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>last updated for 4.2
Hey. My name is Jorj and I play a retribution paladin. I didn't see an up-to-date Ret Paladin guide on the forums anywhere so I thought I'd take it upon myself to share my expertise with players new to the spec, or just looking for general guidence on dealing damage effectively as a Ret.
This guide will be updated as frequently as possible to ensure that what you're reading is accurate on Live.
The guide itself is intended for Rets wanting to excel in a PvE raiding environment. There will be no discussion of PvP or 5-man dungeons here.
Table of Contents
The Video Guide
- Talent Specialisation
- Glyphs
- Itemisation
- Rotation
- Cooldowns
- Macros
- Useful Resources
- Encounter Specific Tips/Tricks
Talent Specialisation
This is the reccomended spec for a raid-focused Ret Paladin.
Selfless Healer
Selfless healer may look like a useful filler talent, but remember that the holy power spent on Word of Glory is always better spent on Templar's Verdict.
[useless trivia]
For a short time on the PTR of 4.2, the buff duration from Selfless healer was increased to 30 seconds, up from 10. This would've made keeping Selfless healer up our top priority in the PvE rotation. The buff was quickly reverted back to a 10 second uptime, as Blizzard stated that Selfless healer was primarily a PvP talent, and it wasn't intended for damage dealing classes to feel they had to heal others to do optimal damage in a raiding environment.
[/useless trivia]
Eye for an Eye
Eye for an eye has a 40% change to deal 30% retribution damage when you are hit by an enemies targeted spell. This averages out at 12% total incoming targeted spelldamage. Many encounters at current progression level will randomly select a target and deal spelldamage (think Nefarian's Shadowflame Barrage, or Chimearon's Caustic Slime!) and depending on how unlucky you are (or lucky depending on how you look at it) this talent can do in excess of 200k damage throughout the duration of the fight.
Pursuit of Justice
Pursuit of Justice grants us a passive 15% movement speed, which may seem trivial at a glance (or not if you've looked into graphs proving how valuable movement speed is), but consider that's 15% more uptime on a boss during a high movement encounter such as Twilight Ascendant Council or Conclave of Wind. If, during a 5 minute encounter you are out of the bosses hit-box (unable to attack) for 1 minute, or 20% of the time, then we subtract the time that Pursuit of Justice grants you (15% of 1 minute = 9 seconds) That's 9 seconds extra we are able to deal damage to the boss that would be impossible without the talent. At an average of 25k dps that's 225k passive damage from that talent, and now you begin to see how valuable movement speed really is.
Prime Glyphs (From highest dps increase to lowest)
Glyph of Seal of Truth
Glyph of Templar's Verdict
Glyph of Exorcism
Glyph of Crusader Strike
Glyph of Seal of Truth is the best DPS gain from a glyph that is available to us. 10 Expertise is the equivalent of 301 Expertise rating, or -2.5% chance to be dodged or parried, significantly reducing the amount we need to reach the parry cap, which is 26 Exp. The glyph is still a greater DPS gain than the others even as much as around 5 Expertise above cap (exact number tbc), making it very unlikely it will be useless to you.
If however, you are so far above cap even after reforging all expertise off your gear, you may be forced to use our fourth best glyph available to us, Glyph of Crusader Strike. You should note that it is probably worth downgrading a piece of gear to something without expertise on if it comes to this, as utilising this glyph is very beneficial to our DPS.
Major Glyphs
There are no Major glyphs available to us that directly affect our damage output. Instead, the glyphs are focused mainly around mana conservation, with a few exceptions. The most useful major glyphs for a Ret paladin are:
Glyph of the Ascetic Crusader
Glyph of Hammer of Wrath
Glyph of Rebuke
Glyph of Divine Protection
Glyph of Lay on Hands
Without atleast one mana conserving major glyph, you'll find yourself running oom very often, especially if you get unlucky with procs and are forced to use Consecration more often than you would like. For this reason, Glyph of the Ascetic Crusader and Glyph of Hammer of Wrath are highly recommended, as these are the greatest mana conserving glyphs we have.
The third glyph can be situational. In most instances, Glyph of Divine Protection will be most useful to you, as the majority of boss fights contain at least one unavoidable spell ability cast on the raid (think Nefarian's Electricute!), and a 40% spell damage reduction on a one minute cooldown can be extremely handy. However, if you are used in a Lay on Hands rotation, or find using the ability more often than you would like, it may be beneficial to utilise the Glyph of Lay on Hands instead, but like I say it's highly situational, and partly down to personal preference.
The only Major glyphs I would try to avoid would be Glyph of Salvation and Glyph of Consecration. The salvation glyph, although looking attractive with our current burst threat during cooldowns in the beginning of a fight, does not work as you might expect. Instead of stopping your threat generated for the duration of buff, the glyph merely "banks" the threat generated, making it invisible until the buff expires, and you get all that threat back in one big burst, as if you never had salv to begin with.
Glyph of Consecration also has an ambiguous tooltip. At a first glance it might look to be a DPS increase, generating 20% extra ticks from it's increased uptime, but it doesn't work like that. The glyph merely spaces out the time in between the ticks, so you'll always end up with 10 ticks per cast whether you use the glyph or not. Note that Haste does not affect Consecration ticks.
Stat Priority
Hit (to 961 or 8.00%) > Expertise (to 481 or 16Exp w/ Glyph) > Strength > Mastery > Haste > Crit
Stat Weights
[Section removed due to inaccurate weights. See below.]
Exemplar's spreadsheet was bugged and hasn't been scaling haste with censure as it should, giving haste a much lower value than it has in reality. This has been fixed and it now seems haste has a higher value than crit, but less than mastery.
Meta: Reverberating Shadowspirit diamond
By far the best meta available to us, with perfect socket requirements.
Anything with <20Str socket bonus:
Bold Inferno Ruby
If you can match a 20Str bonus by using one "Half Coloured Gem" ie. 20Str/20Hit, 20Str/20Mas, you'll be netting yourself a free 20 rating. Refer to your Stat Weights to determine exactly when it's viable to gem for the socket bonus.
Arcanum of The Wildhammer (Alliance)
Arcanum of the Dragonmaw (Horde)
Greater Inscription of Jagged Stone
1. Greater Critical Strike
2. Critical Strike
Peerless Stats
Major Strength
Mighty Strength
Ebonsteel Belt Buckle
Dragonscale Leg Armor
Note: Run speed enchants do NOT stack with Pursuit of Justice
The Rotation
As with most classes in current content, Rets do not as much follow as set rotation as they do a priority list. The list for most situations looks like this:
Single Target
Templar's Verdict (3 HP)
Crusader Strike (<3 HP)
Templar's Verdict (Divine Purpose proc AND <3 HP)
Exorcism (on Undead/Demon)
Hammer of Wrath
Exorcism (if NOT Undead/Demon)
Holy Wrath
Consecration (if above 75% mana)
As of 4.2 and the release of Firelands, Inquisition now lasts 12, 24 and 36 seconds up from 10, 20, 30. With the 4-piece Tier 11 bonus, a 3 HP inquisition will last 48 seconds.
If you are using the 4-piece Tier 11 bonus, you can save a lot of holy power by refreshing inquisition at only 1 HP as much as possible. This is due to the fact that using 3x1HP inq's would net you 72 seconds uptime using the set bonus, where as using 1x3HP inq would only net you 48 seconds uptime. You use the same amount of Holy Power, but the former optimises consumption.
Note that even using the 4 set bonus, you should have atleast 30 seconds Inq up whenever you use cooldowns, as having to refresh Inquisition during cooldown uptime is a big waste of DPS.
AoE (More than 4 targets)
The priority list for AoE is very similar to the one we use for Single target, the only difference is we'll be using Seal of Righteousness instead of Truth, and using Divine Storm on cooldown rather than Crusader Strike. Consecration also moves above Judgement. It should look something like this.
Divine Storm
Templar's Verdict (3 HP)
Exorcism (on Undead/Demon)
Hammer of Wrath
Exorcism (if NOT Undead/Demon)
Consecration (if above 75% mana)
Holy Wrath
Note: Remember that Divine storm is absolutely not worth using on less than 4 targets, as it will not generate holy power. For anything less than 4 targets, stick to the single target rotation.
Retribution Paladins have three major cooldowns at their disposal.
Guardian of the Ancient Kings
Avenging Wrath
These cooldowns are best used in conjunction with eachother, which means using Guardian of the Ancient Kings 10 seconds before using Avenging Wrath followed instantly by Zealotry as to wait for Ancient Power to stack up and to fully make the most out of your cooldowns.
