Why You Should Hire an Architect

2010 September 8
by squadron

An architect is a well trained professional who has experience in planning, designing and the construction of buildings and the oversight of construction projects.

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

The reason why architects are so important 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 make sure 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 examined, 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 bid documents for the pricing 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 hire an architect, you will not have to be confused by 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 construction begins. 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, tendering 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 expert to take charge of planning and designing the building or dwelling as well as provide the necessary feedback and support throughout the entire assignment.

Engaging 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 problems of a particular strategy.

These are just some of the many important benefits and key reasons why you should hire 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 splendid 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 spectacular
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 different 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 basic
and your budget may be tight. 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 promote yourself, you can have your names printed for around $150-$300. Printing logos usually cost a little more.

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 boring as a website address or they can be a design extravaganza.

Remember, if it is for commercial purposes, the aim is to build awareness 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 formulating 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 magnificent array of astounding landscapes. Like huge mountain ranges, endless coastlines, bountiful rainforests, deep fiords, snow capped mountains and steaming volcanoes. These scenic wonders have all made New Zealand an inspired destination for all kinds of holidays.

Fantastic 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 destinations in New Zealand, Queenstown, Christchurch and Auckland would definitely be there. Travel Online is a celebrated online specialist travel operator and provides astounding 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 exciting 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 cutting-edge 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 beautiful Victoria Square, across the transfixing Avon River or towards the epochal Anglican Cathedral. Situated on New Zealand’s South Island, this cosmopolitan city is always abuzz with fantastic 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. Luxurious 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 wonderfulcountryside 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 choice of sailing away on yachts to isolated nearby islands, living the sweet 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 radiant, 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 fantastic holidaying experience. Visitors to Auckland adore visiting the Antarctic Encounter, which showcases the only penguins present in the sub-Antarctic region. More adventures 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 damaged by water. These are the cautions you must be wary of:

Overcharging. An unprofessional water restoration carpet cleaner may load the job up with unnecessary steps. E.g. using dehumidification on the water damaged carpets isn’t always needed.

Correct equipment. They may hire equipment from hire companies to dry the carpet. This is ok to do, but a professional water damage technician will possess all their equipment so they can offer a speedy response and hopefully a better value job.

Moisture metre. If they don’t have the right moisture meter, they can’t see if the carpet is dry. This increases the problem of future mould growth. Removal of this would then be required in the future.

If they aren’t specialised. There are a lot of “Carpet Cleaners” in this industry who do restoration jobs on the “side.” i.e. they do not complete this sort of job each day. Be careful of it. Repairing water damage to carpets is an art. Reinstalling carpets on the gripper strips must be completed by a professional, otherwise it can be damaged incontrovertibly.

You could be asking, how do I choose a professional Flood Restoration techinician? Below I have listed some things to look out for when you call around for a carpet flood damage business:

What size is their Yellow Pages advertisement: This can be a sign of how much work they get already. A full-size Yellow Pages ad slot can cost around $50 000. When they have invested in a large ad, you can have some promise that they will deliver the goods.

Where do they show in Google? The higher the rank in Google, the more webpage clicks there are for that business.

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

Do Insurance companies use them for water damage jobs? This is a great indicator. If insurance companies source them, the business is probably going to be good at their skill. Insurance companies tend to use the providers that provide them the top value for their client’s money.

How much Equipment do they have? They should own about 100 Air movers. If they own this many, this could show they have been in the game for a good while. We took 8 years to accumulate that many wet carpet drying air movers.

What kind of commitment can you get for them on the phone? Ask if you can pin them down to a price for water extraction, water removal and initial inspection. If they can’t give you a rate for this in the least, you know they are not interested in serving you, so look elsewhere.

Response Time – Our Water Damage Brisbane-based business works to a 59 minute response time to water damage emergency. The business needs to be attended to ASAP. Mould can come during a 24 hour period.

If you stick to these tips you are sure to locate a Flood Damage Restoration professional who knows how to do the job.

