The Gadget Pastor

The Gadget Pastor has moved!

2007-09-02T16:04:00.000-05:00

Our new site has been uploaded. Please update your bookmarks to www.thegadgetpastor.com . We are no longer using Blogger for our blog hosting. However, all posts here at the Blogger site will remain here. So the site for the mean time will be left as is. So come join us over at the newly redesigned The Gadget Pastor.

RUMOR: Could a new Palm smartphone be coming on Sept 12th?

2007-09-01T08:06:00.001-05:00

PDA 247 is reporting that a new Palm smartphone will be announced on Sept 12. This is according to a tip they received and a link to a German website that tells of a contest to win the "new Palm smartphone". It has been widely rumored that Palm has Linux based smartphone in the works and that Palm has the Centro also coming. The Centro has already been announced and several pictures have been floating around the internet. The release date of the Centro has not been revealed though the time frame has been autumn. This rumored date could be the Centro's release day. I think it will be a while before we see the Linux based phone from Palm.

dock - a new way to access your apps on the Apple iPhone

2007-08-31T20:26:00.000-05:00

I've tried this new app called dock. It allows the user to scroll thru all of the applications on the springboard including ones added via hacks or installer.app. It's not as smooth as I would like it, but a rather neat way of accessing your apps on the iPhone. Watch the video below!

Echo Prayer - Help you remember your prayer lists

2007-08-31T20:13:00.000-05:00

Has someone every come up to you and ask you to pray for them at a specific time on a specific date? Maybe they were taking a test at school or an important meeting at work or some other request that was a time specific request. Now, I've told people that I would do that and I'll tell you what, I'm so afraid that I will miss praying for them at that time. Now I know you can pray for them that morning, but I think it means something to the person asking that you tell them you will pray for them at that time. So how can you do that and not be afraid you might forget it?
Enter Echo Prayer, an online prayer list website, that allows you to create a prayer list and add specific prayer requests with notes. Once you have done so, you can then have Echo Prayer email you or text message a reminder at whatever time, on whatever day. This service which is free can help you not forgot to pray for that person. Since most pastors carry cellphones have a text message come to you could be an excellent way to remember to pray for them. Check out Echo Prayer's demo as it walks you thru their service. Being that it's free and they don't spam you, this is one of those services that's worth signing up for!

A new site design is coming!

2007-08-30T20:10:00.000-05:00

The Gadget Pastor Blog will be getting a makeover hopefully in the next week. I'm putting the finishes touches on it. I am using a template from iWeb '08 with a few little mods from me. I'm really excited about it as I think it looks better than what I've got now. I've also added a few addition features as well that I hope will be a help to you as your serve in the ministry. So be on the lookout for the new theme. By the way, the new logo at the top of the page is part of the new theme.

DateBk6, V-6.1a, r4 Release Candidate #4 now Posted

2007-08-30T19:49:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite Palm applications is Datebk 6, a calendar management program for Palm PDAs and Treos. It's an excellent program and IMO superior to other Palm calendar management programs. Well, today it's recieved another update and some issues have been fixed. Always a good thing. So if you are still a Palm user, it's time to update or time to take Datebk 6 for a spin.

"I just posted an R4 release which addresses the Palm OS redraw bug on
TX units only, whereby the refresh event is sent to the wrong window
when calling a "sub-dialog" - we've seen this bug in several places
on the TX - if you see any others just let me know (this was last
noted in the Today View's View Display Options dialog moving to the
Options Selections dialog). It's most noticeable when the status bar
is being hidden.

This release also includes a subtle preference option for sorting
items that have the same start time. The question is: if the start
time of two events is the same, which comes first? The one that ends
first? or ends last?

The traditional Palm OS Datebook application has always done the
former, so the first item listed is the one that ends first. DateBk6
previously followed that rule. Palm's proprietary Calendar app though
does the reverse - the item that ends last is listed first. Some
people think that provides a nicer view of nested time bars in the
Day View, some don't.

In any event, on a clean install, DateBk6 will now set this
preference to MATCH the built-in Datebook OR built-in calendar
application as appropriate, but anyone can now change it to suit
their taste, and at least DateBk6 now keeps to its goal of working
the same was as the built-in calendar application unless there's a
compelling reason to operate differently.

http://www.PimlicoSoftware.com/datebk6-v61a-r4.zip
is the link to this new step release....

Cheers!
CESD, Pimlico Software, Inc.

Need help waking up early? Try this tips...

2007-08-30T18:47:00.000-05:00

Here is a great article from Life Remix about how you can work at waking up early. Let's face it, many of us would rather sleep in given the chance, but being up early makes us more productive. So here are 24 tips that can help you wake up early.

"Since I've become a full-time freelancer, I've found one of the hardest things to do is to get up early. Without the threat of being fired, there just hasn't been a whole lot of motivation to get out of bed in a timely fashion.

I've quickly learned that getting up is crucial to success as an entrepreneur. And better yet: waking up early is really just a habit. You don't need any skill to do it. You just need to wake up consistently to condition your body to the routine. Here are some tips I've picked up along the way to ease the process of developing the habit of getting up early.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you have to be motivated to get out of bed. Motivation is the only thing keeping us homo sapiens from lying in bed all day eating twinkies.

1. Create a conducive environment to wake up to. It may sound strange, but how messy my room is greatly affects how easy it is to wake up in the morning. I've found that if I have an orderly room to wake up in, I'm more inclined to bypass the snooze and start my day..."

Read More

Book Recommendation: Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts

2007-08-29T07:01:00.000-05:00

Here is today's book recommendation- Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts. I was first introduced to this book during an internship at a church in Florida. The man who gave it to me was a faithful man in the church, but his wife was unsaved and would have nothing to do with church or God. Still this man continued to come to church and was very active in church. He prayed for his wife at every men's prayer breakfast for his wife's salvation. As he shared his testimony with me, he gave me this book, Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges. While it may not have impacted my life as much as it has for that man, it does help one to continue to trust God despite what is going on around you.

"It's easy to trust God when everything's going your way. But what about when things go wrong? Learn the essentials of belief necessary to trust God completely. About the Author- JERRY BRIDGES is an author and Bible teacher. His most popular title, The Pursuit of Holiness, has sold over one million copies. He has authored several other books including The Discipline of Grace (also NavPress). Jerry is currently a part of the Navigator collegiate ministry group where he is involved in staff training and serves as a resource to campus ministries."

Amazon.com Price: $11.20 plus shipping

What's next?

2007-08-29T06:53:00.000-05:00

James Emery White, a Crosswalk writer, wrote an article entitled "The Next, Next Church." He observes a pattern in many church congregations that Christians keep looking for that next exciting event. His comments to this trend are quite thought provoking. I think sometimes we all fall into this pattern and forget the present. We live for the next event, instead of focusing on what is going on now. Take a look at this article and see what you think!

"The iPhone is so last month. Which means, writes Adam Bryant in the New York Times, that “it’s been downgraded from the next big thing to merely new.” And these days, “new can seem so yesterday. What matters is what’s next.” Bryant then notes how “next” is the go-to buzzword of our day. There is “Next” the movie, released this spring with Nicolas Cage as a man who can see two minutes into the future. Newsweek’s annual “Who’s Next” issue, intended to run against Time’s Person of the Year issue, prompted Time to start a regular “What’s Next” feature of its own. "

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Landlines a thing of the past?

2007-08-29T06:42:00.000-05:00

Most churches have their own landline, but the folks in the church have rid themselves of the landline phone for cell phones. Many of our church members have opted to do just that. My wife and I have chosen not to have a landline and solely rely on our cellphones. If we have a babysitter, we leave them my wife's phone in case of emergency, but some of the sitters say don't bother they already have their own cellphone with them. Again we are living in the age of the mobile phone. It has been a huge success and you would be hard press to find a store, mall, restaurant that doesn't have someone talking on their mobile phone. So is the landline a thing of the past? Foxnews surveyed some homes to answer that question. Here is the article about it:

"It's official: There are more homes in the U.S. with cell phones and no land lines than with land lines and no cell phones.

In a survey of 13,000 homes, Mediamark Research, a firm that has been tracking such data since the mid 1980s, found for the first time that cell-only households outnumber land line-only homes, boasting 14 percent of homes to land line-only's 12.3 percent.

The shift, study authors say, is the synthesis of two trends: the slow decline of household land line phones since 2000, and the meteoric rise of the number of households with (one or more) cell phones in that time. Of the surveyed households, 86.2 percent have at least one cell phone, compared to 84.5 percent that still have at least one land line phone.

The separation of the two groups is likely to continue and further widen as more and more households lose land lines and gain additional mobile phones. Study author Andy Arthur did point out to the New York Times though, that there is an older group, who will never give up their land lines in favor of newer technology."

Apple has a special event on September 5th.

2007-08-29T06:36:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't heard Apple has officially announced a special event on September 5th. Most likely, they will be announcing new iPods based on the "lite" version of the Mac OS X. It is rumored that an iPhone-like touch screen iPod will also be announced at that time. To be sure many folks will want the touch screen iPod and it should be a huge seller. Can't wait to see what happens next Wednesday.

Going on radio? Read this first!

2007-08-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

I have never been on radio in my life. However, many churches have their own radio stations and some pastors participate in debates, interviews, etc. on the radio. If you have never been on radio, it can seem like a daunting ordeal. However, I have found a good resource that can help prepare you for the radio, specifically a radio interview. Although this could easily apply for any interview you might give.

"This week, I got an email from Paul Butler, a freelance producer for Moody Radio’s Prime Time America program, asking to interview me about ministry and blogging for the program. The radio piece will be airing in the next week or so and I’ll give a link once it’s finished. He also interviewed a CCP reader and blogging pastor, Ron Dauphin, who I helped get a blog going.
Anyway, through the interview, I quickly realized, I had never done a radio interview … and that I could learn a lot from Paul’s experience.
So afterward, I emailed him a couple of questions and want to share his answers here. His answers are excellent and will help any pastor or minister prepare for a radio interview."

Read More

A well taken iPhone picture.

2007-08-24T21:39:00.000-05:00

Some folks may have been wondering how well a picture the iPhone can take. Well, with the right lighting conditions, it can take amazing pictures. Just look at the one to the right. It is untouched save the watermark, the original picture taken with my iPhone at Blossom, NY today. Blossom, NY is a small town that you pass thru in about 5 seconds, but this one bridge and this one creek make it worth the while to stop and take a picture. Enjoy!

Does the Internet Really Increase your Productivity?

2007-08-24T06:39:00.000-05:00

I know we would like to think that the Internet is a productivity tool, but many times it is exactly the opposite. Lifehack.org asks that question and gives some tips are making the internet productive for you. As pastors, missionaries, evangelists, youth pastors, whatever your ministry vocation, our time is precious and flies away all too quickly. We cannot let ourselves become attached to the internet so we neglect other tasks. For instance, email how many times a day do you check email? My iPhone checks for email every 30 minutes. Do I really need to now that Tigerdirect is having another sale or that Restaurant.com is having yet another gift certificate discount? Do you really need to check your email 5-10 times a day? That is the whole point of the article and I think it could be a help to managing tech in your ministry and personal life.

"Because of the power of the web, we assume the internet must be saving us time and money. It is true that if used carefully the internet can increase our productivity. However, at the same time it can create additional burdens on our time, negating any benefits we may have got. Using the internet for an hour a day, can save us considerable time in shopping, business, and social activity. However, that doesn’t mean spending 7 hours a day, is going..."

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Palm responds to Engadget! WOW!

2007-08-23T21:25:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe this my Mr. Ed Colligan has responded to Engadget's Open Letter to Palm via Palm's blog. It is a short response, but I must say that I am impress and am looking forward to see what Palm will have to offer down the road. Who knows maybe I will jump ship from the iPhone- well, maybe not that quick. Palm's got a lot of convincing to do...

"Thanks Engadget

Dear Peter, Ryan and Joshua:

Thank you for the very thoughtful post about Palm. I really appreciate the fact that you guys and others care enough to take the time to write such a comprehensive list of actions. I forwarded it to our entire executive staff and many others at Palm have read it. Although I can’t say I agree with every point, many are right on. We are attacking almost every challenge you noted, so stay tuned. Let’s remember that it is very early in the evolution of the smartphone and there is enormous opportunity for us to innovate. We have only just begun to fight!

Thank you for taking the time to write. I really do take your comments to heart and I know the team at Palm is totally committed to delivering the best mobile computing solutions in the world.

-Ed Colligan"

WOW! This is definitely not a typical move by a CEO of a company, but it will definitely help with Palm's PR and the public view of Palm as a company.

iPhone news roundup: More cool stuff for my iPhone!!!

