Mobile Ministry Magazine

I know, I do a ton of talking about PDAs (and the occasional mobile phone); but mobility is more than just those. For many people, their mobile needs are for more memory, larger screens, and no compromising on applications. So to that end, I will make a better note to chat about notebooks and TabletPCs.

One TabletPC of note, reviewed by NotebookReview.com recently, is the Toshiba Tecra M4. This particular TabletPC is called a convertible because of its ability to be used as a tablet, but also as a regular laptop as it has a laptop keyboard inculded. It looks really nice, and the price is not much more than a comparable notebook that isnt a tablet.

I have seen a good deal of TabletPCs in use in various school, hospital, and conference settings. I would think that they are a logical mutation of the PDA and notebook for those that dont want both a PDA and notebook. I considered getting a TabletPC when I got my notebook a few years ago, but the price and technology was not where I needed its functionality to be. I will probably get one to replace this laptop when it is time to upgrade in a few (plus a few more) years.

One really kool use for TabletPCs (and notebooks) is that of a binder replacement. Becacuse you can write on the screen, and with programs such as MS OneNote organize your data, TabletPCs could be a very good option for the person who is on the road a good deal, but needs computing power that is greater than that of a PC. Understand that battery technology is not there for you to use one of these all day, but you can get 4-6 hours out of many models, and much longer with extended batteries.

Something to think about on this weekend as you rest with the great summer weather (I hope).

Here in the DC Metro area, its raining. But there is some news to report on and so here goes it.

PocketPC Thoughts reports that Missing Sync for Windows Mobile has been released. If you are looking at getting a Windows Mobile PDA/Smartphone and have a Mac, then this is the ONLY syncing solution for you. Missing Sync is also availaible for PalmOS devices.

Yesterday, most tech news outlets covered that Tapwave, the makers of the PalmOS Zodiac gaming/multimedia handheld, has ceased support and selling operations effective immidiately (here is one of many links about it). Its more of a fact of marketing than anything else. If you never played with this PalmOS PDA, it is said that you missed a good device.

PocketPC Thoughts had an excellent article about traveling mobile-style with your PDA. If you are looking to have your PDA replace a laptop, or didnt know that it could do so, this article has some really good points.

BargainPDA's daily news quicks has some other news items. Your's truely also writes over there, so if you happen to read something that you like from my end, let me know and I will repost the article here.

That's about all for now. Haven't checked MMM email yet, so there yet be some more articles coming before the end of the day. Remember that there are two Verizon phones availiable for US homed missions. I am looking to secure some more goodies (hopefully some that can be shipped overseas) for more extensions of MMM purposes.

I am in the process of setting up a PayPal account for MMM. This would provide a means for people to donate towards imporving MMM (getting tech tools and materials, paying for the upcoming hosting/domain name stuff, etc.). The icon for sending funds here will appear on the site soon. In the meantime, donations can be sent to MMM via the MMM email addy (mobileministry at antoinerjwright.com).

Thanks to all for your support. Hopefully, MMM can make good on its want to equip for ministry, and be a light for techie Chrisitans on the web.

While checking in on some of the bible reader programs out there, I found some recent information from GMPSoft concerning some new modules and a newsletter. Click here to read the newsletter.

Here is a snippet from the newsletter:
GMPSoft has released the Webster's American Family Dictionary, the first Modern American dictionary to cover the Bible and contemporary language for PDA DEPReader dictionary program and for PDA Bible With You reader...Read more

In what's becoming a really kool feature to MMM, Kevin A writes in to talk about the new release from SmatBox Designs called Word Watch.

It seems that the developers from Smart Box Design have done it again! TRIPLES and WORDPOP! were a couple of the games at the top of my gaming list. WORD WATCH is a sure-fire winner! If you thought that there couldn't be a word game that can be both challenging and entertaining, Word Watch will dispel those sentiments.

I had the opportunity to beta test this incredible game over the past couple of months. This has quickly become one of my favorite games of all time (and I have tons of them!).

Just some of the things I liked:

*Dictionary that includes the most sublime to some pretty difficult words. There were some words that I never heard of nor was able to find on my Palm dictionary with over 200,000 words!
*Arrows that push letters to wherever you want to redirect them
*Crisp, digital sounds
*Great opening guitar riff! That's a first for Palm games as far as I know.
*Cool, inuitive watch interface
*Good-lookin' graphics
*Simple and instructive and "to-the-point" pop-ups to initially guide players through the game
*Much-needed practice round
*Untimed round for those who want to kick back and tool around the game
*Timed rounds for our competitive side
*Saves game automatically when leaving. When the game is re-launched you're brought back to the same spot.
*Game launches quickly even though it can reside in SD card
*Mute option (don't want the boss getting wind...)

If you love word games that offer varying levels to suit your mood (easy and relaxing or tough and challenging and just overall entertaining), then Word Watch is THE game!

