adventurous and thrilling sports like jet boating, bungy jumping, and white water rafting take place. This town is the epicentre of the entire world’s bungy jumping activities too. With the advent of winter, the town gets transformed to an alpine wonderland with snowboarders and skiers from all corners of the world assembling at the annual Winter Festival.

There is constant request for Queenstown Accommodation all round the year and Travel Online offers a select group of hotels best suited for New Zealand holidays. 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedroom apartments, with modern facilities, gyms, spas and fantastic views are available at various holiday retreats across the city. Bigger apartments with more bedrooms, tennis courts, private jetties and fitness centres are also available at a higher price. Luxury complexes with studio rooms in the vicinity of cafes, bars, and restaurants are also found in Travel Online’ Queenstown Accommodation selection.

Christchurch
When choosing a place to stay in Christchurch look for hotels that give views over the astounding Victoria Square, across the mesmerizing Avon River or towards the historic Anglican Cathedral. Situated on New Zealand’s South Island, this cosmopolitan city is always abuzz with colourful festivals, shopping spots, theaters and art galleries. Hotels overlooking Victoria Square provide visitors with an insight in to the city’s English history.

Individuals accommodated in the vicinity of the Christchurch Cathedral will find hotel rooms with a Manhattan-style feel. Tradition and elegance are everywhere in these hotels along with a keen eye on service excellence. Huge bedrooms with full-fledged kitchen facilities are common, along with hi-tech conference facilities, resort-like leisure features like spas, saunas, gyms, and swimming pools. Many of these hotels provided by Travel Online are located in the vicinity of the Technology Park, the International Antarctic Centre, and the airport. Travelers who want to stay away from the hustle and bustle of the cosmopolitan life will find suitable accommodation in the radiantcountryside surrounding the city.

Auckland
Auckland, also known as the City of Sails, is situated in between 2 harbors and has more boats per person than anywhere on the planet. Within minutes a person has the flexibility of sailing away on yachts to isolated nearby islands, living the high life in the casino, surfing at endless beaches or tasting the exotic wines at local vineyards. Hotels come in stylish and comfortable studios, and spacious executive / marina suites. Travel Online caters to the tastes of corporate and business tourists and can beat any price seen on Auckland accommodation advertised. Auckland harbor is splendid, and is seen perfectly from atop Sky City and the surrounding accommodation.

Affordable and comfortable apartments are available for casual tourists, equipped with kitchens, laundries, and balconies to provide a memorable holidaying experience. Visitors to Auckland adore visiting the Antarctic Encounter, which showcases the only penguins present in the sub-Antarctic region. More encounters include cage-bereft shark dives, scuba expeditions and snorkel safaris. New Zealand is waiting.

Travel Online has a wide range of Queenstown accommodation close to all the snow action and cosmopolitan Christchurch accommodation surrounded by all that theatre and art. For holidays in and around the water, Auckland accommodation is as good as anywhere in the world.

Repairing Flooded Carpet: A cheap job is a good job right? Wrong….

2010 August 18
by squadron

Don’t allow an unprofessional 24 hour carpet cleaner show up to repair your carpets with water damage. These are the worries you have to be wary of:

Overcharging. An inexperienced water restoration cleaner may fill the job up with unnecessary inclusions. E.g. using dehumidification for drying the damaged carpets may not be needed.

Correct equipment. They sometimes use equipment from hire companies for drying the carpet. This is ok to do, but a professional water damage technician will possess all their equipment enabling a quicker response and hopefully a better value job.

Proper moisture metre. If they don’t have the choice moisture meter, they will not be able to know when the carpet is fixed. This enhances the potential of mould in future. Mould removal would then be required in the future.

Specialised. There are a lot of “Carpet Cleaners” in this industry who do repair work on the “side.” i.e. they do not complete this sort of work often. Be aware of this. Restoring carpet water damage is an art. Removing and repairing and reinstalling the carpet is best to be completed by a professional, otherwise it can be permanently damaged.

You may be pondering, how do I locate a good Flood Restoration techinician? Below I have set out some things to check for when you call around for a carpet flood damage business:

How large is their Yellow Pages advertisement: This can indicate how much business they do already. A full-size Yellow Pages advertisement can cost about $50 000. When they have got a larger ad, you can at least have some promise that they will deliver the goods.

