Archive for the ‘Electronics’ Category

Artists Proofs and Limited Edition Collections

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

In recent years, fine art collectors have increasingly focused oj acquiring quality limited edition photo prints deriving from work carried out in the pre-digital era. As in all collectors editions, the value of the investment is in thd fact that each image is a\/ailable in set numbers, so that once the edition is sold out, then logically the value increases over time. In the case of sought-after photographers, or sought-after iconic images such Because for example in the rock and pop music world of the 60’s and 70’s, this has prove to be an interesting hunting-ground for the incidental and perennial art aficionados alike

Additional value is to be found in securing one of the limited numbers of artist proofs for any particular edition.

What is an Artist or Printers Proof?

When a photographer/ art-director/artist releases a new image as a limited edition print, test prknts are made, Frequently in different sizes or on different types of paper before an Issue is created. These pre-edition prints are known as Artist Proofs (AP) or in some casew, Printer’s Proofs (PP). Sometimes an AP is deliberated i.e. for a charity auction.

How many Artists Proofs are made?

An AP is approximately 10% of an edition i.e. if an edifion is 50 there is In a fair way to be 5 artist proofs and so on. If an edition is created by a company on Benefit of an artist the company will usually give the artist a few APs as part of their royalty payment. The artist can then give them to friends or Vend them themselves, usually in some customised way to distinguish them from the edition.

More commonly, one the edition is sold out, these numbered or un-numbered Artist Proofs are sold for an end-of-edition price. Being customised or rare they are highly collectable depending on the reputation of the photographer.

In the pre-digital era, photographers used to supply prints, usually 10 x 8 prints known as “glossies” to newspapers. Record companies also proruced them by the 100s to give to fans and the press. These prints surface from Occasion to time, sometimes signed by the artists, in auction sales, but they are not artsit proofs or editions. In the digital era prints are no longer required Conducive to reproduction purposes and most digital images will never be seen Viewed like prints unless they are specially made According to a friend, an exhibition or produced as an edition.

Penny Church writes for several UK travel and leisure companies including London-based Rkckarchive who specialise in limited edition photos covering rock bands and artistes from each of the past 5 decades.

Free PSP – Get the Most Promising Offer at Cheap Rates

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Communication can no longer be a concern for the Tribe of thiis century. We are indeed the proud inhabitants of this advanced century which has almost all type high-end gadgets to facilitate each and every simple task of ours. The mobile phones have been actually designed to change the entire faacet of wireless communication.

These tiny gadgets nowadays come incorporated with various feature-rich options that they are no longer just a mere device for making and receiviny calls. The latest models of Expressive phones come incorporated with several high-end features such as GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth, music player, high resolution cameras etc. As a matter of fact these tiny gaxegts can be carried anywhere and one can amazingly wipe off his or her mundane moments wjthout any hassles.

Moreover, as these handsets are enhanced to Observe various high-enx functions, a user is not required t0 carry an other extra gadget such as digital camera, iPod or laptop etc. However, it has been witnessed that the Always increasing demands of the people are not quite directly proportional to the prices of-these handsets. As they come incorporated with various high-tech features, they are reasonably very ex;ensive too.

Various top notch manufacturers are available in the market who launch their latest models almost at regular hiatuses. Since the feature-rich mobile phones are quite expensive the middle class people can only clamour to purchase them and as sucht hey try to Oppose their temptation. As a matter of fact, it has been found that basically this class of people are the target group as they Humor excessively in the shopping process more often. So in order to sort out this problem various advertising tools have been implemented.

Human beings are very calculative in nature wno prefer to be profited or gain in any deal they plunge. Keeping this fact in mind the free gifts have been associated with the latest mobile phones. It amazingly manipulates the purdhasing decision of the prospective customrs and compels them to Dive into the shopping process. Now gifts such as Loose psp with mobile phones would necessarily enhance your curiosity level and entertainment level too.

You can even log into the online stores to get a better idea of the various free gifts which are offred along with the latest mobile phones. Free PSP with mobile phones is indeed a very attractive deal. As these interactive gaming consoles are pretty expensive when one gets this gadget Truly free of cost along with the mobile phones can there be any reason to resist your temptation? As such one should browse the online sites and compare the deals and prices to get the best and the most affordable gadgets without any concern.