Obviously there are exceptions to this rule. Zealotry only generates the additional 2 holy power if Crusader Strike is used. This makes it not worth using in an AoE scenario, where using Avenging Wrath and/or Guardian of the Ancient Kings would still be beneficial.
As of this post, you can use Guardian of the Ancient Kings while wearing 4 piece tier 11 Protection gear for an extra 15 seconds on guardian, then switch back to your DPS gear quickly before the pull in the same way you would prepot. This is a pretty significant DPS gain but I expect it to be fixed relatively soon, as the tier 10 mage exploit was.
Kick your Focus target without switching from your Main target:
#showtooltip Rebuke
/cast [target=focus] Rebuke
/cast Rebuke
Zealotry and Templar's Verdict - No CD time wasted:
#showtooltip Zealotry
/cast Zealotry
/cast Templar's Verdict
Keep 5 stacks of SoT rolling on your focus target without moving:
#showtooltip Judgement
/cast [target=focus] Judgement
Quickly cancel a debuff and get back to DPSing: (press twice)
#showtooltip Divine Shield
/cast divine shield
/cancelaura Divine Shield
User Interface
My UI:
Unfortunately I'm not expert in setting up UIs or making them compatible with other resolutions (or macs LOL) so please don't ask about how to make it work, because I don't know. The addons that don't work are probably under profile "Jórj - Jaedenar", I think you need to change bartender and omen at least.
Useful Addons
Satrina Buff Frames (SBF)
Tidyplates: Threat Plates (requires Tidy Plates)
Deadly Boss Mods (DBM)
My UI Video
If you'd like to know exactly which addons I'm using to raid with, watch this video.
Encounter Specific Tips n' Tricks
Using the Judgement macro it's possible to keep 5 stacks of truth on Halfus whilst keeping the drakes as your main target. You can also use the Rebuke macro to interrupt his shadow nova without switching targets.
Valiona & Theralion:
Again using the Judgement macro you can keep 5 stacks of Truth rolling on the dragon in the air. You'll need to switch Focus when one of them lands but it's overall a massive DPS increase.
If you are targeted by Blackout you can also run outside of the raid, bubble to dispel the debuff, cancelaura using the macro and run back to continue dps. Although not a personal DPS increase this is a big save of movement time for your raid.
If you use your cooldowns at the start of the fight, they won't be up in time for the headphase where they're twice as useful. Pop your guardian 10 seconds before headphase (about when the chains come down) and use everything on the head for maximum damage. It's a good idea to pop your second potion then too.
Omnotron Defence System
Again you can use the Judgement macro on the last golem you were on (be careful of the shield!)
You can also try to save cooldowns for when your main target is Arcanotron and you can stand in the Power generator for 50% extra damage.
Pay attention to Caustic slime. If you miss a crusader strike, you put it on a 4 second cooldown without generating any holy power. Watch the debuff closely and use your ability as soon as it wears off. Never use cooldowns during Feud or you'll be missing a hell of a lot and save your third set of cooldowns for the last phase and Bloodlust.
Maloriak HC
As Zealotry is limited to a single target, use it in the beginning of the fight on it's own. When the dark sludge spawns you can use GaK, and then AW 10 seconds later and spam that Divine Storm button for maximum damage. Try not to use cooldowns in Red phase or you'll end up getting parried 8% of the time.
Cooldowns line up nicely with ground phase on this encounter, but during air phase you can use judgement on cooldown and keep up the exorcism debuff without going oom from using other abilities.
Nefarian HC
Get a death knight to make a macro using Dark Simulacrum on you whenever you get Mind Controlled. As soon as you free yourself, either pop AW as usual to get the most out of the Stolen Power buff, or if it's on cooldown use Seal of Truth. The death knight will also get these buffs for a nice burst to his own damage.
In phase 2, if you are targetted by Exploding Cinders while on the platform, you can simply bubble and cancelaura the debuff without exploding, saving you the trouble of having to jump off the platform, and extremely useful if you are assigned to interrupt.
Conclave of Wind
If you are an engineer, you can use your Parachute to float into the centre of a platform and cancel aura to land right ontop of the boss, saving you 5 or 6 seconds running time every use.
When running from one of the Jin to the wind booster, you can Judgement the boss behind you to get the Long arm of the Law buff and slice a second or 2 off your running time.
Hand of Protection will make you immune to the squall line, meaning you won't even get picked up if you run through it. Use this if you find yourself in a sticky situation with boss timers.
You won't take damage from the ice patch if you use Hand of freedom while running through it.
You can clear your stacks of Acid Rain in phase 2 by using bubble and quickly using the cancel aura macro.
Keep 5 stacks of censure rolling on one of the dogs using the focus target macro. Don't bother doing this in heroic as you typically don't kill the dogs and as such it's just wasted dps.
Lord Ryolith
Use Seal of Righteousness until phase 2 and stand in the middle of the fragment adds for extra damage.
Help taunt the spinners down from their webs using Righteous Defence as well as Hand of Reckoning. If there are more than 3 up in melee, divine storm them down with the drone.
It's not possible to keep up 5 stacks on this boss 24/7, however you can throw a judgement or hardcast an exorcism on him as he flies over while you're waiting for an initiate to spawn or unable to otherwise dps on the ground. Remember to save your 2nd set of cooldowns (including GaK) for his "down" phase where he's taking aditional damage. You should also save bloodlust and shatter/second potion for this time.
This is as "Patchwerk" as fights get for melee in Firelands. If you know your rotation, you can execute this encounter flawlessly.
Majordomo Staghelm
When Majordomo is in his scorpion phase, stand behind him until he's 90+ energy then quickly move infront of him to avoid as many parries as possible.
Using Seal of truth, spread a couple of stacks of censure to the kitties as Majordomo himself jumps out of melee range when he's in his cat phase.
On your second set of cooldowns, stagger Avenging Wrath for use with Divine Storm on the seed adds.Useful Resources
ElitistJerks - Pretty in-depth discussion about class mechanics and patch changes.
SimCraft - Use this tool to determine which talent/glyph/gear/rotation combinations are optimal.
WowReforge - Using this tool can help you optimise your reforge options to make sure no rating is wasted.
So I hope you found the guide useful, I'd be happy to answer any questions you have on the spec or class in this thread or on my youtube videos.
Last edited by Jorj; 09-05-2011 at 05:50 AM.
Why I hate Paladins yet really want to be one at the same time - see above.Al'Akir
Hand of Protection will make you immune to the squall line, meaning you won't even get picked up if you run through it. Use this if you find yourself in a sticky situation with boss timers.
You won't take damage from the ice patch if you use Hand of freedom while running through it.
You can clear your stacks of Acid Rain in phase 2 by using bubble and quickly using the cancel aura macro.
Do the first two tricks work on other people, too? I know you can lifegrip people out of the squall lines but never heard of bopping them out!
Good guide btw, I just didn't have any questions about actual Ret stuff.
Do you have any suggestions for maximizing dps and surviving last phase for longer than 15seconds for heroic chimmy 10m as the ret break tank? I know i didnt utilize my cds for dps as much as i could have because i was worried about pulling aggro when MT's taunted off...and i was saving my first and 2nd AWs for fued phases with holy radiance just to help healers (im pretty sure the healers could handle 20% less from ret holy radiance, if i went back now i would use AW with my other cds). During the stack phase even when i turned off RF i pulled aggro and was killed so i had to sit there and maybe throw a CS when my aggro dropped below 97-98%. I could only manage 11.8k DPS at best, sometimes hovering around 9k (mainly due to getting used to the taunting/aggro because i never ret tanked the fight and the AW-during-stack-phase thing). Sadly after about a dozen attempts or so (half of them into phase 2) we couldnt down him. A couple attempts chimmy was below 500k but we couldnt get the kill. The rest of the dps are pulling 20k+ and tanks are right behind me every pull and with me dying so soon into last phase i feel my low dps is the problem.
