I am never quite sure of the true worth of these devices. They idea is that they filter out harmful (to the eye) rays by acting as an intermediate screen between the monitor and the user.
Obviously, with flat screen technology it would seem that these items are now pretty much redundant as the LCD and Plasma screens work in the same way as a regular high definition TV screen.
In days gone by these filters were supposed to take out glare and radiation and this in turn prevented (or eased) eye strain which could potentially lead to headaches etc.
The fact that regulatory control over monitors (in the West) prevented these effects from happening in the first place seemed to pass many by and they were popular for a time. I can even recall a point where some people actually wore sunglasses to use a computer because they believed that these offered some kind of protection from “damaging” rays.
For those with eye strain at the end of a day using a PC or laptop, here are a couple of tips to bring the problem to an end.
1. Punctuate your time looking at the monitor with other distractions. E.g. Go for a brief walk, or focus on a distant object or landmark for 3 or 4 minutes every hour.
2. Check you monitor versus your head and eye line position. Many people view their monitors at an angle of inclination beyond 90 degrees. This can cause eye strain. You should not look up or down to the central point of your monitors screen.
3. Find out if you need reading glasses for close up work. Many who suffer from eye strain when using a monitor simply need glasses (this happened to me).
4. Periodically check the settings of your monitor. You can go on the web and download colour and monochrome “check” charts which you can use to adjust the colour, brightness and contrast settings of the screen to their optimum. If this proves impossible, then your monitor requires replacing.
5. If you are using an old “box” style monitor you need to replace it. Any monitor of this type will be past its sell by date and should be substituted with a modern flat screen equivalent.
This page, http://www.normankoren.com/color_management_2A.html, has some colour charts examples on it.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Soft tip darts and electronic dart boards
Darts is one of the most played games in the world, mainly because of the low initial and ongoing costs of equipment and the fact that pubs and bars frequently have all the necessary components of the game available for free.
It is also a game where age, sex and fitness offer no barrier and it can be played by one or several people using a number of different games formats, e.g. 301, 501, cricket etc.
The game does however have one potential drawback and that is the steel points of the darts themselves. Injuries in darts are rare to say the least, but these “pointed weapons” may detour some people from wanting them in the home, or allowing younger children to play the game.
There is however a solution to this problem and it takes the form of a variation on the design of the dart tip which is traditionally made from steel.
The alternative is a soft tip dart, where a soft none metallic material is used for the dart’s point reducing the likelihood of damage to players and furniture (from bounce off).
These darts are often referred to as people and furniture friendly.
Soft tip darts have now become a sport within darts and, although they can be used on a conventional fibre board, new electronic dart boards are sold specifically for use with these soft tip darts. These boards do not require the same heavy construction as fibre boards and many incorporate an electronic and automatic scoring counter in the design of the board. This allows the selection of pre-programmed game formats and the automatic counting (or countdown) of the scoring in real time. This makes the games easy to play and attractive to the younger generations who like the clever technology that makes the board work.
Amazingly, these boards and darts are incredibly cheap and you can buy a branded board and a couple of sets of darts for a very insubstantial sum of money.
You can see and read more about soft tip darts and boards here: http://www.dartscorner.co.uk/Darts---Soft-Tip/c414/index.html and also here, http://www.soft-tips.co.uk/.
It is also a game where age, sex and fitness offer no barrier and it can be played by one or several people using a number of different games formats, e.g. 301, 501, cricket etc.
The game does however have one potential drawback and that is the steel points of the darts themselves. Injuries in darts are rare to say the least, but these “pointed weapons” may detour some people from wanting them in the home, or allowing younger children to play the game.
There is however a solution to this problem and it takes the form of a variation on the design of the dart tip which is traditionally made from steel.
The alternative is a soft tip dart, where a soft none metallic material is used for the dart’s point reducing the likelihood of damage to players and furniture (from bounce off).
These darts are often referred to as people and furniture friendly.
Soft tip darts have now become a sport within darts and, although they can be used on a conventional fibre board, new electronic dart boards are sold specifically for use with these soft tip darts. These boards do not require the same heavy construction as fibre boards and many incorporate an electronic and automatic scoring counter in the design of the board. This allows the selection of pre-programmed game formats and the automatic counting (or countdown) of the scoring in real time. This makes the games easy to play and attractive to the younger generations who like the clever technology that makes the board work.
Amazingly, these boards and darts are incredibly cheap and you can buy a branded board and a couple of sets of darts for a very insubstantial sum of money.
You can see and read more about soft tip darts and boards here: http://www.dartscorner.co.uk/Darts---Soft-Tip/c414/index.html and also here, http://www.soft-tips.co.uk/.
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