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 frequently asked by patients if podiatry would be a good career for a school leaver to contemplate . There are many things to recommend a career in podiatry including:

  • You can be self employed: This is a opportunity that is increasingly being denied to other health care providers such as optometrists and even Family Doctors. 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 face litigation . The nature of podiatry practice does not lend itself to accidentally harming one’s patients. Also, you never have to give your customers the bad news that their condition will be terminal.
  • Working Hours: Emergency call outs are very unlikely. This is great 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 salary is generally commensurate with other allied health providers.
  • Instant Gratification: One of the most rewarding facets of working as 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 give you an abundance of opportunity to help relieve the suffering of your fellow human beings.
  • Self – Determination: Podiatryallows 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 works under the instruction of a doctor.
  • Clear Job roles: The only people who can claim to be a podiatrist are those with a podiatry qualification. The clear roles that this delineates relieves the requirement to find your ‘niche’ after university – as someone with a more generic Bachelor of Science degree might need to do.
  • Like to travel? There are many places around the world that do not qualify 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 especially 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 might be an ingrown toenail or two, a debilitating corn, a sporting injury, some lower back pain and at least a couple of painful plantar fascias. The key to being a good podiatrist is to be an effective problem solver. Each patient is an individual with a unique condition requiring a well considered solution.

How do you become a podiatrist ?

To qualify as a podiatrist necessitates) a four year Bachelor of Health Science degree course {available at 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 charge of getting your site produced by a developer and know the process it will save you money and aquire you a site that actually works the intended purpose!

1. Comprehending your business and how you are currently positioned in your market.
In order to author a site that truly meets your requirements; you first need to have a full comprehension 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 loaded with example sites and more importantly the elements of the site you like so they can achieve an understanding of what you would like to see on your site and also what you find frustrating about other sites. This will construct a good profile and identify 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 efficient development. The more interaction and information you allow them in the beginning the more time you will save everybody in the long run by becoming 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 collect the general layout of this concept and then construct the inner page template. It is this template that will be replicated 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 crucial later on in not only establishing with 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 achieve a summary of what you are trying to infer 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. it is essential that you know that you can use and comprehend 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 work 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 available to download on the internet for free!

7. Launch – going live
When the developers are ready to put your site live make sure you have finished 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 imperative step to creating a business. It is the face of your business. And like your face conveys the tone of your business, gestures the service and reveals the professionalism or lack there of.

People spend a lot of money on the creation 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 created the original logo for them and so incur costs to have it recreated. This is unnecessary and may cause complications when trying to replecate 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 desired that if your service or product name is not in your business name then perhaps an icon will assist in conveying 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 Fedex logo.

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

Tip 3
Make sure you get a back up disk of your logo as a master file and ensure that it includes all the files needed for the different printing formats.

Creative software updates frequently and some programmes become obsolete. Make certain 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 arrange. For example it is troublesome 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
Make certain 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 sure 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 get 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 graphic design Brisbane 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 collected yet another version of your corporate colour? Ever been enthusiastic to see your advert in the latest newspaper and then recognized that the crucial tag line is nowhere to be found or your logo has been ruined.

There is only one way to stop this from happening and that is to set up a style guide. Not only will a style guide aid you oversee the reproduction of your logo – it will also help you strengthen 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 : Mark the audience for your Style Guide. Is this for staff to use in-house or is this for suppliers and contractors to refer to?

Step 2 : Mark what your output uses are. This is important because you will require 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 : Confirm 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 : Make sure to accommodate any contributing logos or logos of business that are correlated with you. It’s also important that you deliver a copy of the layout to these companies to insure they approve 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 : Confirm 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 confirmed as correct.

Have your Style Guide completed and as secure as possible. Then have it saved in an email friendly file format and have a couple printed. Once this is done we strongly advocate a training session – whereby your design studio arrives and trains your staff on how to utilize 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 most typical question that is asked when buying a new projector for the home, office, or classroom is: would I buy an LCD projector or a DLP projector? LCD, short for ‘liquid crystal device’ and DLP, standing for ‘digital light processing’ are the two commonplace projector imaging technologies. With so many brands and types available, it can be overwhelming for clients to make a decision between the two technologies. The fact is that LCD projectors give far better image quality and colour accuracy. The next paragraph explains why DLP projectors struggle with projecting an equal standard of image quality.

Think of a set of blinds in your room covering your bedroom window. By twisting a rod you can have the shutters open or closed, according to whether you want to let light in or not. This is exactly how an LCD projector operates. Each pixel functions like its own shutter on a set of blinds to either send light through or to block it. DLP on the other hand is made up of millions of microscopic mirrors or ‘pixel elements’ as the pros like to call them. Each pixel element operates to either reflect light or block it.