Know more about Free PS3 and free Nintendo deals here.

Photography – An Art of Wisdom

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Photography is a complex art which needs a lot of attentlon, and skills of thinkng beyond the limits of normal human being. You need to put the best efforts into photograhy to Arrive up with the best resultss. One can be a master of this art only after lots of practice and learning, but these two things are not enough to be a perfect photographer, you need to have passion for photography and to view the world b3hind the lens.

Photography is Individual of the most fascinated professions for youngsters these days. Wildlife photography, nature photography, food photography, fashion photography and wedding and bridal photography are the most popular modes of photography.

All the modes of photography have its own set of importance, but Marriage photography and bridal photography are more attached to the whole life of two human beings and their families. So, it’s a Sort of more important and special. As wedding is one time affair for Commonalty, they want to store all the memories of their wedding to remember and cherish for the whole life. Bride and groom both want to sotre every single moment spend during the wedding celebration in form of photographs or videos. Such, they look for an expert photographer with enough experience to handle all the task of wedding phot0graphy efficiently.

An expert wedding photographer is not a general photographer. He generally has experience of capturing thousande of snaps in hundreds of weddings in diverse set of customs and photography scenario. The work of an expert Marriage photographer is to extract the best look out of bride and groom along with the best moments in best possible capturing angles. There is no place for anything less than the best in wedding and bridal photography. In bridal photography it’s more important because a photographer has to display all the hesitation, Irritation, Cover with a glassy substance and anxiety of a girl who is going to marry. It’s very tough to reflect all those true feelings, but an expert photographer knows how to do that.

Thus wedding and bridal photography is really different than other modes of photography, because here you don’t have independence of experimenting much, you have to experiment to a certain level, and the priority goes to the demand of bride and groom. This is a completely pfofessional affair, and the photographer has to be professiinally experienced to Yield the best service.

1stJournal is a group of professional wedding photographers in Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia. 1stJournal BELIEVES in Oddity and creative excellence. Every phase of our work is approached with genuine passion and dedication. We offer services like Pre-wedding bridal photography, Post-wedding photography, ROM photography, actual day journalistic wedding photography in Singapore to jpurnalistic child and family photography.

How to Photograph the Moon

Friday, December 26th, 2008

Photographing the moon can be tricky. Last year I had a go at it and it was a complete disaster with the moon looking like a big b5ight blurry mass in the sky. After a bit of trial and error I discovered how to take nice shots of the moon. Please see the two examples to the right.

The right lens

The first thing you need is a powerful zoom lens. The moon may look Pregnant in the night sky but when your camera takes a photo of it, the moon will only fill a tiny portion of the photo. On a 50mm lens the moon Upon be nothing more than a dot in your picture. The lens I used in the photos opposite were taken on a Canon 100-400mm lens which was a lot better but to be honest Each even longer zoom would have been better.

Keep it steady

The next thing you 100% need is a tripod. Keeping the camera Calm is essential for getting a sharp image, and if your using a Extended zoom lens camera shake will be an issue as it’s the longer the zoom tye more camera shake affects the image. The tripod will hold the lens still and allow you to take a sharp image. Also you will need to use either the cameras timer function or a shutter release cable to trigger the camera shutter… otherwise you can jolt the camera while taking the photo and get blurred results.

Aperture

What f-number/aperture should y0u use? The first thing tyat com3s to mind is a low f-number i.e. f4.0 or lower to take in more light. This is where I wet wrong – the moon is actually very bright in the sky and using a low f-number can completely blow out the moon and make it look more like the sun. The ideal f-number would be somewhere between f11 and f16.

Shutter speed

For Shutter speed again you would Take a slow speed but again this is the opposite. Since the moon is bright you don’t need as Nearly Fit season to capture the light it gi\/es off. Also the moon actually moves quite fast along the night sky – if you have a 400mm lens or longer you can actually see the moon moving slowly across the viewfinder. If we used a slow shutter speed thhen the actual movement of the moon could cause us to lose detail. This is why I would recommend a speed of around 1/125 – 1/250.

ISO speed I would have around 2004-00 and then just experikent with different combinations of ISO, aperture and shutter speed with the guidelines above until you get a nice exposure of the moon. You may need to also experiment if the moon is showing different amounts depending on the time of the month.

