Mobile Ministry Magazine

In an effort to better support the world audience of MMM, we want to let you know that if you have news from anywhere in the world on ministry and technology, something that is being done within tech that fits MMM's space, a devotional, or a software review of something that you have found to really work for you; feel free to send a note of it in to us.

We are working on making it easier for you to submit news and other questions and comments, but in the meantime just email us.

And if you have something in a language other than English (NA or UK), could you please provide a translation or give us permission to post both your article as well as a link to that same article via a translation service such as BableFish.

We want to do our best to build you up in the appropriate use of mobile technology so that you can minister effectively, and with your help (and as always God's graces), we can move a few mountains :)

Via PalmSolo, this very interesting story on how manufacturers are looking at the Christian space as another market to tap. Here is a snippet from CNet's article:

In recent years, members of the clergy have begun competing with MTV, video games and the Internet by jazzing up sermons with image magnification systems and large-screen video displays, a la Apple Computer's Steve Jobs at a product launch. The trend has evolved, and churches now are Webcasting to distant parishioners with sophisticated multicamera operations and pumping up the volume inside worship areas with state-of-the-art sound systems.

Read the rest of CNet's article and join in the discussion: where do you think tech belongs in ministry, could more be done?

To Reflect and Move Forward
It was one year ago this week that Mobile Ministry Magazine started its website. While the magazine was first produced in October 2004, it was at the Lord's leading that MMM became something more than a good work to replace the sin that was in place. It was a substitute. I was given MMM for stewardship.

In this year, there has been a few designs, a few more thrown away; there have been the addition of very valuable team members, and even more people in those that write in and those that do not. There have been two hosts, but a host of support. And most of all there has been ministry in an area where many of us had not been ministered to before. Belive it or not, I get ministered to by MMM a whole lot. And its God's value in this work that continues to make it something worth seeing and working through.

Now, as most of you know, one cannot have an anniversary without stuff, so stay tuned to the MMM "1 Year In" contest. It will bbe quite simple, and hopefully you will be blessed not only by the gifts of the contest, but by the contestants too.

Finally, to move forward. What is coming? Well, to be blunt, MMM wants to be a place where you can donate your new or used mobile technology so that it can be reissued to ministers and missionaries who need them. We plan on doing more meetups across the US (and if things go really well, let's take it overseas). There will also be more workshops and items I like to call 'things to sit on.' So stay tuned to MMM. Yea, its one year, but when you get in, things only pick up for the better.

Peace and blessings to all. And if this is your first read, welcome and check out the archives and forums as to where we have been and where we are going.
- sent from Treo

Yesterday, we posted the news about the Pocket Bible 3 Bible Reader from Laridian. Well, in the PocketPC Thoughts thread that I was reading, someone had a really neat question, and I wanted to pose it here for some discussion as well.

Does anyone have some tips on how to make the best use of the highlighting? I know there are practices out there, but never really paid much attention as Laridian didn't support it and I rarely use my paper Bibles anymore. Laridian - if you're reading this and have some suggestions, perhaps a link and/or special mailing with some suggestions would be a worthwhile investment. Now that you've given us the functionality, some "best practice" pointers would be great.

Off to the forums now, gotta help folks out with these and other neat tricks if you have any :)

PocketPC Thoughts has made note of a major update to the Pocket Bible application. Version 3 is now the number and there are a host of improvements:

• Color highlighting
• Continuous synchronization
• Categorized Book Chooser
• Context-sensitive tap-and-hold menus
• Find your notes
• Continuous text - no more page/chapter breaks.
• Gesture-based navigation
• DailyReader features have been combined into PocketBible 3
• Open more than two books at once
• Windows Mobile 5 softkey support
• And more

Ed Hansberry of PocketPC Thoughts has also done a really well written review of Pocket Bible 3. Here is some of what he had to say about it:

...It is a welcome upgrade, and one that I can highly recommend. You can stay busy for days seeing what it has to offer, but it is easy enough to use that if you want to, you can leave all of that untapped power alone and maybe just use one or two key features, like the highlighting...