In some news from our other Kevin, HanDBase has just been updated. In the latest version, it now been updatede to support Symbian Series 60 devices. Now, my friends in the US might be as familiar with Series 60 smartphones, but in Europe, these are probably the best selling group of smartphones. Most of these are Nokia phones (I think a few others make Symbian devices that are compatable to Series 60 as well). All of the free applets contributed by users on Palm OS and Pocket PC devices are available for Series 60 users, including a large number of Bible-related databases that you can find here: http://www.ddhsoftware.com/gallery.html. So if you are looking for a neat, and well designed database program, check out HanDBase, its quite good. HanDBase for Series 60 retails for US$19.99 and is available at the company’s Web site, DDHSoftware.com, or through Handango.com.

Nowadays, we are more likely to find teens connected with mobile phones and email, than we are engaged in social clubs. And for some that do get involved in social clubs, it is the technology within those clubs that helps to keep their interests going. Reading reports, such as this one from USAToday, makes me take the stance that beyond just getting technology in the hands of teens and other young folks; there needs to be rules and standards that govern their use. Not so much to limit their creativity, but to encourage the adoption and shared use of this resource.

When I was just a bit younger in the Lord, I felt that the Bible didnt do much to help me out during this transistional time. I felt that as a young adult that there were not a lot of tools there for a young adult engaged with technology. Its good to know that I was wrong. Proverbs is one book that will forever minister to those that are young at heart and desire to walk with wisdom and understanding in everything. So now, as someone who can have a voice amongst teens and young adults (not that I am really that much older), I have a responsiblity to make sure that beyond the growing numbers of teens and youth online, that the growth of the effects of being online and connected are well understood as they too can grow fast.

I look at Proverbs such as Chapter 2 (in governing where to visit and what to visit online) and Chapter 16:17-25 (in keeping one's communication edifying in chatrooms and on IM) to see that the Connected Generation is quite well covered by the Word. And for us to be successful in making sure that being online doesnt lead to covetousness, idoltry, or worse. The key, of course, is making sure that we ourselves as those who have walked this are not being degraded to the same temptations. Its hard not to show off that new PDA, mobile phone or laptop. But in making sure that these devices dont give us the glory, we have to set aside the excitement just more than enough, so that our Lord might be able to use our tools for His glory. And the children that are trained with these tech tools now, will later prove to be fruit-bearing techies of the Father.

Ok, so probably the most fun part about MMM has been teh many people who have written in and said that they like MMM and what we are about. I really appreciate it. I do the best that I can with the time that I have in the hopes that something here will minister to you spiritually, and technologically.

I just added a new link, this one to a fav blog of mine called Treonauts. Now, I know I should have put it on before, but there are so many favortite sites, I tell you, its rough keeping up :). Nonetheless, Treonauts is added. Check out the commentary and the excellent Treo hardware and software store.

Another website, Geekzone, is holding a contest to give away a SP3i Windows Mobile Smartphone. Though I am more the Palm guy, this smartphone looks good enough to me that I might just want one to play with. You have to be a registered member in order to enter the contest. But dont just register to enter, check out the rest of their site as they have plenty of news and reviews for smartphones and PDAs, hardware and software.

Finally, I dont know if you like to keep track of software, but one piece in particular that I am close to, Bible+, has been undergoing a ton of updates over the past few weeks. There have basically been new beta releases every other day (even one day there were two releases). The releases latel have been centering on improving search performance, speed within Bible+, and some much needed stability improvements. There has been the addition of a boolean search, as well as a even smaller xxlite version for those that need lower than the bare minium for their PalmOS device. Click here to download the latest testing version (could be alpha or beta so make sure to back up) and read the postings here so that you are sure to know what's gone into the testing version that you are testing.

Kevin A writes in an excellent review of Mobi-Systems Office

* The first and only solution to support True Type Fonts right on the PDA or SmartPhone; with the free font converting utility that comes with the software you can install any Windows True Type font on your PDA.
* Real support of Unicode - read and write in your own language whatever it is. View Cyrillic, Chinese (Traditional & Simplified), and Greek characters in word processing, spreadsheet and slideshow documents.
* Seamless exchange of native office documents with other Palm devices, Pocket PCs, Symbian phones and desktop PCs. OfficeSuite handles DOC, TXT, RTF, XLS, XML, and CSV file formats.
* File Explorer common for all office applications- browse , manage and share documents in a familiar Windows-like file explorer form.
* MS Word like spelling features - on-the-fly underlining of misspelled words and word prediction as you type; Free spelling dictionaries in 6 languages come with the program - English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.
* Wirelessly store and access remote documents from the Palm device with the FTP client program integrated in OfficeSuite file explorer.
* Sophisticated document formatting - embedded tables and images, paragraph and page formatting, hyperlinks, various styles of bullets and numbering.
* 100% preservation of the original document formatting when opening external native formats.
* The Windows desktop companion program allows you to synchronize office documents and ensures that your sensitive documents are up-to-date on both your desktop PC and Palm handheld.
* Specially optimized for best performance on the latest Palm devices - LifeDrive, Tungsten series, Treo 650, Zire series, Tapwave Zodiac 2, and more.

