Mobile Ministry Magazine

As Christians, we are to be students of the Word of God and be diligent in building an ever-growing relationship with the Lord. Just as 1 Timothy 2:15 tells us to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" and that is exactly what God expects of us. Well, how is possible for us to build a meaningful relationship with God and know more about Him if we don't study His Word? Quite honestly, we can't! That is why it is important for us to read the Word productively, and have resources available to us in order that we might be able to rightly divide the Word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).

Before computers became a household item, if someone wanted to get in-depth with the Scriptures, they would have had to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars at their local Christian bookstore in order to obtain commentaries, dictionaries, Bible translations, and so forth. That means, there was a lot of manual legwork involved in doing any kind of exegesis on the Scriptures.

You couldn't easily read different translations side-by-side unless you had a parallel Bible or several different versions opened up to the same passage. What about looking up Matthew Henry's commentary? You'd have to pull the big book off the shelf and open it up to find what you were looking for. Need a definition? Take the Holman Bible dictionary down, adding yet another book to your desk. Oh wait, what about taking down your own notes in an organized manner? Get out the pen & paper! As you can clearly see, before you even get in too far with your studying, you have a mountain of books covering your desk and hardly any room left to do any work!

Click here to read the rest of that article @ Jesus4Life Ministries.

Here is some bible software for your laptop or desktop. Only eSword is free, but all are great resources no matter the price.

WordSearch | WordSearch 7
Biblesoft | PC Study Bible
e-Sword | e-Sword
Logos Bible Software | Logos Bible Software
QuickVerse | Quickverse
BibleWorks | BibleWorks
Akamai Software | SwordSearcher
BiblePro | BiblePro

Thanks to LJ for compiling this information.

EDIT: Fixed that formatting issue, sorry bout that AW.

As I've undertaken the responsibility of becoming more involved in ministry, I've come to realize that having a personal computer is an invaluable tool for my success in ministry, especially considering that the majority of my ministry is done online. More and more, it has become apparent that my personal computer needs to become more of a tool and resource, instead of simply being an overpriced amp; expensive toy that I use to play games (and do occasional work); it has become my mission to make my computer into a tool that is used primarily for ministry, instead of a gaming device.

I'll be perfectly honest and say that I currently spend more time surfing the Internet, chatting and playing Madden or Tiger Woods than I use my computer as a tool for spiritual growth. Now, granted, I use my computer for real work as well, such as graphic & web design, but even that is limited. So, one day, the Lord sat me down and showed me how irresponsible I was being with this brand new notebook computer that I had purchased back in February. He opened up my eyes to how my computer could become a ministry resource that could further my spiritual development and help others gain a greater understanding of HIM.

The first thing that the Lord brought my attention to was the time that I spend on my computer. I was idly using my computer and just wasting a lot of time, when it could be better used to perform other tasks. Instead of playing a game of Madden or aimlessly surfing the Internet, I could be spending my time studying the Word or praying, or be out ministering to people. The primary thing that was revealed to me was how easily I can use my computer to do these things. First, instead of spending so much time reading the latest sports news, I can be reading a website like Gospelcom.net (http://www.gospelcom.net) or CrossWalk (http://www.crosswalk.com) to be getting the latest Christian world news, or reading articles that will build me up spiritually. Secondly, there is a world of free and reasonably priced software available that can help me in my personal study times.

Since redirecting your focus on the Internet is fairly straightforward, I want to elaborate on the second half, which deals with setting up your computer for ministry related tasks, especially from the standpoint of someone who teaches/preaches the gospel.

Initially, we need to get rid of all the unnecessary software that is on our computers. It's my philosophy that a clean computer is the best way to have an effective computer. Get rid of all the software that you don't need, especially that software that loads on startup because that will only distract you during those times when you need to turn on your computer for studying purposes. If you need some of those programs (like instant messaging programs), just make sure that they're set to not load at startup. By getting rid of the useless software, you essentially increase your disk space and remove some of the clutter that can distract you from ministry tasks.

The next step is to install some necessary & practical Christian software. There are two pieces of software that I feel are essential for anyone who uses their computer for ministry purposes. The first is a good Bible study software. There are several free pieces of software that are available such as e-Sword (http://www.e-sword.net) and BiblePro (http://www.bibleocean.com) which you can easily download and install on your computer. You can even make donations to these companies and they'll gladly mail you a CD version of the software. Or, if you're in the market, there are more advanced software packages that are reasonably priced such as SwordSearcher (http://www.swordsearcher.com - $49.95) and WORDsearch (http://www.wordsearchbible.com - my personal choice of software). As far as free software, e-Sword is definitely the way to go. Why Bible study software? It'll help you get into the Word in a more in-depth manner, as well as provide you the opportunity to more accurately dissect the Scriptures. Any student of the Word should have one of these programs in their library.