Read the complete review and visit Laridian's site for download and purchasing.

Was over at Everything Treo when I found this nice bit of info in their forums curtosy of the user StillRockin:

Hey Gang, you know that I have raved about Treo Alarm being one of my favorite Apps for the Treo, with all that it can do. Well, for a limited amount of time, the developer is offering to activate this software free if you review it on your blog. He has already activated mine!!! This is well worth the $18.50 he is asking for it IMHO, which makes "Free" even better! It will turn your Radio off at a given time, with a silent or sound of your choice. It will turn it back on. It will grab the weather at a certain time, and supports mulitple cities. You can visit his site for all the particulars!

According to the posts in the thread, the giveaway is still going on. And even if you have a Treo and not a blog, Treo Alarm is still a great app to try out.

More from pastors at Palm Addict's How I Used My PDA:

...During the trip my Lifedrive served as a storage device for pictures I took with my school's digital camera. These pictures would be used in our schools yearbook. Using the camera companion app, I was able to transfer the pictures to my harddrive. Doing this gave me more room on the camera's memory card and allowed me to take a lot more pictures! After I transfered the pictures to my Lifedrive, I would upload them to my SplashBlog account. SplashBlog served as a daily report to all the church folks and parents so they could see their kids during the week. I have received many comments of appreciation for doing this. It has been a big hit for our church and school!...

Read this post in its enterity, and just take a chance on doing something a bit more with your PDA.

Probably more than most people I know, my Treo finds itself as not only a gaming device but a way to manage life. The folks at Astraware have also felt the same way and so besides their excellent library of games (My Little Tank is my fav right now), they also have a section called Lifestyle.

In the Lifestyle section, one can find all types of applications. From bloggers to finance apps, the selection of apps is a very good one and makes for a great addition to your suite of mobile apps. Check out Lifestyle and see what can be a new swing on things for you.

Kevin emailed in to remind MMM that Electric Pocket has a neat application for Treo 650s and other BT PDAs called PhotoDial. Basically, it is program that enables users to place photographs of their most commonly dialed contacts directly on the Applications Launcher (PalmOS). Tis really neat if you ask me, and for some of you with Treos who ID people more by the look rather than the name, PhotoDial is a blessing.

PhotoDial costs US$9.95 and is available from the Electric Pocket website.

MobileRead, an excellent resource on those things concerning mobile technology and specifically ebooks, has published some great articles over the past few days that are worthy of note.

Consumers Want More From Mobile Phones - this is pretty much what we are seeign now. People may not be ready for a full computer in their phone, but a working calendar and tasks list, as well as some suitable camera and music abilities are on the plate for more and more phone users. At some point, this will tip into some mobile friendly applications that make the phone a competitive computing platform for many people.

The future of eBooks looks dim in one article, while in another, traditional publishing houses are putting ebooks and eink devices to task - while it is true that ebooks have not taken off, some of the upcoming technologies conerning eink and content distribution will make for some change. I personally think that ebooks and eink devices are better served and developed for areas where there is not already a computing infrastructure and where the lack of that infrastructure would persuade more innovative and accessible technologies to take flight.

So there is a little something for you. Kinda neat if you ask me, and we haven't even broke forth Issue 4 yet. Its coming, and yes, you will be able to read it anywhere.

Via Palm Addict:

...I've been on vacation with several friends in San Diego. They mock me as the techno-geek of the group, but several of them came to appreciate my Treo 650 during our trip.

We were flying Delta so I signed up for Flight Notifications which sends me text messages to tell me when and what gates my flights are leaving from. They will update as the flight numbers or gate numbers change.

I sent others text messages as we were getting ready to take off and land so they'd know when we could meet. (Hint: I wrote a text message "We just landed" while in-flight and clicked 'Send'.... since my phone was off, it told me that it would resend my message as soon as I reconnected with the network. When we landed, I turned the radio on and the text message was instantly sent and I could go about getting my bag out of the overhead compartment.)...