This is one of the best office suites for your PDA. The capabilities are both intuitive and powerful. The Word app can fully synchronize fonts, colors, pictures and layout from desktop to Palm and vice versa virtually seamlessly. There also is a TrueType Font converter for fonts on your computer that you'd like to see on your PDA. The Excel app is one of the best for true synchronization. If you have bigger files you can easily move them over to your external card. I have used this app in the past to keep tabs on my business. I've used it to create memos, keep track of expenses as well as monitor payroll. It really is an excellent program for those who love to write articles, books and manuals. It is also a great resource for writing Bible study lessons or sermons.

Call me a bit floored. I am quite busy here at work and havent had as much time to surf for news and Scripture as I usually do. So that's where I am floored with this post from Treo Central. There was a user who really wanted to use Google Maps on his Treo, but due to the Blazer browser, and some coding pieces by Google, this was impossible. A person named Ivan Mitrovic created a Java application that can be downloaded to one's Treo that would give Google Map functionality. I do not have a Treo and am therefore not (yet) able to try it out, but for those of you who travel and Google Maps is a mapping service that you like, now you are not limited by your Treo in getting some of those very well done maps. Click here to read Ivan's blog and download KMaps and you might find yourself not getting lost the next time you take the youth group to that campsite :)

Palm Addict reports:

For the fourth year in a row, Olive Tree Bible Software made its growing digital presence known at International Christian Retail Show (formerly known as CBA) in Denver, CO by unveiling several innovative and visually stunning products...

Click here to read the rest of the posting, and then visit Olive Tree for your PocketPC/Windows Mobile and PalmOS Bible resource needs.

I have to apologize to those who may have been visiting MMM over the last few hours and noticed that the site had gone silly. Basically speaking, I broke a few things trying to fix the style sheet that is to govern the mobile formatting of the site. For one reason or another, Firefox and IE both dont follow the rules and so things go really wrong really fast. I had to do a ton of copying and pasting and saving to get back things where they were. Things should be ok right now, maybe some of you are getting the site in Times Roman (really, its not my fault, I cant stand that font).

I have also had to temporarly disable the handheld css as it was causing issues with the main style sheet. Given some time today, or in a few days, I will be able to figure it out and get things where they should be.

If anything, this has shown me why it is more important to have standards followed rather than domains that limit things.

I have been looking at possibly moving to a Cingular/Unbranded Treo 650 as my connected PDA solution, and to that end news about what has been going on with the Treo has interested me. Last night, Palm released an update for those who use the Treo 650 on Cingular and last week there was an update for those who use the 650 on Verizon (Sprint, Orange, and Rogers all came a month or more ago).

Now, one might ask why would I consider a smartphone after saying how happy I am with my T5; the main reason is that I would like to carry one less device than what I am carrying. I don't mind carrying my phone and T5 usually, but there have been some days where I have wanted just my phone, but needed a number that was on the T5. I have also been doing a lot more in terms of developing mobile formatted sites, and want to be able to test things in a more live setting than I have been.

Its only a want though. The 650, though a really nice smartphone, does not have enough memory to be a suitable replacement for my T5, and so to that end I am more inclined to wait until something with at least as much memory as my T5 (but looks like and acts like the 650) is released.

Was talking to a pastor friend of mine this weekend about MMM (hadn't talked to him in a long time) and he asked me if I would have a use for some old cell phones that he has. I said sure (thinking at first, 'why do I need cell phones?'). Then I remembered the purpose of this site to equip for the cause of spreading teh Gospel. So I now have two Verizon wireless phones (sorry for those outside the US) that I am willing to give to a person or ministry who is in need of phones while they do some USA-hopping.

Here is the caveat:
I will not give the phones to just anyone. I preface this site in saying that it equips those who are ministering the Gospel. And so that is what you would have to tell me you are using the phones for. Respond to this posting in the commenting section with your mission goals and vision, and allow me some time for prayer. In one month (30 days from today), I hope to have and answer and will send to that person/ministry these phones.

Remember, 30 days from today is August 24; so get those mission stories in.

Probably one of the hardest things to do with technology is to speak to another person who doesnt know anything about the technology. And especialy when talking about issues such as hardware abilities or downloading and installing software; sometimes there just isnt simple enough language.

Thankfully, some companies understand this complexity in communication and try to help people out. The folks at TealPoint software made a nice article about the Non-volitile memory used in the latest Palm handhelds. If you have a few minutes, take a read. This is a good article. I admit however, it is a bit slanted as TealPoint in the past did express a dislike for the new memory structure. It is good information nontheless.

Now for the scripture application of this post:
1 Cor 14
If one expects to edify the body, they must first speak a language that is easily understood. Simple point, and one that we in technology-related fields would do well to remember.

Sorry about any site issues today. I am hosting the CSS files that drive MMM on my personal website and that was having some issues. Things seem to be ironed out now, so feel free to view MMM again.

