What's in a name...?

Mention ‘The Oscars’ to anyone and immediately you conjure up images of glamour, sophistication, dramatic speeches and, of course, the iconic golden statue – all of that just from a name!

The whole world is talking about Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony - the 86th in its illustrious career - whether it be because of the winners (and losers), Ellen DeGeneres, the selfies or the pizza delivery guy.

But there is something else that is on everyone’s lips; that cringeworthy moment when John Travolta announced the incredibly talented, Tony Award winning star of Musical theatre, Idina Menzel as she performed the Oscar winning song ‘Let it Go’ from Disney’s Frozen. Or, as he called her Adele Dazeem!

The internet has already jumped on this, seeing an opportunity to allow everyday people to Travoltify their name. This got us thinking; what would we all sound like Travoltified? Well, wonder no more:


Simon Dover         Szyman Dorniels
Charlotte Blake     Charlie Blork
Dan Ferrett            Dean Farster
Shelley Crouch      Sorley Cloirk
Dave Birch             Dean Blork
Darryl Akerman      Daryl Andreson
Paul Skinner          Paige Shunter
Richard Sprinks      Ruaraidh Speerce
Simon Warren        Szymon Wailson
James Surridge     Joss Sgardner
Liz Hellyer              Lois Heenry
Steve Barnes         Shae Borfes
Anna Ecuyer          Anya Bailerey
Paul Wright            Paige Wrizght

Idealogy LTD          Isabella Loing

If you’d like to find out what you name is ‘Travoltified’, click here to find out and why not let us know…


All images found on Google. No offense or copyright infringement intended. Images can be removed if requested by originator.

A reputation is hard earned

HMRC plan to rebrand National Insurance to become "Earnings Tax"

In an attempt to make our unfathomable taxation system a little more intelligible, National Insurance looks set to be renamed “Earnings Tax” as new legislation is introduced to parliament this week.

A little knowledge makes us all Curling experts

'A little knowledge is a dangerous thing' and 'a little learning is a dangerous thing' have been used synonymously since the 18th century. 

The version 'a little learning' is widely attributed to Alexander Pope (1688-1744). It is found in An Essay on Criticism, 1709: -

A little learning is a dangerous thing; drink deep, or taste not the Pierian Spring:
there shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, and drinking largely sobers us again.

Our 25 year love affair with Adobe...

Having used Adobe's software for the best part of 25 years, the technical bods at Idealogy are always interested in any releases they make - be it design or development software. And Adobe certainly haven't disappointed with the comprehensive range of new tools released over the last 12 months.

Here's a brief rundown of our favourite offerings of the last year:

·     Edge Reflow is a 'Responsive web design tool', which simplifies designing for multiple screen sizes and devices. It can be used to gauge how layouts will adapt and to create quick User Experience prototypes and mock-ups

·     Edge Animate is a timeline based animation tool that basically does what Flash used to do, but uses HTML5, CSS and Javascript. It also has the added benefit of working on iOS devices like the iPad and iPhone (unlike Flash)…

·     Edge Code is a new generation code editor, which includes features such as code hinting and coloring for HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. You can quickly edit multiple files without switching between windows and the resulting web page can be previewed instantly

·     Edge Inspect is a neat piece of software that lets multiple devices connected to it display any web page that you are browsing when using Google Chrome on your desktop. The devices are updated immediately so the developer can see how any code change made to a page is reflected in a certain device…in real time.

And last, but by no means least,

·     PhoneGap Build is a tool that lets developers build native apps for multiple devices using HTML5, CSS and Javascript.
      
This cuts down on development time by re-using existing web development skills, frameworks and tools and provides all the benefits of cross-platform development while building apps that target iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry 5/6/7 and webOS all with a single code base.