2007-08-23T20:17:00.001-05:00

My iPhone has become my do-it-all gadget. I've gotten directions, added events to iCal, researched topics, found illustrations, checked wifi networks I've installed, snapped pictures, sent email, surfed the full internet, and listened to audio and video podcasts, all on one device. I'm a true believer of a converged device, something I have denied and somewhat aggressively argued against up until my iPhone. So what cool things have I been doing with my iPhone? I'm glad you asked!

1. Installing 3rd party apps via Installer.app - OK, Installer.app is the unofficial way of adding in 3rd party apps until Apple gives the green light for iPhone developers. Still, it's quite simple to install on my iPhone and I can install the limited number of apps on my iPhone as I please. I can even uninstall them if I wish. Still, it's rather cool to see an iPhone modded and show it off at the Apple store.

2. Played BattleFleet (a BattleShip clone) on my iPhone - One of my favorite games as a kid and now I get to play it on my iPhone! Already, I have spent too much time with this little game, but it's lots of fun for me.

3. Updated my ringtones with ifuntastic - another great app for the iPhone and it works rather well when added new ringtones to your iPhone. It's also free- even better!

4. Organized my bookmarks for my iPhone - Group them together in categories to avoid lots of flicking.

5. Watched several videos on my iPhone that I downloaded from iTunes and converted via my MacBook! I never thought I'd watch so much video on a tiny screen, but it's proven to be rather convenient for me at times.

So that's pretty much it for this post!

Free software for Christians in ministry and at home

2007-08-23T06:24:00.000-05:00

Have you been looking for software that would be useful for you as a believer? Like a program to help you memorize verses? Or maybe a way to keep track of your internet use for your family? Or organize your music ministry with ease? All these things are now possible and more for free. Christianfreeware.org has complied a myriad of Christian software and have made it available on their website via an ISO image you can download or loaded on a CD for only $1 which I would imagine covers shipping and the cost of the CD. If you want to see all the software included on the disc, you can do so here. Unfortunately most of the software is only available for Windows users, but I would imagine that is what most churches use anyways. I've spent a bit of time looking thru this software and there are a number of useful titles available.

"TechMission's Christian Freeware CD is a collection of free ware and open source software that would be of use to Christians, churches, ministries including church software, ministry software, accountability software, open source software, free Bible study software for Windows, Palm and PocketPC. This software is beyond cheap software, shareware and discounted software because it's completely free. Here is a list of all the software that we have included on this CD-ROM.

This CD-ROM also contains free software to enhance your computer using experience as well as bible study software."

Sermon of the week: Do you have a problem- Jesus is the answer

2007-08-22T20:56:00.000-05:00

This week's sermon highlight is from my old alma mater. The message entitled "Do you have a problem- Jesus has the answer" is a great message for those who are going through troubled times. I know it was a blessing for me and it is available here as a video or audio format. If you like Dr. Jackson's preaching, you can add the sermon to iTunes and receive weekly updates. I really enjoy the video on my iPhone. I certainly wish more churches would have this available.

Another misstep for Palm

2007-08-22T20:53:00.001-05:00

Looks like Palm's incredible, amazing, Treo accessory will be delayed. Why?! Well, apparently it has some problems syncing with certain models of the Treo line. I guess this is kinda of a problem? ;) Engadget has the full scoop!

"According to a Barron's report published today, Deutsche Bank analyst Johnathan Goldberg has released a short note claiming that the Foleo -- Palm's much-derided quasi-laptop -- is headed for production delays. Goldberg states in the note that "In a round of checks yesterday we learned that the Palm Foleo will be delayed," and went on to say the snag is caused by "software bugs," which prevent the system from syncing properly with "most models of the Treo." Clearly not the news that Palm wants people to hear right now, with pressure already to-the-nines on the Foleo..."

Source: Engadget

Contest results have been emailed!

2007-08-22T20:51:00.000-05:00

Our grand prize wining is Isaiah and he won the 1 year subscription to eBible! Congrats to all the rest of the winners as well. I'm still amazed at being around the web for 1 year. Looking forward to our next anniversary celebration.

CONTEST details tomorrow.

2007-08-21T20:12:00.001-05:00

I will be finishing with the results of the contest and letting every know tomorrow. Thanks for all who entered the first contest here at TGP.

NEW: iPhone UPDATE 1.0.2

2007-08-21T20:09:00.000-05:00

I just updated my iPhone with today's update. Unfortunately, I had to do a complete restore and all my hacks and ringtones were lost. I've already reinstall most of them now though. Nothing dramatic to the update, just bug fixes. It is nice to know that Apple is determined to have a polished OS on the iPhone. Palm and Microsoft could learn a thing or two from Apple's updating and polishing. Apple could learn a thing or two from Palm and Microsoft, too. I sure hope 3rd party apps will be coming soon as I don't mind hacking to get them on my iPhone, but the programs available are limited and I lose them at every update. Oh well, I'm just glad to have my iPhone!

Tech in the Church Part 1: Church uses iTunes gift cards to attract visitors

2007-08-20T07:23:00.000-05:00

Well, this is certainly a odd idea. Giving first time visitors who come to your church during their "iServices" free iTunes gift card is a bit desperate and over the top. Have churches come down to marketing and the use of others advertisements to attract people to their churches? These may seem like a harmless idea, but should the church be giving away a free iTunes gift card? We all know that how you get them is how you keep them and I dare say, that most if not all of the visitors during these services will not return to the church. Yes, one may argue that is how outreach works, but IMO this is wrong and makes a church look desperate and look like a marketing business and neglects what a church really is. A house of worship, not a den of thieves.

Source: Engadget and Church By The Glade

Our contest will be extended until tonight at midnight.

2007-08-20T07:22:00.000-05:00

For those still wanting to enter our contest, please do so by the end of Monday, August 20. We have some great prizes to be given away! Take a look at them at the top of the website.

Looking for a new church website design?

2007-08-15T18:12:00.000-05:00

Many churches websites that I look at (and trust me I have seen plenty) tend to be a hodge-podge of themes and such. There is no rhyme or reason for the site. Many times this is do to the fact that the pastor is trying to stay with the times and appropriately maintain a website that depicts the church ministry. But most pastor's don't have the time to learn HTML coding and the how-tos of website design. If you have someone in your church, who can help that's great, but if you don't what can you do. Spend hours upon hours trying to code a site or find a generic template that sort of meets your church needs. Either option usually doesn't produce a sharp website. So for those who would rather leave the designing to someone else, I recommend Church Communications Pro's top list of website designers for churches. Just a look at their examples should be enough to convince you to invest in a sharp template.

Shredding paper on the go

2007-08-15T15:50:00.000-05:00

Funny Gadget points to a neat little USB powered paper shredder. It's small and portable, but the paper must also be small and portable. Not sure why people create these things, but I guess there is a demand for shredding papers on the go. Wonder if it does the confetti shredding?

Source: Funny Gadget

Personal Evangelism: Writing your testimony as a tract

2007-08-15T15:44:00.001-05:00

When it comes to evangelism, passing out tracts is one of the top methods. Tracts are easy to carry and can be a really effect way to share the Gospel with others. I think some of the best tracks that I have read have been about that person's personal testimony. I think these kind of tracts can be a huge help in improving your personal evangelism and in reaching others. Knowing the tract that I am receiving is one about this personal, I would be more likely to read it because I'm curious about this person and what has happened to them. We may not all have testimonies where God has saved us out of gross sin, but we can certainly share with them our salvation experience. I believe that this can be an effective tool to personal evangelism.

Use Google Calendar on your church's website

2007-08-14T14:20:00.000-05:00

Here is a really good tip that will help you effective communicate with your church congregation about upcoming events. If you already have a church website, you can easily add a Google Calendar to your church's website with some simple html code. Here are the steps:

1. Setup your Google Calendar if you do not have one. If already ha

ve a Google Calendar, add another calendar and call it Church Events making this a public calendar. Go ahead and add some events like Sunday services, midweek service, prayer breakfasts, home Bible studies, etc. Make sure these events are label with Church Events.

2. Once you have added some events to your Church Events calendar, go ahead and click on "Manage Calendars".

3. Click on your Church Events calendar or in my case, Somewhere Baptist Church.

4. Towards the bottom of your Church Events details page, you will see a Calendar Address section. In this section you will see a HTML button. Click on this button.

5. Now once you have clicked on the HTML button, another window pops up and from here you want to choose the HTML configuration tool. From there you can customize the look of your calendar to fit your website. Take a look at this church's Google Calendar implementation.

Conclusion:

Now you can add other events as they are scheduled and your church can quickly see what is coming down the road. All this is done free with Google Calendar.

Gadget's that work as advertised!

2007-08-14T07:38:00.000-05:00

You purchase a new gadget and bring it home only to find out something is not quite right with it. You get that sinking feeling and that money you spent on this shiny useless gadget is making you sick. If this has ever happened to you (it has with me, I purchased a few wifi routers and PC cards only to find out they didn't work), you will probably appreciate this article entitled "Let's See Gadgets That Actually Work". Now, you'll read some rather harsh comments on the iPhone which I wouldn't agree with, unless of course that happened to me!

"Even though I've spent a good chunk of my professional career writing about the technology business, I've never been a gadget hound myself. In fact, I consciously resist certain habit-changing technologies.

I was last person I know to get a mobile phone, and I only recently got a BlackBerry. I couldn't live — or rather make a living — without e-mail, word processing and the Internet.

But $500 for a first-generation iPhone? Never."

Source: Fox News Technology

Own a Nokia cellphone? Better read this...

2007-08-14T07:27:00.000-05:00

It's another chapter in the exploding batteries saga. This time Nokia is reporting that some 46 million of their cellphones could be in danger of the exploding battery effect. I cannot understand how manufactors cannot correct this before shipping their devices, especially cellphones. After all, it's most likely going to explode when it is next to someone's head after they've been talking for a while. So if you do have a Nokia phone read the article below and then see if your battery has that "bonus" feature.

" Nokia said 46 million batteries used in its phones could overheat and it would replace them free to consumers while negotiating with battery maker Matsushita <6752.T> over who would bear the costs.

"Nokia has identified that in very rare cases the Nokia-branded BL-5C batteries...could potentially experience overheating initiated by a short circuit while charging, causing the battery to dislodge," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The world's top cellphone maker said about 100 such incidents had been reported globally but no serious injuries or property damage had been reported."

Source: New York Times Technology

Review - Incase Leather and Nylon Folio for iPhone (Black)

2007-08-13T21:41:00.000-05:00

When I bought my iPhone, I didn't have much to choose from when I saw the cases available. As a matter of fact, not much has changed at our Apple store here in Buffalo. Yes, a couple more cases have shown up, but are really impractical for day to day use. So I picked up Incase Leather and Nylon Folio for iPhone (Black) for a mere $40. Now, I have never bought a case for that much money. I'm cheap, I know it. I hesitated, but thought I better pick one up or I maybe paying for a repair for my iPhone.
Thus far I really like the case. It has worn well considering it I use it everyday. I'm a bit concerned at how well the Velcro will hold up since I'm constantly removing my iPhone from it's case.
The inside of the case has a nice soft material with a little bit of design and it makes the whole case look really sharp. The belt clip is strong and has not bent out of shape. Also the look of the black case looks great and doesn't add to much bulk when wearing a suit coat. My only dislike is my iPhone is not completely covered and while this allows the speaker and the headphone jack to be uncovered, I have picked up a few scratches from this uncovered spots.
Overall, I highly recommend this case for those looking for a horizontal belt case. It's sharp and has held out well with heavy daily use.

TGP 1 year anniversary giveaways! (UPDATED)

2007-08-13T20:19:00.000-05:00

Here is the list of giveaways in celebration of our 1 year anniversary!

- 1 Premium Membership ($99 value) at eBible.com

- 2 Power Bible CDs

- A couple Joost Invites

- A 13 piece connector kit (USB, Firewall, headphones, etc.)

Hopefully I'll be able to add more. To enter into the contest, please put in the subject of your email CONTEST and email it to the thegadgetpastor 'at' gmail 'dot' com . Final entry date is August 19, 2007 at midnight EST. One entry only please.

Looking back.

2007-08-13T19:14:00.001-05:00

I thought you'd all enjoy looking back at our first post here at the Gadget Pastor. Here it is!

"OK, so maye this isn't highly anticipated (except by me). However, the The Gadget Buff blog is meant to serve as a help to other pastors, assistant pastors, youth pastors, and other church leaders and workers. Gadget news will be covered from time to time, but our main thrust is to give ideas and help to those wanting to implement or are using technology in their ministry. A forum will be available soon. As for now, we haven't gone live yet, but please keep checking back in the next few weeks."