Read the rest

Another great article of how beyond the organizer where a connected PDA can really help us to open windows of opportunity within ministry areas. Do you have a story, share it with us and we will post it here.

Not Just An Organizer
As I talk to more and more people about my heart for technology, I am stuck to keep hearing the general assumption of mobile technology to just be an organizer. No, I am not speaking in the capacity of how my Treo has become my main computer, but how the conceptions that people have of mobile technology do just as much damage in limiting their effectiveness as ministry tools as the lack of training does towards applying the technology to our lives in a mannerr that pleases God and draws people to Him.

And so as I write this, I am being challenged now. Challenged to not just call my Treo a Palm Pilot and a phone and leave it at that. This smartphone is a key to ministry across borders. As I write this, I am reminded of the person who had 5 talents and made 5 more. He did not regard what was in his hands as all that there was, but he used [something that he was gifted with] to see more than what was there. I cannot sit here and just regard this as technology that is just an organizer. Or even as technology that is meant only for 1st world countries and peoples to take advantage of. I believe that Jesus made Himself accessible to all people, and this this technology should be used to demonstrate that fact to the ends of the earth.

So in effect, I am putting myself (and probably the entire team of Mobile Ministry Magazine) out there. We do not want to just be a resource point for you. We want to come alongside you and help you get to that paperless pulpit, get to that place where you have a computer lab for your youth group to minister to the community, that point where a missions team is not worried about communication with the home base because they know the nature of the tech of where they are doing missions and are able to skillfully use it to communicate as well as to build up a community to reach a point where they can be a blessing to other communities.

Let's break out of our perceptions of this tech for a bit longer than a moment and let's go glorify God by using it as a light and a resource to salt this earth. I personally want to visit every one of you that read MMM and explain to you the reasons for MMM as well as what you can do with what is in your hand to be a better minister with technology. If this is what you want, send us an email so that we can set up the date and time and any travel needs. This is not about just being organized for minisrry, but being equipped and encourged to go out and be the ministers that Jesus intended for us to be.

Apologies if this sounded like a rant, but in sitting before my bed tonight, this was on my heart to speak. I do hope that it finds the intended audiences and MMM is able to be of service to you. God bless to all.
- sent from Treo

From Kevin:

Earthcomber LLC announced today an upgrade to its free mobile service for Palm and Windows-powered handhelds that locates places serving the top needs of travelers, including WiFi “hotspots,” coffee stores, ATMs, office supplies, and business printing and data services.

The enrichment to Earthcomber's free personal navigation service responds to the increasing demand business travelers place on being able to find an instant “lay of the land” for specific personal favorites and professional needs. By getting a download of any given area within the U.S., a traveler can scan their surroundings for all their needs at once, and see results by distance from an exact spot on a map, without the need for an Internet or cell phone connection.

Read more and download from the Earthcomber website.
- sent from Treo

I was on the phone tonite with one of the MMM team members and he let me know of a website that is running a contest to win one of five Ultra-Mobile PCs (UMPCs). While I am one of the first who would say that the idea of moving from my Treo to something a bit larger would be great, I believe that this was a better opportunity to seek my heart as to why mobility and ministry HAVE to be the purpose of any mobile PC (software and hardware) that is developed.

Below is what I wrote in response to that thought. I do pray that for you that your mobile technology is more than just a gadget, but it is an opportunity to change the world with what is in your hands:

It is my heart that people all over the world would have a better understanding of the capabilities of mobile technology and how correct usage of mobile technology makes it easier for all to excel. However, my heart is in accessibility and making sure that anything produced on a computer can truly go anywhere. In my opinion, accessibility is the driving point behind the UMPC. Not just as a device that can show what can be done, but as a device that can be deployed to a group of people to better do data collection, family communications from anywhere, and even teach lessons when a library is not in walking distance. The concept of a UMPC is simple: give a person the ability to do in the palm of their hand the same things they can do on their desktop. The way that I would best use a UMPC would be to use it to teach workshops on the benefits of mobile computing. I would also use the UMPC as a platform to better emphasize accessible website development for those who do not have the latest and greatest desktops, or even the ability to view the Internet. In that, I believe that the UMPC does more than just open the door to mobile computing, but opens the door to accessible computing for a larger group of people than ever before.