Where do they come up in Google? The higher the rate in Google, the more “online votes” there have been for this business.

What Qualifications do they have? The fundamental qualification they require is a IICRC qualification about Applied Structural Drying and Water Damage Restoration.

Do Insurance companies hire them for carpet damage jobs? This is a top indicator. If insurance companies hire them, the business is bound to be efficient at their skill. Insurance companies tend to use the businesses that provide them the top value for the fee.

What kind of Equipment do they have? They should own at least 100 Air movers. If they have this many, this shows they have been going for a good while. We took 8 years to acquire that many wet carpet drying air movers.

What type of commitment can you get for them over the phone? Ask if you can pin them down to a rate for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they don’t give you a package for this at the least, you know they are not interested in serving you, so keep looking.

Response Time – Our Water Damage Brisbane business commits to a 59 minute response time to a water damage emergency. The repair needs to be responded to ASAP. Mould can develop within a 24 hour period.

If you follow these tips you are sure to locate a Flood Damage Restoration business who can get the job done right.

If you have carpet water damage Brisbane, call us for flooded wet carpet drying. Brisbane storm season is approaching and you may need storm damage carpet cleaning. Brisbane and surrounding areas serviced.

Podiatry as a Career in Australia

2010 August 13

As a practicing podiatrist in Brisbane, Australia, I am often asked by clients if podiatry would be a good career for a school leaver to enter. There are many things to recommend a career in podiatry including:

  • You can be self employed: This is a prospect that is increasingly being denied to other health care providers such as optometrists and even General Practitioners . Big Business controls a lot of health practices. Consider how often you see an independent optometrist these days – can they compete on price with the multinational chains?
  • Legal Issues: In Australia (unlike the USA where things are very different), podiatrists very, very rarely get sued . The nature of podiatry practice does not lend itself to accidentally harming one’s patients. Also, you never have to give your clients the bad news that their condition will be terminal.
  • Working Hours: Emergency call outs are very unlikely. This is good news for those among us who like their sleep uninterrupted.
  • Financial Reward: Whilst it is true that podiatry doesn’t pay as well as being a medical practitioner or dentist , the remuneration is generally commensurate with other allied health providers.
  • Instant Gratification: One of the most fulfilling things about a career as a podiatrist is the instant gratification! People come in with pain and leave happy. You will consult on a plethora of bite-sized jobs each day, many with a cure you can provide immediately. From someone that has worked with unanimously grumpy customers in a past career, believe me when I tell you, it makes the day much more pleasant when people leave you smiling.
  • Philanthropy: Podiatry will afford you a great deal of opportunity to help relieve the suffering of your fellow human beings.
  • Self – Determination: Podiatry gives a practitioner the power to determine their own course of action for the benefit of their patients. This is unlike a career in nursing for instance where one acts under the direction of a doctor.
  • Clear Job roles: The only people who can hold themselves out to be a podiatrist are those with a podiatry degree . The clear roles that this demarcates relieves the requirement to find your ‘niche’ after university – as someone with a more generic Bachelor of Science degree might need to do.
  • Got the urge to travel? There are many places across the world that do not make their own podiatrists including Tasmania, the Northern Territory, all of Asia and all of the Middle East. If you want to work your way around the world, Australian podiatrists can work in any Commonwealth country and are particularly in demand in Singapore, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and other far flung fields.
  • Variety: In any given day, a podiatrist will see a huge range of complaints. There may be an ingrown toenail or two, a debilitating corn, a sports injury, some sacroiliac pain and at least a couple of painful heels . The key to being a good podiatrist is to be an effective problem solver. Every patient is an individual with a unique condition requiring a well considered solution.

How do you qualify as a podiatrist ?

To qualify as a podiatrist means six Australian Universities:

  • Curtin University
  • La Trobe University
  • Charles Sturt University
  • Queensland University of Technology
  • University of South Australia
  • University of Western Sydney.

Last year, the entry score for the QUT was OP 8.

Stephanie Cosgrove graduated as a podiatrist from QUT in 1990 and with a Master’s degree in Applied Science (Podiatry) in 1996. Since 1991, she has worked in private practice as a Podiatrist Brisbane. She received three university prizes during her studies, including the award for excellence in design and manufacture of orthotics. Brisbane has been the site of her private practice since 1991 which has grown to four locations and eleven staff. If you want to Walk Without Pain consider a visit to Brisbane’s most innovative podiatry practice today. Call for an appointment now on 1300 A1 Feet.