Yes, the name was different and the forum idea never took off. However, it is quite exciting to be celebrating our 1 year anniversary and through out the week we will be looking back at some our first posts.

UPDATED: My Mom pointed out that I had a misspelled word in my very first post. Can you find it? If you do and post what the word is in the comments field I will send you a Joost Invite. It's only for the first person to comment and correctly identify the misspelled word. Thanks, Mom! (P.S. My mom is going to kill me when she reads this!)

Preparing for Sunday, slow on posting.

2007-08-11T21:04:00.001-05:00

I'm preaching tomorrow for our church's Sunday morning service and I haven't had much time to post for much of my time has been given to studying and a few other events we had over the past two days. However, tomorrow is our 1 year anniversary of the Gadget Pastor! Wow! one whole year. We've come a long way sort of and on Monday I will be doing some special things so be on the lookout! Also I will try to post a video of my message tomorrow if I can. I just purchased iLife '08 so it should be a lot easier to do so. I pray God will bless your services tomorrow!

Sermon of the week: Men who met God

2007-08-09T20:10:00.001-05:00

A.W. Tozer is one of my favorite authors (Philip Keller and J. Vernon McGee are probably my tops). Here is one of his messages that you can listen to at your leisure. Click here to go to the sermon.
We could definitely use more men who have met God in our world today!

How'd I used my iPhone today!

2007-08-09T19:59:00.001-05:00

Having a gadget that can make you more productive is an incredible joy! My iPhone does just that and as today was a busy day, it was very useful for me. Today one of my teenagers texted me about helping out at our county fair this weekend passing out tracts, I quickly responded to his text letting him know some details about it. I also had several voicemails today and with my visual voicemail on my iPhone I was able to quickly hear the ones I wanted to first. My wife also sent me some texts today about some of our bills being lower- YEAH! I also responded to some email and was able to check a church's website as well that I needed to look at. I also added events to my iPhone and change a few others that needed to be update because of some changes. Of course, I made and received many phone calls today. A few minutes ago, I went jogging and listened to my jogging playlist using my iPhone.
All of this I did with one device. For several years now, I have balked at a converged device, but now I am totally sold on the idea and the iPhone has been a huge reason for that change. Some may think an iPhone is an overpriced toy, but for me it has proven to be quite a productivity booster.

Apple updates iMacs, Mac Mini, iLife, iWork, and much more!

2007-08-08T06:47:00.000-05:00

Every Apple fan should be quite excited after yesterday's updates. Apple has completely updated their entire product line after yesterday's press conference. The big news is of course the new Apple iMacs and the new keyboard. From the pictures that have been posted, both products look really sharp. I'm really interested in iLife '08 and iWork '08. I almost purchased iLife '08 last night, but held off until I read more about it. All in all, I think many of Apple's faithful will be quite happy with the updates. For a complete roundup, check out Mac Rumors here.

One tip for potential buyers of an Apple iMac, you ought to consider looking at the refurbished ones as you will find yourself some great deals as some folks who purchased a Mac in the past few days will be returning them for a brand new metallic Mac.

Brando's USB Mini Battery recharger for your gadgets

2007-08-08T06:42:00.000-05:00

This looks like an extremely useful gadget especially since it can charge a myriad of gadgets. I like that it can also charge the iPhone which is a very useful and important gadget to me.

USB Mini Battery

Have you ever had experiences that devices are running out of battery while in use? It is disturbing when you are enjoying your MP3 or chatting happily with friends on the phone, etc. Now! USB Mini Battery won't let these situation happen anymore! You can charge your devices in a flash before battery exhausts! You can charge your iPhone, Handheld PC, Digital Camera, Cellphone, DV, MP3, CD Player, PMP, PSP, NDS, NDS Lite and any other applicable devices.

Features:
- Recharge eletronic devices, such iPhone, PDA, Mobile phone...
- Portable and lightweight
- Easy to carry, easy to use
- On / OFF Switch
- 3-level LED indicator
- Dimensions: 70x35x21mm
- Weight: 69g

Specifications:
- Input (Mini USB): 5VDC, 500mA Min.
- Output (USB Type A Port): 5VDC, 1000mA
- Battery Chemistry: Li-ion
- Battery Capacity: 2200mAh

Package Contents:
- USB Mini Battery
- USB Cable
- User Manual

Some Palm news...

2007-08-07T11:00:00.000-05:00

Here are two press release highlights from Palm concerning the Foleo:

Press Release #1
"LogMeIn Adds Remote PC Access Capability to Palm Foleo Mobile Companion
Foleo Users Now Can Access Information Quickly, Easily and Securely from Home and Work Computers
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 07, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM) and LogMeIn, Inc., the world's leading provider of remote connectivity, are bringing remote PC access capability to the Palm(R) Foleo(TM) mobile companion. LogMeIn provides secure connections between remote PCs over the web - enabling easy desktop remote control, data backup and file sharing. Adding this application to the Foleo gives users the ability to quickly and securely access files and network resources on their home or work computers when away."

Read More

Press Release #2
"Palm Selects Wind River as its Preferred Linux Platform Provider for the Palm Foleo Mobile Companion
SAN FRANCISCO, LinuxWorld, Booths #740 and #925, Aug. 7, 2007 -- Wind River Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: WIND), the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO), and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today announced that Palm has selected Wind River® Platform for Consumer Devices, Linux Edition as its open standard Linux platform for future Palm® Foleo™ software releases. Palm selected Wind River Linux for its standard development and deployment environment that will help speed applications to market, while still meeting the requirements for a stable and robust open mobile platform. Along with the platform, Wind River is providing its Wind River Workbench development suite, professional services and customer support to help Palm and its development community attain the efficiencies needed to compete in the ever-changing mobile market. Today's announcement reaffirms Wind River's growing leadership as a mobile Linux provider."

Read More

Wii update available today.

2007-08-07T10:55:00.000-05:00

This morning I just downloaded the latest Wii firmware update. I noticed that my Wii's blue light was lit up and knew it wasn't a "Blue light special". The update includes changes to the Forecast channel, News Channel, Wii Shop Channel, among other things. Some folks have warned this might brick you Wii if you modded it. Most folks should have no problems.

Apple updated their iMac line and possibly releasing new upates to iLife, iWork, & the Mac Mini

2007-08-07T10:52:00.001-05:00

Lots of excitement in the Mac community as Steve Jobs will be announcing updates for their iMac line of computers. Rumors are also floating around that iLife, iWork, and the Mac Mini could also see updates today. I'm quite excited about all of these and I'm planning on watching some of the sites like Engadget that will provide live updates at the meeting.

The master list of iPhone Widgets

2007-08-07T07:21:00.000-05:00

OK, you just bought your shiny iPhone and you know want to know what you can do with it. Well, look no further the Gadget Pastor has the answer for you! Check out iPhone Widget List as these folks have collected much of the iPhone web apps that have been created so far. It's quite extensive and I've already added a few of the sites to my iPhone. My favorite so far is iPhone Sports. Check them out and you will be able to add more fun and productivity to your iPhone!

The Value of a Parent Staying Home with Kids, and Tips on How to Do It

2007-08-07T07:13:00.000-05:00

This is a really good article from zenhabits and a must read. Having the mother stay home with their kids is not as popular as it use to be. For many reasons, the mother will go to work and the kids will go to daycare, school, etc. While I'm not saying it is wrong for a mother to work, I just believe that a mother at home can be very valuable to the family and especially the kids. It does mean sacrifice, but it is entirely possible for a mother to stay at home.

"Last week, I dropped my 3-year-old son Seth Isaiah and my 1-year-old daughter Noelle Cayce to daycare for the first time ever.

It broke my heart to leave them there.

Despite my fears and broken heart, both babies did very well their first day, didn’t cry, and actually seemed to enjoy the daycare.

But after 3+ years of my wife staying home with the babies, it is a strange phenomenon to leave them with people I barely know. My wife Eva just returned to work as a teacher, allowing her to finally get out of the house and back to her career, but also breaking her heart as well, as she is so used to being with the babies all day.

When my wife became pregnant with Seth, almost four years ago, we decided that it would be great for the baby if she could stay home and take care of him. It was something we both really wanted, so we looked at how we could accomplish it (more on that below). It wasn’t easy, as our finances were already tight, with four kids already in school, but we managed it.

Do you like this idea?

2007-08-06T07:37:00.000-05:00

Is an ATM machine appropriate in the local church? Time has a piece entitled "The ATM in the Church Lobby." I personally do not like this idea. I have seen donut shops, fast food restaurants, and the like in churches, mostly mega churches. I think these things make the church less of a church and more an entertainment place. While we know that a moneyless society is the future, I do not want to bring a feature like this into my church, there are other ways to track some cash gifts. It is one thing if you have a school or daycare and take credit card or debit payments, but it is entirely strange to have this as a means of giving your tithe and offerings. Wouldn't this encourage people to charge on their credit card their tithe and offering? Going into debt to give to the church, this seems to be promoting a wrong idea. Write a check, pull the cash out. I may love tech, but to me this is too much. What do you think?

"Is that an ATM in the church lobby? Credit and debit card swipe machines in churches may startle some of the pious, but such kiosks, already present in some houses of worship, might become even more commonplace now that a new IRS regulation is in effect. Beginning with gifts given in 2007, the IRS will demand documentation for charitable contributions under $250. Once, all one needed was a diary entry to vouch for such donations. Specially designed ATMs at church will help document such spur-of-the-moment cash gifts, as well as planned giving. Also as a result of the new IRS rule, credit card donations and tithing are likely to increase too because such electronic fund transfers leave a paper trail."

Special deals at Iambic Software- makers of Agendus

2007-08-06T07:03:00.000-05:00

Iambic has a special deal of the week promotion that for every new purchase of Agendus you will receive to free gifts. The two gifts are a sticky pad, the kind that holds your PDA in a car, and the iambic CD-to-Go which gives you a hard copy of Agendus titles. Now if you are looking for a full-featured calendar, contact, and email suite, Agendus is that suite. This program covers so much and offers so much that you will be hard pressed to find a comparable suite of programs. Agendus is available for Palm, Windows,

Another great Bible study widget for iPhone users

2007-08-04T20:25:00.000-05:00

This widget called iBiblespace allows an iPhone user to have several Bible study helps conveniently located in one site. Read on for the description!

"iBibleSpace.org offers five useful tools for regular Bible readers: 1) The iPhone Bible includes the entire English Standard Version Bible, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, and your own personal notebook! Using the notebook you can highlight or attach notes to any verse of the Bible. 2) A verse of the day gives a short verse each day to mediate on. 3) Bible search allows you to search the entire Bible by keyword. 4) Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening is a daily devotional by Charles Spurgeon. 5) Today’s podcasts presents quick links to today’s radio messages offered by nationally recognized ministries."

My At&t phone bill was 23 pages long.

2007-08-04T20:21:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is another feature for all us iPhone users- cellphone bills that are 23+ pages long. Well, that is how many pages my bill was. Apparently, other iPhone users have reported this already and I had forgotten about it until my wife said, "Did you know that your cellphone bill is 23 pages long?!" I then remembered and chuckled. Surely, At&t won't be able to do this much longer as folks will undoubtedly be complaining above how many trees have been "slaughter" for iPhone users. Yippeee!

GooSync adds another great feature!

2007-08-04T20:19:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite programs for my late Lifedrive was GooSync. It would allow me to sync my Google Calendar with my Lifedrive. Worked quite well and I truly love this service (especially since it is free!). If you are a Google Calendar pastor, you really ought to check out GooSync as it is a great way to use your cellphone as your calendar.

"There have been some exciting developments here at the GooSync offices, please see the following for details:

**********************************************
Contact Support On The Way: Beta Testers Required
**********************************************
The most requested feature is now well and truly on its way! GooSync contact support has been in development for some time, we are now looking for volunteers to test our beta release due later this month. Anyone interested please e-mail beta@goosync.com with your details. Only 100 testers will then be randomly selected from all those who apply.

GooSync Contacts will be fully released sometime during September and will only be available in the advanced GooSync account.

To view details of the current status of contacts support please visit http://www.goosync-forum.com/showthread.php?t=45

Full feature support and release date will be available soon.

*****************************************
NEW GooSync Forum Available NOW!
*****************************************
Many of you have been taking advantage of the GooSync Google Group for latest news, updates and support. We are pleased to announce that you can now get all this and more from our new dedicated forum. So to keep up to date with all the latest GooSync gossip and to receive any help or answers to your questions please visit www.goosync-forum.com

Do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information or assistance.

Thank you,

Kindest Regards,

The GooSync Team."