Was talking to a friend yesterday about how hard it is to minister to youth with the Word because they cannot read. So giving them the Bible on a CD would be a great idea. I even remarked that if he had them reading the Word and then recorded it and gave them the CD, they might be even more into it.

And so what do I find today when at Palm Addict, iPocketBible. Very neat. Read more about iPocketBible and get to podcasting the Bible to someone near you :)

Before email and RSS was popular, there were newsgroups. And if you are of the many who still keep track of them, check out New Yanoff version 3.2. Here is a description of New Yanoff from their website:

New Yanoff is SonLight Software's closed-source fork of the original Usenet (NNTP) newsreader client for Palm OS PDAs, GPL Yanoff. With New Yanoff, the premier portable newsreader™, you can read your favorite internet newsgroups ANY TIME, ANYWHERE. New Yanoff is the most customizable, mature, and fully-featured Palm OS newsreader available as well as a very capable, basic SMTP email client. It consists of two different programs: Yanoff+ or (free) Yanoff-.

While at work today, I was made aware of an event that caters to the youth of the DC Metro area, giving them a one day workshop on those things related to computer technology. Whether you have a youth, or are in a position where you want to learn more about what kinds of programs work best with youth and technology, this is a good event to get to.

The 9th Annual Youth Summit on Technology takes place Saturday, April 29th at Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, MD from 7:30am to 4:30 pm. The $30 registration fee includes breakfast and lunch, and door prizes. There is even a competition where each member of the winning team gets a new computer.

Read this page for more information.

Also, if you have a technology event that you would like MMM to post, send us an email with the details and a webpage reference to the content (please do not send .doc or .pdf flyers).

If you are interested in doing events like this in your city, make a note to contact the Patriots Technology Center as well as other groups (local to you) who would partner with your group in doing this. No need in having all this tech knowledge and it not being shared to the next generation of leaders.

Posted at PocketPC Thoughts:

"I had an interesting experience with a cool Windows Mobile app last night. I was invited for dinner to someone's house for the first time. While driving to their house, I remembered good etiquette and decided to pick up a small gift...Perfect! It's a single family home and the backyard is relatively sparse. So instead of a plant let's go with something more decorative..."


Read the entire posting and what other uses could you use a PDA for besides the usual.

(Ok, so besides the big brother feeling, the fact that one was able to use their PDA and some map software to see exactly what kind of plant to get is a neat idea.)

The Senior Minister at the Church I work at (I'm a Youth Minister) jokingly refers to my Zire 72 as my "brain!" I have to admit that without my palm, I would be at a loss to remember many things, so I guess he's right!
Every morning I am woken up to my Palm's alarm, be it through the normal alarm sounds, or an mp3 through Busker.
I use my palm for keeping track of To-do's and our calendars (of course!). Lately, my "brain" has been a bit befuddled because I had a day or two where I forgot to update my to-do's and calendars and it messed me up for a whole week! I barely got anything done... so it is essential that I look over my to-do's and events every evening and update throughout the day...

Read the rest of the posting, and let MMM know how you use your PDA.

An excellent article at 1src poses the question of whether using a PDA is something that is second nature. Here is a snippet:

Clearly, by the question, the person who asked it knew by sight that I was using a Palm Treo smartphone. That means that Palm's marketing is working as I didn't see their Treo. However, why such the surprise that I had my grocery list stored in my Treo? By having my list in the Treo, it is easy to read and update. I was happy to trade up from working on the old standard: writing with a pencil on the back of an envelop. And, when I'm doing the grocery shopping, I also have two other PDAs (Personal Daughter Assistants) with me. So, I welcome the added simplicity.

While I do agree that PDAs can be better marketed towards the general usage patterns that people would use, I do not think that for many they should become second nature. I do think their usefulness should be better expolited by users. Just not to the extent of many power-users. Tis interesting and we at MMM want to hear your thoughts.