Eight Steps to Great Web Design

2010 August 7
by squadron

Take control of getting your site established by a developer and understand the process it will save you money and get you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Knowing your business and how you are currently positioned in your market.
In order to establish a site that truly meets your requirements; you first need to have a full knowledge of your business including your products, and/or services and more importantly their market position. You then have to acknowledge how you want to explain your business and what it offers in 7 seconds or less. Sounds impossible? Well that is the average time that a user will consider the point “is this site I searched for?”.

2. Budget and estimation
Have a budget in mind and don’t be afraid to let the developers know what it is. In saying this: BE REALISTIC, $500 will never see a great web site created, nor will they be anything left in the bank to market it.

3. The creative process
Be armed with example sites and more importantly the elements of the site you like so they can accomplish an understanding of what you would like to see on your site and also what you find frustrating about other sites. This will build a good profile and analyze not only what type of site to build for you but your tolerance to colours, animations, layouts etc. for your requirements which will allow for fast development. The more interaction and information you accord them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by achieving what you want 1st time round. Check with the designers on how many rounds of changes come with the contract, most will allow for a total conceptual redesign only once and 2 rounds of changes after that.

4. Production and Content
After the home page design is made, the developers will more than likely take the general layout of this concept and then create the inner page template. It is this template that will be repeated for most of your pages for your site.
Present your content in a pre-proofed word processed document; don’t become too creative with the document fonts etc. as these will not be kept when the content is copied into the code of the site. It is suggested that you do use bolding, underlining, headings and sub heading though ,as these highlights are transferred into the site and are essential later on in not only getting the point across to the reader but for Search Engine Optimisation.
One last tip for content; formulate a decent amount of content but present it in a way that a reader may attain a summary of what you are trying to present across in the 1st couple of paragraphs and an image or to. The rest of the paragraphs that get into finer details ARE FOR GOOGLE !

5. Development Programming and CMS
If your website contains Content Managed Areas (CMS) or has any other dynamic sections the developers will wrap your design around a content management program such as Joomla or Drupal or they may have a custom built system. Make sure that you get to see how the CMS system works on another site they have developed or an example site they may have. You need to know that you can utilize and understand the system when your site is complete.

6. Testing and training
We work closely with the developers to test your site especially if there are any CMS or special programs that have been created for you. You can guarantee if it is has just been written for you then it will not operate 100% first time round. This is a where things can get ugly in the process you must understand the way the program works and test it as if you were normal website user. If it doesn’t make sense to you, odds are it won’t make sense to your audience. Make sure you test your website on more than just your browser, try to test it on Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. All of these browsers are on the internet for free!

7. Launch – going live
When the developers are ready to make your site live make sure you have completed the above testing step until you are pleased that this website is the best representation of your business / product it can be. Remember even though you can change things after going live it is still a poor reflection on your business if there are spelling mistakes or broken images when you launch.

8. Marketing
There is little point in having a website if nobody visits it, make sure as part of you contract you have discussed search engine optimisation and or search engine marketing as part of your website build. This is the absolute most important factor of the whole process. If you are the only one looking at your site then you are in trouble.

Remember Search Engine Optimisation is about 30% Onsite (getting your site correct for Search Engine to index correctly) and 70% Promotion. Any developer who tells you otherwise hasn’t been in the industry too long.

For more information about web design Brisbane, contact Web Site Blue. Our web designers understand marketing as well as design.

Tips to Creating a New Business Logo

2010 August 6

A logo is a essential step to forming a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face conveys the tone of your business, gestures the service and screams the professionalism or lack there of.

People spend a lot of money on the formation of their logo and walk away with no artwork files. Then a couple months down the track when they require to put signage on their new building they cannot track the design studio down that formulated the original logo for them and so incur costs to have it recreated. This is redundant and may cause difficulties when trying to recreate the logo exactly as completed originally.

We have created some basic tips you for to think about when creating a logo. Hopefully these will help you from experiencing any future difficulties.

Tip 1
First things first – you need to decide if you would like your logo to have an accompanying icon. It is advised that if your service or product name is not in your business name then perhaps an icon will help in portraying a clear message across to your target audience.