Free shipping from the Sword of the Lord Bookstore

2007-08-03T06:38:00.000-05:00

For the month of August, the Sword of the Lord online bookstore is offering free shipping on all purchases made. All you need to do is enter the promo code HR0731 at checkout. The offer is only good in the United States.

How one pastor uses his Palm PDA.

2007-08-03T06:34:00.000-05:00

I read this article over at Palm Addicts and this pastor shares his uses of his Palm TX. Technology can really be helpful in the ministry and this pastor has implemented it quite well.

"I've been a Palm Pastor since 1997 when I purchased a Palm Personal off the discount table at my local office supply store. Probably the best $99 I ever spent. Since then I have owned the IIIx, IIIc, Tungsten, T3, Lifedrive and now my TX. I still own all the palms. How could I possibly let them go? All still function, though the Personal had a mishap with a concrete gym floor and now sports a cracked screen, but in spite of a severe handicap the little fighter still turns on and begs to be used.
From the beginning I've used my Palm for everything. Early on I had no money for a laptop and then once I began discovering the "Power of Palm" I never saw the need of one. Everything I've ever needed to do on the road I've done with the Palm in my pocket rather than than the computer on my lap. I remember feeling so superior to those poor "lappies" struggling to take notes on a huge laptop during a seminar while I deftly lifted in my pocket (moving slowly and deliberately so that others less technologically advanced would be sure to see) and pulled out my Palm, slid the stencil out of the silo and began to take notes. The snugness of the Palm definitely led to the smugness of my attitude..."

Read More

Brando releases new iPhone accessories

2007-08-02T07:09:00.001-05:00

Brando, a popular site for accessories and gadgets, is now offering iPhone accessories even a replacement battery. Quite amazing that Brando only charges $20 for the DIY battery kit while Apple will charge $86. Be sure to check out Brando whole lineup of cool stuff. You'll really have a hard time not buying something!

Some iPhone accessories :

BW iPhone Silicone Case
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=01982

iPhone Crystal Case
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=02069

iPhone Battery
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=02068

BW UltraClear Cellphone S/P (iPhone)
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=02039

Thank you!

Brando

iGoogle Gadget: Verse-a-week Memorization

2007-08-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of iGoogle. I've tried Google Reader, but I seem to always come back to iGoogle. One Google gadget that I have added recently is called Verse-a-week Memorization. It helps you memorize one verse for the entire week by covering up some of the words each day. The goal is by the end of the week you will know the verse by memory. For those of you who rely on iGoogle this could be a huge help for you to be more productive in memorizing Scripture

"Learn a new verse every week, words are hidden on a scheduled time so that by the end of the week, the entire verse is hidden. Verses rotate every week or you can pick your own verse."

I've updated my iPhone!

2007-08-01T21:21:00.000-05:00

Well, I bit the bullet and downloaded and installed the Apple iPhone Update 1.0.1. It's really a nothing to see update and focuses on security issues and the like. I did have to reinstall all my ringtones and logos via iFuntastic as I had to do a complete restore. Reinstalling everything only took about 20 minutes or so. While I had hoped that the first update would have more to it, it's still nice to now that my iPhone is all that more secure.

Apple iPhone software update coming soon!!!

2007-07-31T13:20:00.000-05:00

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple will be releasing a software update for the iPhone soon. How soon is soon? We don't know, but I'm definitely looking forward to Apple's update. Where'd they get this information? Apple's Vice President of iPod Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak. We all expected a software update sometime and it's nice to know that one will be coming out soon. Hopefully that means next week along with the anticipated iMacs and rumored Nanos even a mockup seen here. We shall soon see!

"Speaking to analysts for RBC Capital Markets this week, Apple's Vice President of iPod Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak, said the first software update for his company's iPhone handset is due to arrive shortly.

"Management expressed excitement at plans to increase iPhone value over time via new software features, citing 'the sky is the limit' for iPhone software," analyst Mike Abramsky told clients in a research note Tuesday. "An iPhone update patch is expected shortly."

Abramsky speculated that upcoming iPhone software updates would include new widgets, peer-to-peer applications (chat, picture messaging, social networking), location-based services, MMS support, home networking, and possibly some integration with Mac OS X Leopard."

13 ways to live well on less

2007-07-31T07:08:00.000-05:00

At some point or another, we have had lived paycheck to paycheck and sometimes, we get behind living 1 paycheck behind to 1 paycheck behind. God expects us to be wise stewards of the money He has entrusted to us. With the cost of everything seemingly going up, how can you live on what you make? Raises are not always possible in the ministry and surely your church has experienced the rising costs of utility bills, gas, etc. So how do you live well on less? Here are some tips from MSN money website.

"Can you remember life before $100 sneakers and $5 coffee, when people actually lived on what they earned and still had a little something socked away for a rainy day?

"People moan and groan about why they can't make do," says Michelle Singletary, author of "Seven Money Mantras for a Richer Life." "But if you look at your lifestyle, there's almost always a way to trim (costs) and make do with less."

Singletary and her four brothers and sisters were raised by their grandmother, who earned a modest salary but owned her home and car and accumulated a nice savings and pension while providing well for her family.

Cutting costs was more than a handful of tips, says Singletary. "It was a way of life."

Her grandmother looked at potential purchases in terms of "what you could spend that money on that would put you in a position of not having to struggle," says Singletary. Like a fast-food meal out vs. allocating that money for the phone bill. "And I actually do that now myself," she says. "I ask, 'What are the consequences of spending this money?'"

Let the time wasting begin- Bejeweled for the iPhone

2007-07-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

Popcap has designed a Web 2.0 site that allows iPhone users (a most anybody with a web browser) to play Bejeweled online for free! Yep, those days of me playing Bejeweled on my Palm PDAs can now be relived on my iPhone. While Bejeweled is not necessarily new on the iPhone, Diamenty is an excellent clone of Bejeweled, this is the first game from a major game developer designed specifically for the iPhone. The direct link is http://static.popcap.com/iphone./

"SEATTLE, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- PopCap Games, the leading developer
and publisher of casual games, today announced that it has launched a
custom version of its flagship game Bejeweled(R) for the Safari(R) Web
browser on Apple Inc.'s new iPhone(R) and is making it available at no cost
to iPhone owners. Beginning today, iPhone users can log on to
http://www.popcap.com via the iPhone's Web browser and play the
iPhone-specific version of the original match-3 puzzler Bejeweled for free.
This customized version of Bejeweled leverages the Web 2.0 capabilities of
Safari and the wireless capabilities of the iPhone, and has been optimized
to take advantage of the iPhone's unique display and input controls. PopCap
developed the Safari-based version of Bejeweled in partnership with Polish
developer Arkadiusz Mlynarczyk, one of the first programmers to take
advantage of the Apple iPhone's capabilities for video gaming purposes.
"We're excited to be providing the most popular puzzle game of the 21st
century to users of the most advanced mobile device yet created," said
Andrew Stein, Director of Mobile Platforms at PopCap. "We wanted to give
the hundreds of thousands of iPhone users a fun, fast gaming fix -- and at
no cost, no less."
PopCap's leadership role in the mobile gaming sector is reflected in
several recent milestones, including the hiring of key mobile industry
executives, establishment of direct partnerships with wireless carriers,
and the recent launch of Chuzzle(TM) Mobile, the first mobile game that
PopCap has developed and distributed directly. Bejeweled and Zuma(TM), two
of PopCap's most popular games, have also been runaway successes on Video
iPods since their introduction on those devices last year."

Source: Mac Daily News

Use your projector for your announcements.

2007-07-30T09:35:00.000-05:00

A projector in a church can be quite useful, no not like the one pictured to the left, but rather a modern day projector. Although it would be quite funny to see someone pulling this out with their laptop attached to it! A projector can easily become one of the pastor's top productive tools in the ministry. How? Read on!
Our projector has been used in our closed circuit overflow seating, for teen activities, for missionaries' presentations, pastor's presentations, in our daycare, and a myriad of other areas in our ministry. One idea that I had thought of while discussing technology in churches with a pastor this past week was using your projector to display your church's announcements prior to the start of your services. You could easily setup a Power Point presentation that would display that week's announcements and even future church or youth activities that you could have on a loop presentation starting about 10 minutes before the start of the service. By doing this you give more time to the preaching of God's Word and avoid those long draw out announcements times. I'm not big on using a projector as a way to show the songs or choruses or even the Scripture reading as this seems to promote laziness in a church (i.e. not bringing their Bibles, relying on the projector, etc.). Overall, I think show the announcements can be a very productive change to your services.
Adding a portable DVD player can also make an easy way for you to display church videos for your congregation with out the hassle of bringing in a fullsize DVD player.

iPhone news roundup

2007-07-30T07:08:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the exciting things that happened in the iPhone world why I was away!

iFuntastic: GUI iPhone custom ringtone manager (TUAW) - This program allows you to add and delete ringtones from your iPhone. It's relatively easy to use and I can confirm that it works quite well. I've even be able to change the At&t logo to the mini Gadget Pastor logo. So you too can have an iPhone that shows your support for the Gadget Pastor Blog!

iPhoneology - is a new site that started yesterday by Reggie and Joel from 1src, Palm related site, and Jimmie Geddes from Gadgets on the Go, a gadget website. If these guys come up with anything like what they do on their sites already, this will be a great site to bookmark for iPhone users.

iPhone Bible has been updated - I just noticed late last night that the iPhone Bible has added a couple new features. You can now search the Bible and select which version you want to search. At this time only the KJV is offered. There is also a plan of salvation with the site as well.

Applecare for iPhone now available - Every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage and up to two years of technical support.(1) The AppleCare Protection Plan for iPhone extends your repair coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone.(2) Whether you use iPhone with a Mac or a PC, just one phone call can help resolve most issues. Extend your coverage to two years of service and expert telephone support.

iPhone: class-action battery lawsuit, mass AC adapter failures (Apple Insider) - Looks like some people are going to try and sue Apple ove the non-replaceable battery in the iPhone. I really don't think this is a good idea at all, because it acts as a distraction and a time waster. Plus people are always suing for the craziest of things. Some folks have also been reporting of AC adapter failure to charge their iPhones. I have yet to experience any issues with mine - yet.

Upgrade your Lifedrive's harddrive with a flash drive

2007-07-30T06:59:00.000-05:00

If I still had my Lifedrive, I would have definitely done this upgrade. Used PDA Parts is offering a 4 GB flash drive that is plug and play. This simply means you open your lifedrive, unplugged the old microdrive, then plug in the new flash drive, and close the Lifedrive up. You don't have to install the operating system yourself. It will be on the new drive when you get it. This upgrade will help save you quite a bit on your battery and others who have done this upgrade have reported less crashes on their devices. At $95 for a DIY or add $10 and they will swap out the drive for you, it's a rather reasonable upgrade and one that is sure to bring life back to your Lifedrive!

Source: Brighthand

Back from the back woods of Kentucky

2007-07-30T06:46:00.000-05:00

Our week of camp is over and the Lord really did a work in our youth group. While we were there, we had one accept Jesus as their Savior and another teen surrendered his life to the Lord. Several other of our teens also made decisions and our group has come back on fire for the Lord. It's quite exciting as the teenagers decided themselves to site in the the first couple pews during the services. It certainly was a different Sunday yesterday with almost all the teenagers sitting up front. God truly did a work in the lives of their teenagers and I'm really thankful for that. As for posting, I'm working on some posts for today and will have them up in the next few hours. God bless!

Next week, I'm gone to camp with my youth group!

2007-07-21T18:45:00.000-05:00

Next week, posts will be almost non-existent. I will be with the youth group at Camp Victory in Somerset, KY. The camp is located in the back hills of Kentucky and cell receiption is very weak. I will probably not have any internet available for me. This is fine because I do not mind the break from the internet, however, I was hoping to have some pictures posted for parents and family to see. So you might see some pics of us at camp next week via my iPhone. Well, see... when I do get back we will be very close to the Gadget Pastor Blog's first anniversary. I'm really excited about it and I think we will be having a contest for our readers. Be sure to check back!

Motorola feeling the effects of the iPhone?

2007-07-20T21:37:00.000-05:00

The New York Times is reporting that Motorola has posted a $28 million loss. I wonder if the iPhone had anything to do with this loss? Maybe... maybe not. I am sure that many handset makers will start feeling the iPhone effect in their pocketbooks. Most of them will no doubt release a competing device to the iPhone. Motorola is counting on the Razr 2 and the Z8 to get them back on track. If Apple does release an iPhone nano, it may not work for them.

"CHICAGO, July 19 (AP) — Motorola reported a second straight quarterly loss Thursday after another quarter of subpar sales. The latest deficit, $28 million, raises pressure on the company and its chief executive, Edward J. Zander.