The next piece of software that I feel is a must is a Prayer Journal. A prayer journal will allow you the opportunity to type/write out your prayers to the Lord so that you can better keep track of prayer requests and answers to your prayers. It also is a valuable tool to use as a personal journal/diary to keep track of everyday events. I personally use Prayer Journal from Legacy of Love Software (http://www.legacyoflove.net - $24.95), and they also have a Palm add-on for $10. I personally prefer this software as it's the best I've found thus far, and it can do almost anything you would need a prayer journal to do (plus it's password protected). I'm pretty sure you can find a free version online if you needed one; I found one online @ http://www.hallee.org/PrayerJournal.htm (I haven't tested or tried it).

Another invaluable tool, which I just recently ran across is called InstaVerse, which is a free system tray application which pops up whenever you hover over a Bible reference while surfing the Internet. This tool is a great time saver as it keeps you from having to go get your Bible or opening a new browser window or tab to open Biblegateway.com. It immediately pops up so that you can read the passage. It even allows you to quickly insert Bible passages into your documents or emails. You can download this utility at http://www.instaverse.com. Another great piece of software for those that write sermons amp; Bible studies is Sermon Library, also from Legacy of Love, which can be purchased for $30.

Now that you've got the software installed on your computer, the most important thing to do now is to use it! Trust me, it doesn't mean anything if you have the software on your computer and don't use it. I'm a guilty party. I've owned Prayer Journal amp; WORDsearch for several years now, and must admit that I don't use them nearly as often as I know I should be. Anytime I'm studying the Scriptures, I should have WORDsearch open and be using that as my primary tool (next to a physical Bible) for studying. I should also be using Prayer Journal on a daily basis. If I had a Palm, I'd probably make more use of it, since it has the Palm add-on. Indeed, having a computer built for ministry is absolutely worthless if it's not being used for ministry.

I would even go so far as to suggest that you setup a separate profile on your computer that is strictly used for Bible study & prayer. Why? Because you can set it up so that nothing else loads on your computer other than what you need to accomplish the task at hand. Plus, it'll allow you to remove from the profile all the software that you don't need. I will probably do this so that I can become more disciplined in my Bible study amp; prayer efforts when it comes to my computer.

I've said all of that to summarize it in these few words: in order to have a computer setup for ministry, you are going to need to have the necessary software installed on your computer, and have it setup so that any distracting software is out of your view when using the computer. And again, remember, you have to make the effort in order to make your computer work for you as a ministry tool!

written by LaRosa Johnson
Jesus4Life Ministries

Check it out by clicking here.

Add yourself to the MMM map and plot distances, or call a brother to see when he can come over for dinner :)

Thanks to Everything Treo for the link.

One of the reasons why I have always been behind closing the digital divide has been the fact that even mildly used computers can have a place in areas where there are none. Espeically in the sense that US Americans throw away as many computers as they buy, there would have to reason that someone could benefit from that technology.

But something that has been on the back of my mind, not really the front, since I worked at a teen center that received some of these old computers, is the question of what to do with these items if they came in no good, or even met end of life at the teen center. Our only option with these was to throw them in the trash because there was no place that handled the hazordous waste that older computers would have.

Reading this report from the NY Times reminds me of the stewardship aspect of computing. Yes, developing and equipping are important, but a complete solution also looks at the waste that would be created and how it would be disposed of. I can say that for MMM, when we get to the point of donating computers on a larger scale, I'd like the computer manufacturers to be there with a plan for how to dispose of these computers (or at least the city having a plan of disposal). That picture in the Times article was simply disgusting. And I feel sick to my stomach knowing that I contributed to someone else having diseases and contimated resources because of my "charity."

Times link care of Engadget.

Jesus4Life Ministries, our recent partner in tilling the net ground, has just made an excellent and very useful addition to their website, the addition of RSS feeds for both daily devotionals and bible studies.

I don't know about some of you, but for me, just seeing everyone either offer jsut news or blog content gets kinda old. To be able to have a daily devotional easily accessible via any device that can use a newsreader (just about everything but the most basic of phones) is an excellent resource. I have placed direct links to both below. They would make a great addition to one's news feeds.

J4L Daily Devotionals RSS Feed
J4L Bible Studies RSS Feed

Hello all and welcome to a new week with Mobile Ministry Magazine, and more importantly with some more time to spead the Gospel to the nations. I hope ya go some time, because I am going to write on this one for a bit :)

This weekend, I went back to my alma mater (Millersville University) and spoke at a leadership workshop in an organization that I was once president (Bible Campus Ministry). It was really good getting my brain picked, and because of mobile technology, I was actually able to afford a better time speaking that I probably would have if I had a ton of books and papers in front of me. I used my work TabletPC as my "notebook" where I put my speaker notes. Using some techniques from Pat's Paperless Pulpit article, I was able to use it, but not make it the center of attention (though there were the normal "Antoine has another toy" comment or two).

I then went to Philadelphia to listen to a member of Cross Movement speak (this article linked is a great summary of what he talked about). Getting some more exercise out of my "toys" I was able to post in the Holy Culture Radio Forums (offline for upgrades at the momment) what was going on there for those who were not able to attend due to distance or other obligations. If I would have been a touch smarter, I would have had my folding keyboard and really looked like a reporter in the mist of that time. Afterwards, I used my Treo to take pictures and make a few phone calls seeing that members of the Cross Movment and I share a common friend from Lancaster.