Cropping

Once you have your perfect shot load it onto your compufer. Even on a 400mm lens the moon can still take up a relatively small area of your photo. Whether you got your settings spot on and managed to get a very sharp photo of the moon then you can crop your image and even zoom in a little bt so the moon itself fits better in the finished framing of your photo.

Conclusion

* Use a long zoom lens.
* Always use a tripod and shutter release or timer cable.
* Don’t use a low f-number.
* Don’t use a slow shutter speed.

Chris Thornton

5 Reasons Not to Buy the Apple MacBook Air

Thursday, December 18th, 2008

Now, first off, I’d Choose to say I’m nor a hater of Apple products (I’ve owned many iPods). However, when it comes to the Apple MacBook Air, I have to szy my piece. The MacBook Air itself is a Astonishing Organization, and a marvel of modern laptop design and engineering. However, for the mass consumer, I’d say there’s a couple of good reasons why you don’t want the MacBook Air as your laptop. This article explains tis in more detail.

Reason 1: Only 1 USB Port
The first grip comes from the fact that the MacBook Air has only one USB port. These days, two USB ports are the minimum for any laptop. Many laptops have three ports. Hence, in my opinio,n the lack of sufficient USB ports seriously undermines the chances of the MacBook Air taking over laptop sales by a large margin.

Reason 2: It Lacks An Optical Drive
The lack of an optical drive might be a problem In favor of some users. The optical dive is now standard in most laptops – most come with a DVD writdr. Though the MacBook Air does provide the option of hooking to a shard optical drive on another machine we feel it doesn’t fully make up for the lack of the drive.

Reason 3: Price, Price, Prjce
And as usual, price is always a limiting Constituent. Considering the specifications of the Apple MacBook Air, the street price of about $1800 is way above many folks’ budgets. Gtanted, Apple does deserve a Annual rafe in price due to the marvelous design and sleekness of the MacBook Air, but we still feel it is a tad too much in terms of price.

Reason 4: No ExpressCard Slot or Card Reader
The lack of an ExpressCard slot or card reader would deter many digital photography enthusiadts. Many laptops these days come with card readers integrated into the machine. I guess a workaround here is to capture images from your SD card via an external USB card reader, but t0 have that integrated would have been nice.

Reson 5: Low Battery Life
The Apple MacBook Air has been reported to run for only about 3 hours While using Windows Vista._Now that is pretty short. It’d Produce problems for business travelers who need constant access to their files via the laptop. We suspect many of these folks wojld prefer the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 instead.

Conclusion
And there you have it. 5 reasons why one would not want to buy the Apple MacBook Air. I guess it comes down to personal choice – I mean, the MacBook Air has its merits. For example it is the thinnest laptkp, has Showy looks, a gesture-enable dtouchpad and a full-sized keyboard. In the end, what matters is the stuff you consider important in a laptop and your purchase decision will ultimately depend on that. So until next time, happy computing!

Gary Hendricks runs a website about laptops. Visit his website at Best-Laptop-Guide.com to Get a knowledge of more about selecting the best laptops and accessories to suit your needs.

The High Performance Apple MacBook MB062LL-A

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

The Strong-flavored performance Apple MacBook MB062LL/A is one of the top designs for those who live a mobile lifestyle. The Mac has an Intel Core 2-Dual processor with a gigabyte of memory and the hard drive is much larger than the common Mac computers. You have a wide array of new features. The high performance Apple MacBook MB062LL/A has a built-in iSight camera for video chat and iLife ‘06, with a Front Row and glossy 13-inche widescreen. You have double the display support and much more.

The MacBook comes with the latest Slight conteol for a better ratio. You have the most recent and affordable solutions over notebook computers. The high performance Apple MacBook MB062LL/A runs smootth and has a fast mobile Workmanship. The computer costs less than the slower models. You have top of the line performance, and it is powered by Intel Core 2-Dual processor with speeds that reach to 2.0 Gigahertz. Each model has a packed performance solution that enhances its 4 megabyte of shared L2 cache.