I have okay gear... 357il with the correct and most maelstrom enchants, Zin'rokh , but only a 2-set tier bonus. My spec is talent-for-talent the one in your post. Im using your top 3 prime glyphs, for majors; ascetic crusader, divine protection and started with lay on hands but switched to glyph of salvation on the last few attempts, hoping that i could have 10 more seconds to live in phase 2. I can pull around 22k DPS on a good day in BH 10. Ive been thinking about doing a couple things differently, like utilizing my hand of salv more, dropping repentance and divine storm for 2/2 in acts of sacrifice and possibly even dropping 2/2 from pursuit of justice for 2/2 in selfless healer. I just reforged into as much expertise as possible without sacrificing hit and managed 15k dps on the raid dummy, up from 14k, attacking from the front (self buffed+food/flask and going all out with cds and no regard for taunting/aggro/healing) though a bosses parry chance is still 4.75 with 37 expertise. Im gonna work with the exp. some more to get it higher, seems to be the best thing i can do from a gear standpoint. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated
I've never been the break tank on chimearon before, but I'd suggest not using cooldowns in the feud phase as you'll be missing a hell of a lot, and also throw a hand of salvation on yourself if you have a free gcd in phase 3, so you're not his next target after the tank dies. Taunt works so that the caster gains any threat that is above him, so don't be afraid to go nuts just before he taunts, you'll actually be giving him threat.
Firstly, great job ! its good to see someone so passionate when it comes to the class i play.
Here are a few questions i ahve for 4.2
What are your plans for Firelands in regards to itemization.
Will you been looking at crafting some of the black smith gear?
will you save up for tier asap when it comes to valor badges ?
Will it be worth breaking our T11 4p for T11 2p + T12 2p ?
What will be the best way to maximise our aoe dps with the seal changes?
Sorry for all these questions but i believe they will be extremely helpful for other rets reading this guide.
Ps: For ClCret what are your settings (when to refresh inquis, min HP to refresh inqu)? i know you hate UI questions but the appropriate settings for CLCret will improve our dps which is ultimately the goal of this guide.
Pss: sorry for my english it is not my first language.
As far as itemisation goes, nothing changes as of yet. Stat weights look pretty much the same until we reach some sort of a mastery cap where crit will become more attractive, but for the moment that looks unlikely.
I'll be collecting as much of the rep, smithing, engineering items as possible and working out the best combinations.
The 4set T12 is a better holy power conservation mechanic than our current T11 4Set, so yes I'll be saving up for the set asap.
I don't have the math to check if it'll be worth dropping the 4set T11 for 2 set T12, but at a first glance the 2 set does look a lot nicer than our current T11 4Set. Coupled with the general stat increases in the gear I'm quite sure it's worth dropping the 4set.
It's unclear yet at which point it's better to switch from Truth-tabbing to straight up Seal of Righteousness, but the number of targets and the target's uptime will definitely come into play there. I'll keep this guide updated.
Thanks for reply . Cn u reply about clcret question . I love this gudie
I'd pick PoJ over Eye for an Eye anytime. The feet enchant for the movement speed -would- also work, but don't forget that this talent also produces holy power on different fights, which might come in handy.
Otherwise great guide! Keep up the good work.
Even if they're "equal" talents, as it seems to me that you're saying (which I personally do not believe), an important thing to note is that Eye for an Eye is purely damage-based, whereas PoJ is both an increase to damage, mobility & overall performance, which may help you deal even more damage, or at least improve your ability to survive (which is a huge boost in damage anyway).
typically we don't allow bumping of threads, at least if you want to bring your guide back to light, you can post more than just "bump" (this isn't the wow forums!). Typically I sticky or link guides that are well written in a sticky for the sub forums. I don't know enough about ret paladins however to accurately determine if this is deserving of a sticky or not (you can understand why we only want quality guides being advertised here).
So if any other community members would like to contribute or provide feedback to better my decision to sticky or not do so!
READ THIS: Posting & Chat Rules
Looks a good guide to me, although I am not expert.
Are you sure about the bubble macro? Shouldn't the cancel aura line come before the bubble? That's the point of pressing twice. First time, you get the bubble. Second time, you cancel it.
The latest EJ ret findings by Exemplar have things in a lather about stat priorities - haste is looking better than crit and maybe mastery.
Have I missed it or do you not mention CLC ret in your guide? As a tank who seldom does Ret, I found the add-on enormously helpful.
Having read a bit of stuff and discussing with other individuals, it seems that there has been changes done to the Ret Paladin information that has not been included. I would sincerely suggest you review the guide and make sure it's updated to 4.2 with the correct information: much of it is not in the guide as suggested.
I'm not saying this to malign the work you've done, simply stating that there are things that may want to be reviewed before having it placed in any sort of informational situations for the community. It just seems that some of the changes 4.2 did for Ret paladins aren't noted. One of the changes I believe that was done and wasn't mentioned here is the following:
That's just something to show that I'm not just talking out of my rear telling you that there's stuff missing and then not tell you anything at all. But this guide really does have some promise. Just needs to be 'fully' updated for 4.2 and kept a track on. People will rely on the information to stay as such.a 3 HP inquisition is now 36 seconds, not 30, regardless of set bonus. With 4pc t11, it's 48.
Tankspot Moderator
Twitter: Follow me on Twitter! @Krenian
"Damnit!" - Jack Bauer, 24
Guide updated, the recently found 'inaccurate' stat-weights removed, Inquisition times updated, new boss tips n' tricks added.
@Kazeyonoma, Sorry for the bump. Obviously I'm new to these forums and I'm just trying to share my expertise. I saw a thread looking for a retribution guide so this post is obviously hard to find.
@Krenian, the only changes done to ret in 4.2 were the inquisition timer and the Seal of Righteousness hitting all targets in melee range. Both have been accounted for.
@Theodisius, yes the bubble macro works. Yes I've added links to clcinfo in the guide.
Exemplar's spreadsheet was bugged and hasn't been scaling haste with censure as it should, giving haste a much lower value than it has in reality. This has been fixed and it now seems haste has a higher value than crit, but less than mastery.
^ That's an interesting statement, given that everybody tought crit wasn't that much behind mastery (but never actually can catch it) and haste had almost no value. Censure (SoT's dot) only makes up for 7.4% of your total damage done in T11 regular gear (7% in BiS T12Hc gear). So unless you can get enough haste to decrease the cooldown on your CS to 3 seconds i can't see how haste should bypass crit.
When Majordomo is in his scorpion phase, stand behind him until he's 90+ energy then quickly move infront of him to avoid as many parries as possible.
^ You should be careful with that, if many melees try the same you might end up triggering him accidently.
Besides that a very well written guide, lots of useful hints on the bosses.
Last edited by klausi; 08-01-2011 at 06:22 PM.


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Saige's Dog
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This sweet dog named Rembrandt lives on Grandma Mimi's ranch—he loves to play in the open air. He's a border collie mix with a plush body, fluffy black and white fur, and an attached blue leash.
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Why the Stock Market Has Absolutely No Confidence in Facebook
Wall Street has been bullish on tech companies, and the performance of Apple and Google stock led to a great deal of optimism when Facebook launched their IPO in May 2012. The company was valued at over 100 billion, and shares were issued at 38 each. However, analysts became skeptical when they delved into the social media company's projections, and prices fell to 26 within a week.
Prices were still hovering around this figure in July, and it appears that the market has decided that this is a Read the rest of this entry »
The Best Apps for Managing Your Small Business's Finances
Running your own small business can be very hard and challenging to do. While you may be focused on customers and vendors, it can be easy to overlook the financial aspect if your business. While managing your business finances can be hard, there are mobile phone and tablet apps that can be used to make it much easier.
The first application that could help you to organize and manage your business's finances is the Quick Books application. With this application you can automatically sync your invoices, expenses, sales, bank accounts, and other Read the rest of this entry »
Using Third Party Software to Protect Your Online Privacy
One thing that makes a lot of sense is the desire to protect your online privacy. No one likes it when something like this is compromised, but it does happen to people from time to time. The best thing to do is try to put in some safeguards that can help to keep you protected.
First and foremost, always make sure that you are using a third party software that is reliable and trustworthy to keep you protected. Doing so will allow for you to have peace of mind that the software itself is not going Read the rest of this entry »
What Is a Torrent File and What Is It Used For?
A torrent file is used to share music, movies and even television with other users on the Internet. Let's say that someone has uploaded a full-length movie to the Internet and wants others to be able to watch it. They will upload it as a torrent file so that other people can simply click on the link and download it to their own computers. When downloading a torrent file, it is important to have an Read the rest of this entry »
Document Editing Software That Is Actually a Good Alternative to Word
There are several freeware word processing and document editing programs out there that are good alternatives to Word. The best thing is that most of them also read documents that are already in Word.
1.Jarte is a lightweight word processor with quick booting and a somewhat futuristic look. The program has plenty of customization options and a few different layouts. Documents open in a tabbed format and spell check is available for manual use, but automatic requires the paid version.
