The Lingo Berries

When you go to auto shows, you do not use dashboard to mean the vehicle’s instrument panel. This is because you might be misleading other people. Dropping layman’s terms is easy but you will get plus points if you speak the designer’s tongue.

Each profession has its lingo. And for one to be better understood he must know the common terms or at least a few of the most colorful words used by experts. In the automotive world, metal and words unite. And auto brand’s vocabulary is known as the colorful realm of design language.

The beltline separates the greenhouse, or glassed-in upper body, from the part that widens down from the window sills. Michael Castiglione, the principal exterior designer at DaimlerChrysler’s Pacifica studio in Carlsbad, Calif., said that equally important is the A-line. The A-line is the length of the vehicle’s body from headlight to taillight. The vehicle may also have a crease created in the sheet metal of the sides called the character line.

Styling cues are also used to prompt recognition of a particular model to other product lines of the same brand. The cues include the curve of the roofline, the distinct design of the grille, as well as the shapes and lines of the vehicle.

The angle of the windshield called rake could convey different meaning. It is said to be fast when it extremely tilts. The rocker panel which is the body section below the base of the door is treated with a varying degree of turn-under. Chris Chapman of BMW’s Designworks studio in Newbury Park, Calif., defines it as the shape of the panel as it curves inward at the lower edge.

Stance tells you whether the auto sits on the wheels with superb energy or not. Robert Boniface, the director of advanced design for General Motors, recently worked on the Chevrolet Volt and the Camaro show cars. He said that “stance has to do with the relative visual stability or instability of a particular design.”

According to Bryan Thompson, the designer at the Nissan Design America studio in La Jolla, Calif., another essential relationship is that one found between the glass and the body. “A vehicle whose body is relatively thick compared to the amount of glass is called chunky. The proportion between wheel and body sizes is important in lending a vehicle its visual personality,” he said.

Thompson added, “Wheel-to-body is the relationship of the wheel-tire plane to the sheet metal wheel opening. Wheels that are flush to the body are desirable. Wheels that are well inboard of the sheet metal plane are buried. Vehicles with buried wheels are called overbodied. At its extreme, an overbodied car has the look of a parade float, with the body visually overpowering the wheels.”

Peter Davis, the director of interior design at General Motors, said the space between wheel and surrounding fender or wheel well suggests the jounce of the car. The intervening space between tire and wheel well is sometimes called the dead cat hole. He described the British-sounding mucketts as “complicated rubber moldings that hide nasty window-door frame areas or direct water drips to appropriate places.” “In Italy,” he added, “what we call the plenum, the area at the base of the windshield where the wipers sit and run off is directed is called the vasca di pesce, or fish bowl.”

Another term to define the personality of the car is its axle-to-dash ratio, the proportion between the front wheel and the cowl or the base of the windshield. There is also what is dubbed the roller skate effect. It happens when the tires and wheels are too small for the body.

There are so many terms in the auto industry realm. And it is an edge on your part to know them all. The next time you purchase EBC greenstuff or other auto parts, you will not be surprised to hear those terms.

Anthony Fontanelle
http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/learn-to-speak-auto-designers-Lingo-128921.html

Ok, let’s face it I know three languages, English, German and bad! What’s more I admit, I’m better at bad language than any of the other 2. So, with the summer holidays to Espana bearing down on me I decided to up the ante and learn the local lingo – at least if the natives were slagging me off I was determined to know what they were saying. As I only had 3 weeks to learn the basics I had no time to enrol in night school or hire a tutor, so I was basically left with a book, or audio courses. My other criteria was that, being a cheap ass, I didn’t want to spend a fortune – hey I need some money for a Cervesa or five!

Anyway, after looking around it soon became clear that there were three main contenders, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone and the new boy on the block – Rocket Spanish. My choice was quickly made for me when I read some reviews and saw the price – Rocket Spanish is almost a quarter of the other competitors price! At $99 it was a great bargain! It wasn’t purely price that drew me in though, I had heard of the other two courses, and in fact have used the German version of Pimsleur in the past to brush up on my skills. Their quality was never in question. No, the other thing that made Rocket Spanish stand out was that it is aimed at duffers like me who really need a quick grounding in the basics and, more importantly , offers a range of lessons that deals with real life situations (like how to order a beer!). The other two were definitely more industrial grade products that could probably have me ordering a beer while asking the way to the museum and having a casual conversation about the works of Dali with a native speaker in some obscure Catalonian dialect, but let’s face it – that would just be showing off.