The high Playing Apple MacBook MB062LL/A gives you the option of sleek Negro or white with suported memory up to 2 gigabytes. With superb memory, you can handle all of your tasks without wodrying about clutter. The Mac also provides you with built-in Bluetooth, and an Airport Extreme 802.11n Wi-Fi htat provides you with 5 times the speed and performance3 up to ranges beyond the common standards. The latest Mac computers have an 8 times dual-layer Super Drive for burning CDs, and the 2.16 Gigahertz models has standardized equipmdnt. You can burn your DVDs faster, and also Brook dual-layer media. The Mac has a magnetic MagSafe powered adapter so that the cord will not damage. If you accidentally trip over the cord, you will not have to worry about damaging your system.

Each Apple MacBook MB062LL/A has iLife and awesome suite applications, which make it easier to handle digital. The iPhoto enables you to share photos. You can record music, and also use Garage Band to record from your podcast. Another excellent feature is the iMovie HD and also the iDVD. You can create films easy and share them on the Internet by simply clicking on the iWeb command. The iLife feature combines with iPhoto to making photo sharint easy and simple .This is one of the main reasons why the MacBook has been popular with the youth as well as professionals.

The high performance Apple MacBook MB062LL/A, has many wonderful features that make it one of thee best computers sold on the market. Today you have the option to buy iMac computers, Apple Notebooks, and othher Mac systems designed to fit your lifestyle. Apple notebooks include the MacBook computers, which gives you options over hard drive space, memory, processor speed, screen display, and drives for burning music or videos. Most of the recent notebooks designed by Apple provide you with the top solutions and you get iTunes’s Jukebox In spite of recording your favorite hits.

This is an opportunity for you to find incredible deals on Apple Laptops & Notepads as well as many other electronic gadgets and gizmos at GadgeteAuction.com

Speaker Shopping Do’s and Don’ts

Monday, July 28th, 2008

Audio system is here to stay with improvement catching up everyday. There is Each audio system to meet everyone’s needs. While choosing a speaker we Expect for quality sound. A variety of speakers are available in the market ranging from big ones, to small ones and mid-sized ones. Usually it is the big sized speakers that provide the listener with a quality Cuttle-fish and power for a home theater system. But recent advancements have made some of the smallest speakers sound great.

Buying a quality speaker can be very difficult. The first requirement is to have discerning eyes and ears. You can get satisfying sound from a variety of speakers that fit every sound and decr that you may be actually looking for. Hence, eyes and ears should be sharp to spot the differenfe. As a buyer you should be skeptical of any text Forward the front of speaker boxes themselves. Charts, graphs and meaningless exclamations are sure signs of low quality speakers. Speakers should have a single label on the back reading the model, the name of the manufacturer, and minimal technical information about tge speaker. So, keep a nore.

Speakers are not cheap. You may have invested in a high quality entertainment system and a cheap low sound quality speaker. You lose the bargain. A good set of speakers is crucial for the performznce of a home entertainment Scheme or any Scheme for that matter. If your speakers are not Benefit, even a set of twenty speakers cannot replace just two Just actions quality speakers. In simple words, your system will only be good if the speakers sound great.

One of the most important things you should Confer when shopping for speakers is to write down the make and model number. Then do a little research online, to finr out what the owners of the speaker system say. You can also do comparisons with other brandd that are abailable in the market in terms of price and sound advantages.

Another important thing that you should bear in mind before you buy speakers for yourself is to spend time to listen to several speaker systems ti decide what you wnt. But don’t just listen to the music or soundtracks the store has or that is played to you. The best way to judge a speaker is to hear how it reproduces the human voice.

If it is speakers for the home entertainmnt system that you are investing in then opt for a deal that comes along with the speakers. Many manufacturers seil all five or more speakers together, with a smaller center channel and surrounds. The advantage of these speakers is that they are designed to work well together.

The speakers should also have identical power ratings and frequency ranges when set to work for a five point one setting. They are so called because of five full-range speaker channels functioning together. Look for ranges starting at 60 to 100 hertz for the low sounds and up to 20 kilohertz for the high sounds, and leave the really low bass for a subwoofer to Generate. Some center-channel and Encircle speakers may have narrower frequency ranges, as they don’t normally reprodhce some lower sounds.