2.AbiWord looks immediately familiar for anyone used to using the MS Works Read the rest of this entry »


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Quote:Aya, I think you'll find that there is actually a specific pattern to what you're talking about.If you click into a forum but don't read all the threads therein, you'll still get a "no unread" when you go back to the top level page. The server has recorded the time of your last visit to the forum and is indicating that there are no new messages since your last visit. If you go into each forum, you'll still be able to see which threads are unread.
Quote:no no, that's why I edited to clear it up. I occasionally get it telling me that the forums are ALL UNREAD... even when I know I've read them... but it still has me own as being logged in (so at least that cookie is working right...)... eh, like I said, a bit of clicking around usually clears it up (but oddly, refreshing the page does NOT fix it up).. who knows *shrug*


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Together, we can transform the way customers experience your brand


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There is no second guessing Christopher Kane. That's the sheer joy of going to a Kane show because you really never know what you're going to get. Each season he changes his style, not based on trends, but just because he keeps moving in a different direction and it feels right to him. He has the fashion world at his feet, and they turned out in force to support him. Sir Philip Green, Donatella Versace (wearing Kane's Versus accessories), Natalia Vodianova, Anna Wintour and even London's big-shoulder muse of the season…Joan Collins, were front row and ready to be surprised. First the Scot showed a series of checked dresses in powder blue, pale pink, fawn, navy and lemon yellow, all falling to the knee, but still managing to be hugely flattering. Skirts were either pleated or split to expose the legs, stopping the collection from becoming too prim. Corsetry and lingerie detailing are probably why Christopher himself described it as 'a bit pervy', but he also name-checked Lolita, First Ladies and The Brady Bunch as influences (although he has a habit of making these up to wind up fashion journalists, he probably just liked check this season)! He finished the show with beaded dresses (he is all about the dress for SS '10) in pastel tones, reminiscent of saris, and there was even a little bit of tailoring thrown in to give the collection a harder edge.
- Kay Barron


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Friday, 01 June 2012 00:00
Doctors and public health experts agree that birth control is a basic and essential component of women's preventive health care. Following the medical community's recommendation, the Obama administration mandated that employers provide health insurance, including birth control, for its employees. An exception for religious organizations was made, exempting them from providing birth control coverage, subsidizing the cost of birth control, or referring for birth control. Employees of these organizations were ensured access by requiring the employer's health plan to provide birth control coverage directly to these women free-of-charge.
Despite these considerations, lawsuits were filed earlier this week [This letter was received May 24.] by Roman Catholic dioceses, schools and other institutions, including the local dioceses of Rockville Centre, against the inclusion of this benefit.
Virtually all American women use birth control. In fact, 99 percent of sexually active American women report using contraception at some point in their lives. This is a medical issue, not a religious or political issue. It is outrageous that we still have to make this case in 2012.
We at Planned Parenthood remain steadfast in our commitment to protecting women's access to preventive health services, including birth control, and we will work to ensure that no woman has to worry about how she will afford her next birth control prescription.
JoAnn D. Smith
President & CEO
Planned Parenthood of Nassau County


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Showing 1-15 of 15 items found in Events
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Beaux Arts Ball - Jacksonville
A proud tradition of the community, this gala brings out the finest in the city's youth for a wonderful ball and coronation of king and queen of the event. Largest annual fundraising event for the David Strawn Art Gallery.
CITY: Jacksonville
General Grierson Days Civil War Reenactment
Largest mounted Civil War re-enactment in the Midwest. Step back in time and experience the life of a Civil War soldier. Visit the Confederate and Union camps. Watch the soldiers drill and prepare for battle, prepare meals and practice medicine. Veterans Remembered from WW1 and WW2 re-enactors will have their tents set up and will be giving rides in WW2 trucks. 1850's vintage baseball game, featuring teams from Chicago, St. Louis and several more. Kid's corner keeps the children entertained while learning about the past. Parades, full period dress grand ball, exhibits, food and of course major battle reenactments. Historic home tours to be announced.
CITY: Jacksonville
31st Annual Pilot Home Tour & Tea
Visit beautifully decorated homes, sponsored by the International Pilot Club of Jacksonville.
CITY: Jacksonville
Jacksonville Main Street's Bridal Expo
Jacksonville Main Street's Bridal Expo at Hamilton's from 12 to 4 p.m. There will be lots of vendors and prizes. The Bridal Fashion Show will be at 2:45 p.m.
CITY: Jacksonville
Annual Downtown Celebration
Plan to be part of the Downtown Celebration, a festive day of music, food and fun in the heart of Historic Downtown Jacksonville.
CITY: Jacksonville
Annual Valentine's Dinner/Dance
Join the Jacksonville Rotary Club for their 13th Annual Valentine's Dinner/Dance. Cocktails (cash bar): 5:30 p.m. Dinner: 6:30 p.m. Vegetarian meal available upon request (advance notice required) Exit 52 Band: 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. (Exit 52 delivers high energy classic rock, 80s and Country. They tour extensively throughout Central Illinois. Find out more at www.exit52music.com). Live Auction at 8:30 p.m. and Silent Auction throughout the evening. ADVANCED RESERVATIONS REQUIRED! $35.00 Per person – reserved seating for tables of 8
CITY: Jacksonville
4th of July Celebration & Parade
Two day Celebration at Nichols Park beginning at 6 p.m. July 3 and ending after fireworks on July 4th. Parade, concessions, kid's events, live entertainment, fireworks and more!
CITY: Jacksonville
11th Annual River Country Quilt Show
Quilters throughout the area exhibit an impressive number of quilts, wall-hangings, antique quilts and much more.
CITY: Jacksonville
Annual Robbie McEvers Memorial Golf Tournament
The 36th Annual Robbie McEvers Memorial Golf Tournament will be held at the Links Golf Course. This free tournament for junior golfers attracts over 350 players each year.
CITY: Jacksonville
Governor Duncan Christmas Gala
Governor Duncan Christmas Gala at Hamiltons's. Festivities begin at 5:30 p.m. Gala features silent and live auctions. Tables of 8 are available for $320.00, single tickets are $40.00 each. Entertainment will be provided by Sherri Mitchell, vocalist, accompanying herself at the piano, a holiday sing-along and a special appearance by Dr. E.C. Bone.
CITY: Jacksonville
Pilot Club Annual Holiday Home Walk & Tea
Pilot Club 31st Annual Holiday Home Walk & Tea Visit beautifully decorated homes, sponsored by the International Pilot Club of Jacksonville. More information TBA.
CITY: Jacksonville
Masquerade Ball
7p.m. to 12 a.m. Theme is Diamonds and Ice. This is a black tie event. There will be heavy hor devours, music, dancing, and mysterious entertainment! Participants are encouraged to wear masquerade masks and enter into our contest.
CITY: Jacksonville
Pike County Fall Color Drive
Join in the country fall fun with scenic drives, local attractions, Lincoln and Civil War history, regional food specialties, crafts, and beautiful colors signifying the changing season.
CITY: Pittsfield
Lincoln Days Civil War Re-Enactment
Civil War Re-Enactment held at the Pittsfield City Lake. Featuring a parade, military drills, soldier camps, Living History Lectures, music, period food, vendors and artisans. Step back in time to historic Pittsfield as Union and Confederate forces prepare for battle.
CITY: Pittsfield
Hometown Christmas
The community of White Hall invites you to come home this holiday season and join in the celebration from 10am to 2pm. Whiteside Park will be transformed into a wonderland of craft vendors offering an array of handmade items for purchase. Take a break from shopping by grabbing a bite to eat at the food booths, then sit back and enjoy the local entertainment.
CITY: White Hall
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Lost my feed
but as far as I know from another source
Joannie Rochette QC
3 lutz- fall
3 flip 2 toe- clean
everything else was clean
64.15 in 2nd!
Lost my feed
but as far as I know from another source
Joannie Rochette QC
3 lutz- fall
3 flip 2 toe- clean
everything else was clean
64.15 in 2nd!
Last edited by cosmictears10; 01-15-2010 at 12:26 PM.
Disappointing she fell on the lutz, hope she comes back in the free.
Wow. Joannie still has not gotten on her feet. This season is truning out very badlu for her and with each bad skate the pressure gets worse. Such a pity because that SP is just beautiful. Cynthia just might win this thing!
Joannie benefited from the difficulty of her choreography and transitions and her exceptional skating skills. Sad that the Lutz continues to haunt her this season. Good thinking to turn the solo 3flip into her combination jump, which earned 8.13 points. Her 2Axel earned her 5 points. Her levels were good - level 3 on the layback spin and straight-line footwork sequence and level 4 on her other 2 spin elements and on her spiral sequence. She'll have to do much better in Vancouver!