You then upload to the Adobe PhoneGap Build cloud service where the app is compiled for you

With technology changing and evolving faster than ever at the moment, it’s important for us to keep our finger on the digital pulse to ensure we can offer you the latest products for what you need. But worry not, we’ve got our ears to the ground just to make sure we’re ahead of the game…

All images found on Google. No offense or copyright infringement intended. Images can be removed if requested by originator.

Do you love someone enough to think of them as a Pantone colour?

Valentines Day is nearly upon us and if you are still looking for the perfect present for the designer in your life, then look no further.

Every designer has their favourite Pantone colour so check out our great gift selection - the answer may be right here...we know which ones are on our lists!

All Systems GO! GO! GO!

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It’s been a busy few months here at Idealogy and I’m not talking from a ‘we’ve had loads of work” point of view – although, it would be worth pointing out here that we have had lots of work to do!!

No, I’m talking from a back office point of view; the part of the business that people from the outside rarely get a glimpse of!

As the regular readers amongst you will know, we entered our 25^th year of business last year – an impressive feat for any business in this day and age – and, having used our old Management System for the past 10 years, it was starting to feel rather antiquated! In order to grow and further evolve, we needed key information at our fingertips quicker than roadrunner dodging one of Wile. E. Coyote’s ACME anvils. If we were going to make it another 25 years, there was only one thing for it; we were going to need a new way of doing things!  

Out with the old and in with the new...

So, we set about doing our research, talking to people we knew who used different systems and, in some cases the same system but a different version, to discover what was out there and what would suit our needs. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice to say, we whittled away until we got what we needed – an enterprise-wide CMS - and have been steadily making the transition over the past two/three months.

Whether you are a client or a supplier, the eagle eyed amongst you may have noticed a change in our quotes, invoices and/or purchase orders – if you haven’t, I lay money on the fact that you’ll have a closer look when you next receive one! – as these are probably the only indicators of change that someone outside of the business would have.

It’s been a hectic period as we’ve learned the new system whilst still working in the old one and slowly (but surely) we’ve started to make the transition over, but all the blood, sweat and tears are starting to pay off and with each   week that passes we’re one step closer to being fully integrated.

With key business information now at our fingertips we can safely, and hopefully surely say ‘Here’s to the next 25 years!”…

OK – it’s time to level with me!

Is it just me or is it mildly diverting (bad pun) that it takes a powerful yet natural disaster to hear about a place that has always been there? A place that then becomes endowed with a new mystical name to, I assume, make us more sympathetic to its plight. 

I’m talking, of course, about the Somerset Levels - that sparsely populated coastal plain and wetland area of central Somerset, in South West England, running south from the Mendip Hills to the Blackdown Hills. Which, of itself, is odd, because, by definition, land squeezed between 2 sets of hills cannot be level. 

I digress! What I love about this is that, in the space of a month, a geographical region has become part of the national psyche, driven on mostly by a location descriptor that is so emotively tuned for the climatically challenged times we live in. 

But here’s where I get a little confused (not difficult, I know!). If this place truly is level, where is all of the water that now rests there going to go? Set aside the geological fact that the water table is unnaturally high due to almost 3 months of continuous rain, the name of the region (clearly beloved of the local population) is a misnomer. It is actually a wetland area, straddled by many coast bound rivers and streams, so it was always a fair bet that, in these conditions, something massively upsetting was going to happen. And so it did. 

The Somerset Levels is now a 160,000-acre lake, stretching in any direction as far as the eye can see, and there seems very little we can do to help the poor local people. Only last evening I watched the News as The Environmental Agency began pumping water away from the region – but to where? It seems as if they are just trying to appease local anger at the fact that it has taken almost a month to put a plan in place. 

So, are the EA just moving it from one village doorstep to another? It’s a sad sight, but the Somerset Levels are now firmly planted in the national consciousness. It strikes me though, that if you live and work in an area called The Levels, maybe it’s time to look to the higher ground – which, on a more positive note, surrounds them. 

Up you go! 

All images found on Google. No offense or copyright infringement intended. Images can be removed if requested by originator.