On Saturaday, my technology use was limited to reading the Word while in church (Bible+ of course) and getting updates from ESPN on how my Eagles were doing (we win :) ). Besides that, calling various people and texting others that I was in Philly for a short time. I also helped my cousin (5th grade) set up some learning programs on a laptop that was given to him the last time I was in Philly. It was really kool seeing how anxious he was in wanting to get on the computer to play math and composition games (and they were good games too, I am kinda jealous). My day ended in traveling home, but passing text and phone messages while I was in Interstate 95 South traffic.

So why am I writing about my weekend and all the tech that I am using? Glad you asked :) Within this article at Mobile Read, BobR makes the point that there are some restrictions within the current software and hardware implementations of mobile technology.

Clearly, we have come a long way, but on many fronts, all we really have done is made the world smaller, not necessarly more effective/productive. My cousin playing his math games makes him productive and more effective when he is in class. Though the computer isnt "new", it does have good enough specs to give him a great user experience within the software that he is using. I would hope that us adults will also get that with our tools sometime soon. Not that mobile technology will not catch on further if it doesnt, but effectivness is a lofty and reachable goal that we should have; in use and in teaching others how to use this.

So for this week, I hope that you can really pine God for how best to use this gift of technology that you have. And if by chance you are able to do something that you couldnt do before because you have something new, send MMM an email about it and we will post it. I am sure that folks will want to hear more than just my view on how technology is changing the way we view and interact with the world around up.

Happy new week to all, and God bless.

Hehehe;
Just a play on the title of a site that I have found myself visiting a lot lately. Everything Treo is another Treo site (there are a ton of them) but besides the news and really civil forums, I think what sets them apart is the very cool and relaxing design of their website. I visit a ton of websites, and can honestly say that this is one that I easily enjoy because of its design.

If you are looking for a Treo, or how to get a bit more out of your Treo, I encourage you to visit Chris and the gang over there and get acquainted with Everything Treo. Who knows, you might meet a few folks you know while there :)

I have also added Everything Treo in the links list on the right. If you have a site that we should add, make sure to send an email and we can get ya there (pending the content being relevant to MMM's vision of course).

Probably one of the more interesting aspects of computing that is coming (quite quickly down the pipe) is a style of virtual computing where a person is accessing their computer thru a web browser. While those familiar with the terms VPN and VNC will not find anything "new" about this, the fact of the matter is that for the normal computer user, the ability to access files on a home or work computing without sophiscated software or IT-managed devices is a lot less "new" than we would like to realize.

With that in mind, I took a look at the program/service called Avvenu. Basically, I had never heard of this service until reading a few reviews of Palm's new TX model and how this program is designed of make it quite simple for someone to access files on their home/work computer.

Like most things on the net, you cannot do anything until you signup for the service. So I went to Avvenu and signed up for the service. Upon signing up, I had to download and install a stub program (it runs in the background in the system tray). Then I signed up for the service at Avvenu's website. All basically painless.

After doing that, I fired up my Treo 600 and pointed the web broswer to http://share.avvenu.com and let it take off from there. First I logged in using the user name and password I set up when I registered. And then I was sent to a page that resembled my desktop (withuot the 1280x1024 pixel goodness). Since I only have 7 icons on my desktop, that is all I saw. But from there I was able to get around my computer pretty easily. I was even able to view an image that I had saved on my desktop (and it was resized to fit in the browser window quite nicely I might add).

So why do I write about a program like this. I honestly think that this is a nearly perfect application for people who have a reason to access files, but not the knowhow to manage firewalls and VPN connections (from personal experience they can be a hassle). I also like that Palm is pushing Avvenu with their new TX model. Its not like this wasnt available before, Avvenu just makes it nice and simple.

In reading some forums here and there, I was made aware that for accessing corporate networks, using a program like this could be a problem. So check with your IT person just in case. But for the rest of us, who might have our computers on all day at home just to access that pic of a little one via our PDA or other mobile (Avvenu works on most phones, PDAs, and laptops), this is a pretty kool service, and one that I can see pushing the idea of shared computing just a but further into the mainstream.

In addition to the usual news, I have added the news feed from AgapePress as they have a very ncie reporting style of news. Check it out via the right side column.

What's being a good minister if you dont have a handle on what's out there.

Hello all;
Hope that your weeks have been keeping you busy but not to the point of getting exhausted. I am preparing for a speaking engagement this weekend and so this end of week is quite full for me.

I hope that you have gotten a chance to get into the forums. As we reported on earlier this week, MMM has entered into a partnership with Jesus 4 Life Ministries. One of the first things that has come from that partnership has been the opening of the forums under the Jesus 4 Life message board. Check it out and let's build with Jesus 4 Life to make a mark on the net in the name of our Lord.

One of the things that has been really pressing on me has been a redesign of MMM to being more reader friendly, and versatile. In some respects, I have wanted to redesign the site just out of the passion of designing a site. But also, I want to make sure that finding information and interacting with the MMM community is as seemless as it is visiting a new church and getting a hug.