Read the rest of the article, and continue this discussion in the MMM forums.

I had been sitting around this Sunday and getting a good time of rest in when I received an email that there is was a comment left on the previously posted article "Newton Users Have Religion." And while I am not one to usually open up a discussion again, the comment left just left a lot to consider not so much about Newton users, but across all genres of the things that are, how we regard those things and whether we are really using them in a profitable fashion.

Here is a snippet of that comment:
If you read PalmAddict regularly, you can find the exact same religious fervor there as has existed on NTLK and other Newton sites in the past (and some say still exists today) but IMNSHO, I think that PalmAddict is _far_ more rabid than the Newton community ever was! Maybe it's the medium (a blog) or maybe it's something less obvious, but those elements that people call "religious" certainly exist in the Palm community. :-)

The rest of the comment is well spoken and worth a read and a consideration as to how we spend time with those things that we spend time with. Take a gander at the discussion (and I will find a way to get to that comment link and append it to this post).
- sent from Treo
- edited: 4-21-06

An excellent article on choosing a Windows Mobile device versus a PalmOS one has been posted over at PocketGoddess. Here is a snippet:

...I thought about the Pocket PC (now Windows Mobile) platform several times over the years, but only in passing. After all, I read all the stories about how Microsoft’s mobile OS was hopelessly bloated, about how it takes more taps to do things, and of course about how there are literally thousands of Palm OS applications to choose from, many free, that far outstripped the more limited selection of software available for Pocket PC.

In effect I had become a Palm OS “fangirl” in the sense that I had dismissed the competition without really giving it a closer look and honestly evaluating whether or not the devices and software met my needs...

Read the rest.

In my opinion, this has to be one of the most well thought out decsions on using the correct mobile device for one's needs that I have read in a while. Kudos to PocketGoddess for an excellent article, and more so for making an informed decsion that works best for her.

We are ministers first. We have such a huge responsibility in this aspect, and part of that responsibility is to project fiscal discipline.

The mobile world we live in makes this responsibility even more challenging. We scoff at paper, and do you really want to be caught with a paper balance book?

If you carry a PDA, like a lot of us do, financial software is of a premium. If you own a Palm device, BudgetMaster by Solid Rock Software is a true blessing.

BudgetMaster touts itself to be a simple solution to anyone's budget making and recording needs. This writer decided to take it for a spin, and see just what this software could do.

To summarize (much as I hate to destroy the suspense), it's phenomenal.

The interface was perfect for this writer. In other words, you can make it yours. I spent my first day of testing just whimsically playing with the layout by using the built-in palette. While this may not be the definition of a standard "power user" feature, I was quite impressed. I finally decided to think positive and finally settled on green.
This was only just a portion of the "User Preferences", which included adjustable settings for bill reminders and password selection (to secure your sensitive data).

BudgetMaster allows you to customize your budget by allowing one to have an unlimited number of categories. Along with these you can customize your income sources as well. These can be set by month. The "Spending & Bills" menu allows for the user to to create the debits section of the budget by category as well.
One idea I absolutely loved was the Budget Transfer option. It allowed me to transfer "money" from one spending account to another. So, say, if I had an overage in my entertainment spending, I could adjust for a shortage in my laundry account, without destroying my entire budget. It did this seamless offset on its own.

For all transactions, I saw the running total, and the balance left.

Of course, it helps you keep track of bills. You simply select any budget to be a "bill" when assigning it at the beginning. The bill reminder feature mentioned earlier can be set as well, to help you balance your checkbook.

There is even a category for those unforeseen bills or impulse buys, listed under "Quick Spend". You simply list the what, when, where and the amount spent, and you're set. There was even a built-in calculator wich made things easier.

Just when I had decided I was impressed, I found something very valuable. Then again, most people who know me will tell you that I am a "reports" kind of guy.