How the light source is processed from the point when the projector is turned on to when the image reaches your screen is absolutely important for image quality, brightness and colour accuracy. LCD projectors project white light from the lamp by cutting it into red, blue and green components, by three mirrors which project the coloured light to 3 stand alone LCD panels. The 3 LCD panels create the elements of the image by processing each pixel on and off. The pixels are then simultaneously processed in a glass prism to form the projector image. Something important to remember about LCD projectors is that all three colours are sent onto your wall all at the same time. The way a DLP projector runs is totally different and even how an image appears is not the same. With DLP, white light from the lamp is directed through a turning colour wheel with transparent red, blue and green segments, at speeds up to 11,000 rpm/s. This method of forming an image requires a sequence of red, blue and green light. The millions of micro mirrors described above reflect the coloured light on the pixels to create the image elements. The elements of the image are projected in sequence on the screen, one colour at a time. The viewer’s eyes will then put together each coloured element of the image into a whole image. In LCD projectors, all colours are available all the time to offer the highest brightness and superb colour accuracy. In DLP, only one colour is available at any given time, resulting in lower colour brightness and accuracy. Some developers have included a white segment for the colour wheel to improve overall brightness, but this also degrades colour accuracy.

I find in forums all the time that DLP gives a higher contrast ratio and as such must be superior quality. For those who are unaware, 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 able to produce. DLP projectors do possess high contrast specifications in comparison to the majority of LCD projectors. At first glance, this must be an advantage, however, in the real world, the true black level is determined by the ambient light in the room where the projector is being utilised. Do not be tricked by contrast specifications on websites and in brochures.

When the content you want to bring to life has moving images, DLP projection technology also creates image imperfections, or ‘artifacts’. The most commonplace artifact that a DLP projector creates with moving images is colour break up. Colour break up is incontrovertible in DLP systems because moving images change up between the time red, blue and green colours are projected. LCD projectors do not have this characteristic because the colours are delivered with the others. DLP builders have formed 3DLP solutions using 3 chips to answer the colour break up artifacts, but the price of these projectors make them not practical for the majority of businesses and consumers.

Another variance between LCD and DLP is how they make up for the refractive qualities of light. Jump back to high school science, and remember how the different colours of light refract varied amounts when passing through the same lens. The downfall with DLP projectors is that they have the one same panel and the same lens to project Red, Blue and Green. All 3 colours are obviously not the same and refract light in a different way. Generally with a DLP projector, a superfluous yellow colour will show above and a superfluous blue will appear below an image containing something as simple as a straight black line. During manufacturing LCD projectors can be fixed to take away these effects on the projected image, as each colour is projected on its own LCD panels.

The one actual advantage (excluding price) with picking a DLP projector is its smaller size and weight. However, this is only relevant to portability and has to be traded off against the image superiority of LCD projectors. If resulting picture quality is important to you, then the answer is no-brainer. Take an LCD projector! LCD projectors will definitely show bright, colourful images with fewer image errors. If you desire to find out more about LCD technology in more detail, have a look at this fantastic resource website: Explore 3LCD. If you have any persisting questions, get onto Projector Central and send me an email.

Jonathan King is the sales and marketing manager for Projector Central, Australia’s premier online retailer for projectors. Brisbane based, Projector Central has been serving Australia for 15 years. For data projectors in the Gold Coast and Interactive Whiteboards, contact Projector Central today.

Yachting and Yacht Clubs

2010 July 16

As the Dutch rose to dominance in sea power during the 17th century, the early yacht had been a leisure craft used mostly by royalty and later by the burghers for the canals and the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Yacht racing was incidental, borne from private matches. English yachting started with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low Countries. On his reaffirmation to the English royalty in 1660, the city of Amsterdam presented him with a 20-metre (66-foot) leisure boat with a beam (maximum width) of 5.6 m (18 feet), which he called Mary. Charles and his brother James, the duke of York (James II, reigned 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 bet. Yachting became classy for the rich and nobility, but after that point the fashion did not last.

The first yacht association in the British Isles, the Water Club, was formed in about 1720 at Cork, Ire., as a cruising and unofficial coast guard organization, with much naval panoply and formality. The closest thing to a race was the “chase,” when the “fleet” pursued a fictional enemy. The club persisted, for the large part as a social club, until 1765, and in 1828, by joining with other groups, it became the Cork Yacht Club (later the Royal Cork Yacht Club).