To that end I've toyed with making a completly Flash site, but I know how some may not have the fastest computers, or even have accssiblity concerns. My main thing there being that this is the web, and your site is only as good as the people that can visit it. I have also a CSS-driven redesign (I know, tech speak but bear with me) but that too finds some issues depending on browsers and other concerns. I wish that it was easier to figure this part out, as I know what it should look like but getting there is always the hard part.

So please keep MMM in prayer. Even if new designs dont happen, or new partnerships are long ways off, I hope that magzine, blog, and information here would encourage you to think more seriously of the net as a platform for ministry. Not just in places that have the net, but even in those places where having the net is a far off thought, and education and empowerment needs to happen before anything else.

More of a fact of me posting too many things at once, I just wanted to re-announce that MMM has forums now curtosy of Jesus4Life Ministries. There are some discussions going on right there now, so sign up, and feel free to participate. Come fellowship some :)

Current Discussions on the Forums:
The Paperless Pulpit
Fashioning Idols or Temples

Despite the fact that PalmOS PDAs have been top sellers for years, one of the most missing features has been the ability to read files without having to send them thru some kind of conversion process. It became even more of an issue with the Treo series of PDAs being able to receive attachements with emails, but not able to read them.

Fortunately, developers have stepped up to the plate and introduced products such as Documents to Go and Piscel Viewer, to enable viewing (and sometimes) editing of common documents. However, the PDF reader was missing for all but a select set of devices (using the Piscel Browser, Sony Clie models were able to read PDF files without needing to convert them).

Thankfully, in the past months there have been two announcements about bringing native PDF viewing to the complete range of PalmOS devices (at least those using PalmOS version 5/Garnet). The first announcement came from Dataviz, the creators of Documents to Go (news via PalmInfocenter). And the second one is a lot more recent (yesterday) and comes from Alexander Gratz at Tam Hanna's PalmOS blog.

Now, while most would think that it should be a no-brainer for this to have already been in the palm computing world, the fact is that in many cases, what we use for desktops is not at all suitable for use on a handheld. Hopefully, with mobile standards and devices improving, there will be less of a line between content and enable all us to view any information from any device.

EDIT: Sorry about that Alexander; I tend to look at the website title a bit too quickly.

Just another note, there will be another announcement soon of another ministry partner to MMM. If you are interested in partnering with Mobile Ministry Magazine, or just want to know more about the vision or how you can help, send an email to MMM and we can commune with some good word.

Announcement:
Jesus4Life Ministries and Mobile Ministry Magazine have entered into a partnership. Thru prayer and some very blessed conversations over the past weeks, J4L and MMM have found a similarity in vision and purpose and have agreed in working together to help spread the light of Christ and eqip folks to walk with that light online.

As a first step in that partnership Jesus4Life has opened their forums to MMM. There is now a MMM section (so to the many that have asked for a forum, here it is). There will be more things coming down the pipe in due time, but for now we (MMM and J4L) encourage you to jump into this exciting time and see the good stuff the Lord has got cooking for us to show of His glory online.

Click here to visit Jesus4Life Ministries
Click here to visit the MMM Forums within Jesus4Life Ministries

Ok, so I've been on a bit of a ranting mode lately, I know. But I cannot shake this vision of the net being one of the last places left where Satan doesnt have a complete handle on things. Check out this discussion started @ HCMR, and let's start thinking on how the net can be used to not just further the case for Christ, but further the APPEARANCE of Christ in those things tech.

There is an article at CNN today takling about our increasingly wireless world and the ability to NOT disconnect from it for social and spiritual development. I think that this article does raise an important observation, especially for the Christian who is trying to find balance between this technological time, and time with the Father.

As with any new tecnological paradigm, there is always a time of upward use, and little time to balance. As the technology matures, we then see technology taking its rightful place, and many times getting to that place where it is handled in balance (becomes successfully unnoticeable while also profitable). I believe that as Christians who have this connection/technology availiable to us, that we have to be ones who spearhead this movement to not only understand the technolgy, but show the correct balance between it and our lives away from the tech. Whether that means maintaining budgeted hours online, or doing homework sufficiently before purchasing the next tool, we have to become skillful in this arena if it too can be a light by which God can (and should) show His redemptive glory to the world.

I know that some of you might have noticed that the comments box has changed some. There is now a verification piece at the the bottom of the comment screen. This is because there has been a large amount of comment spam that MMM has been receiving and so far, this seems to have shut that spam out very nicely. I wish that it wasnt the case that spam was something that needed to be dealt with, but in this way I hope that it helps to keep all the comments clean for all who want to read all previous and future postings.

I sent this to be posted at Palm Addict, but thought it well to share here as well:

Hello to all at Palm Addict; I have to admit that it is always too long in between my writings to Palm Addict. Between Mobile Ministry Magazine and an increasing work load, I am finding it harder than I want to be in keeping up with the many people here and at other websites. I guess that, in some ways, I have grown in my internet and Palm usage to just being very task oriented. I go from one task to another, Palm alarm going off, if not a buzz because its silent, and from there I do the next thing.