EDIT:
In rereading this post I realzied (again) that it would more than help to have MMM on its own servers with its own domain name, doing what needs to be done. Right now I dont have the funds to extend that to MMM (though I do say that without looking at Splash Money and configuring bills and what have you). My heart says that it is needed and I will probably just go ahead and do it anyways. But I were to do so, it would introduce advertising to the site (which I do not want to do - at least in the current methods I have seen). It would also mean more time administering instead of ministering (not my idea of fun either but one does have to do both in due seasons). If anyone has any suggestions as the best/recommended routes, I am all ears (just shoot me an email and this can be disucssed in more depth behind the scenes).

Hey all;

Just wanted to say hello on this Saturday. I have been working behind the scenes and think that I may have figured out the formatting solution for both desktop/laptop and mobile devices. I have changed the Blogger CSS a bit and added a little bit of my own learning from some other sites, and now we have a mobile ministry magazine that looks great under mobile browsers.

Now, I cannot take the credit for it. I went to Mike Rode's website via Palm Addicts, and there was a posting there about a person who has a website that will turn any website into a mobile formatted one. Well, I put MMM thru it and was not at all happy with some of the junky code that it spit back. So while waiting here for a friend to get dressed, I figured out the solution. I hope that this works for all of you who would like to view MMM on their mobile devices.

Now, you might have noticed that the right side bar and fonts changed, I will deal with those later as once removing Blogger's CSS from on the page, I lost that formatting. It should either be Veranda or Arial for you if the original font doenst show.

Well, I am off. Hope that you all have a great weekend. Now all I need is to be able to do the CSS from my T5 and I would be nice and happybeans. Shalom to all.

PalmSolo asked this on his site and I thought it an interesting enough question to ask here.

So what do you carry on a regular basis? For me, its my T5 and sync cable, my Sony Ericsson T616 and wired headset (lost the ear piece for the BT headset), and my wireless keyboard for my T5. I really try to get about carrying as little as possible since I am usually in front of a worstation and can use this. But it comes in handy to have those things during meetings and the like when I get a tich occupied.

So tell MMM; what's in your pocket and how do you use your devices?

I watched today the webcast of the unvieling of Windows Vista, the commerical name for the next operating system from Microsoft. And something struck me about the crowd there, there were a whole lot of people who literally lived on what this person (MS CEOs and rally partners) thought. I mean, when they announced MS Vista, these people jumped up excited like they won a few million bucks. I was concerned. These are most likely people who can change the world, but they are followers.

So, I continued on my day and ran into Holy Culture Radio and a thread asking about who blogs. For all of the people who are on HCR daily, I really thought that there would be more bloggers. Dont get me wrong, I dont think that everyone wants to air personals, hobbies, controversals, etc. online; but I did think that it would be more than who has posted there. And it made me think again, are we really leading the charge in getting the world excited to the mercy/love/saving grace of our Lord.

It all makes me think kinda hard about the MMM thing and where I personally should be doing to spread the Gospel to the less informed ends of the earth.

But then I read a link; the link basically talked about preachers today and one in particular and how kinds like him were warned of in Acts 20. Now, its been a good long time since I read Acts, expecially Acts 20; and so I stopped reading the article and read the Word.

I was touched and convicted. Touched that this man, not knowing what was next on his plate, went anyways. This man, convinced that he taught everything that he was called by God to preach to this group of believers, warned them of those that would come after that would pervert the Word for their own gains. I hung my head, and realized in part what I am being called to do here at MMM.

I do not want any of you who visit here to think that I take this site lightly. Some of you who visit, email me and make me consider quite often this endavor to bring technology in submission to our Lord. The point isn't technology though. The point is the Gospel. If something posted here cannot encourage you, convince you, bless you, or just sit you down in a place where its just you and God wanting to see God work, then I haven't done my job in equipping you for the task of spreading the Good News. I am quite aware that there are those who don't know God who read MMM, and for them I am grateful; but it is for those of you who share my bonds in Christ for whom I do this for. Its worth every soul on this planet that we are equipped for this task. Its worth every ounce of energy we can muster to speak the truth, and have an answer ready when needed. It is worth everything to put this technology down, and show the love of God to a needy world. Its worth it to me. Its worth was proven by God via Jesus.

So if I, or anyone else here, posts anything that is off the wall; off Scripture, or just plain ewww. Please tell us via email and then pray for us. And if by chance you have a chance to be a mobile minister to your area, please do so with the Spirit of God as your guide. It's more important that we adhere to the call of Christ, than the beep of our gadgets. Shalom.

PalmInsider posted the website of a person who has a website devoted to the Palm Life Drive Mobile Manager. The review is quite neat, and from a graphical standpoint, I like how the person made the colors and fonts in the review match up with many of the Life Drive publications from Palm. If you are looking at the Life Drive as a possible upgrade to your current handheld, I found this review to be quite concise. One thing missing is the day to day life with the Life Drive (that section of the site isnt live yet); but just reading the review, you get a great sense this person has a good handle on this new PDA.

Also, I have a friend that has a Life Drive and seeing him this past weekend gave me a chance to get some face time with it. It is a neat device, a bit large for my tastes, but over all Palm did an excellent job with it. Maybe if he is reading this thread right now, he will send us his thoughts on how the Life Drive is assisting him in work and ministry (that goes for all of you PDA users out there; show MMM how you fare).