The company promised financial improvement in its cellphone division in the second half but steered clear of estimates after weak international sales contributed to back-to-back losses for the first time in five years.

Its hopes for recovery, put off until next year, hinge on the reception of new phones like the Razr 2 and the Z8 that are just being shipped."

TGP Poll- Cast your vote on this week's poll!

2007-07-20T21:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a chance for you to participate at the Gadget Pastor. Every week for the next few weeks I will be running a poll and asking a question concerning ministry or tech or both! I'm in a trial stage with the TGP Poll feature and if I have enough response and interest, I will keep it. Otherwise it will be tossed out! So cast your vote in this week's poll. Only a few days left.

The Gadget Pastor's iPhone tips.

2007-07-20T20:09:00.001-05:00

I have certainly enjoyed my iPhone these past few weeks. Grant it, it hasn't been completely perfect, I did have a few dead pixels on my first iPhone, but Apple replaced it right away for me. So here are my top tips for iPhone users!

1. Improve sound when watching movies.
I'm a left hand person and I have found that if I use my right hand and cup it a bit, I amplify the sound better towards me. Works great and I have better volume for listening to videos.

2. Slow iPhone? Power it down.
Sometimes my iPhone slows down and the UI is not as smooth as it usually is. I have found that turning off iPhone and turning it back on clears this up and brings back the quickness to the UI. I don't have to do this too often though.

3. Eliminate sound system interference with airplane mode.
During our church services, I'm in the sound room running the sound board. Sometimes my iPhone will cause interference with the sound system especially when I'm close to it. In order to stop the interference, I turn my iPhone to airplane mode and of course, it works perfectly to eliminate the interference. Airplane works great even when you are on the ground!

4. Set two alarms when you need to remind yourself about an event.
Many times when I have an event coming up in my iPhone, I will set two alarms for a single event. It's easy to do. Tap on your your event and then select edit. Tap on alert and from there you can set a first alert and a second alert. The alerts can be 5 minutes before the alert to 2 days before the event or even on the date of the event. Very helpful when you tend to forget after the one alert!

5. Add a pause to your contacts number so you can add an extension.
The other day I was working on saving a contact with an extension. I wanted my iPhone to automatically dial the extension number after dialing the main number. It is simple to do, but I guess it was not simple enough for me! I walk thru the process as if I was adding a new contact. Tap on the phone icon and then tap on the "old fashioned" keypad or go to your contacts list and tap the plus sign. OK, after you have entered in your contacts number tap on the +*# key. This will change the keypad and specifically change the zero to a pause key. Tap on the pause key and a comma will appear, tap in the extension of your contact and your iPhone will take of the rest the next time you dial that contact. Works great for me and the folks I have called!

6. Automatically delete your deleted emails in your trash.
One thing I totally dislike about the iPhone's mail app is I cannot delete multiple emails whether in my inbox or my trash. It's annoying let me tell you especially when you've downloaded a bunch of them and you've got several days worth in your trash. Well, there is an easy to solve the double delete. Set the mail app to automatically delete the emails in your trash. To set this, tap on the settings icon, go to mail, then select your mail account. Scroll down to the bottom and select advanced. You can set the mail app to empty your trash after one day, one week, or one month.

7. Use At&t services to check your bill balance, dial directory assistant, pay your bill, view my minutes, voice connect, and go online and visit your account.
Simple tap on the settings widget and then scroll down to tap on phone. Scroll down to the bottom and select At&t services. There they all are for you to use. Nice to have these available, but would be better for then to be already in your contacts list.

So that's it. You just read through the Gadget Pastor's iPhone tips! Hope they help you get the most out of your iPhone.

Nintendo Wii still selling like hotcakes!

2007-07-19T07:18:00.001-05:00

My family and I love our Wii and apparently we are not the only ones. As of July 15, over 3 million Wiis have been sold worldwide. The Wii has surpassed the Play Station 3 by a margin of 3 to 1. This according to Reuters' personal tech department. As I have mentioned before the Wii provides a completely new gaming experience that many folks can get involved in and you don't have to mash buttons in order to play (to the extent of a PS3 or a xBox 360). I think both Sony and Microsoft had better provide a similar or slight better gaming experience if they want to come out on top again.
BTW, it is even rumored that the Wii will be hard to find this holiday season. So if you are thinking Christmas for your kids, you better start shopping now.

13 reasons to avoid an iPhone

2007-07-19T07:07:00.000-05:00

Harry McCracken over at PC World has written an article discussing his reason for not purchasing an iPhone. Many of the reasons could easily be fixed by Apple via a software update and I certainly hope that Apple does provide new features in a future update. However, the iPhone is missing some key features as McCracken points out. I think what it boils down to is many people would love to own an iPhone, but they cannot give up the functionality of their current phone until the iPhone can provide similar features. I hope in time the iPhone will be able to do this, but until then we will have to enjoy a less featured cell phone. Of course maybe a few of you will probably be writing this faults down so you can tell others why you have shied from the iPhone. ;)

"I bought a new phone from AT&T week before last. I'm pretty happy with it. And the weird thing is, it isn't an iPhone--it's an AT&T 8525, a Windows Mobile-based model that's been around since the middle of last year. I picked it up after a week of living with an iPhone, during which I learned that for all the cool things about it--and it is the coolest cell phone ever made--it's not a practical everyday phone for me, or at least not as practical a choice as the 8525 is. Here's why..."

Will you still be attending a midweek service in 5 years?

2007-07-18T20:29:00.000-05:00

Inevitably, people leave their church, not to go to another church or serve somewhere else, they leave church and their faith for good. The reason for this is quite simple, but complex all the same. It is sin, the pleasures of this world, the falling into temptation, and the entanglements of Satan's wiles. As pastors, missionaries, deacons, church leaders, it is our ministry to go after these lost sheep as best as we can and try to see them return to the fold of God. Some do and some do not. While our churches go thru this, we continue to reach the lost and saving them from the fire. I have found that more people seem turned off by religion, especially Christianity. I'm sure this is not true everywhere and it is certainly not an excuse to quit evangelizing, but it is a reality that we all face in our ministries. What do we do at these times? We are stedfast. We continue abounding in the work of the Lord. Our labor is not in vain in the Lord. The devil does not stop from battling and neither should we stop battling for lost souls and wayward believers.

The question still remains. Will you still be attending a midweek service in 5 years? Will you as a pastor stop the midweek service because of lack of attendance? Or will you continue to fight the good fight? I would like to share with your some statistics that I came across today. I cannot account for their accuracy, nor do I agree with much that they have posted, but if they are accurate, it is a scary reality for us, Christians.

The percentage of American adults who identify themselves as Christians dropped from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001. This is an unprecedented drop of almost 1 percentage point per year.

The percentage of American adults who identify themselves as Protestants dropped below 50% about the year 2005.

Confidence in religious institutions has hit an all-time low.

There appears to be a major increase in interest in spirituality among North Americans. However, this has not translated into greater church involvement.

Mainline denominations have been losing membership for decades in the U.S.; conservative denominations have been growing.

At the present rates of change, Islam will become the dominant religion in the world before 2050 BC.

At the present rate of change, most Americans would identify themselves as non-religious or non-Christian by the year 2035 BC.

The numbers of "unchurched" people has increased rapidly in the U.S. These are individuals who have not attended church in recent months.

Agnosticis, Atheists, secularists. and NOTAs (none of the above) are growing rapidly.

Interest in new religious movements (e.g. New Age, Neopaganism) is growing rapidly. In particular, Wiccans are doubling in numbers about every 30 months.

The influence of the central, program-based congregation is diminishing as more cell churches are being created.

Many Christians have left congregations and formed house churches - small groups meeting in each other's homes.

No doubt some of these trends are not at all positive for Christianity. For a moment think of what we have tried over the past couple decades to bring folks into church, Christian contemporary music, dramas, Christian movies, less focus on the Bible and more opinions, home services, power point presentations, etc. These things have not helped the cause of Christ like they were intended to help. No matter how good the intentions, they have not helped Christianity as a whole, but they have only made Christians more like the world, so the people are looking for something different. Isalm. Wiccan. They are different and people are be drawn to them because of that. I believe we ought to good back to "the old paths". Back to basics if you will. The disciples turned the world upside down and they didn't have music, dramas, movies, etc. They had the Word of God and it is more than powerful to change the sinner. Let us heed the Lords call and not say, "We will not walk therein."

Jeremiah 6:16
"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein."

A Blackberry with Wifi- SWEET!

2007-07-18T07:19:00.000-05:00

For all you Blackberry users, you can now rejoice. RIM is releasing later this summer the BlackBerry 8820 which will have built-in WiFi. I think with the release of the iPhone, more smartphones will have WiFi as an option. The cell providers need not to be worried about this kinda of phones steal from their data network. Charge a flat low rate for unlimited internet and those that use a lot will be balanced out by those who are occasional users, but could not afford the higher rate package. So, I'm glad to see another phone with WiFi coming out. Unfortunately, it is coming out on the At&t network and I know that may disappoint some of you.

"TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. announced a new model of its ubiquitous smartphone on Tuesday, this one able to operate on both cellular and Wi-Fi networks.

The dual-mode BlackBerry 8820, as the device is known, will be launched by AT&T in the United States later this summer, the company said.

"The BlackBerry 8820 complements our carrier partners' cellular networks with the added ability to stay connected via Wi-Fi at home, through hotspots and corporate campuses," RIM co-Chief Executive Mike Lazaridis said in a statement."

Wal-Mart to Sell Biblical Action Figures in Some Stores

2007-07-17T20:23:00.001-05:00

Well, I'm not sure what to think about this one. It's a good idea if you want to avoid the everyday action figures as most are quite weird. While Walmart begins this test of selling Bible based action figures (Daniel, Jesus, and Samson- probably not the best role model for kids, but makes for an exciting action figure), I'm sure that someone will be "offended" by this and sue Walmart for their bias to Christianity. Anything else is allowed practically, but if it hints of God, it should be banned or cast out of the stores.

"Wal-Mart said Tuesday it will test sales in some stores of biblical action figures whose makers say they are aimed at Christian parents who prefer their children play with Samson, David or Noah rather than with a comic book character or Bratz doll.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien said the toys made by One2believe, a Valencia, Calif., company, will be offered in 425 of Wal-Mart's 3,376 discount stores and Supercenters."

Overcoming bad breath.

2007-07-17T15:22:00.000-05:00

Nothing is worse then someone who has bad breath and they like to be really close to your face when they talk. Very uncomfortable. However, it is worse when the person with the bad breath is you! So how do you stop bad breath? Well, here are some tips for you from the Mayo Clinic. Of course it couldn't hurt to carry some mints or breath strips, too!

Try the following steps to improve or prevent bad breath:

Brush your teeth after you eat. Keep a toothbrush at work to brush after eating.
Floss at least once a day. Proper flossing removes food particles and plaque from between your teeth.
Brush your tongue. Giving your tongue a good brushing removes dead cells, bacteria and food debris. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and brush your tongue with at least five to 15 strokes. Pay particular attention to the middle third of the tongue, where most of the bacteria tend to collect.
Clean your dentures well. If you wear a bridge or a partial or complete denture, clean it thoroughly at least once a day or as directed by your dentist.
Drink plenty of water. To keep your mouth moist, be sure to consume plenty of water — not coffee, soft drinks or alcohol. Chewing gum (preferably sugarless) or sucking on candy (preferably sugarless) also stimulates saliva, washing away food particles and bacteria. If you have chronic dry mouth, your dentist or doctor may additionally prescribe an artificial saliva preparation or an oral medication that stimulates the flow of saliva.
Use a fairly new toothbrush. Change your toothbrush every three to four months, and choose a soft-bristled toothbrush.
Schedule regular dental checkups. At least twice a year, see your dentist to have your teeth or dentures examined and cleaned."

I also like to recommend a bottle of Listerine or breath strips as a good alternative when you are in a hurry or on the go. Tic Tacs, Lifesavers, etc. do not work as well. Although Altoids can be a huge help too.

Getting the fire back in your evangelism.

2007-07-17T15:06:00.000-05:00

This past weekend on bus visitation, my friend and I led to the Lord a young man named Brian. Brian was quite ready to receive the Lord and after I had gone thru a simple Gospel presentation, he said he wanted to receive Christ as his Savior. We both were excited to be used by the Lord that day. Leading someone to the Lord is probably one of the most exciting times in the life of a Christian. From time to time, we can struggle with our personal evangelism and one book that I would like to mention that has been a help to my personal evangelism is Evangelism Explosion. I hope that this book can be a help to you and your personal evangelism.