There is an entire Report menu. It gives an income-budget-spending overview, which, of course, gives you a snapshot of where you stand fiscally. On the spot, you can see how you are doing, and what you may need to adjust, pare down or even discard.
It features a spending overview, and a spending details report, which creates memos that can be hotsynced, viewed and/or printed. The same goes for Budget listing report, which breaks down your budget categories.
It is possible to also check your spending history with the help of historical reporting.

Along with these tools, I was able to create a pie chart, and this really wowed me. I really, really loved this feature. Here I was, looking at the circle of my fiscal future. I was a financial guru. I was headed to MSNBC, and Wall Street. I was...

...daydreaming. Again.

Bottom line is that if you have dreams, goals, or just want to be better acquainted with your spending, this is the software for you. If you value customer service, Karen and Bill will soothe your mind. They are some of the most courteous people I have met. You can drop them a line, or find out more about this excellent software, by navigating to the Solid Rock Software website. Solid Rock Software also provides a desk top companion to the palm software.

Please look for reviews of two other software titles by Solid Rock, Weight Diary and Expense-N-Go.

Remain blessed.

Via Palm Addict:

If you've been keeping score, we've already tackled two of the biggest applications used most on your PDA: Calendar and Tasks.

Let's tackle the other two important features: Contacts and Notes.

We'll start with Contacts first since it fits in line with Calendar and Tasks as they all relate to Categories...

This is part 5 of series. You can visit the Daily Press website to read the other articles provided by this resource.

A very nice article about the direction of computing was posted some time ago at A List Apart. Here is a sample from that article:

It is coming—and as yet, the people who will be most affected by it, the overwhelming majority of whom are nontechnical, nonspecialist, ordinary citizens of the developed world, barely know it even exists.

This is not due to any inherent obscurity or lack of interest in the broader field; to date, there have been some seven annual Ubicomp conferences, three Pervasives, and a wide scatter of smaller but otherwise similar colloquia. These are established events, in academic terms: well-attended, underwritten by companies such as Intel, Sony, Nokia and Samsung. There are at least three peer-reviewed professional journals exclusively dedicated to ubiquitous or pervasive computing. There has been no dearth of discussion of everyware…but little of this discussion, and virtually none that might offer enough information on which to build meaningful choices, has reached the mainstream.

Read the rest of Everyware: The Dawning Age of Ubiquitous Computing. There is also a link at the bottom of the article to purchse the book written on this subject. Understanding the times is most appropriate to this ministry, and to any ministry that wants to continue to serve within this changing world.

This Passion Week I have been looking at events that happened each day and using those as a basis for meditation. I really want us to meditate upon what Jesus did for us on the cross. Here is the devotion I wrote for my website today:

I pray that you took some time yesterday to reflect on some things and use Jesus' day of silence to get closer to the Lord. Today, we want to take a look at one of the events prior to Jesus and the disciples heading to the garden at Gethsemane. This event is known to us as "the Last Supper."

There is quite a bit involved in this event, but there is one portion that I want us to focus on today, although I would recommend meditating upon the entire event (Matthew 26:2-35 & John 13-14). The portion that we want to look at is where Jesus breaks bread with the disciples and speaks in symbolic language to where the bread represents His body and the wine His blood. It is from this portion of Scripture where we have our tradition of holy communion.

Today, I want us to take part in this holy communion with one another. Grab a piece of bread and some grace juice (or Kool-Aid if you don't have any juice) and let us remember the sacrifice that has been made for us. If you took heart to everything I've written in the devotions earlier this week, then your heart and spirit should be pure and in right standing to take part in this; because we should not take part in this sacred event if we have unconfessed sin in our hearts.

Let us look at the bread, as it represents the body of our Lord Jesus Christ that was bruised and scarred on our behalf. Take a moment to reflect upon the pain that He suffered and how think about how it should have been all of us in His place. Recognize all of the love that He has for you in order to want to take all the punishment that you deserved into His own body. Break the bread, and then eat it. Next, lift up your cup towards heaven. This represents Jesus' blood that was shed for us. If it weren't for the shedding of blood, there would be no forgiveness of sins. Jesus was willing to do all of this so that we could be forgiven of all our sins. Take joy in the fact that Jesus did this for you so that you could be freed from the bondage of sin and death. Thank Him for His blood and drink.