:)

Not that I am feeling in a poetic mood or anything; but there is some excellent news for those who prefer the NIV translation and use Olive Tree's Bible Reader software. According to a report via Palm Addict, Olive Tree is now offering the NIV Red Letter Edition for handheld devices. Now, if you read the posting yesterday, you know that I do feel some type of way about bibles not being usable across bible readers. Fortunately, Olive Tree is a good enough reader that many of you might use it and never switch to another. I encourage you to check out the NIV, and other bibles that Olive Tree offers (especially their reference resources, they have a ton of good items there).

As I sit and parouse the net as to what to write about today, I am quite appaled (yet understanding completly on another side) on how hard it is to get a bible on a PDA or other mobile device. And I dont just mean copyright issues, but formatting as well. Think about it, you have quite a few companies who create and format bible for all types of computing devices, but if you want to move to another reader, you have tto purchase (if you can) that bible again. And don't even think of transferring from one media to another, that is nearly impossible if you are not skilled in some serious programming (in many cases).

So what is a person left to do? We contend that we want this bible and that bible for our favorite bible reader, but then others may not be able to get it for theirs becasue the copyright holders deem it too unporfitable to have the bible version spread so thin. There is also that issue of device changes and compatability with newer devices. If the formatting is not such that the bible can be read in future readers, you essentially have a limited time with an unlimited Word. Ouch! Not my idea of a free gift.

I've been looking into creating a new program for the PalmOS that would be able to view XML data modules. I think that making data in a format that nearly everything can read will give the user's information some chance to survive. Now mind you, I am no programmer (I think I failed in my CS class in college). But I do recognize that getting the Word out is an issue of not only who holds the copyright on respective versions (that should be part two), but of us users who should be able to keep this Word for as long as we can (or storage elements in our devices allow). I personally use Bible+ and would hate to see it go because I have so many differnt bibles and resources in it that I would have to repurchase from another company. I see no issue with blessing a person for the work that they did, I do see an issue with their work not being allowed to last longer than just one platform. Its a tricky thing to me, and I would guess that with the introduction of new devices with new operating systems in the coming months, it will be for those folks as well.

Apologies to Kevin and Kevin; I just noticed that your links were not working. I have fixed them both. Now everyone go enjoy two really good websites :)

From All About Palm: With the introduction of version 3.1, Normsoft's PocketTunes enables PalmOS devices to stream/play Windows Media 10 DRM (digital rights management) locked music. This is great news for those of you who use services such as Napster to Go and Yahoo's Music Unlimited to get music. PocketTunes 3.1 is compatable with just about every OS5 PalmOS device (not too sure about Sony PDAs, but Palm and palmOne devices are covered). Now just imagine being able to stream sermons over your palm and then play it on the car radio - mobile minitry while washing the car is now in service :)

FYI: Windows Mobile/Pocket PC users would need to be able to update to Windows Mobile 5 for Windows Media 10 for Windows Mobile to be able to stream/play this locked content. Dell has stated that they would offer an update to Windows Mobile 5, but at this time no one else has given any solid yes or no to that question.

I was just sitting here at work reading a few sites talking about newer phones that are availiable, and had this thought: Paul could have had a blog, but what if David had a smartphone. I am not talking about the David tending sheep, or even the David who was a prospering king (though needing a PDA to manage that court would have probably helped). I think of when he was off and running from Saul. Could the Psalms have been written differently if we had more of a look into the heart and mind of David. Would his family relationships been less strained because he would have been able to call and send text messages. Would he even go as far as shooting a bluetooth message to Saul while Saul slep instead of that oh so scary 'I will cut a piece of your hair and leave a message' thing that he did.

You see, I look at smartphones in part as ways to keep connected to those issues that matter most. But they can, and sometimes are, probably the most intrusive technology. Getting email at anytime, does one feel the need to respond immidiately? Or, there is a paper that has to be emailed to the church office (in David's case, to one of Johnathan's aides) and can be written and sent immidiately, instead of when its more convenient.

I do feel however, that we would have probably gained a lot more about the effects of the calling to be king had on David. I write poems/psalms and know that sometimes, I am ready to write before history is ready to write about me. There are things that he probably wrote in his quiet times, or not so quiet times, that would have been an encouragement and a surprise to those who would rather put him on a pedistal. Indeed, having a communicator like a smartphone is hardly something ground breaking, but the fact that you can be that much more accessible has to mean something more than a few less emails per day. Maybe the propensity is there for a few more blessing to give.

As the title states, you should pardon me for not being so forward with news lately. I have wanted to write more about technology and recent news, but there hasn't been much that was really there to speak on.

I have, however, had a thought that passed thru some minutes ago. In the mist of reading Joshua, I noticed something in Chapter 3: a call to santification (verse 5). I look that that and wonder how ready we are with our mobile technology to be avid witnesses/servants of the Gospel with our devices. Yes, we have bibles and dictionaries. But are there other games and other things on our devices that would rather take our time and provide mere distraction instead of helping us get to meet our goals.