As I said, I’m a bit of a cheap ass so it was an added bonus for me to find out that they good folks over at Rocket Spanish also like to give stuff away. I signed up for the free 6 day e-course on the website – this was better than some commercial packages I have tried in the past – and contains selected lessons from the full series to give you a flavour of what to expect. Well, I was sold.

When I signed up for the full package I had access to a wide range of material including a series of downloadable audio lessons, great for listening to on the bus, or in the car. (note to self – don’t repeat the phrases out loud on the bus). I got 31 audio lessons of about 20 minutes each, which amounts to 12 hours continuous listening. I also got a 210 page document on formal grammar (maybe I’ll read that on the plane), a word building game (the kids loved that one), and full e-mail backup and support from the courses creator, Mauricio Evlampieff. Mauricio also informs me that he consulted a university psychologist whose techniques are claimed to help people absorb this type of information faster. Using this expertise, the time required to learn a foreign language can be reduced by up to two thirds! The final clincher was the money back guarantee. Rocket Spanish offer a full 60 day money-back guarantee, which I’m happy to say I definitely didn’t need.

Anyway, as I write this, the cases are packed, and bits of flesh that haven’t seen sunlight in a very long time are getting ready for a roasting, and I’ve been using the course daily. I may not be as fluent as Ruben Dario (hes a poet apparently) but I certainly feel more confident speaking to the locals this year as we head off. Now, donde está la barra por favour – as they say in Spain!

Dave Simpson
http://www.articlesbase.com/travel-tips-articles/rocket-spanish-speaka-da-Lingo-470983.html

Are you on the same page with your customers? If not, perhaps there’s simply a page missing. A page you design to help merchants, customers, clients and even co-workers speak the same language, use the same terms and communicate the same meanings.

Name That Sound!

Recently when I called my auto mechanic to complain of a new sound my car was making the conversation went something like this: “Patti, it’s making a creaking noise.” “Do you mean like a door with rusty hinges opening?” “No, Patti, more like wood burning in a fireplace” I told her. “Oh, Mr. Harrison, that’s considered a cracking noise.” She’d obviously done this before. Several questions later we identified my car’s problem over the phone. Now we were clicking!

Synching Up Our Language

Let’s face it. One person’s grind is another person’s groan. One person’s whining is another’s whistling. You say chirp, I say clap, but we can’t call the whole thing off!

The Honda Motor Company, makers of Acuras, Accords and Preludes, created a “cheat sheet” to help Patti and other techs identify noises customers complain about. For every noise a car can make their chart lists a description of what the noise sounds like in common terms. Their tech reps play charade with calling customers, using their reference sheet to identify offending sounds.

For example, a customer complaining of_______ is asked if it sounds like _________:

BANGING………Slamming of a wooden screen door?

CLANGING……….Cow bell or dinner bell?

FLUTTERING……….A flag flapping in the wind?

GROWLING……….Dog protecting his food?

JINGLING……….Keys hitting each other?

PINGING……….Pebbles rolling around in a tin can?

RAPPING……….Judge hitting his gavel?

WHISTLING……….Steam coming out of a tea kettle?

This cheat sheet of 50 different sounds is a wonderful tool for fostering understanding, thus saving time and money. The following week I was tending a sick Tibetan Terrier and tried to explain sounds Pierre the dog was making to a veterinary technician. Did we ever need a cheat sheet to find common ground!

Modern Day Lingua Franca through Cheat Sheets, FAQs, Lexicons and Conversion Charts

Consider creating cheat sheets or pocket reference guides that explain lingo, define acronyms, answer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and more. They’re good for communication, education and ultimately business!