Lately, I have been feeling the burn of just getting the net out there to be more accessible to all people (not just us who use PDAs with silly web browsers). There is so much information that the net has, and even more that a person (more specifically, a teen) can tap that would unlock another world of potential as a person that is able to contribute to society on a deep and meaningful level. But there are yet so many more people that don't have this accessiblity, and I wish thatin some way that a PDA could be a trigger to enable that accessiblity.

I admit, part of my passion comes from my faith. As a Christian, I want the world to know the saving power of Jesus. And I think that the net is probably one of the best ways to do this (in connected countries that is). I just wish that just as much as I have been a Palm Addict, and been able to spread the gospel of PDAs and life organization, that I could also carry that passion to seeing the hearts of people all around the world love God the way I do. I'd like to see computing resources truely shared to countries where wireless and mobile networks can really be a boon, and at the same time not destroy the social fabric that makes each culture unique. For in that uniqueness, I see a humanity that computing cannot capture in pictures or text, a faith that we really are connected thru Christ, and these are just tools that further show that ability to connect to Him/to each other.

I do not write this as a religious rant though, I write it as one that pats Palm and other mobile device makers on their backs. If not for their ideas about device and life integration, I'd proabably be still losing 4 out of 5 planners, trying to figure my way thru this life. Instead, I have Palm to thank for making a simple to use, and simpler to integrate IIIxe at a time when my GPA was 1.8ish. From the time that I had that device, I was able to unlock the abilities in me that many said that I have; I just never knew how to get there. Now, I am teaching others about how to use Palms; showing others how to organize their lives so that they can realize their dreams. Its my passion. And aside from my faith that moves me, my Palm gives me another reason to come here and write as a Palm Addict. I just hope to one day take it beyond my own world, and show the whole world just how much computing can really change our lives.

That was the subheading to the CNN article reported on earlier, but it kinda fits in more with this posting from the SmartChristian Blog (a recent find for me from that same CNN news article).

The article talks about purposeful and purposeless postings. I admit, that even in its brevity, that it makes some interesting points. I would think that MMM is purposeful to those in fields that need this tech, but not so much so that see tech as an accessory that isn't needed. I do waver in wondering that about MMM, and if what is being done here really does what it's supposed to in terms of informing and equipping the Body to maneuver in online settings. It is my hope that these postings, and the magazine are purposeful to all who read here, and that there is some measure of equipping and informing. Who knows, maybe there needs to be a bigger effort on my part (then MMM would have to move to being a job, and not just a ministry); but I will leave that for time and God to decide, and till the ground, thinking that Jesus would have an apostle blog and write similar things.

Here is a snippet from that article, one can click from there to the rest of their website and other informative blog postings.

...Purposeful Bloggers are those who approach blogging as a constructive and influential communication activity. Maybe we can say that purposeful bloggers are missional bloggers...
Click here to read more.

Not that I am one to complain about publicity, but it seems that there is a signifiant measure of God-fullness that is happening online. So much so that CNN is reporting on the God Blooger conference that had happened at Biola University in California. Here is a snippet of the article:

The three-day conference at Biola University marked an important benchmark for Christian bloggers, who have worked behind the scenes for years to spread the Gospel and infuse politics with religion.

Click here to read more.

And after you read this article, how would you respond to an article and event like this that basically says that Christians need to step it up on the web. Personally, it sparks me to want to work with MMM more to make it a larger focus not just for equipping, but training in tech stewardship. But what about you, I wanna hear ya in the comments.

This being a Sunday, I usually do not reserve any time for MMM, as I try to make sure to have one day a week to rest. but having recevied a request for prayer from a friend, and contributer here, I wanted to at least pass the message that prayer is requested for Kevin (of Splash Page! by Kevin) concerning recent events that have happened in his life. Please remember him in your prayers tonight and throughout the week.

Of the many discussion about technology that I engage in, very little of the discussion talks about stewardship of this knokwedge-base and resources. Within this discussion at HCMR going on concerning good stewardship of finances, I thought to engage MMM's audience with the same question.

What do you do to encourge yourself or others to be better stewards of technology?

Besides just knowing when to give things away, or when to buy new; stewardship also has an element of teaching and equipping others that might have the same needs that you do. I can say that with MMM, you will find that besides the magazine and blog, there will be a program to get tech into the hands of those that need it (be they minister, or communities that have wireless availiable, but no computers or education on how to use those resources). Its not enough for us to be able to have, we have to bring the mind and heart of Christ to tech so that others might become vessils to bless as well. So, what do you do to encourge yourself or others to be better stewards of technology? Leave your answer in the comment section.

Hello all;
Hopefull, you have been having a blessed and not to busy week. Mine has been on the side of busy, but blessed as I made the decsion to have a more positive attitude about life as a whole earlier this week.