Now, don't go casting me off. I am not saying the occasional game, or whatever is a bad thing. Just that when that extra item gets in the way of God's intention for our devices; there comes a time that if we want Him to move in a particular area, that we have to santify ourselves, and our devices. It is a standard for sure. But I wonder even now with my PDA and access to the web; is there more that God wants to do with me with these than I can see because I am interrupted by other programs and accessory pieces?

One of those things that I haven't done yet, that my fiance has done; is to go overseas to teach, learn from, and encourage someone from another country. I believe that there is more than enough people here in the States that need that attention; but also recognize that there are those who are poorer than poor here. Whose only real wants are for the knowledge to improve their situation so that they can make chance for their children to have a better life. It is stories like these that give me perspective about Mobile Ministry Magazine, and why it is not just important to tell someone that they are cold and need a coat, but to recognize the cold and give them a coat and warm meal.

To that end, I really wonder about what could MMM do that no one else is doing (don't want to sow on another's ground) to minister to the needs of a world that needs Christ's touch. I look at the ESPN story linked above and know that there is something. I have the idea that going to places in the States and overseas and teaching the appropriate use of technology is a start. I see the need to start simple schools (not techie ones) but ones that will meet the needs of communities that need education just as much as they need a second meal of the day. I am no saint on a mission here; just that beyond all of the technological gains this world makes, there are so many more who need to just make a physical/emotional/mental/financial one.

Personally; I wish that I had the means to elimate lack of education in those places where it is lacking. I wish that with the infulence of technology such as PDAs, high schools here in the States could be motivated to start teaching lessons that would equip students to minister to a broken world. This is what I want most. Not just to be here; but to positively effect change for the glory of God. Anything else, well that is just blogging about nothing IMO.

So, I will put this out there, and I want [all but require] your feedback. What if MMM was a conduit to not only be an informational resource and daily view of technology from a Christian perspective; but was a team of people (all over the world) who would learn and teach other communities how to use technology to effectively minister to all people. Even if that technology was a Lite-Brite; cannot the creative energies of one person be used to get the rest of us to show the glory of God to a world that needs Him? I think so. I just don't know how to get started.

This is what I look at everyday with MMM; can it do more than just be a website, more than a magazine. Can it be a movement of God to show again His glory?

Here is an excellent book review by Adrian from the UK
I came across this book when I wasn't looking for it. I really feel that the Good Lord above led me too it one day, as I wandered in what felt like an aimless way through one of my local book stores a few months back. Although the title made me hesitate, something made me realise that I had to read it. When I'd got it home I again hesitated to read it and it remained on the shelf unread for some weeks. I wish it hadn't. I've read some amazing Christian biographies but never has one made me want to shout more about it and almost want to beg people to read it, more than this one. It’s incredibly horrifying, and shocking but yet moving and astonishingly encouraging for Christians to read.

The author, brought up in Romania and of Jewish descent, considered himself an atheist for years but became a Christian in adulthood. He was very involved in the Christian Church in Romania when Nazi Germany over ran much of Eastern Europe in the Second World War. Christians suffered under the Nazis – though not as severely as the Jews. Then when the Red Army arrived and drove out the Germans they brought - of course - communism, and stayed to force that ideology on the population. Christians began to be persecuted and suffer much, much more. This book tells the story of much of this period from Wurmbrands’ experiences – which included a total of 14 years in prison for his involvement with the 'Underground Church', with much severe physical & psychological torture - and which he miraculously survived, before being ransomed out of Romania to the West by Christians from Norway. As a result he was able to tell his story and campaign for persecuted Christians from the ‘free world’. This is a ‘must read’ Christian book -in my opinion. Though difficult at times, reading about the horrors is nothing compared to what is was like for those who actually went through it. Sadly many still suffer similarly today around the world for their faith in Christ. Please get a copy and read it and then get other Christians to read it too. Persecuted Christians around the world SO need our prayers and support. This book would increase any Christians motivation to do so - who didn't already know of these horrors - and of the inspiring Christian faith showed by so many, so hidden away from view by the evil behaviour of their persecutors.

It shows up for only $6 at amazon.com - or form $0.93cents used....(about £8 to £9 on the UK site) and it'll be around elsewhere for sure. I don't think this is available in ebook format yet - I hope someone somewhere will rectify this soon.

One last thing, when you've read it come back and comment on why you think this is a book that doesn't get shouted about in western Christian churches much - interesting and sad when one realises why, but you'll be the stronger for it."

I guess today is just one of those days. First I read the comment left by the user on PDA247 (see the post below); then I am corrected for something I said in a forum regarding Allah in the Bible (my mistake, I admit); then this news piece from Cnet's News.com. I guess that it is just something about the name Jesus that is getting folks riled up today. Not that I am complaining (at least not today, a few days ago on my personal site, I did complain); its just that sometimes, I wonder if folks really want to know who Jesus is, or are more concerned with figuring out that He isnt and want to live their own way.