"Churches will learn a biblically based method for sharing the Gospel along with motivating "on-the-job" training on how to share Christ and disciple new believers. This expanded fourth edition features a new section on friendship evangelism and how to build a vision for worldwide discipline. Through this book, churches will experience what can take place when its leaders and members take seriously the command of Christ to equip the saints to do the work of ministry. Chapters include "Training Laymen for Evangelism," "A Presentation of the Gospel," and "The Proper Use of Testimony."

Internet Phone Company Halts Operations

2007-07-16T21:10:00.000-05:00

Today, my wife and I noticed that our VOIP service was not working and then I saw this in on my Google homepage. Looks like we are out of luck and will have to find another VOIP service.

"SunRocket, one of the largest start-up companies offering Internet phone service, has ceased operation and is moving its customers to one or more other companies, a person briefed on its status said yesterday.

A message on SunRocket’s customer service line said the company was “no longer taking customer service or sales calls.” Executives of SunRocket, which is based in Vienna, Va., and had 200,000 subscribers as of April, could not be reached for comment."

A new feature added to the Gadget Pastor: A weekly poll.

2007-07-16T20:34:00.001-05:00

Located at the top right of the right sidebar is a new feature to the Gadget Pastor. It is a weekly poll that will ask questions concerning ministry and technology. Blogger added this as a new feature so I thought I'd give it a try and see how many of you would participate with it. I'll give it a go for the next few weeks and if we have a good response we'll keep it. So I've already posted our first question and I hope you take the time to cast your vote.

What is your most important mobile gadget?

Cast your vote to the right!!!

iPhone news and software highlights.

2007-07-16T19:17:00.000-05:00

Here are today's top iPhone news and posts as determined by me! So for all you iPhone enthusiasts, enjoy.

Battery life tests show why Apple skipped 3G on iPhone
"Without a doubt, current 3G implementations do require more space and consume more power than simply outfitting a phone with support for EDGE. Using the Samsung Blackjack as an example, turning on 3G reduces battery life by around 25% under web/email use. The biggest impact of all is, surprisingly enough, talk time; with 3G enabled, the Blackjack's talk time is cut in half, with absolutely no benefit realized from the higher bandwidth standard," Anand Lal Shimpi reports for AnandTech..."

Apple to patch iPhone battery bug with software update
"A benign software bug is causing some of Apple Inc.'s iPhone handsets to reflect an incomplete battery charge when in fact the battery is properly charged to capacity, the company says. Over the past two weeks, a significant number of early adopters have report that their iPhones will not indicate a full charge no matter how long they are left plugged into a power adapter. "Your battery is fully charged, but the UI (User Interface) is just not correctly reflecting this," an Apple spokesperson told WirelessInfo. "We expect to fix this in a software update."

iPhone browser dialing found to be security threat
"SPI Labs is claiming to have discovered a fairly significant threat to iPhone security due to MobileSafari's ability to dial phone numbers found on web pages. The feature can apparently be exploited in various ways, such as redirecting the actual call to a number other than what is viewed on the webpage, tracking calls placed by a site visitor, bypassing the confirmation dialog and forcing the call to continue and even preventing the phone from dialing calls altogether. Imagine clicking on a local number for a restaurant on a malicious website, only to discover you're actually calling an international number and, perhaps more importantly, paying international calling rates."

Software Highlights.
The other day I was looking for an iPhone Bible website and low and behold I have found one. It is called iPhone Bible and it is in the King James Version. Much to my delight it works great on my iPhone. You can also have a Widget like interface for all your iPhone sites. Try either Gridgets or try Mac Dock another web app launcher. I cannot believe how fast these apps keep coming out. It's a lot of fun trying these sites on my iPhone.

Accessories.
You've got to have accessories for your iPhone. Not having some is not being the Gadget Pastor for me. So, tomorrow, I'm off to pickup a screen protector at our Apple Store. There are loads of accessories online as well and I'd recommend Boxwave as a place for you to check out for iPhone accessories.

I hope you enjoyed the iPhone news and software highlights for today!

Cool gadget- A PDA for the blind.

2007-07-14T14:31:00.000-05:00

Engadget is reporting about a new PDA that has been specially developed for those who are vision impaired. I think this is a rather col device, albeit it's rather expensive at a whopping $1895. Still I'm see there are those who are blind that would appreciate a device that allows them to schedule their day, listen to music/ebooks, etc.

"Fort Wayne, Indiana based company GW Micro has developed a new type of PDA designed specifically for the blind and sight-impaired, called the VoiceSense. The assistant runs a modified version of Windows CE and features a vocal guidance system, a full function PIM, web browser, MP3 player, Daisy talking book player, FM radio tuner and MSN Messenger -- all accessible through its custom Perkins-style Braille keyboard. The device has..."

Reading the Bible on your iPhone

2007-07-14T07:47:00.000-05:00

One of the drawbacks to no installable iPhone programs is you have to find what you want on the web. Now, thankfully, you can find a lot of useful sites on the web. Finding a website that you can read the Bible on your iPhone is not easy. I have already emailed eBible requesting that they add a way for iPhone users to read the Bible online. Unfortunately, they have not seen many iPhone users surfing their site, so it doesn't make a good investment for them. Antoine over at Mobile Ministry Magazine has suggested this site. However, I prefer to use the King James version for reading my Bible. So I'll share with you what I have done to enable me to read the Scriptures on my iPhone.

Step 1 - From your Mac or PC computer, go to http://bibleresources.bible.com/

Step 2 - In the middle of the webpage you will see "Access Bible" and underneath that you will see "Read the Bible." Click on "Read the Bible."

Step 3 - On the next window, select your preferred version of the Bible or your country's language. I choose the King James version, but they also have Amplified Bible, Bible in Basic English, New International Version, New King James Version, New Living Translation, and Young's Literal Translation just to name a few.

Step 4 - Once you have chosen your version of the Bible and/or language, bookmark the page in Safari or Internet Explorer. I named my bookmark "Online Bible KJV".

Step 5 - Sync your iPhone to your computer. Make sure you have chosen to sync bookmarks with Safari or Internet Explorer. To enable syncing of bookmarks, make sure your iPhone is connected. If iTunes is not open, open iTunes. In the left column, click on your iPhone. In the middle of iTunes and underneath the Apple logo is the tab, "Info". Click on info and scroll down a bit. Make sure the box is checked next to "Sync my bookmarks with..."

Step 6 - On your iPhone, tap on Safari and then tap on the bookmark icon. Find your bookmark and tap on it. Your Online Bible will show up and you can double tap to zoom in on the Books along with their chapters. Once you have chosen your book and chapter, you can double tap on the text and it will fit really nice onto your iPhone's screen.

Conclusion:

It's not a perfect setup. You cannot choose a chapter and verse. So if you load Psalm 119 and you want verse 121, you will have a lot of flicking to do. Also there are some ads and what not around the books of the Bible and the chapters, however they are minimal and do not seem to affect the load times too much. It has been the best way I have found to read the version of the Bible that I want. If you have a better way, please share it below. If you have an iPhone go and visit, eBible and others such sites to help encourage them to develop a page specifically design for the iPhone. You might also want to send them an email as well.

Phone voicemail tip from Lifehack.org

2007-07-14T07:14:00.000-05:00

If you have ever left a message on someone's phone and goofed up or said something wrong, you get that sinking feeling in your stomach and you hope that they party on the other line understand. It is important to sound proper and clear on the phone. While working for the college promotions department at my alma mater, I was trained how to sound properly and professionally over the phone. Talk about a difficult time for me, learning to speak right. From that experience, I speak with more confidence over the phone, something I certainly appreciate as a pastor. However, this tip to re-record voicemails is a good one. Many times I have wanted to re-record a message that I left, because I goofed. If you've been there before, Lifehack.org gives a simple tip to overcoming your voicemail woes.

"Today’s hack is simple, and effective. I use it almost every day.

The next time you leave a message on someone’s cell phone, press ‘#’ when you’re done. On 99% of cell phone carriers you will then be given an opportunity to listen to your message, and if needed, delete it to record a new one.

Why should you do this? I’m glad you asked.

If you’re anything like me, you will be utterly shocked at how you sound on the phone. It’s probably nothing like how you sound in your head.

When I’ve listened to my messages in the past, I couldn’t believe that I sounded so depressed, sleepy, aloof, or annoyed (each of which came across at different times, whether I felt that way or not)."

Source: Lifehack.org

Mac Download: Ez Money by Adoracom

2007-07-14T07:03:00.000-05:00

I have been looking for a good financial program that can keep track of my checking and savings accounts. I've been using Splash Money from Splash Data, but they do not have a Mac version at this time. If they did, I would gladly use it!
So for the last few days, I've been looking for a good and hopefully free mac financial software. I found Ex Money 2.4.4 over at the Apple website. It looks to have all the features that I wanted and needed. My wife did not wanted to have something complicated or fully featured, but wanted something simple and easy to understand. Basically, no geeky programs! :( So here is the description of Ez Money for your reading pleasure and if you have a personal financial app that you use for your Mac, please do share it with us!

"About EZ Money
A simple and easy to use financial program. It helps simplify managing your money by allowing you to itemize and budget your spending. EZ Money is available for download free of charge.

- Checkbook style transactions
- Purchase itemization
- Spending management
- Monthly bills monitoring
- Reporting tools
- Support for importing & exporting data
- Privacy protection

What’s New in this Version
- You can create transaction reports
- Improved importing
- Bug fixes"

Rumor: Palm Foleo to be released August 22

2007-07-13T07:26:00.000-05:00

It looks like Palm's mobile companion, the Foleo, could be released in late August. While many have not shared Palm's excitement of the device, Palm is looking for the device to be a hit with those who do not want to carry a heavy laptop around. A Foleo works with your Treo device, possible other smartphones down the road, and allows you to edit docs, spreadsheets etc. on the larger screen of the Foleo and using the Foleo's keyboard. It really sounds like a good idea as I've my self would hate to edit a document on my Lifedrive because the screen was so small. So, I do believe this device could be very useful for some, while others may prefer to carry a full-featured laptop.

Source: Brighthand

Podcasts: Four Historical Stages of Fundamentalism

2007-07-13T07:15:00.000-05:00

I'd like to recommend this going series of podcasts dealing with the subject of Fundamentalism. While all may not necessarily agree with the views shared, I do believe it is important for us to understand this topic. I do believe that the Devil is out to attack the foundation of Christianity and we as Christian ought be aware for this kind of attack. So I hope you take the time to listen and maybe this can help all of us see a bigger picture.

"Mark Farnham, Assistant Professor of Theology and New Testament at Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary (Lansdale, PA), joins us for a series of podcasts on Fundamentalism. In this first interview, he goes over the four historical stages of Fundamentalism."

Click here for podcast.

Source: Sharper Iron

My thoughts on the iPhone after almost two weeks of usage

2007-07-11T07:03:00.000-05:00

Almost two weeks ago, I was sitting in the iPhone line in front of the Apple store here in Buffalo, NY. I meet a few people spent some time talking about the iPhone and I must admit that I really had a lot of fun. Now that I'm two weeks out, do I still like my iPhone? Does it still bring excitment or just a lot pain and frustration? I must admit that it has not all been peaches and cream. I've had a few complaints along the way, so I will do my best to give a fair review to the iPhone.
Design.I'm holding my shiny new iPhone in my hand right now. As I turn it over and look at it, I'm still impressed with the design of the device. It feels great in my hand and is not to heavy for my liking. Everybody that sees my iPhone (those that I let hold it) are also equally impressed with Apple's design. It is definitely an eye catching design and much better looking then many of the smartphones out now for At & t (Treo, AT & T 8525, Blackberries, Nokias, etc.) The iPhone's casing also holds out well against abuse as is seen in PC World's iPhone stress test video.

iPhone as a phone.
Well, herein this area are some of my complaints. I do not like the speaker phone volume as it is quite low and pretty much useless for me. Even in quiet places, it can still be hard to hear the caller. Most people say that I sound good on the phone, although I'm not crystal clear. I don't mind scrolling thru my list of contacts with a flick here and a tap there. It works for me since my last phone I had to press the down button a bunch of times to get to some of my contacts. Merging calls is fairly easy and that impressed me. I do like the headphones w/ the built in mic that came with my iPhone as I think they work rather well. Not sure though how legal it is to drive with these things on though! Overall, it works ok as a phone. I've gotten some signal losses here and there in places that I should have signal. So that is somewhat annoying. I think the best part though is some of these issues could be cleared up in a software update (I hope).

iPhone as a internet device.
The iPhone is an amazing internet device. The fact that I can view websites as they were designed on my phone is an wonderful feature. No more stripped down versions or broken versions of the sites that I visit as I did with my Lifedrive. I do have the full internet in my pocket and not some watered down version. When the multi-touch, it's also quite easy to zoom in and zoom out. For this reason, I have found myself leaving my MacBook at home because of this capability. Safari needs flash support and I hope it gets it soon, although I'm not sure how practical it would be for battery life and all the ads you would get to see! Cut and paste is also missing which is something a blogger really needs when commenting or referring to another site. Overall, it's a great experience surfing on the web.

iPhone as an iPod.
Despite your small storage area, the iPhone as an iPod is quite amazing. From the cover flow to the fullscreen videos, you'll have an iPod that is sure to please. The videos on the device look crystal clear even at intense scenes. I have watched several hours of video on it and I am quite pleased with it. Music qaulity is excellent and I have not noticed any distortions or the like on the iPhone. When a call or email come in, the music fades out and lets the call ring or you here your email arrive sound and after you've ignored the call, finished the call, or the email sound is done, your music fades back in. Nice, very nice! I think as with many other reviews, most people will not like the small storage space available for music and videos. Keep in mind that most movies will take up around 1 GB of space. That's not a lot of room for someone with lots of music and videos. Also you do not have the repeat options available for your music.

iPhone as a camera.
The picture quality is rather good in well lit areas. Once you are in a dark area, the quality suffers. Having the Photos app is quite helpful as it works like iPhoto on your device. All your pictures are grouped into rolls of film. While you can show a slide show or flick thru/zoom your pictures, there is not much else it can do. You can email pictures, but only one at a time. I would like to see the option to send multiple pictures as I've had the need to do this on several occasions.