Noah’s Bagels gave me a taste of New York when I picked up a pamphlet of theirs that taught me key Yiddish phrases. Starbucks taught me my first Italian when they converted me from small-medium-large to Tall, Grande, Venti. In each case was being groomed to an organization’s ‘lingo’ franca!

You can derive value from creating a definition page full of countries and currency names, a laminated pocket guide to time zones, a tips sheet of transaction terms or a chart that serves as an easy reference guide for options, categories of packages of services or products you offer. Whether you or your graphics department creates these tools they’re an investment in success. These visual tools are both service- and sales-oriented.

Success in business is predicated on the ability to communicate with and understand each other. Using the same terms and agreeing upon their meaning goes a long way toward partnering for success. When you do, you’ll hear one of my favorite sounds:

CHA-CHING. . . the sound of your cash register receiving payments.

Craig Harrison
http://www.articlesbase.com/networking-articles/Lingo-franca-overcoming-language-barriers-within-the-same-language-92100.html

Voice over internet protocol [internet telephony] is a rapidly growing technological alternative to traditional land based residential phone systems. Instead of making calls through telephone lines, VoIP routes your calls over the internet by way of your cable or DSL provider. Notably, residential VoIP phone rates are cheaper by at least 50%, making VoIP an attractive option for many consumers. Today, three internet telephony companies are leading the way in signing up new customers – Packet8, Lingo, and Vonage – so let’s examine and compare their offers to find the VoIP plan that works best for you.

AT&T and the former Bell companies are in for the fight of their lives thanks to the growth of VoIP. Vonage is one of the better known providers with Lingo and Packet8 each making their presence known. For consumers just like you, there are great savings to be had; please read on for a comparison between the leading three providers.

Vonage – Quirky and unforgettable television commercials are one way Vonage [an abbreviation of Voice Over Net Age] tells the world about its services as the company is aggressive in signing up new customers. Vonage’s standard plan – Premium Unlimited – retails for $24.99 per month offering users an unlimited number of minutes to call anyone in the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Europe. Calling features included with this plan are: call waiting, three-way calling, voice mail, call forwarding, call transfer, call return, and more. Vonage also offers a basic plan for $14.99 per month where all of the features mentioned are included except minutes are limited to 500 per month.

Lingo – Offering calls to the US, Canada and Western Europe as part of its standard $21.99 per month plan, Lingo is formidable competitor to Vonage. Every Vonage calling feature is matched by Lingo with a few extras thrown in including anonymous call rejection where you can automatically dump calls from people who are trying to hide their identity from you. If you want a basic plan, Lingo matches Vonage’s 500 minutes offer and even markets a thrifty, bare bones plan for Lingo-user to Lingo-user only calls at $7.95 per month.

Packet8 – Gaining steam in the VoIP market is Packet8, a company that offers a competitively priced plan for just $19.99, covering calls to all 50 states and Canada. Matching all of the calling features offered by Lingo and Vonage, Packet8 goes one step further: Sign up and pay for your service for one year in advance and the VoIP provider’s $19.99 Freedom Unlimited plan is just $199 per year. On top of that, Packet8 offers a rebate covering the cost of the quality Uniden IP phone with built-in router and expandable handsets if you go with their annual plan. Vonage and Lingo do not match Packet8′s special offer, therefore you will have to pay separately for the adapter and for a phone.

A couple of concerns have been raised over 911 access with VoIP plans. One concern has to do with power outages, while the second one concerns connectivity to a local 911 center.

With the first concern, if you have a power outage then VoIP will not work for you unless you have a generator in place as an electrical back up. To get around this limitation, many VoIP users simply use their cell phones to make emergency calls when needed.

With the second concern, the Federal Communications Commission {FCC} has put into place new requirements for the handling of 911 calls: all VoIP providers must now have the ability to route calls to a local emergency response center and provide the caller’s callback number and location to that center. This recently implemented requirement – known as enhanced 911 or e911 — has closed an important loophole in VoIP service, one that benefits VoIP users everywhere tremendously.

Jason Martinez
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/voip-residential-comparison-guide-evaluating-packet8-lingo-and-vonage-113580.html