Remember, Joannie was 2nd after the SP last season too and came roaring back in the LP with a perfect skate while Cynthia unfortunately tanked. Who knows what will happen this year though with the rough seasons both of them have been through?
Last edited by museksk8r; 01-15-2010 at 12:33 PM.
Thanks for the pbp!! It's true the forum crashed at some point; I wonder how GS intends to survive the Olympics!
Thanks cosmic
Still a bit disappointed she fell on the lutz, though if she skates fairly well in the free and shows she is ready for olympics then she should be able to put the mistake behind her. Well done Cynthia though.
Wow! Cynthia was awesome! And I may be getting a bit carried away here but does Kate Charbonneau look like a young Alissa Czisny in the making? That was my first impression anyway.
Joannie is looking less confident by the day
Thanks a lot for the pbp.
Thank you sooo much for the pbp
Goooo Cynthia!!! WooHoo!!!


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Whether it's Kyle Busch's skill or just a bit of luck, he has all the Momentum he needs to take home the checkered flag. Show your passion for the #18 team with this polo from the OVER THE WALL COLLECTION™. It features printed driver graphics and moisture-managing technology so you'll stay cool at the track. Busch and his team work their best to achieve greatness every week, so display your support with this comfy polo.
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Please help..
I'm only using TheGreatMe's Miks Scrolling Battle text settings, and addon.
For some reason, all the info that i need is being neatly displayed in the way he set it up, but I don't see direct damage I do. I can enable it, but it doesnt scroll where it scrolls on his screen.
Whats he using to show the outgoing dmg he is doing? reply quick please


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Digital Media Blog
discussing all things digital @ Amgueddfa Cymru.
Brought to you by the digital media team: Dafydd, Chris, Dave, Kay, Sara, Rhodri and Graham.
September 2014
Is Content still King?
Graham Davies, Digital Programmes Manager, Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales
"Content is King". The phrase is strong, infallible, sitting proud on his pedestal, a little like the Queen Mother, or the National Health Service. Sacrosanct. But has the time come to question some of our long held adages in the world of digital content and web design? Is content actually 'King' anymore?
Fresh back from an energising few days with the fab team at Culture24 at the Let's Get Real workshops and conference, I am determined not to let the enthusiasm and momentum get buried by the squillions of things in my inbox that greet me now that I am not 'Out of Office' anymore.
The discussions of the last few days have left me pondering over our constantly evolving digital landscape.
Which direction, and how high do we have to throw our digital content ball to get it successfully into the constantly moving net of engagement?
Jessica Riches, in her talk on 'Learning from Brands' seemed very surprised that she was the first of the day to mention the phrase 'Content is King'
This made me think. And think again. About the shift in focus to be more about platforms, the importance of audiences and what channels those audiences use and reside in.
So has the time come to update or even rewrite the rulebook?
1. Content is King?
Surely it's not just raw content that is king anymore. Who your content is intended for significantly alters how it should be written and where it should be published. What is the intent of those people reading it? (as apposed to the intentions of those writing it). So I give you rule rewrite number 1:
Content, Intent and Purpose are the new King, Queen and Jack
By thinking of it this way, you are reminded that content on its own doesn't stand any more. It's equally important to also think of why you are writing it and where the people are who want to read it?
2. Build it and They Will Come?
This fell off its pedestal a long time ago, but if we were to prop it back in place the stonemasons would need to re-carve the plinth to read:
Write it and take it to where they are. Or perhaps better still: Go pay them a visit and have a chat
This helps reinforce the idea that we can't be institutional broadcasters anymore, we should be working with our audience to help them answer what they want to know, rather than what we want to tell them.
To demonstrate this, Shelley Bernstein provided us with a superb keynote speech at the Let's Get Real conference on how the Brooklyn Museum are trusting the audience and developing a wholly user-centric approach to their new responsive museum.
3. Design Responsive Websites
Great, Yes, very good. Although a revision of this phrase can encompass web design by default whilst primarily focussing on content:
Optimise your content to be platform independent
4. Think Mobile First
Yes, we must, and we should make this behaviour ingrained. By turning this rule upside-down, our new banner proclaims (and by its very nature automatically assumes mobile first):
Remember to check the desktop
Think back to those good old days where everything had to be retrofitted to work in IE 6. Who now retrospectively checks that everything reads and works well on a desktop? Not many I'm guessing.
But beware. Herein lies the paradox: Remember, people looking to visit one of our venues are more likely to be looking us up through a mobile device. However, people looking at in-depth long-form curatorial and academic material are predominantly still using desktops.
This is where headline metrics can be misleading, if your website as a whole shows a rise in mobile, that doesn't mean that all the content on the site is being accessed through mobiles. This is why metric analysis is so crucial before we apply blanket statements based on overall trends.
This brings me onto to something bigger I have been mulling over recently...
"Can we put it on the website please"?
Quite frankly, I dislike the term "Website". I often ask what section or area people are actually referring to, for websites these days have come to contain many distinct areas and functions, serving completely separate and different audiences and requirements. Maybe this is the crux of the problem? At the moment we are all busy working on a 'one solution fits all approach'. Shouldn't we be thinking of applying separate templates and content strategies based on different audience requirements within our own websites?
Going back to our rewritten rule number one, and this should be applied within (and throughout) our own organisational websites too.
All this can help us ensure that we consistently put the users needs at the centre of our goals and ambitions. Just by thinking a little differently about our assumptions, we have the ability to take a quicker, more direct route to successful engagement.
August 2014
Shells, Scorpions and Shopping Centres
I started out writing a long meandering post about galleries, but what I came to say is this: I've really enjoyed the I Spy Nature exhibition at National Museum Cardiff, which runs until April 2015. Each time I've gone down to see it, the place has been full of families, conversations, and children dressed up as bugs and scientists, hopping from display to display.
I Spy... Nature gives you a chance to see the world as seen through the eyes of a bat, a scientist, or a fly. Provided you're under 10, you can even to dress up like one as you explore the creepy-crawly specimens, 3D printed corals, interactive quizzes and activities. The giant, interactive microscope screen mentioned in David's post can be found in a beautiful cabinet of slides. For those of you who prefer 'the real thing', there's also a working laboratory microscope, with a spinning table of fascinating slides to choose from.
The I Spy... team have also been taking the show outside to different places, bringing their amazing collection with them. For example, here's @CardiffCurator with a curious object at the Eisteddfod:
Mae @CardiffCurator wedi denu lot o sylw gyda'i chragen enfawr ar stondyn @AmgueddfaCymru yn yr @eisteddfod heddi! pic.twitter.com/cxsOTVhg7r
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) August 7, 2014
The I Spy... pop-up museum will be, er, popping up, for one last time this summer. Catch them at the Capitol Centre in Cardiff between the 28th and 30th of August. In amongst the handbags, sandwiches and end-of-season sales, you'll find scorpions, creepy-crawlies and a seashell that's bigger then your head. Pop down to see them between 11am and 3pm to see what you can spy!
We are here @Capitol_Cardiff with our pop up #IspyNature exhibition Come and meet our scientists @Museum_Cardiff pic.twitter.com/3YikdnBPfp
— Cardiff Curator (@CardiffCurator) July 24, 2014
I-Spy Micrarium Touch Screen (VADU part II)
There is an exhibition showing at National Museum Cardiff called: I-Spy…Nature (until April 2015). One of the touch screens (picture 1) focuses on a selection of diverse, interesting and beautiful biological and geological slides from the Museum's Natural History Collections. This blog is about the small aspects of the touch screen that I was involved with; plain and simple.
Resources & Outlines
- One general overview image of 36 slides
- 12 very high resolution images of some of those slides
- 27 inch touch screen
- Complement an actual Micrarium, which would be displayed neatly above the touch screen
- Incorporate a Victoriana style
- Target audience: young folk
The high resolution slide images were always the prize, therefore it seemed obvious to sort out the zoom features first. Using the Javascript version of Zoomify (other javascript frameworks are available) gave us a good foundation to work on. We just needed to tap into their Zoomify Javascript code a little, then add our own layer of Javascript and graphical flourishes to make the design fit in with the exhibition outlines.
All the controls were laid out in plain sight, hopefully to reduce any learning curve when approaching the interactive; and since the touch screen is quite large (27 inches) we had the space.