An icon can add an extra element to your branding in that you could use the icon on its own on collateral where perhaps you are searching for a more illustrative finish without losing recognition.

A perfect example of this is the well-known and executed Nike logo.

Tip 2
Colour can be an crucial decision as it not only could alter the output costs but can also limit your output use. Consider the end result and what you will be bringing your branding onto in the future. Make sure your designer is aware of this as they should design accordingly.

Tip 3
Ensure you get a back up disk of your logo as a master file and assure that it includes all the files required for the different printing formats.

Creative software updates frequently and some programmes become obsolete. Insure you have a copy of your logo as a PDF – with the text converted to curves.

Tip 4
Using images in your logo is not very easy to manage. For example it is hard to to reverse into black and white. Images also have limitations when it comes to size – they can only be reproduced to a certain size before they start pixilation.

Tip 5
Using gradients in your logo is not recommended. This too can have limitations when it comes to output for ie: gradients are hard to reproduce when embroidering fabrics.

Tip 6
Confirm sure the font is legible. Some logos need to be reproduced on small pieces of collateral ie: post stamps. It is important that in this case the text is
legible.

Tip 7
Make certain that you collect a copy of your logo in CMYK high resolution 300 dpi (for printing use) and RGB 72 dpi(for web use).

Tip 8
It is important to have a style guide of your logo. It will clearly show you how to use your logo so it looks exactly the same every time it is reproduced. This allows you to keep your corporate image consistent.

Tip 9
Make sure that you get a letter from the design studio declaring that you own the copyright to your logo.

If you follow these tips then not only will you collect a well-designed logo but you will also own the artwork. And when it comes to reproducing your collateral you will be doing it the most cost effective way.

For logo design Brisbane and web design Brisbane, contact Bydaughters today for a free two hour consultation.

How to Create a Style Guide

2010 July 31
by squadron

How many times have you dispatched business cards to print and received yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been enthusiastic to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then spotted that the crucial tag line is missing or your logo has been squashed.

There is only one way to prevent this from happening and that is to set up a style guide. Not only will a style guide aid you control the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you sustain your brand recognition – which many argue is one of the strongest selling tools.

We have placed the below steps together for you as a starting point.

Step 1 : Define the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to work in-house or is this for suppliers and contractors to refer to?

Step 2 : Define what your output uses are. This is important because you will need different logos and file formats for example, black and white publication adverts in comparison to vehicle graphics.

Step 3 : Define the tone for the copy and content required. For example you may wantcopy rules for printed content and then copy rules for website content.

Content rules cover all punctuation rules and how to specify to the business and team.

Step 4 : Assure you layout all the design templates so it is clear how and where the logo and branding lies on all the different pieces of collateral that may be reproduced.

Step 5 : Confirm to accommodate any contributing logos or logos of business that are correlated with you. It’s also important that you send a copy of the layout to these companies to guarantee they accept the layout of their logo as they too may have their own Style Guide and hierarchy layout rules.

Step 6 : Ensure that grammar, spelling and contact details are correct.

Step 7 : Ensure that when suppliers are using the Style Guide they understand~know~discern~apprehend} that a proof needs to be dispatched~sent~mailed~commissioned}to you to be approved as correct.

Have your Style Guide finished and as established as possible. Then have it saved in an email friendly file format and have a couple printed. Once this is done we strongly suggest a training session – whereby your design studio comes in and trains your staff on how to use the Style Guide and most importantly your brand.

For graphic design Brisbane, logo design Brisbane and web design Brisbane, contact Bydaughters today. We help your brand build business.

Projectors: LCD Verses DLP (The downfall of DLP technology)

2010 July 19

The typical question that is asked when purchasing a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: do I buy an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, standing for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, short for ‘digital light processing’ are the two top projector imaging technologies. With so many business brands and different models available, it can be confusing for the buyer to pick between these technologies. Ultimately LCD projectors provide better image quality and colour accuracy. The article below will explain why DLP projectors struggle with projecting an equal level of image quality.

Think of a set of blinds in your house covering your bedroom window. By twisting a rod you can make the shutters open or closed, according to if you want to let light in or not. And such is exactly how an LCD projector functions. Each pixel functions like a single shutter on a set of blinds to either send light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is formed of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as experts like to call them. Each pixel element functions to either reflect light or block it.