That falls into reasoning why I like MMM. I like that there is a place that Jesus can be discussed with technology and not bashingly. To my honest attempt, I will not bash another faith on this site, though I will not hesitate to set things straight when it comes to relating about ours. I would hope that we all dont actively engage in arguing about our faith, but when called to be a witness, our testimony can be that of the One who has overcome this world.

This post is in tribute to PDA247, an excellent PDA news site, who does one of the best jobs of reporting that I've personally seen on the web. Much like Palm Addcit and others, they report the news; sometimes with a bit of British humor and language. Today, as I was reading there, they posted an email from a person who basically had a beef with the site's direction and language. Below is my reply to the thread that ensued from that posting of the email. I encourage you to read all of the responses before making any judgement calls. As Christians, we are called to monitor our communication, and know what the world is doing, not necessarly to police it.

Repost of my posting from PDA247 thread:
Hey there all;
Loved the email, it was truthful, if not a tick bad PR on Mary's part. If you are offened, you dont have to visit. At the same time, one is being called out on a moral (Christian or not, its a standard of communicative content) basis and so there is some response that could merit consideration for change.

My personal opion, PDA247 is not PA is not PIC is not Brighthand is not BargainPDA is not Mobile Ministry Magazine is not PDA247 (shameless plug for my site notwithstanding). One should not expect every site to fall cookie cutter. This is NOT the point of the commercial Internet. To expect as such, would be akin to expecting us Americans to make sense ;)

To Mary, and all others who think near/like her: I created Mobile Ministry Magazine in part to address those Christians who are mobile addicts but wanted a Christian perspective of mobile technology. That's the place to bemoan folks for a breach of Ephesians 4:29. Until folks come into the knowledge of Christ (repentance and acceptance) one cannot hold them to the same standards (read 1 Corinithians 2 and 3 to understand a tick more).

Now, if Mobile Ministry Magazine can become as newsworthy as PDA247 and personal as Palm Addict, and still maintain the mission for which I was called to create it, then it will. But even in reaching that, one should not compare it, for that is basically and apples and oranges connection.

Just to follow up on another device that will help you get to those remote places, while serving as a reminder for appointments and phone numbers. Garmin introdued today the M3 (not a remake of the BMW for those fans); a shrunken version of the Windows Mobile M5. This one has the same software as the M5 plus a nice finger nav program that makes it easier to point and go when you use this as your car's GPS. Engaget has some nice pictures here.

Kevin A writes in to tell us about BDicty:

One of the most versatile applications for every student of the Bible is Beik’s BDicty (www.beiks.com). The BDicty software empowers users to launch dictionaries from any application. There a couple of ways to launch BDicty. Users can launch the app from their Palm launcher or they can launch a database in resident mode. Resident mode is used for those who want to launch lexicons from within an application. Users can avail of the free, public version or pay a mere $10.00 for the added flexibility of editing or creating their own databases.

A good search of the web for lexicons and will garner a wealth of free databases for personal or group study. I currently have Torrey’s topical, International Bible Society Dictionary, American Tract Society Dictionary, Smith’s Bible Dictionary, Vines, Thompson’s and Easton’s databases to name a few. Moreover, I have the Latin-English Sayings, Nursery songs (for my son), Tongue Twisters and American Abbreviations for my non-Bible related material. The beauty of it all is that these are available to everyone for FREE! I have used BDicty for several years and its stability has weathered several OS changes with much grace. In conclusion, if you want an inexpensive (or free) application that can launch a wide variety of databases or lexicons anywhere on your Palm, then BDicty is the app for you!

Was over at MyTreo.net today and saw an excellent article on how to pair your Bluetooth enabled Treo 650 smartphone with your auto. Now, if any of you are like me, a car with built in Bluetooth is a bit far off. But just to know that you can take your PDA on the road and use it in this hands-free capacity is quite kool.

Now, I will also say that there was a study talked about a some time ago that basically said that whether or not you are using a hands-free system, talking on the phone while driving is dangerous. While, I agree with that report in the respect that hearing and talking on the phone is a primary sensory function, and trying to do that and drive (which also is a primary sensory function) at the same time does cause trouble for the other motorists on the road, let alone yourself. The Word encourages us to use wisdom in concert with understanding. If we are going to go hands-free, we should know our limitations in terms of response time and outreach, and then call/not call accordingly.

Now dont all of you go out and hold that youth night so that you can order more pizzas to get in on this deal.

As PDAGeek reports, Papa Johns in holding a giveaway of the BlackBerry 7100g phone with the purchase of a Papa John's side item and two 20 oz. beverages to his or her online order using a special eDeal button on the company's website. Now, this is a good idea to increase those who want Blackberry's, but at the cost of getting so full that you wont move from in front of the desktop I would have to think that some discernment needs to be taken in here.

I urge you to check out the websites listed in the link listing on the right side of the page. Many of these websites have very good information that will help you get the most out of your mobile devices, ministry, or both. When I have the time, I do make sure to check out and see what new is out there. You never know who might have heard from God something that you need for the day.