Five additional features were added to the zoom screen (picture 4):
- Zoom controls
- Navigation controls
- Home button
- Information button
- Change language (English/Welsh)
n.b. where possible I tried to avoid using words to describe button functions, hence why the home button is only an image, but this idea fell down a little when it became clear you couldn't avoid a word or two to help the visitor work out what specimen they were observing.
Into the Arms of a Microscope
Once or twice someone may have caught me saying things like: "Plagioclase Feldspar" or "Olivine". Anyhow, part of the fun with looking at slides is the process of selecting a new slide, I thought so anyway - you were never sure what would be on the other side of the glass.
I wanted to avoid the conventional method of changing between images, which is usually to include a 'next' and 'previous' button; so tried to incorporate some of my vague science memories with a quick reconnaissance mission (picture 5) to see the microscope that was being prepped for the exhibition.
Since there were 36 lower resolution images on the home screen, but twelve high resolution images on the slide selection screen, it gave some space to move a simple microscope stand into view, which provided the excuse to animate the microscope arms and float the slides back and forth. The iris transition between the microscope slide view and the zoom view is loosely based on the idea of looking down a microscope eyepiece.
Intermittent Contact
The interactive was built on HTML and Javascript with animations mainly driven by CSS. Due to the amount of images used in this interactive (up to 120MB), the project was exported from Amgueddfacms CMS into a standalone ZIP file then installed onto the exhibition PC - this improves the interactive response times, since it doesn't have to wait for any image files to download over a network connection.
We've been using Firefox for a while as its platform independent and has neat little add-ons (R-Kiosk and Block Site). In this case, the operating system is Windows 7, with a locked down user account which only has access to Firefox and the touch screen drivers.
Usually we use Google Analytics to record button events, to give us an indication of how much the interactives are being used, but Google Analytics is designed to work with regular domain websites, which is not the case when running locally from simple hard drive files. Therefore the button events are recorded by the web server through AJAX calls.
Video Demo
I've included a short demo video for posterity:
February 2014
exciting developments afoot...
After much discussion and background work, the digital team at Amguefdda Cymru today began on the exciting path of redesigning its website.
As well as being timely (it's been almost 5 years since our last design iteration *gasp*), there are a number of important factors driving this project, including an ambitious digital strategy to help deliver the redevelopment of St. Fagans National History Museum, as well as a comprehensive review of our institutional structure as a result of the Museums Change Programme.
Areas for development in this project will include providing greater access to online collections, increasing digital participation and also integrating today's social networking activities to encourage participation and sharing.
With these drivers in mind, we've been busy beavering away in the background over the last few months, researching audiences, analysing metrics, workshoping stakeholders and talking to our users. Why? Quite simply, we want this project to be as 'evidence led' as possible - let's act on what our users tell us, from how they get to our website, to what they do when they get there.
time to put the user at the centre
From all this background research, we have developed a specific list of objectives that our new redesigned website will seek to provide. In summary these are;
- Reflect first and foremost, the needs and interests of our users
- Be focused on individual museum sites and our knowledge, not our corporate brand
- Remove barriers to our information, including language and structure
- Present a clear and logical navigational structure
- Remove redundant sections and pages
- Present a simple, clean design
- Ensure that there are no dead ends for users - always offer an alternative if no exact content matches their search
- provide fresh and routinely updated material
We are now in a position to take stock of our whole online offer: microsites, domains, social media connections, visiting pages, collections pages, even our in-gallery interfaces, while at the same time rethinking our traditional 'institutional' view of what we present online.
Most of you in Museum digital circles will know just how easy it is for websites to evolve through a reflection of internal structures. This is our chance to turn that thinking around and apply fresh perspectives, new ideas and modern technology to a website that really works for those visiting our websites - all based on evidence driven research, of course...
Timescale for all this? 8 months, so check back for updates to how this journey unfolds…
November 2013
The steady march of the mobile device
Graham Davies, Online Curator, Amgeddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales
Access to online content is showing a steady shift towards the mobile device. What are the implications for Amgueddfa Cumry's own website?
There has been much discussion in the museums digital sector lately on the significant rise in websites accessed via mobile devices. It was one of the focuses of the 'Let's Get Real' Action Research project run by Culture24, of which the Museum was a part. The V&A have recently been publishing their findings on what devices people use to access different areas of their website.
In light of this, I decided to uncover the trends taking place on the National Museum Wales own website: museumwales.ac.uk
Mobile device growth over two years
From the National Museum Wales' perspective the rate of acces from mobile devices shows pretty much the same pattern reported from other similar institutions.
Overall, we see close to a 25% rise in visits via mobile device to the website over a two year period. This is significant, but applying this as a generalisation of the website as a whole may be hiding other, more significant trends.
Figure 1 shows that people are increasingly looking at our website through mobile devices, but what parts of the site are fuelling this rise? What other trends become apparent when we look at areas such as visiting information, or our content rich collections pages?
So, lets break this down and let's see if we can work out what's going on here…
What are people mainly looking at when using mobile devices?
A comparison of Figure 2 and Figure 3 clearly show a markedly higher percentage of pages accessed via mobile device to our 'visiting' pages than our content rich Art Online collections pages, (which incidentally show more of a rise in tablet use than mobile.)
What this all boils down to is that our content is now being accessed (and increasingly so) through all manner of different devices, and in all manner of different environments, from coffee shops, trains, your sofa, at work etc., etc.
The devices we choose are driven by the context (or setting) we are in, also the time we have to find out what we need to know. Think about it for a minute. How do you use digital devices to locate and find out information? Sat at a desk in your lunchtime, with time to sift through search results to find local events this coming weekend, filtering and refining on a large screen with a mouse and keyboard. Then there's that last minute check on opening times and directions on your mobile phone whilst in a crowded train on your Friday night commute, straining to keep your phone viewable whilst jammed up against another person, typing with one finger. Come Sunday evening, you're lying on the sofa, tablet on lap learning more about that nugget of information you picked up, or writing about your experiance on a review site.
This behaviour is quite logical if we take time to consider user behaviour on different devices, but what does this mean for our website and how we manage it?
What we must ensure when publishing our content is that we understand that the users could be anywhere, doing anything. A the moment, the evidence seems to suggest most mobile access targets visiting and location based information, whereas in depth collections data remains to be largely accessed via desktops.
The decline of the desktop (well, for visiting information at least)
Figure 2 shows that more people are viewing our visiting information from mobile devices than they are from desktops or laptops. It is therefore critical when planning content and designing websites, that areas of the website need to be thought out in separate ways, with visiting and site based information being designed and created first and foremost to be viewed on mobile devices.
In addition to functionality and design, we must also ensure that the content we provide for those areas of the website that are accessed primarily through mobile devices is crystal clear, succinct and quick to discover and understand - after all, you may only have a 5inch screen to get your information across.
Given the rate of growth from mobile devices it will be interesting to see where we will be this time next year...
Background reading:
V&A Blog
Google research
Adobe Digital Marketing blog
February 2013
How more sales can mean less revenue
And they're here: for the first time, we have figures for a year of e-book sales, supplied directly by publishers. It's still far from the whole picture, as not all e-book figures are available. But we now have a much better idea of what the book-buying landscape looks like in the UK.
The figure that stands out is that e-book sales are now up to 13%-14% of all book sales. However, as their prices are cheaper, that's only 6%-7% of revenue. Print book sales are down again, by 3.4% on 2011, as are average prices.
The e-book market is still dominated by fiction, and those e-book figures track the print figures. That is, if a book sells well in print, it also does well in e-book. The stand-out example is a particularly, shall we say, shady trilogy, whose e-book sales are about 36% of the print sales. Could the success of the e-book version of these titles lie, I wonder, in the fact that no-one can see what you're reading on your Kindle...?
So, it's mixed news: more books were bought in 2012, but because more of them were e-books, publishers made less money. Good news for reading, less so for publishing.
Meanwhile, here at Amgueddfa Cymru our journey into 'e' continues...
With thanks to The Bookseller for the sales figures.
September 2012
New Media, New Challenges
Graham Davies, Online Curator, Amgeddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales
Earlier this year I was approached by the Keeper of Art regarding a recent acquisition of two oil paintings dating from 1700. The paintings in question - two large panoramic paintings of Margam House - were purchased with help from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Art Fund, and as the funding included some form of digital exploration, I was asked to produce an interactive to compliment the gallery display (that would also be available to tour with the paintings).
On closer inspection of the paintings, lot of small, intricate detail became noticeable. As some details were very small - and would benefit from additional interpretation - some sort of zoomable image would offer the visitors with the best form of digital exploration.