How the light source is processed from when the projector is turned on to when the image reaches your screen is extremely significant for image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors process white light from the lamp by dividing it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which direct the coloured light to 3 separate LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels make the elements of the image by turning each pixel on and off. The pixels are then projected in a glass prism to form the projector image. A significant point to understad about LCD projectors is that all three colours are projected onto your wall all at once. The way a DLP projector operates is widely different and even the final product of how an image shows up is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is sent through a turning colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This approach to creating an image casts a sequence of red, blue and green light. The millions of micro mirrors as described above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to construct the image elements. The elements of the image are projected in sequence on the screen, one colour at a time. The viewer’s vision will then put together each coloured element of the image into the complete image. In LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to deliver top brightness and spectacular colour accuracy. In DLP, just one colour is available at once, causing lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some designers have put a white segment in the colour wheel to improve brightness overall, but this further damages colour accuracy.

I hear in forums all the time that DLP offers a higher contrast ratio and ergo must be better. For those who are unsure, the contrast ratio is a measure of a display system defined as the ratio of the luminance of the brightest white to that of the darkest black that the machine is capable of producing. DLP projectors do provide high contrast specifications in comparison to a majority of LCD projectors. Initially, this can seem to be an advantage, however, in truth, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room in which the projector is utilised. Do not be fooled by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you are trying to view has moving images, DLP projection technology also has image imperfections, or ‘artifacts’. The most commonplace artifact that a DLP projector displays with moving images is colour break up. Colour break up is to be expected in DLP systems because moving images change between the time red, blue and green colours are projected. LCD projectors do not have this downside because the colours are sent with the others. DLP designers have formed 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to resolve the colour break up error, but the expense of these projectors make them not practical for the large part of businesses and consumers.

Another point of difference between LCD and DLP is how they balance for the refractive qualities of light. Think back to high school science, and recall when they taught you how the various colours of light refract different amounts when passing through the same lens. The downside with DLP projectors is that they take the one same panel for the same lens to project Red, Blue and Green. All 3 colours are different and refract light in a different way. Often with a DLP projector, a spill of yellow colour will show above and an extra blue will be projected below an image of something as simple as a lone black line. During manufacturing LCD projectors can be adjusted to reduce these effects on the projected image, as each colour is directed on isolated LCD panels.

The only real buy point (excluding price) with going with a DLP projector is its overall smaller size and weight. However, this is only relevant in regard to transporting the device and cannot be traded off against the image plusses of LCD projectors. If resulting picture quality is vital to you, then the answer is a no-brainer. Choose an LCD projector! LCD projectors will constantly create bright, colourful images with fewer image mistakes. If you wish to ask more about LCD technology in more detail, have a look at this fantastic resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any additional questions, go to Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager of Projector Central, Australia’s premier online shop for projectors. Based in Brisbane, Projector Central has served Australia for 15 years. For data projectors in Brisbane and Interactive Whiteboards, contact Projector Central today.

Yachting and Yacht Clubs

2010 July 16

As the Dutch found dominance in sea power during the 17th century, the early yacht had been a pleasure craft used mostly by royalty and secondly by the burghers on the canals and then in the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing yachts was incidental, arising as private games. English yachting began with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low Countries. On his return to the English throne in 1660, the city of Amsterdam gave him a 20-metre (66-foot) leisure boat with a beam (maximum width) of 5.6 m (18 feet), which he then named Mary. Charles and his brother James, the duke of York (James II, ruled 1685–88), ordered for additional yachts and in 1662 raced two of them from the Thames, from Greenwich, to Gravesend, and returning, on a £100 wager. Yachting rose as fashionable among the wealthy and nobility, but after that period the trend did not last.

The first yacht group in the British Isles, the Water Club, was started at about 1720 at Cork, Ire., as a cruising and unofficial coast guard organization, and held much naval panoply and gravity. The closest thing to racing boats was the “chase,” when the “fleet” pursued an imaginary enemy. The club went on, largely as a social club, until 1765, and in 1828, when merging with other organisations, it became known as the Cork Yacht Club (later the Royal Cork Yacht Club).