Yacht racing began in some stipulated fashion on the Thames around the mid-18th century. The duke of Cumberland instigated the Cumberland Fleet for Thames racing in 1775. When George IV rose to the throne in 1820, it was then known as the Fleet to His Majesty’s Coronation Sailing Society. The Thames Yacht Club seceded after a racing argument, to become the Royal Thames Yacht Club in 1830. The first English yacht association had been started at Cowes on the Isle of Wight in 1815, and royal patronage made the Solent – the strait between the mainland and the Isle of Wight – the continued setting of British yacht racing. The society at Cowes became the Royal Yachting Club, likewise at the accession of George IV. Every member was required to possess boats of at least 20 tons (20,321 kg). Sailing races for large stakes were held, and the society life was splendid. It came to be that the Royal Yachting Club boats increased in size to bigger than 350 tons.

In North America, yachting began with the Dutch in New York in the 17th century and persisted when the English had power. Sailing was for the most part for leisure and found its high point in George Crowinshield’s Cleopatra’s Barge (1815), which cruised on the Mediterranean Sea and set a benchmark of luxury and elegance for the later yachts in those waters from the late 19th century. The first enduring American yacht club, the Detroit Boat Club, was formed in 1839. In 1844, John C. Stevens instigated the New York Yacht Club while aboard his schooner Gimcrack.

Kinds of sailboats
The first sailing yachts followed the lines of such naval craft as brigantines, schooners, and cutters from the 17th century through to the later half of the 19th century. The style of sizeable yachts was initially heavily impacted by the victory of America, which was created by George Steers for a club led by John C. Stevens, and it was the boat for which the America’s Cup (q.v.) was named after its success at Cowes in 1851. Earlier yachts were not designed and manufactured in the modern sense, with just a model being used. Not until the later half of the 19th century did what was labeled naval architecture come into action. Not until the 1920s did the application of the study of aerodynamics do for the structure of sails and rigging what science had earlier done for hulls.

Because nearly all sailboats had to be individually built, there came a need for handicapping boats as this was before the one-design class boats were designed. Thus, a rating rule was decreed, which ended up in the International Rule, taken on in 1906 and revised in 1919. In modern times, one of the most rapidly growing areas in the field of sailing is that of one-design class boats. All boats in a one-design class are built to the same dimensions in length, beam, sail area, and other areas (for an example of a two-person sailboat, see illustration). Racing those boats can be had on an even keel with no handicapping necessary. A prime example is the generic International America’s Cup Class taken on for racers in the 1992 America’s Cup race.

For the time that yachting was done primarily for the nobility and the wealthy, expense was no problem, and the size of boats grew, in both length and weight. The rise and popularity of smaller yachts occurred in the later half of the 19th century out of 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 hardiness of small yachts. Later in the 20th century, particularly after World War II, smaller racing and leisure 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 setting sail single-handedly across the Atlantic Ocean.

Kinds of power yachts
Post the decade 1840–50, in which steam started to emulate sail power in market craft, the steam engine, and later the internal-combustion engine, were employed more and more in pleasure yachts. Sizeable power yachts were progressed to a high degree, and long-distance travel was a favourite activity of the rich. The first power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; those then made way to those powered by the wholly submerged screw or propeller kind of propulsion. Like naval and merchant boats, auxiliaries possessing both sail and power were the yacht standard for many years. By the later half of the 20th century, several yachts were still auxiliaries, but the large part were only power yachts with gasoline or diesel engines.

In the last decade of the 19th century there was a rise in the manufacture of more sizeable steam yachts. In particular within 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, bought by the United States Navy in 1898, was the official yacht of the president of the United States until 1929 and was used in active service for World War II.

As bigger and more dependable internal-combustion engines were created, many large yachts started using them for power. The establishment of the diesel engine, using heavy oil for fuel, progressed from World War I. In the decade following that, large power-yacht creation flourished, reaching a climax in the Orion (1930) at 3,097 tons. During that period the biggest auxiliary yacht manufactured was the four-masted, steel, barque-rigged Sea Cloud (1931) of 2,323 tons.

The construction of bigger power yachts fell away from 1932, and the fashion from then was in preference of smaller, less expensive boats. From World War II, a lot of small naval craft were sold to private owners for conversion to yachts. At the late 20th century, yachting had become a globally loved sport enjoyed by thousands of yachtsmen who are actually manning and upkeeping their own small pleasure boats. The popularity of craft and yachtsmen has increased steadily, not only in the traditional places by the sea but also on inland waterways and lakes.

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