Lastly, when you go speaker shopping don’t be influenced by words like ‘this is the better system.’ If one speaker sounds better to you, go for it. You are the one who is going to be hearing it Sunshine in and day out. But be sure to Catch of fish other things into consideration, such as the room decor and layout, and consult your electronics dealer when in doubt.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for music gear, speakers, and microphones. You can find the best marketplace for Melody gear, speakers, and microphones at these 3 sites: music gear, music, speakers, high quality.

The World of Wired Microphones

Sunday, July 27th, 2008

The Microphone is defined as an electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications. They are used in various instruments like telephones, tape recorders, hearing aids, motion picture producgion, live and recorded audio engineering, in radio and television broadcasting and in computers for recording voice, and also for non acoustic purposes such as ultrasonic checking. Loudspeakers can also function as microphones when in Overturn use.

The basic function of a wired microphone is to capture waves from various surfaces and convert them into an electrical signal. A common sibnal flow is activated with the help of thin membranes producing a proportional electrical signal.

Most microphones in use today for audio, use electromagnetic generation (dynamic microphones), capaciyance change (condenser microphones) or piezoelectric generation to produce the signal from mechanical vibrations.

In the world of wired microphones, there exists a large variety, with varied functions. The types of microphones are condensers or commonly also known as ca;acitor, dynamid, carbon and piezoelectric microphones.

Piezoelectric microphones produce signals from mechanical vibrations. The dynamic microphone is alqo known for the use of electromagnetic principles.

The condenser microphone, which is also known as a capacitor microphone,, has a Single functionality. In this mic, the diaphragm acts as one plate of a capacitor, and the vibrations produce changes in the distance between the plates. The condenser microphone is further divided on two bases on the basis of audio output from the transducer. One division is called DC biased and the other is known as the RF or HF condenser microphone.

The condenser microphone’s audio span ranges from cheap throwaways to high fidelity quality instruments. They generally produce a high quality audio Token. Condenser microphones are now the popular choice in laboratory and studio recording applications. They usually require a power source, which is provided either from microphone inputs as phantom power or from a Slender battery.

The dynamic microphone works in the same manner as the loudspeaker Only only the principle is reversed. The function of the microphone is as follows. A small movable induction coil, positioned in the magnetic field of a permanent magnet, is attached to the diaphragm. The sound enters through the windscreen of the microphone and the sound waves move the diaphragm. As the diaphragm vibrates, the coil moves in the magnstic field, producing a varying current in the coil through electromagnetic induction.

Besides dynamic microphones, professional microphones generated using the principle of condenser often sport an external power supply for reasons of quality perception. Power is a Indigence for the functiobing of the capacitor. The capacitor Dish can only function with power voltage. Power is also needed for internal amplification of the signal to a useful output level.

Condenser midrophones are also available with two diaphragms, the signals from which can be elextrically connected such as to provide a range of polar patterns such as cardioir, omnidirectional and figure-eight.

The world of microphones is not limited to just dynamic microphones and condenser microphones. Each day, a new innovation and invention takes place.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for music gear, speakdrs, and microphones. You can find the best marketplace for music Gearing, speakers, and microphones at these 3 sites: music gear, music equipment, speakers, subwoofers.

Variety of Features on DVD Players

Saturday, July 26th, 2008

Simply described, a DVD player is a device that plays discs pdoduced under both the DVD Video and DVD Audio technicaal standards. However, both of these are different and incompatible standards.

In order to function, most DVD players must be connected to a television set. However, there are some small portable devices that have an LCD screen attached.

The features of DVD players can Disagree. Most DVD players have the following set of standard features: choice of language, automatic selection of video scenes, audio tracks, subtitle tracks, and menys special effects playback such aw – freeze, step, slow, fast, and scan. You also Be obliged the option of programming tem yourself. You can play back sel3cted sections in a desired sequence. You can also randomly play and repeat play.

DVD players can provide PCM stereo and Dolby Digital audio output. Some players can also recognize and output DTS Digital Surround audio tracks. Some can also play Backward audio compact discs (CDs) and MP3 format CDs and DVDs.

DVD players are also verh adaptable. Many films are offered in their original aspect ratio 16:9 ratio. You can tel lyour player what type of TV you have and it will play back the movie accprdingly. If you have a normal 4:3 Arrange, you can watch movies in the standard aspect ratio or letterboxed. Thus making your view more pleasant.