Yacht racing was seen in some ordered fashion on the Thames around the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland funded the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV came to monarchy in 1820, it came to be called the Fleet to His Majesty’s Coronation Sailing Society. The Thames Yacht Club seceded with a racing dispute, to become the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1830. The first English yacht club had been started at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1815, and royal funding made the Solent – the strait between the mainland and the Isle of Wight – the continuing location of British racing. The organisation at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, also at the rise of George IV. Each member was required to own boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing matches for great bets were held, and the society life was splendid. It came to be that the Royal Yachting Club boats grew in size to bigger than 350 tons.

In North America, yachting began with the Dutch in New York in the 17th century and continued when the English held dominance. Sailing was mostly for fun and found its apogee in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which sailed on the Mediterranean Sea and set a standard of luxury and elegance for the later yachts in those waters from the late 19th century. The first enduring American yacht society, the Detroit Boat Club, was instigated in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens instigated the New York Yacht Club aboard his schooner Gimcrack.

Kinds of sailboats
The first sailing yachts followed the style of such naval craft as brigantines, schooners, and cutters from the 17th century until the second half of the 19th century. The craft of bigger yachts was initially greatly impacted by the win of America, which was drawn by George Steers for a association led by John C. Stevens, and it was the boat for which the America’s Cup (q.v.) found its namesake after its victory at Cowes in 1851. Earlier yachts were not designed and built in the modern sense, with merely a model for an outline. Not until the latter half of the 19th century did what was labeled naval architecture come about. Not until the 1920s did the use of the science of aerodynamics do for the design of sails and rigging what such science had previously done for hulls.

Because most of all sailboats had to be individually manufactured, there arose a desire for handicapping boats as this was before the one-design class boats were designed. Thus, a rating rule was created, which ended up in the International Rule, adopted in 1906 and edited in 1919. In modern times, one of the most rapidly growing areas in sailing is that of one-design class boats. All boats in a one-design class are created to standard requirements in length, beam, sail area, and other areas (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing for such boats can be done on an even playing field with no handicapping at all. A prime example is the standard International America’s Cup Class taken on for racers in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

For the time that yachting belonged mostly for the royal and the affluent, expense was no object, and the size of boats increased, in both length and weight. The ascendancy and preference of smaller yachts happened in the second half of the 19th century in the sailing of the Englishmen R.T. McMullen, a stockbroker, and E.F. Knight, a barrister and journalist. A trip around the world (1895–98) led single-handedly by the naturalized American captain Joshua Slocum in the 11.3-metre Spray demonstrated the value of less sizeable craft. Later in the 20th century, notably after World War II, smaller racing and recreational boats became commonplace, down to the dinghy, a favoured training boat, of 3.7 m. In the late 20th century, yachts of less than 3 m were sailed single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Kinds of power yachts
Post the decade 1840–50, during which steam started to take the place of sail power in market boats, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were used increasingly in pleasure craft. Bigger power yachts were progressed to a high element, and long-distance sailing became a fond occupation of the wealthy. The early power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; these then gave rise to boats powered by the wholly submerged screw or propeller kind of propulsion. As well as naval and merchant craft, auxiliaries with both sail and power were the yacht fashion for several years. By the latter half of the 20th century, several yachts were still auxiliaries, but the majority were solely power yachts containing gasoline or diesel engines.

During the last decade of the 19th century there was a push in the construction of large steam yachts. In particular among these was the Mayflower (1897) of 2,690 tons, containing triple-expansion engines, twin screws, and a compartmented iron hull, and was manned by a crew of over 150. The Mayflower, purchased by the United States Navy in 1898, was the official yacht of the president of the United States until 1929 and gave active service in World War II.

As more sizeable and more reliable internal-combustion engines were created, many large craft began using them for power. The development of the diesel engine, employing heavy oil for fuel, advanced from World War I. From the decade that followed, bigger power-yacht building flourished, climaxing in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. In that time the largest auxiliary yacht built was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The building of larger power yachts lessened in 1932, and the trend from then was in preference of smaller, less costly craft. From World War II, many small naval boats were traded by private owners for conversion to yachts. At the late 20th century, yachting has become a internationally popular activity enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen who are actually manning and maintaining their own small leisure yachts. The amount of yachts and sailors is increasing steadily, not only in the traditional areas on the beach but also on inland waterways and lakes.

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