In previous gallery interactive developments, the New Media Department have used the iPad2 platform, but as the newer iPad3 has a retina display - a screen resolution and pixel density so high that a person is unable to discern the individual pixels at a normal viewing distance - this platform seemed ideal to explore small detail in high resolution images. As for the software, we decided to use an adaptation of a previously developed interactive that allowed the user to move around a high-resolution image to predetermined hotspots (to explain certain details of the painting).
I then went about locating numerous details on the canvas that would be interesting and informative to the viewer. I was keen to pick things out that would not be contained on the gallery labels, thus ensuring no duplication and offering an enhanced visitor experience.
Resolution issues
After obtaining high-resolution images of the two paintings I was able to upload these to our Content Management System (amgeuddfacms), to allow them to be served from our website server. It was at this point that a strange technical inconsistency occurred....
Viewing 3800?pixel wide image on a standard Firefox browser on my desktop screen rendered the image sharp and clear. However, serving the exact same image into the iPad3 web browser rendered a fuzzy pixelated image. Given that the same image was being served to both screens it seemed that the different web browsers were handling the image in a different way.
A little bit of research on the internet revealed the possible problem: The default web browser on an iPad (Safari), runs WebKit which only seems to serve images up to a maximum size (somewhere around 1024 pixels wide). The iPad browser seemed to be downsampling the original 3800 wide image to 1024 wide, before then upscaling this 1024 wide image back up to 3800, causing the image to render at almost 400% it's downsampled 1024 pixel size.
The problem was how to get around this. After some researching on the internet for similar problems, it seemed that there was no conclusive solution. This was mainly due to the logical assumption that it's bad practice to serve huge images to a website (especially on a mobile device such as an iPad, where web content was readily downloaded via mobile networks), so the advice was always to use small images. Of course we wanted very large images, so this didn't help!
One solution that Chris Owen, our Web Manager came up with was to serve two halves of the image separately and automatically stitch them back together again after they loaded on the web page - thus the page would load two smaller images. Technically this gave a good result, but cutting the image in half was not enough. We therefore generated a script that sliced the image into 500 by 500 pixels (totaling 64 separate images), and stitched them all back together again once they were loaded into the browser.
The outcome was a high-resolution image (made up of smaller individual images) that renders sharply even when zoomed right in. This gets around the issue of the Safari web browser on an iPad automatically scaling down large images.
Research suggests that this may be a first in application development of this sort, especially one developed wholly in HTML5.
Gesture enhanced interactive
Once this high resolution was served up onto the new iPad3, in high resolution quality, it became clear that it would make more sense to make this a 'gesture enhanced' (pinch to zoom) interactive in addition to interpreting predetermined parts of the painting.
This means that the user can now fully explore the entire image, zooming right into any part of the image, whilst being able to read interpretive labels embedded within the image.
Colour Accuracy
The next problem to solve was the one of colour accuracy. Due to the original paintings being very dark, most images that we had to play with were lightened in order to see the detail. This lightening caused the colours to be untrue to the original, something that would be noticeable once screen and canvas were next to each other in the gallery.
A quick phone call to our photography department affirmed that they had high-resolution master TIFF files available that were 'colour correct', i.e. the colours in the digital capture were exactly as they were in the painting.
These colour correct images turned out to be strikingly different to the ones that we had previously been playing with, the increased sharpness causing even more detail to become apparent, even figures appeared that weren't noticeable on the previous images.
The application will be installed alongside the paintings of Margam House in the Art in Wales 1500-1700 gallery at National Museum Cardiff in October 2012.
Bringing it all together: Art in Wales 1550-1700
A parallel development to this in-gallery interactive is a website interactive exploring a major portrait of the builder of Margam House – Sir Thomas Mansel with his wife, Jayne (hung alongside the Margam paintings in Art in Wales 1550-1700 gallery). Again, certain parts of the painting can be explored in high resolution through interpretive labels embedded in the image. This further compliments an existing interactive, exploring another major portrait in the gallery – Katheryn of Berain, the Mother of Wales.
It is hoped to extend this program to include all the items in the gallery, thus forming a holistic digital interpretation of Art in Wales from 1550-1700, available both within the gallery and through the website.
April 2012
Art Gallery VADU
VADU: Visual Audio Display Unit
My last blog entry was back in April 2009, so this is a hesitant return.
In July 2011 the refurbished Contemporary & Modern Art galleries were re-opened at the National Museum Cardiff, the following VADU would be included in the initial exhibition. The specification was mainly to showcase video shorts: recorded, interviewed and edited by a few of my colleagues (Art and New Media), the videos would have subtitles and also there would be a visitor comments page.
The iPad 2 was about to be launched when I started work on the VADU. Magic was in the air, queues were forming.
Note: it has been used for two exhibitions, so far:
- Contemporary & Modern Art (July 2011 – January 2012)
- The Queen: Art and Image (January 2012 – April 2012)
Project Ethos
Although there is an 'App Store', it seemed like overkill to write and release an application simply for four machines in an art gallery - I used 'Kiosk Pro' instead, an application which basically removed all the usual iPad functionality and locked it down to a fullscreen Safari browser.
In regards to the actual design aspect of the VADU interface: the only two constraints were museum brand guidelines and a particular colour had to be used to unify it with the surrounding new gallery signage.
Around May 2011, Braun's designer Dieter Rams design ideas entered my world (I can't repeat his mantra here, but only because it is copyrighted). Anyhow, I tried to create an interface that was simple, intuitive, consistent, and didn't distract the user from the actual content:
- Only two colours
- No drop-shadows or gradients
- 10px borders
- I did allow myself one curvy corner (bottom-right), one guilty pleasure
- User navigation: horizontal gestures only
- Page transitions: vertical only
Building Blocks
If you haven't already looked at the photograph 1 and 1b, I would take a look now; so we have a shared reference images in mind.
The top section displays the title of the exhibition, followed by page buttons (Art, Comments and What's On). All exciting stuff - the tip of an arrow indicates which page the user is on (hopefully in a subtle fashion).
The language button starts the most convoluted process on the VADU, in terms of animating a page change. I didn't want the change to be instant, instead I gave it a more graceful flow. The actual result of changing the language only swaps the domain name from English to Welsh or visa-versa (museumwales.ac.uk, amgueddfacymru.ac.uk), but the time it takes to do that is over four seconds. It should become clearer later, if you watch the video below.
The middle section displays the video in focus at the time, large screen print from the video is shown in the background - title, summary and extraneous information such as video length are shown on the information panel. In large font the word: 'Play', indicating the user can start a video. Left and right arrows also allow the user to shuffle through the videos. The information panel can be moved from the right or left of the background image - something that resulted from the fact artists don't like their work flipped [in a digital sense] i.e. if the focus of the background is to the left, the information panel can be positioned to the right by indicating such in the CMS metadata entry.
The bottom section can be dragged with a finger left and right, selecting any one of the sixteen videos. It was quite important to have draggable areas, because it is simply expected by iPad users (thus, making it intuitive). The same draggable feature is used for the what's on page (photograph 6).
If the user selects a video, the screen removes all navigation features so they are only left with the title of the video, a video time indicator (so the user knows the video is only short), the video itself in the center of the screen, the subtitles at the base of the screen and a 'back' button. The user can pause and un-pause the video by tapping of the video in the center (see photograph 3). The video's themselves use the same colour as the VADU, so it all fits together neatly.
Finally the comments page is simple too: optional name input, text input and the last three comments are displayed on the right-hand side (hopefully encouraging the user to write something). The comments are fed into the usual website comments system, approved (or not) by a staff member (photograph 5) – there has been over 2000 comments left of the gallery VADU since July 2011, which is quite a lot considering no one was forcing these people to write something.
The subtitles are again displayed using javascript, they are not integrated into the video. I built a subtitles tool within the Amgueddfa CMS using Javascript and Flash, which creates a XML file that could be dropped into the caption of the video. The idea being that the majority of videos need to be available to two languages and if the videos were published on the main website at anytime, a transcript could be displayed too. Hopefully the task of transcribing the video in the first place is easier because of it. There you go, a little of the behind the scenes work (photograph 7).
Past Performance
The gallery VADUs have been very reliable; once every few months one of them may freeze, but considering they are always on (one weakness of iOS software is you can't boot-up into a single application), that's not too bad. I darken the screen after the galleries close – simply using a whole–screen black div.
We had a brief problem when changing the local network settings in January, so I added a check before the VADU changes language to see if there is a network available (an AJAX query: onSuccess or onFailure).