So, I think now about design. When Paul talks about the body in 1 Cor 12 and 14, he talks a lot about how we are designed to work together. Designed to know each other's functions, and at the same time, not get in the way of the purpose of the Body to be a light. In similar fashion, I see technology and different aspects of design and form helping us to get a better idea of where we are in teh Body, and how we can contribute to a better functioning piece of the Body.

The other side of my design thoughts today happened to be a rethink of a redesign of MMM. I posted this design here before, but would like to get another opinion about it. Granted, the mock up is flash, but I have been considering Flash as a possible direction for the site (if I can make it accessible for mobile devices, and if it can work on a majority of computers, and if I can somehow afford Macromedia Studio 8). Drop me a note as to what you all think. Its time to get on the ball with that design thought again.

And a final design thought for the day came to me while I was using my tabletPC. I realized that more than anything, I appreciate when my computing experience is seemless. Where I can use programs and not think about how they work, or how to get the most out of them. Sometimes, I just wanna see my thoughts on the screen. And for PDAs, mobile phones, and tabletPCs, that seems to be the biggest hurdle. The hardware is there, but the software has not yet lent itself to being seemless enough that it really is a part of life because its fits, and not because we fit it in. Now, if I were a software developer, I might be looking at it differntly, but on this day of plenty of design-oriented thoughts, this is one of those things that makes me wonder if we can really do bettter, and really bring an about face to the possiblity of making a design that will speak to the hearts of people, not just to their need for info retrieval.

Well, its nice to be able to let some info out of the bag finally. Palm has released two new models, the TX and the Z22. The TX is a $300 wifi and BT toting PDA that will probably meet the need of a ton of folks and wallets, despite being a few years late to the specs party. The $99 Z22 will most likley hit the sweet spot for a ton of folks who are finally ready to ditch their paper planners for a PDA. And with memory that is spacious and doesnt lose your info when the power goes, it makes for a nice solution.

I wrote a review of the Z22 for BargainPDA and that can be found here. There is also a review of the TX at BargainPDA as well. Enjoy and start planning those holiday buys. :D

I was reading today at PocketPC Thoughts an article about how Microsoft's MS Reader cannot read purchased (or digital rights management locked - DRMed) with the new Windows Mobile 5 operating system. Besides the fact that this doesnt bode well for any who want to update to a newer device to take advantage of the [much] better battery life and other featurs, it also makes for a hurdle that we might see happening over the course of many devices for a good while.

Let's go back a little bit and give you a summary of DRM and how it effects you; and then get you up to speed on what can be done.

For many devices, there are standard formats that they can read or not read. For example, some music devices can read MP3s, WMAs (Windows Media Audio), or AAC (Apple Audio Codec) type files. With DRM, there is a "lock" that is placed within the program, or the file itself, that prevents it from being played or used in devices that do not have the other piece of the lock. Kinda like a key that is broken in half and can only work when you have the other half. What DRM does, in effect, to to pretect content from being copied freely from one device to another without being authenticated. And at the same time, if the device, or reader, is no longer made, then the files that you have can no longer be of use. Kinda like a magazine that yo buy at the store, but when the company goes out fo business, you can no longer read the magazines that you have.

Now, despite my use of analogies, one can see how in this case with MS Reader books, MP3s, and other files, that DRMed items can really be a drain to the consumer. Of course, there are open formats - i.e. formats that are freely maintained and supported and locked to specific devices. But, these are of little value to content producers and device makers. Where is the constant revenure stream if you dont have to repurchase your content?

So what can you do about it? Not too much at this point. DRM is still a young technology, and for the most part, people do not even notice that its happening until something they need cannot be moved to another device (e.g, ringtones from your old phone to your new phone is not something that can normally be done without repurchasing them). You can always do the research and then download or create open format files that would be readable. But even with some open formats, they are not always used, or maintained enough to be viable.

My recommendation is to make sure that you are doing your homework with purchasing content for new and old devices. And if at all possible, have multiple versions of things such as ebooks, music, etc. So that you can move to another format easily. It would be nice if there was a standard format for all things (believe it or not, we are getting there - with word documents at least). But, since there isn't we have to make sure to understand DRM, and its political and economical implications on all that we have (digital or print).

Notice of sorts:
MMM has been getting a good deal of comment spam and while I do not have anything at the moment to keep it from happening, other than delting it when it comes, I have changed things so that you have to be a registered member of Blogger in order to post. If this continues, then I will have to make some type of membership signup for the blog-front end, so that comment-spam is a lesser concern. I apologize to those of you who might not be members of Blogger and want to comment (you can still send an email) but this is done to help curb things for now until a better solution is found.

One of the best aspects of having a day off, is the fact that I can reflect on what this day would mean in the context of The Body. More to the point, what does Columbus day, a day celebrating the discovery of the Americas, can mean to the Body. Well, since I have been really doing a healthy bit conerning what it would mean to the world of Christ became the focus of the net, lets look at this holiday and technology thru the lens of discovery.