Other applications.
Google Maps is a blast to use and very helpful. Already its been a huge help to myself and my family. The calendar application works great with iCal and I've had no problems using it. It's simple to set up an event on the iPhone. Some have knocked the notes app on the iPhone, but I'm a big fan of the application. It's very much like a stickie pad and I use to use those all the time. You Tube is nice, but only useful with WiFi as the quality is greatly reduced with Edge. Speaking of Edge, it is slow, sometimes its quite fast, but it is still slow most of the time. Would be nice to see Apple unlock 3g on the phone (not sure that is even possible with the iPhone). Battery life is amazing and after 400 charge cycles the battery drops to roughly 80% or so of its original battery power(this is according to Apple). This fact has been greatly misreported by several media sites. The weather app is cool, but I would like to see it updated so that you can tap on a day and see a hour by hour, a written weather report, etc. Stocks app is great if you are into that, I'm not. SMS is really cool with the threaded conversation (Palm gets kudos here for starting that).

Other dislikes.
I want 3rd party apps. I really do. I think having 3rd party development will only further cement the iPhone into being top dog in the smartphone world. It would probably kill the likes of Palm if this happens though. Wallpaper behind the homescreen would a nice option as well. I really want cut and paste, too. I do not mind the iPhone being on the At & t network as I was already a customer with them prior to the iPhone. I'd probably be upset though if it was exclusive to another cell phone provider.

Conclusion.
I do not understand the haters of the iPhone. It is a wonderfully designed and developed device. It has flaws to be sure and it may not meet all your needs, but what smartphone does? For me, the iPhone is an awesome device despite some of its lacking features and some issues. I do think that the iPhone will get way better prior to October as Apple has hinted at updates before Leopard. So those of you will complaints may see some of them taken care within a software update. The iPhone may not be a revolutionary device, but it converges all your mobile devices (iPod, cellphone, internet, media player) into one device without the usual compromises of a converged device and does it with style and flair.

More folks at the Apple Store

2007-07-10T17:35:00.000-05:00

My family and I were at the Walden Galleria mall here in Buffalo. While there, we stopped at the Apple store. I could not believe how many people were in the store. I've been at the store many times before on a Tuesday afternoon and it has never been that busy before. Many people were trying the iPhones. Clearly these stores will see business pick up and Apple could see a boost in Apple computer sales. Once folks have played with the iPhone they'll see the wit behind Apple's computers. Time will tell and if you've had a rough time with your Windows computer, I would suggest a Mac hands down.

Save your laptop's battery life with these tips.

2007-07-10T08:04:00.001-05:00

Any time you take your laptop with you on a trip or otherwise, you have to watch your battery life. Surfing the web, watching videos, etc. can dramatically drain your battery. So what are the best ways to save your battery life? Lifehacker points us in the right direction...

"Avoid tethering yourself to a power outlet when you're on-the-go with your laptop with weblog Friedbeef's 15 tips for extending your laptop's battery life. Some of the tips are obvious (like dimming your screen) while others are more unusual, like:

1. Defrag regularly - The faster your hard drive does its work - less demand you are going to put on the hard drive and your battery. Make your hard drive as efficient as possible by defragging it regularly.
I can't imagine the defrag tip making that much of a difference in battery life, but since you already set up an automated defrag, this should be an easy tip to follow. Most of the other tips involve smart power economy, like quitting running programs and disabling hardware you aren't using. If you do much work unplugged, following a few of these tips could help improve your battery life significantly."

Source: Lifehacker

Mommy, are we there yet?

2007-07-10T07:35:00.000-05:00

If you're family is getting ready for that family vacation, you need to check out Focus on the Family's list of resources for family trips. They've listed several CDs and such that would be a good help to your peace of mind and your kids and your spiritual life! My family likes to listen to Adventures in Odyssey.

Palm- where is it going?

2007-07-10T07:27:00.000-05:00

Sammy Mcloughlin of Palm Addicts has asked this question in the Palm Addict forum about Palm's direction. It would seem many of the Palm faithful feel let down by Palm's lack of innovation and forward thinking. Palm is unquestionably in trouble. Once the Apple iPhone gets 3rd party development, Palm will be all but finished. Their only hope is to release a device that can function well, look great, and have an appealing design.

So here are some of the comments made in the forum about Palm- Where is it going?

"I seem to have already anticipated this thread with my editorial of yesterday[http://palmaddict.typepad.com/palmaddicts/2007/07/open-letter-to-.html].

In a nutshell, Palm has no street-cred around innovation. They have products that work very well, and are very boring. They have no road map to share, and nothing sexy to talk about.

In other words, they seem to be marking time, while every one of their competitors is putting out new product, talking about future products, and is innovating. It doesn't matter if the innovation is particularly useful, so long as it shows a vibrant, forward-moving culture.

Palm looks stultifying, moribund and emasculated."

Peter Arts

"I do not know where it is going and, frankly, I am disappointed. I have a Tungsten E2 that I have owned for just over two years. My battery is going haywire... I will charge it fully and ten minutes later it shuts down due to dead battery... then re-charge it and it lasts for a good while... then back to the charge issues.

Because of this I was thinking about finally getting the TX I wanted. My wife has given me permission to get the TX or explore smart-phone options. Here I am... a few days later... and I have not bought anything. Each day my wife asks if I had bought my TX yet and my answer has been no.

Why haven't I bought one? Well, I use one for work.. but that has never stopped me. I guess it is because it was released almost two years ago (an infinity in tech life). If I get it I want to use it for at least two years. That means it would be technology that is almost a half decade old. There is no new Palm PDA in sight.

I was looking at smart-phones, but none really appeal to me. Only one of them in Verizon's stable even has wi-fi (which is a MUST for me) and that is a Windows Mobile device. I thought about one of the Treos, but the 700P has many issues and am not sure if I want to get a Windows Mobile device. On top of that you HAVE to get the voice/data plan with any Verizon smart-phone. I do not want the expensive data plan... that is why I like Wi-Fi. I would not use it enough to warrant the additional monthly expense. Also, you have to pay $399 for the smart-phone. No thank you!

I have been considering getting an Internet tablet, like the Nokia N800. No PIM function, but I can access my Google, Yahoo, or Air Set calendars... no not quite as big of a loss.

If Palm would be continuing to release PDAs this would not be a dilemma. If they would make a good, sleek, wi-fi enabled smart-phone I might spend the money.

As it is right now... I have blanket permission from the wife to buy a new PDA or smart-phone, but I am hesitating and might wait for awhile. If Palm was the innovative leader of old, or even in the game, I would already have a new device in my hand. Alas, they are not and my hand is empty."

snoopy

"Frankly, being a Palm fan who was originally so enthusiastic and optimistic about their devices, I too have become disillusioned by their lack of vision, innovation, leadership, focus and their total disregard for their loyal followers.

How long have Palm users been begging for Wi-Fi on ANY Palm device? Ed Colligan has previously mentioned that Wi-Fi was coming in the Treos and it's been how many years and nothing to show for. I for one, have lost respect for someone who may claim one thing and yet fail to deliver and sweep it under the rug. A case in point has been the 700p update. It's obvious to me that they never meant to address the problems and finally decided to work on it only recently only to not come up with something that has been fully tested and thus had to remove it from their site. And what about the non-smartphone Palm devices? Virtually nonexistant. The last standalone PDA was the Palm TX and that was in 2005. Clearly they have decided to turn their backs on all the loyal standalone Palm fans. Not everyone wants a Treo and they obviously think they know better and are forcing people to get a Treo or nothing, well, at least from Palm. How ridiculous.

Palm has become an oxymoron. In one hand, they seem to want to become more receptive to their Palm users but yet, fail to address a lot of the concerns. They claim that the Linux OS is coming (they've been saying it for years so I'll believe it when I see it) but now they say it's not coming until next year. There are many more examples. It's very hard for me to remain optimistic about Palm although I really still love my Treo 650 device and Zire 71 but in this age of technological advances, you need to keep coming up with new innovation to survive. And judging by the lack of anything new (no, the 680 and 755p do not count as anything more than slight increases in RAM much less anything else) in the past few years, I am doubtful that there is a rabbit that can be pulled out of this empty hat.

From what I see, I don't think they even know what direction to take. They've been milking the Treo line for so many years and finally figured out that Apple, Nokia and everyone else has taken a chunk of their marketshare. But yet, they still haven't come out with a true plan or anything. I guess they may be going to their grave, as much as I'd hate to say it. After my editorials and rants back at the beginning of the year, obviously they don't seem to care. Maybe I should stop caring too.

I may likely get a Win Mobile Treo or an HTC device (man, that Advantage X7501 really appeals at a decent price). I can't imagine why anyone would spend the $500 or so dollars for a Foleo when they can get an Advantage X7501 for a few hundred more. Touchscreen with keyboard and camera and Wi-Fi. If only Palm can learn something from HTC, maybe they can come back but at this point in time. But, if the Linux OS is another example of Cobalt, this may be the final nail in the coffin. Not every Palm loyalist will remain that way forever. I certainly am not."

maceyr (May C)

Special Offer: Save $10 off a $25 purchase at Office Depot (In-store only)

2007-07-10T07:25:00.000-05:00

Saving on church office supplies can be a real help. So here is a special offer that I picked up from slick deals and thought I'd mention it here at TGP. You can save $10 off a $25 in-store purchase when you use this coupon.

iPhone Corner

2007-07-10T07:02:00.000-05:00

Software
iLounge has put together a list of many of the web applications available for iPhone users. I went thru and bookmarked several of the sites. The sites I like the most so far are Sudoko, Gas.app, Quip, and iActu USA, collection of newspapers. There are quite a number of sites out there for iPhone users, so be sure to take a look at these.

iPhone Blogs

Looking for a blog covering all thing iPhone? Mac Rumors has added an iPhone blog to their website. Apple iPhone review has been out since the iPhone was first mentioned at the beginning of the year. doiPhone.com is another informative blog for iPhone users. This one I recently discovered and it looks like they keep the posts coming. Apple iPhone Community covers yet more news about the iPhone. So folks you have options.

Tips and Tricks

CNET has a forumful of tips and tricks for the iPhone. Users have submitted their tips and tricks and I must say there are quite a few of them. David Pogue has also given some of his tips and tricks as well.

Website Recommendation: Wall Builders

2007-07-06T20:28:00.000-05:00

David Barton is a favorite speaker of mine. He knows his US history. It ought to be a priority as ministers to know our country's history, especially since we have a Christian heritage here in America. Our founding fathers took great stands for what they believed in and as the saying goes, "those who don’t learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them."

So with that thought, I'd like to recommend David Barton's site called Wall Builders. It has lots of great information of our Godly heritage. Here is some background information on Wall Builders.

"WallBuilders is an organization dedicated to presenting America's forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on the moral, religious, and constitutional foundation on which America was built-a foundation which, in recent years, has been seriously attacked and undermined. In accord with what was so accurately stated by George Washington, we believe that "the propitious [favorable] smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation which disregards the eternal rules of order and right which heaven itself has ordained."