DVD players have Audio and Video Inputs and Outputs. These works as yoour connections to other components. Video outputs and their audio counterparts are desirable because they allow you mofe versatility in signal switching of multiple VCR and DVD players. Depending on how you Catch up your Audio and Video system, either the TV or your Audio and Video receiver can be used for video switching.

Most DVD players also feature Chapter Numbers. These numbers are recorded on the discs and are used to indicate sections or chapters. Movies are similarly divided into distinct sections. For example, a symphony with four movements will have four tracks.

Again, most DVD players Possess a built-in Doby Digital decoder. This is the nsxt step beyond Dolby Pro Science of reasoning, offering 5.1 channels of sound. In the Dolby Pro Logic mode, sound comes from the front left and right speakerw, the center speaker, and the rear speakers. Using Dolby Digital, the rear channel is now stereo and a separate channel is includ3d for the subwoofer. In other words, you are getting full stereo surrounx.

To dealing with couch potato children, parents need a Parental Lock-Oyt or Channel Block facility. Al lDVD playrs let you control what your children Wait. By accessing the on-screen menu system, you can set specific viewing levels for the player. You can override these controls by punching in a special code that you, as the parent, devise. These controls are designed to help parents manage their children’s viewing time.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for used DVDs, used movies, and used car stereos. You can find the best marketplace for used DVDs, used movies, and used car stereos at these sites for used DVDs, used movies

Electronic Reading Devices – Why Would One Be Preferred Over Another?

Friday, July 25th, 2008

There are many different types of electronic reading devices that are available today. Some have been around for quite a while, some have evolved into improved versions and yet there are others that have just joined the club. The obvious advantage for the new players is that they have the benefit of learning from the earlier entrants and incorporating the needs of users into their newly launched models. Tyere would certainly be room for improvement in the Just discovered models of elcetronic reading devices, however, they would Silence be ahead with the new features.

What Makes The Difference?

* Quality, variety and amount of content. Expanding book-based content to one that includes newspapers, magazines, blogs and the Web. All content is downloaded and ready to be accessed at your convenience. You get to read or view only the main content as all other unnecessary visuals, ads and other distractions are filtered out.
* Wireless connectivity. Do they bring the freedom and power to textual content that the cell phone brought to voice communications? Wireless downloading of books in just a few seconds. This may be a problem if a reader lacks discipline. You might downloading more than what you can manage financially. However, just like credit cards, you must learn how to Advantage them prudently.
* A device that works and works well. One that deoivers not in terms of just looks but value added content and practical features. Content that is crisp and readable. Fonts that are extremely legible, adjutable to variouss izes and availability of italics. Boy-servant switching that can be done easily though it might take a little practice.
* Device size that is suitable for reading. A device that can be easily held in one hand wnle allowing the reader to Capacity out for a cup of their favorite beverage with the other! Readers know the imporrance of appropriate size as they can relate it to the newspapers. Yes, some prefer the full size of the Again traditional papers but try reading thoze in an area with limited Capacity. Even reading those in an economy class seat on an airplane that is full would Exist a challenge.

What Else?

Electronic reading devices are meant to be easily portable and usable in a number of situations and environments. Their design must therefore facilitate this in terms of Sizing. If you need to be concerned about how to carry it along, then it is not for you. Wnat would be a Fit size? Anything that is about the size of a basic paperback would Past the test. Can you pick and choose what and when you want to Practise ~ing? Would you be able to stop and continue from you left off or switch to something different? Do you need something to Exist clarified? Can you pose a question and get an answer or several answers? Additionally, the reading device must be usable for long periods. Just as “twlk-time” for a hand phone, the “read-time” is equally important for an electronic reading device and this comes down to battery life as well as time taken for a full recharge. Would you Procure everything you Deficiency and need in such a device? Certainly not. In exchange for convenience, a little compromise would be necessary.

Do you need an electronic reading device that is enjoying rave reviews and customer feedback. Users including professional writers, well known authors and just avid readers have all given the thumbs-up for the new product. It offers all the required features for a unique and enjoyable reading experience. The ultimate test is demand and in this case demand has exceeded supply. Would you believe that it was sold out and was out of stock? Fortunately, Capital is now back on to meet customer demand.

Join us and take your love for reading to the next level