In other news, I have been working quite hard lately at work, but have to say that it is a great encouragement to come home and see emails from many of you who visit and appreciate the content and time that goes into Mobile Ministry Magazine. I know that for me it is a blessing to serve all of you. I do hope that time and energy would all for more contributors and content that would further bless you. Remember, if you have something that you want to send in, check the link to the right to send an email. I will be sure to read it thru before posting it (though I am prone to miss some things).

Finally speaking, God bless all of you. I know its usually said in passing, but I really wish that all of you are blessed by God as you read the content here at MMM. Whether it is a review, or an observation of the scripture in play with technology today, it is my hope that you come here and get equipped to use your tool (whether notebook, PDA, or mobile phone) to minister salvation, grace, and love to those in your circles. See ya on the next update...Shalom

In looking for news from around the world, 1src.com reports that the German site Nexave has published a review of the GSPDA M68 PalmOS phone (its in German, here is an AltaVista translation into English). I dont know that I would call it a smartphone, but for the size and abilities, it really is what many people want in a phone. Probably the only bones that I could pick with this phone are that the screen resoultion is too low (160x240 pixels); there is no Bluetooth for wireless headsets; and they arent (yet) sold in the US. GSPDA does have a higher range phone called the Qool 700 that would really be neat. I'd like to see both of those over here and really get the smartphone/feature phone market rolling for Palm.

In continuing the ever flowing love towards PocketPC Thoughts (really, I dont like WinMob devices, but they do have an excellent site so I must visit a few times a day); there was a report yesterday about the HP hw6515 Messenger. For those of you in the market for a Windows-based PDA for carrying on with ministry tasks while away from the desk, this would make for a neat device. While I am not a fan of the resolution, the size and the GPS built-in makes for a compelling device for missionaries and pastors that like to take the road less traveled. Check out the review, and remember that for now, its a TMobile only device (GSM only). Cingular may get it a long while from now (not Sprint-Nextel or Verizon because they use a different network).

Not that I am saying that you would want MMM on your PDA all the time or anything, but PocketPC Thoughts reports today on a nice application called News Break. which has just released its 1.1 version today for Windows Mobile PDAs. Its an RSS newsreader with support for today page plugins and Windows Mobile 5 (no devices running it just yet but its nice being future proof). So if you find that you would like to keep up with MMM (or other news articles from other news sites), check out News Break and let me know if you really need more content from MMM :)

Some of you know that besides my day job and MMM, I also write for BargainPDA. BargainPDA has just published a new article by me titled The Power Equation. It is an editorial look at the question of power and the growtn of technology that has outpaced battery technology. Take a look at the article and ask yourself the next time you take a trip; are your mobile devices meeting your needs for power requirements, or are you having to make compromises because devices are not advanced enough in the battery powered arena.

In an interesting note of news covered by a ton of outlets today, a concept called ICE (meaning In Case of Emergency) has been brought to light as an efficient means to carry the contact information of a person who is to be contacted if you are seriously injured. More infomation abuot the ICE can be found here.

Personally speaking, I think this a great idea for all of us, no matter if we are carrying PDAs, mobile phones, or even laptops. I make sure to keep a memory key on me that has my personal information (encrypted of course) but there is a text file with my contact info as well as emergency contact information. Now, if you really want to be bold about it, you can also state in your ICE to have the person pray that your family would be in God's peace too, but that is just overstating the fact that to be absent from the body and present with the Lord is what we all want :)

If you are like me, you probably go thru a good deal of the day with one or two really good ideas or plans that would be great to implement. And even still, if you are like me, then some of those never make it out of your head an onto paper to be worked out. Well, PalmInsider reports on a neat application called Idea Pad by NoSleep Software that will help make it easier to see where your ideas and plans go. Check it out via this link, and if an idea its you, make sure to take the time to consider at least one of them.

NOTE: NoSleep Software also makes an excellent file management program called Filez and classwork management software called Due Yesterday.

To kick off the weekend, we have a review of My Verses by Kevin A. Kevin will be contribuiting here and there so check out this review and send an email if you have something that you would like to write for a review

This is an essential app for anyone who has a love for Scripture. It is a well thought-out, sophisticated program that serves as a great aid for the novice Bible reader to the more advanced. I have purchased other memorization tools in the past, and nothing compares Kalosive’s My Verses. It is both versatile and essential.

Have you ever tried to memorize scripture using flash cards or index cards? The more verses you try to memorize, the more cards you need to lug around in that beat-up old, plastic box of index cards. If you were to Google Palm apps that will help you with verse memorization, you’d find that it is slim pickings. There are great applications that you can use and finagle it for this particular need such as the top life-organizer/outliners Shadow (www.codejedi.com) and Bonsai (www.natara.com). Or, you can opt for the old-school technique of just writing everything down on a page. My suggestion for this would be word applications such as WordSmith, MobiSystems or my personal favorite, Documents to Go (www.dataviz.com). These applications would be of some benefit to complementing your memorization or you can go for an application whose sole purpose is implementing a tried and true method for successfully memorizing Bible verses, MyVerses (www.kalosive.com).

Scott Hansen, the developer of MyVerses, explains on his website:

MyVerses was inspired by card based Scripture memorization t