Imagine being in a country, or in a public building, and you had the ability to get online to check email, news reports, etc. And what if, when you checked those news reports and other things that all of a sudden you noticed that the Net wasn't the same. Yes, there are advertisments, portals, search pages, and blogs. There are news groups, sports scores, and hobby auctions. But what if all of those were done with the end note, "In Jesus name we dedicate this site." Really, its (one) of the things that happened when Columbus got to land. They prayed and thanked God for the land they made it to. Imagine if every website had a place that was a marker where people came and thanked God for because they got there without incident.

A step further, remember that thought of Paul having a blog? What if the same discovery team that "found" a God-fearing website, just happend to have a blog that reported back to their home site, news agency, or even home church that they found another place where God can be praised. Imagine if all over, people discovered Christ all on the net in various places and ran to tell others. Would Christ be so hidden on the net? Would a site like MMM need to exist? Interesting thought I am sure, but its only one of the weird things that falls thru my head on this day celebrating a day of discovery.

This is from Tien (thanks for the heads up on some great software):

Not sure if you use your computer for reading the bible or bible research. There's always Logos X, but it's expensive. I use Ebible from Thomas Nelson that also uses Libronix (same system as Logos), and I found it to be a very cheap alternative (with versions starting at $30-$50, with a lot more than, say, the Zondervan series). They have some pretty good specials now too: (link shortened) I just bought the lifework's series. The ebible platinum series looks quite tempting too, although I bought the ebible deluxe set some years back... Anyway, the included books are really books available for sale separately, and so, any of these titles are really a bargain if you like a few of the included titles, and don't mind reading on the computer.

Guess it's not really "mobile", but I do use them on my laptop. They work on
Linux too, using Codeweaver's Crossover Office (WINE).

Continuing this day full of news from all over, the HP iPAQ rx1950 has been reviewed at Mobile Review.

In my opinion, its a nice PDA, but priced much higher than it should be (at least 50USD less than what it is). The inclusion of Windows Mobile 5 seems to make it at least perform well for the most part. But, I'll leave all the other comments about this device to the Mobile Review team (as they did do the excellent review).

Here are two news items from the BBC. This first being a report on SMS Bibles in the land down unda' and the second speaking about barriers to fuel cell technology (care of PocketPCThoughts).

Both of these articles highlight the ease at which soon pulling off an Acts 1:8 will not have as many barriers as in previous generations.

From the Bible+ forums:

GC has uploaded an update to the Bible Converter program in the Files section here:
(link shortened)

Be sure to check it out if you are into making your own bibles for Bible+.

Also, stay tuned for a major update to Bible+ coming soon.

LaRosa at UrbanWordz has added some to his earlier piece about his pursuit of an MP3 player.

So far I love this device and feel that it is well worth the money. The design is "sleek" and the structure is very sturdy. I look forward to using this device for years to come! Creative did a very good job with this player! I give it two thumbs up!

Click here to read this article.

Was over at Treonauts today and saw an excellent article takling about Treos and the mobile web. The impressive thing was the attention that device and software developers are paying now towards teh web actually being mobile. I think that this attention is for the best for all of us, not just those that sit on a large screen desktop, but those of us who might want the web, but can only carry a PDA or phone to a remote area where large screens and complicated interfaces are not necessarly needed.

Here is a piece of that posting at Treonauts:
I could therefore not have been more thrilled when, earlier this morning, Morgan Stanley’s star analyst Mary Meeker (I really could have kissed her) presented one of her famous “Internet Trends†reports in which she essentially outlined that we are in the midst of dramatic change, how the mobile Internet is without a doubt one of the single most important developments going forward and how quickly Internet-enabled mobile devices (our Treo below) are in effect becoming small/functional computers.

Click here to read the entire article.

This is a snippet from The Ambassador, an artist with the group Cross Movement. I think that what he speaks here not only stands for the hip hop music culture, but also the technological culture by which we are also to be ambassadors for Christ.

Our society needs role models – those who model a commitment to learning, leading, and serving. Life is bigger than us and our personal fetishes. Our CDs and concerts are appetizers. May we roll up our sleeves and lead people to the main course. Let’s take them from the concert to the classroom, to the corner.

Click here to read the entire article.

As I constantly push thru cyberspace and offline items, I am somewhat in awe of how much we as humans have achieved on a technological scale. We have been able to access mounds of information, and at the same time level teh playing field in the sense of how availiable this info is. There has been a lot that has been done. But the one area where I see this "hesitation" to move is in the Body.

Let me just state it now that I don't think computers are the be all and end all of everything. I think they level the playing field with developed and developing nations. I believe that computing technologies, when used right, can elimate the kind of barriers that previous industrial technologies only widened. Its just that in the Body, there is this general ignorance towards things Net-related. And I think that its a pitfall that could be easily rectified.

I did a search in Google for "internet churches" and was astounded on how little info there was out there. I was just as miffed at the different Internet churches that are out there, or had been out there and are no longer. I understand that the net is a different paradigm than any communication and social medium that came before it. I just dont understand why Christians have been so unsuccessful in taking Christ to the net-connected world.