Future Development
If it continues to be used, I would like to develop a local version of the VADU, providing a fallback if the network goes down, or maybe a hybrid version (storing the videos on the VADU). This would mean a update of the iOS (from 4.3 to 5.1+), but I'm sure there would be some associated browser performance improvements.
Other major changes shouldn't be required, as the video shorts are meant to be the star of the show.
Final Word
Obviously it helps to have a pleasant environment to place the VADUs (photograph 9).
Video Demo
I've included a short demo video for posterity:
September 2011
Virtually cleaning a 18th Century painting
Graham Davies, Online Curator, Amgeddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales
When a member of the Art department approached me to ask if I could feature two views of the same painting online — one version covered in dirt and yellowed varnish (as the painting was when it came into the Museum), and the other version showing hidden detail and crisp colours (after being cleaned by Museum conservators) — I realised it would make a perfect interactive if you could use your mouse to virtually 'clean' the dirty canvas to reveal the clean version underneath.
Guardi's view of the Grand Canal, Venice
The painting in question is Francsesco Guardi's View of the Palazzo Loredan dell'Ambasciatore on the Grand Canal, Venice, painted around 1775-85.
Acquired by Amgueddfa Cymru in 2011, this painting is an important acquisition as Guardi's Venetian views are regarded as highly significant in the history of landscape painting.
You clean the painting
To make the most out of this dramatic before and after view, I needed to work out a way of 'virtually' cleaning the painting online by dragging a mouse over the dirty image to reveal the original details and colours previously hidden underneath the dirt and old varnish.
Reinvent the wheel?
I wanted something that allowed the mouse to act as an eraser; allowing one image to be rubbed out to reveal a secondary image underneath. A hunt around the internet brought up the required functionality already created by by Jonathan Nicol (www.f6design.com/journal).
The next step was to acquire high resolution copies of both dirty (before) and cleaned (after) digital images of the artwork from the Photography department.
Precisely aligning two slightly different angled photographs of the same picture
When I opened these digital images in Photohshop it became apparent that variations in the perspective, and distance of the photographic captures resulted in two images that did not precisely match up once overlaid on top of one another.
After an hour of miniscule adjustments using the image warp feature on Photoshop using the images as separate layers within Photoshop (one set at 50% opacity), I eventually achieved a precise overlaid match.
I abandoned trying to do this at 100% view as the image was so large and the time lag in processing too great to view the results (even for my G5 at 2.44Gz and 8GB RAM). I had to settle for a 25% view that filled my Apple 32" screen)
Once I had a satisfactory matched up and aligned the 'dirty' layer on top of the 'clean' layer, I could create the two corresponding TIFF images to incorporate into the Flash file as a basis for the interactive.
After a bit of tweaking, fiddling, and constant testing, I managed to create a simple interactive, allowing you to use your mouse to erase the dirty image, revealing the clean one underneath .
Exploring the detail.
I then decided to repeat this process to create several versions, all using crops of the high resolution images to show close up details of the painting.
Areas of particular interest I choose to separate out were people rowing a goldola, the architectural detail of the buildings, and the detail of the sky and clouds where much original detail had been almost totally obscured by years of grime, dirt and previous 'touch-ups' to the painting. The clean version revealed original intricate details and brushwork.
Future applications for Museum archives and collections
I am hoping this functionality can be utilised for other online images of the collections in the future. Ideas I have at the moment are to reveal hidden under-drawings only visible under x-ray light — as in the example of Richard Wilson's Dolbadarn Castle (NMW A 72), which has been painted over a portrait of a woman, and Landscape with Banditti around a Tent (NMW A 69) which he painted over a Venetian-style reclining nude.
Additional ideas include viewing a landscape or post industrial townscape that can be erased to reveal a historical image underneath...
August 2011
Lots of talk, for some very small numbers
Ok, so we had the iPad moment. What's changed? Lots. The iPad itself was, in truth, disappointing for publishers. Beautiful, sure, but not very helpful. It wasn't multifunctional and it wasn't backward compatable with much stuff either (I can't be the only person still using OS 10.4?) But, like Apple's previous offers, it was a gamechanger. It established the tablet as a device, despite many people, myself included, wondering if anyone really wanted Job's 'third device'. Apple then let other manufacturers come up with their own versions, the best of which is probably Samsung's Galaxy, and quietly went home to improve their own model. Having established the tablet, and just in time to catch the secondary wave of adopters, out comes iPad 2. With improved functionality and more features (camera – two, actually), it still passes itself off as the most desirable tablet, even if it's not necessarily the best. With iPad 2 and the iPhone, Apple has now firmly entered the mainstream consumer market. In losing the geek factor, what has it gained? Well, turnover, and profit, obviously. While Apple's top-quality combined hardware/software model of Macs retains its market-leading position in the creative industries, the iPods, Ipads and iPhones are now thoroughly high-street, even with their top-end price tags.
However, part of this trajectory has been the strategic downplaying of the iPad's e-reader function, which is what publishers were most excited about. Instead, the iPad focuses on portable, sleek, seamless acces to the web and email – truly, a big iPhone, but also ready and waiting for Web 3.0.
In terms of e-readers the iPad moment just didn't happen. This has left Amazon's Kindle as market leader, even though it only reads Amazon's own e-book file format (although there are rumours Amazon will soon be allowing US publishers to submit e-books in the industry-standard e-Pub format). Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007, by 2010 in the US Amazon were selling more Kindle books than hardbacks; today Amazon sells more Kindle books than hardback and paperback put together. At the moment it's selling 105 Kindle books for every 100 print books, and three times more Kindle books than this time last year. In the UK, where the Kindle store has only been open a year or so, Amazon are selling twice as many Kindle books as hardbacks.
What can we learn from this? Remember, the Amazon figures only apply to their own sales, of Kindle books, which can only currently be read on a Kindle device. What's happening across the rest of the bookselling industry? The true picture for the UK is that sales of e-books are currently 2.5% of all book purchases; interestingly, they peaked at 3% over Christmas (did you get an e-book in your stocking?!) Adult fiction is still the most popular category, at 5.4% of all purchases; men and women are buying e-books equally, and the age group 55-64 makes up over a quarter of e-book buyers.
This 2.5% seems like a tiny figure for us all to be worrying so much about, especially as the value of the sales is low – about 1.6%. I still can't wait to have a go though.
Conserving Government Propaganda prints from the Great War
Digital Media Blog
Historic Photography Project (Esmee Ffairburn)
Linking Natural Science Collections in Wales
Research in Norway and the Barents Sea
St Fagans National History Museum Making History Project
recent entries
A Window into the Industry Collections
European Science Foundation Exploratory Workshop
Storage of entomology collections in museums


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Pendant Lighting Tips
Versatile and super stylish, pendants are one of the most popular lighting choices. But choosing the right pendant for your room is not always as easy as it looks. Here are a few important tips to get you started.
However, if you're planning the lighting for an entire house, why not book one Beacon's Bright Design in-home lighting consultants to help?
Firstly, keep in mind your current style of décor and match the pendant accordingly. Is your style traditional, contemporary, bold or neutral?
Consider the size of the space the pendant will feature in, including the width and height of the area. An undersized pendant will look insignificant, while an oversized fitting will clutter the room and restrict lines of vision.
Remember, the perfect pendant should complement the space, not overshadow it.
Pendants over tables are hugely popular and a lovely, warm addition to the table setting when chosen correctly. They should be hung approximately 1.7m from the floor, which allows people sitting at the table to easily talk to each other without the light becoming intrusive.
Add the flexibility of setting a more ambient feeling in the room with the use of dimmers. If a dimmer isn't possible, consider separate switches for different lights in the room – for example, one bank of downlights on one switch, the pendant on another switch, and more downlights on another switch.
One of the most striking lighting trends at the moment is clustering. Choose an odd number of pendants – three is a great starting point – and cluster them together at different heights to create drama. Choose either a family of pendants in different shapes, or the same pendant in different colours. See our modern pendants lifestyle gallery for inspiration. This technique not only works well over a table, but can also be used to create a nook in the corner of a room, or cascade down a stairwell to striking effect.
Also popular is a bank of three to five pendants evenly spaced out along the kitchen bench. The colourful, glossy Alix or Helena metal pendants are a bold choice.
Try hanging smaller pendants either side of the bed above your bedside tables. An ideal choice is the industrial-inspired Azuka one-light pendant, featuring exposed globes.
To further incorporate the industrial trend into your home, try multiple Create single globe pendants, which invite you to design your own light installation.


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