With that, we have just participated in holy communion. This is something that we should do often in remembrance of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made on our behalf. My brother in Christ, Mynista, has a video podcast with him observing communion that I recommend you check out (Mynista TV). Now that we've taken part in communion together, take the rest of the day to reflect upon the goodness of God and how He has blessed your life by allowing you to be forgiven of your sins. Amen? Amen.

Here are links to devotions for the rest of the week if you want to read those too:

Monday - Temple Cleansing
Tuesday - It Belongs to Who?
Wednesday - A Day of Silence

I have been involved with the Bible+ project for a good while now (as webmaster of the site, and admin in the forums), and yet, even after downloading Bible+ for the first time, there was a website that basically floored me with how much information that they already had out there in a mobile ready format. The website to which I refer is called GospelShare.

From their Mission Statement page:
The mission of GospelShare Ministries is two-fold. First, it is our goal to share the gospel (good news) of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who He is and why acceptance of Him is eternally important. Secondly, it is our goal to encourage and equip Christians to also share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with others.

I have dealt with GospelShare for many years now, specifically in my case for Palm Bible+ downloads but there is a lot more than just that there. I recommend visiting GospelShare and see much of what is out there that can further equip you, or someone you know in [mobile] ministry.

As many of you who have visited MMM quite often might know, I am a website developer by day (hoping one day to say MMMer by day). And one of the reasons why this site means so much to me is that I get to put to use many of the things that I have learned about accessiblity. Granted, MMM is by no means a perfectly written site (trust me, I know, and I am working on it constantly), but to be able to say that all people should be able to view the content on this site as easily as possible is something that I want for anyone to say about MMM.

Where does this thought come from? Two things: 456 Berea St. and conviction.

456 Berea St is a website that is all about accessiblity that should walk beside content and innovation, not behind it. For one reason or another, I am just tumbling onto this site. And really, it is something that is making a mental refocusing of sorts for me today. The web should be accessible and serve people, not the other way around. Kudos for sites such as 456 Berea St. for impressing that onto folks and informing on how to get there.

The other thing is conviction. If there is one thing that I have learned, it is ego is a very bad thing to have when doing anything that is supposed to be recieved by others. And while I do appreciate the creative process (I love using Flash as a development nad interactivity tool), I do understand that if you are not doing something for the glory of God, then really what you are doing is dooming someone to something that is not teh very best. That is something that I have to remember as I continue to work at this job, as well as with MMM and other endavors. The glory of God is what my heart should seek out for. Sharing joys and tricks about tech and web is good; but the only thing that is really glorifying (and truely 100% accessible) is showing for the love of God.

Yea You Have It, But Is It Needed
So you just purchased that new laptop or desktop, and being that it is the top of the line (or top of your wallet) you are pretty pleased with yourself. But let's ask one question. Is it really needed?

Sounds simple enough, but consider this: a recent statistic I heard says that for all of the iPods being bought, most people do not have but 500 songs on their iPod. An observation of computing over time has shown that most people use their computer for email, Internet, and writing papers. Nothing that requires 4GHz and 100+GB hard drives. So if we have all of this and are not using it, is it really needed?

Maybe a better way of looking at it is to say that "I will always have the ability to do more and I am guarding against obselence of my technology." Sounds good. Except now you are trying to justify reaching over and beyond your needs and all that you would have to do to maintain it.

Please do not hear me wrong. I am by no means advocating that we all need nothing more than a Pentium 1 and enough memoy on our iPods for 500 songs alone. Rather, I would hope that when you are looking at making any technological purchase, that you are considering the needs over what is being marketed to you. When you make a purchase based on your needs, you will never find that it will go obselete (unless it breaks down many years down the line), and you will always find that maintaining it is much easier.