Ok, maybe I am just ranting too much. I am quite active in searching out places and items where the Body is online and supporting those things that really have a unique and Spirit led push to get Christ in the eyes and keystrokes of the net-connected world. I think that sparking folks here would only do more to spark a movement of the Cross that much more in offline areas.

I also recognize that I am quite idealistic. I tend to dream and want things to happen much faster than they are or want to happen. But when it comes to the net and christianity I have to ask, if God was here first, then why can't he be more a part of this net-connected world?

From PDAGeek today;
There is an excellent article at Phone Scoop that goes into detail about the different phone technologies that are out now and soon to come. Its written very well, not too techie, but enough that one can get a grasp of the material without feelign overwhelmed. Check this out if you are in the market for a new phone for yourself, or others, during this beginning of the shopping season.

Back to that topic of how to best listen to your music on the go, UrbanWordz.com has a review of the popular Windows Media 10 and Winamp Pro programs. More of an overview, for those who havent looked at MP3 software in a long while (such as your's truely) this overview is something to consider, especially if you are considering an MP3 player as a soon to come gift for yourself or a loved one.

Take in the full article here.

Just doing some research for the upcoming Issue 3 for MMM and noticed that Olive Tree has freshened their website. The layout is cleaner, yet familiar. At first glance, it might be hard to see the change, but there is definitely a difference there.

I was also able to get to their news section a bit easier (because of the new navigation) and saw a recent article published about Olive Tree and other digital bibles at the Dallas News Website. A very insightful article and well written considering the dearth of digital bible software that is out there. Here is one excellent quote from that article:
"Just because I have a microwave oven doesn't mean it cooks better than my conventional oven," Dr. Ham said. "Technology can provide data more quickly and more comprehensively, but it doesn't supplant the need to ponder Scripture and internalize it."

A very good point indeed. Click here to read the complete article.

PS: Pat Horne, from the Paperless Pulpit article, is also quoted in that article :)

Sent in by Tien;

Check out Bible Research by Michael Marlowe. It is an internet bible resource that has information on bible versions, historical contexts, and other fact and debunked issues concerning the Bible. This makes for a great resource for any who might be into reading the contextual historical items pertaining to bible history.

Was just over at PalmSolo's site and it hit me that I do not do too much so sharing what I do with the mobile technology that I have. Right now, I am in the process of reviewing the Qool QDA-700 PalmOS feature phone for BargainPDA. I have had it for about a week now and its been a revelation of sorts for me. I use a Treo 600 as my phone and PDA and to have the Qool has been a different experiece for me. I dont want to give too much of that review away, but I will say that the Qool is a much better phone acting device, despite the lack of polish that the Treo shows. Many people that I showed the Qool to prefer it over the Treo as well (some said because its a flip phone, and others because it didnt look as complicated as the Treo).

Another thing that I have been doing throughout the week has been using my Palms as my reading device. I am currently reading an extrabiblical book named Jasher. Jasher is actially mentioned twice in the Bible (in Joshua 10 and 2 Samuel 1) and just that one mention made me do a good bit of searching before finding it, and downloadable for my Palm. Using the Bible+ program, I have been able to get in a good read of a really impressive book. While much of it is following alongside of Genesis, there are places and aspects that are covered in Jasher that arent covered, or glazed over. This book has done some major encouraging to me as well as I have been meditating the whole week on the faith of the fathers of the faith. Seeing the faithfulness of Noah, Enoch, Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (thats as far as I am now) is quite encouraging and very much makes for some good Palm reading.

Now, while I do read extrabiblicals, I do not recommend them to all folks as some of these books have concepts and items in them that are not pleasing to the spiirt. Please make sure to get some accountability when reading these books, or at least prayer and some good historical research.

So yea, that's where I am with mobile tech right now. Who knows, maybe one of these days, mobile tech will take me to something even bigger, where God's hands and feet get involved in making this world look more like His Word.

Hello All;
Hopefully, this can be the first of me back to some normal sort of posting here again at MMM. The last week has been quite heavy for me, and while things arent getting lighter, I am going to make a better effort to be here with articles, news, and occasional others to keep things going.

So, what's on the plate for MMM in the next month. Well, being that it's October already, I am getting started with creating the 3rd issue of MMM. Now, since this is in the planning stage, I'd like to hear from you what you would like to see in the upcoming issue. I cannot promise that all of your requests will be met, but I can and will do my best to include those that really speak to the purpose of MMM as it relates to technology use within the Body of Christ.

In some other news this past week, Correct Dialect has been bought by another site and is basically finsihed as a website of itself. LaRosa, the keeper of both Correct Dialect and Jesus 4 Life Ministries announced earlier this week that Hip Hop For the Soul purchased Correct Dialect and will be folding the content within their website. While it sounds like bad news, in talking to LaRosa this past few weeks, it seems like this was a great thing for him and his ministry pursuits.

Finally speaking, I hope that you all are having a blessed weekend. Despite some driving and moving today, along with the cold I have, it hasnt been too bad of a day. I look forward to a Sunday of rest and rest. I hope that you all can receive the same from your weekend. Peace and blessings and see ya nearer to Monday.