Just something to think about during this time of year when we all tend to look at making new purchases of something.
- sent from Treo

Not too much to comment on from my view, here's why:

...Battery drain has always been somewhat of a mystery, and more tools like this may not only help us to understand how to get better life out of a charge, but also keep manufacturers of hardware on their toes to minimize power consumption once consumers can see it for themselves.

Not have a working laptop at home, and therefore using my Treo for much net access, has really gotten me to look outside the box (so to speak) when it comes to what I would do for my next computer. I have dabbled with maybe a UMPC, a TabletPC, or maybe nothing at all. I am really happy with being able to take my computing experience everywhere I go. And despite some issues with screen size or even being able to do some good web development work (I just need to be able to connect to an external monitor and some really good PalmOS web dev software and I'd be fine), it really has met my needs.

So you can imagine some that I was a bit surprised when I found out about the Modular Personal Computer. Nothing really special if you think about it, but for anyone who wants the power of their computer, just the way that they need it at that time, its a nice piece of thinking gone on.

And while this is somewhat like a UMPC in its abiltiy and form, its a little but more, and a little be less at the same time. I do have to say that there really is a computer out there for everyone after looking at this. And who knows, maybe MCC will let MMM be a reviewer of their products :)

Found myself at PocketPC Thoughts reading and participating in a nice discussion about the .mobi domain when I clicked on the signature of one of the posters and they had this really neat article about email and highlighted some differences in the way we want to use email versus the way our email programs handle email.

...This colleague believed in the GMail way: don't organize, just store everything in one giant mailbox and search through them if you need something specific. This could actually be one of the most productive ways of handling mail. According to research performed by StorageTek, an average employee spends about 10 hours a month organizing his messages, and 52 minutes a month in order to finding back them again. They did the math and concluded it was cheaper to add more storagespace than to continue to force people to stay within their mailbox quota...

Read the rest of this article, then ask yourself if you are being productive with your email.

Something that I have gotten into the habit of doing (and when funds permit its even more of a doing) is purchasing old PDAs that people are selling on places such as Craigslist and then loading them with Bible software and giving them a new home. Many times, a person has a PDA that they no longer use, and so they are willing to sell it (and in some cases give it away for nothing) when I make mention of my intentions with it. Tis a good thing for that ol' PDA to find one and give it a good home.

As something that is a part of Mobile Ministry Magazine's mission, we also want to for you to feel empowered to give your old PDA a new home. So if you have an old PDA, PDA accessories, and do not know what to do with it; take it over to your local church, missions group, or youth center; ask them if they would have a need for it, and then be a blessing to someone else.

And if you are not able to find someone to send your PDA or PDA accessory to, shoot us an email here at MMM. We will gladly take that PDA and find it a new home with either a missions group or ministry that has a need of using mobile computing.

[Before I forget: the reason we would send PDAs with software to missionaries is because in many places, to carry a book-bible is not possible. Having it on your PDA is a means to carry the Word with you while keeping your interactions with another culture intact - dictionaries, phrase guides, maps, etc.]
Please know, MMM is not a reseller. We will not sell a PDA or any computing tool to anyone. The purpose of this ministry is to make sure that those who have a need for this technology in their respective fields, have the technology and training to make the most use of it.

So if that ol' PDA is just laying around, dust that thing off and let that seed become fruit for someone else.

[pictures curtosy of Palm.com and EBibleTeacher.com]

From Geek.com:

...The poll also asked questions about etiquette, and nearly 90% said they encounter others using their phones in an annoying way. I just don't understand why people think we need or want to hear their conversations...

While I am sure that all of us have had that issue in church or a meeting where we or someone else was quite uncaring of others when using their phone or mobile device. While we do want to learn how to use these devices, it is very much clear that we should also carry a higher standard of using our devices in such a way that is effective for us, and not offensive to others.

~ submitted by Demetri

A New Arrival to the MMM Family
Tre Lawrence, an MMM team member, writes in to say that today (4-3-06) was born Xavier @ 7lbs, 1oz.

Tre asks, "that you (my brethren) join me in asking that God fully useXavier as He chooses."
- sent from Treo