Why the name "WallBuilders"?
In the Old Testament book of Nehemiah, the nation of Israel rallied together in a grassroots movement to help rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and thus restore stability, safety, and a promising future to that great city. We have chosen this historical concept of "rebuilding the walls" to represent allegorically the call for citizen involvement in rebuilding our nation's foundations. As Psalm 11:3 reminds us, "If the foundations be destroyed, what shall the righteous do?"

Our Goal
WallBuilders' goal is to exert a direct and positive influence in government, education, and the family by (1) educating the nation concerning the Godly foundation of our country; (2) providing information to federal, state, and local officials as they develop public policies which reflect Biblical values; and (3) encouraging Christians to be involved in the civic arena.

Ministry = People

2007-07-06T20:05:00.000-05:00

Today was a fun day. This past week, the principal of our Christian school and I worked on fixing a leaking toilet and this simple project ending up being a complete remodeling of that bathroom. Now, neither one of us are skilled contractors or builders. We do our best to do things right and when we can't we find help. We reached one of those points in our project in regards to the mudding and taping of the drywall and some of the plumbing. In our church we have a former drywaller and a plumber. Of course we called these men to help us and both were more than willing to come out and give us a hand. We were quite grateful for their willingness and their help as they saved us lots of time.

I think sometimes as we serve in ministry, we look to ourselves to get all the things done and forget that God has given us people to help us in ministry. As people help, they receive blessings and enjoyment. It doesn't mean we overly use them and constantly call on them, but rather we don't neglect those who could help us. Asking for help can be a humbling experience, knowing you cannot complete a specific task, but we understand that humility gives us strength and shows our people we are not proud. Find out the talents in your congregation. Ask for your people to help with a project. As they help, you will find you'll have a stronger church and a joyfully congregation.

BTW, we have almost completed the remodeling of the bathroom. Yeah!!!

A few cool things I did with my iPhone.

2007-07-05T21:39:00.000-05:00

I wanted to share how I've been able to use my iPhone over the last couple days.

1. Emailed a picture that I took with my iPhone to my Dad in Florida all the while I talked to him on my iPhone.

Now I've never had a device that I could do a trick like this, but I must say I was blown away that I could be talking to my dad about one of my boys latest injuries with a bike and then take a picture for my dad to see the "battle wound" and then quickly email it to him. That was cool!

2. I took a pictures of some water damaged caused by a leaking toilet.

We had a toilet that was leaking and I took pictures of the water damage and where the water was coming to show our church plumber what was going on. Mobile devices especially ones with cameras can come in handy quite often.

3. Responding to ebay emails while on the go.

I've been selling some things on ebay and with my iPhone, I've been able to respond quickly to questions about my items. It's a helpful way for people to see this guy is on top of it, when in reality I just got my iPhone and am now able to do that!

4. I needed to find a verse for a lesson I was working on.

I went to www.ebible.com and did a quick search for the verse that I could not find with my iPhone. Sure enough I found it and was able to add the verse to my lesson and continue without missing a beat.

5. Adding appointments and staying on schedule.

I've been able to quickly add appointments to my schedule with no problems.

6. I use the notes application to help me work on verse memorization.

I try very hard to memorize a verse of Scripture as often as I can. Sometimes I have them down in a week, sometimes longer. With my iPhone I use the notes application to type out my verse and then I can quickly access it when I have free time.

Now grant it, the iPhone is not the only mobile device that can do these things. It's the device that I have chosen to accomplish what I need. Not everything was ministry related, but some of it was. If you do have a smartphone or a cellphone, learn its capabilities and see how you can use it in your ministry helping you stay productive for the Lord.

Enjoy your Independence Day!

2007-07-04T07:32:00.000-05:00

Fireworks, Patriotism, parades, barbecue, and family can sum up your July 4th. Please keep in mind our soldiers abroad who are protecting our freedoms and giving us the chance to have those family dinners. Keep them in your prayers. Here is a good article for you to read as you go through your July 4th. It is entitled: Indivisible: No Celebration Of Liberty Can Ignore America’s Godly Heritage.

"Walter Kehowski feels a lot more like celebrating the Fourth of July, now that Thanksgiving is finally behind him.

As a math professor, Mr. Kehowski has a pretty keen instinct for things that don’t add up – including a tendency among many of his fellow citizens to divide their celebrations of freedom from any appreciation of the One Who gave us that freedom in the first place. His eye for irony has multiplied his enemies … and very nearly subtracted him from his job.

Kehowski teaches at a community college in Glendale, Arizona. Last fall, on the day before Thanksgiving, he decided, in the spirit of the holiday, to e-mail the other teachers in his district a copy of President George Washington’s brief “Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of 1789.”

Kehowski admits he used a district e-mail service designated for messages that “support education, research, scholarly communication, administration, and other (district) business.” He knew of orders not to use it for sending “unwanted solicitations or information.”

Engadget's Review of the iPhone

2007-07-03T21:21:00.002-05:00

Engadget has posted their in-depth review of the iPhone. I've read it and it's a well written and thorough review. While I understand the iPhone is not perfect, nor for everyone, it is a device that has raised the bar in the smartphone world by providing the user with a smart phone OS with applications that just work. Apple has done an incredible job with their first generation iPhone. If you are a pastor and are looking for a smartphone that will not bring you a lot of complications, check out the iPhone, it will fit the bill.

"The first solid info anyone heard about the iPhone was in December of 2004, when news started to trickle out that Apple had been working on a phone device with Motorola as its manufacturing partner. About ten months later, under the shadow of the best-selling iPod nano, that ballyhooed device debuted -- the ROKR E1 -- a bastard product that Apple never put any weight behind, and that Motorola was quick to forget. The relationship between Apple and Motorola soon dissolved, in turn feeding the tech rumor mill with visions of a "true iPhone" being built by Apple behind the scenes. After years of rumor and speculation, last January that device was finally announced at Macworld 2007 -- and here we are, just over six months later -- the iPhone, perhaps the most hyped consumer electronics device ever created, has finally landed. And this is the only review of it you're going to need.

We've gone into serious detail here, so here's the review split into multiple parts. Trust us, it's a quick read. Enjoy!"

Downloadable Bible studies from Back to the Bible.

2007-07-02T06:49:00.000-05:00

If you are in need of Bible studies for your family devotions, Sunday school, school classes, etc., you might want to check out Back to the Bible's collection of Bible studies. Each study can be easily downloaded at no cost to you. They are PDF documents so will need Adobe Reader or my favorite, Foxit PDF reader, to view them. These studies work great in a group or as an individual. I'm looking at these for my teenagers as devotional ideas for them.
The lessons are listed below for you to see their titles. If you would like to go to the download page, please follow this link.

Bible Reading Helps

Understanding Your Bible

Books of the Bible
Galatians

Christian Living
Making the Most of Your Christian Life

David
Lessons On Living From David

Heaven
Heaven, How Do I Get There?

New Believers
A Life That's Real
Meeting God Changes Your Life
It's All About Who You Know
Now What, Living Out Your Christian Faith
No Guesswork, Living to Please God

Passion for Christ Series
Lessons One through Four

Palm OS II delayed.

2007-07-02T06:38:00.000-05:00

Palm sometime ago said they would release Palm devices with a new version of the Palm OS, based on Linux, this year. According to Brighthand that will not be the case, the next version of Palm OS will not be in a Palm device until 2008. I do not believe this is a good sign at all for Palm considering by then Palm will have given much ground to other smartphone companies who are coming out with new designs to compete with the iPhone. It could prove to be too late for Palm to recover from a delay like this. Thought they might begin to rely more on Windows Mobile and thus succumbing to Palm's past rival. How many people will wait for the next version of Palm OS? Will they instead choose to go with another smartphone like the iPhone or a Windows based smartphone? I do believe that Palm is on the verge of losing a great deal of customers with this news. Palm could release a sleeker Treo device with an updated launcher and PIM apps so as not to give it that "aged" look. That could certainly help Palm out while they finish with Palm OS II.

PC World does its only stress test on the iPhone

2007-06-30T20:36:00.000-05:00

I'm glad to have seen PC World's stress test video on the iPhone. Apparently, the iPhone is quite durable and can survive quite a number of things. I'm really glad as I'm quite clumsy with my cell phones and I was worried as to what might happen when I drop my iPhone. Check out their video here.

My first post via my iPhone.

2007-06-30T18:11:00.000-05:00

I'm typing this on my iphone and it's not as hard as I thought it would it would be . I will say that I will never go back to another device. It has won me over. The sharpness of the screen is exception and looks much better than any other device I have seen. It is quite nice to post while on the go.

I've got one.

2007-06-29T21:26:00.000-05:00

Here is a post I made on Palm Addict today about my iPhone.

My first impressions of the iPhone

OK, it has been a very long time since I have written or contributed to Palm Addict and there is a reason. I lost interest in it and it's mainly because of the iPhone. When I first saw Steve Jobs demonstrate the iPhone, I could not believe how cool and amazingly well it worked. I began to read and read as much as I could about it. I had wanted to upgrade to a treo device, but the iPhone's coming, stopped me from purchasing a Treo device. My mobile device habits have changed much over the past year. I have relied less and less on my Lifedrive because of Google Calendar. My Macbook as enabled me to sync iCal with my cellphone and I only had to carry one device with me. So when June 29 neared, I knew the iPhone was the mobile device I needed and wanted. I arrived at our Apple store, in the mall, around 9am and left at 6:20pm. I would say that several hundred people were in line and I was number 12 in line.
My first impressions of the device is simply "WOW!" It's GUI is simply amazing and quite smart. It's taking a bit to get use to the keyboard and the onscreen touches as any brush or accidental contact with your finger counts as a tap. The shape of the iPhone is something I am not use to at all for putting a phone up to my ear. The display is bright, vibrant, and clear. Movies look beautiful on it and the music sounds great. The brightness is outstanding and makes my Lifedrive pale in comparison. The iPhone's intergration with my Macbook is wonderful as all my bookmarks, contacts, and calendar transfered over on the first sync with no problems and at no extra cost. It feels great in my hand and does not feel to light at all.
What I don't like is the non-replaceable battery. I've yet to have ample time to evaluate the battery life, but over the coming days I will do that. I've only have 7.27 GB of memory which is not a lot of memory for movies and music. The iPhone does not have a SD card slot or any other memory slot, so what I have I have. I'm not able to add 3rd party programs, yet. This is annoying, but as my mobile device usages have changed I do not need to worry at this time about that. I'm greatly worried about the screen and hope that I can get some sort of screen protecter for it soon (I think I saw some at the Apple store). The thing picks up finger prints quite easily and that is rather annoying.
Overall, I can simple say this is the best mobile device I have ever owned or seen in my life. It may not do all that I would like it to, but it is an amazing device and is quite easily an extension of my computer. People will find glitches and things to dislike, but what I see is a device that has raised the bar and made all other smartphones makers step up their products, which is definitely a good thing for all of us. As for Palm, I do believe they'd better hurry with Palm OS Linux, because if they do not, the iPhone will make their Garnet devices look like paper.

Live from the Apple Store in Buffalo, NY

2007-06-29T13:05:00.000-05:00

The Apple store is now closed here and rumor has it that our store has about 1,000 iPhones. Everybody in line is quite excited and we've all been swapping stories and such. Apple folks are quite friendly folks and being a new Apple user, I must say that they really love their Macs. Surprisingly, there are not many folks in line at our store. I've counted about 50-60 people in line and the At&t store has only 6 people in line. Could mean the iPhone won't be selling like hotcakes as so have thought. Although, it may just be the Western New York area. We'll see tomorrow how well they have sold.

IPhone Launch Day Arrives

2007-06-29T08:56:00.000-05:00

Here is a really good article covering the iPhone launch day and it also mentions Palm's take on "iDay".

"SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- After six months of unprecedented hype, thousands of people Friday will get their hands on the iPhone, the new cell phone that Apple Inc. is banking on to become its third core business next to its moneymaking iPod players and Macintosh computers.
By early evening Thursday, short lines of eager customers were camped out at Apple and AT&T stores across the nation. The gadget, which combines the functions of a cell phone, iPod media player and wireless Web browser, will go on sale in the United States at 6 p.m. Friday in each time zone."

Live from the Apple Store in Buffalo, NY

2007-06-29T08:35:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm here at the Apple Store in Buffalo, NY awaiting the iPhone's arrival. What can I say, I'm a geek and a pastor. One of my teens thought that I was crazy and so does my pastor, but I explain to them that I am doing it for my The Gadget Pastor blog and my readers. For some reason, they don't share my same zeal for gadgets. So folks, I'll be here until 6pm and then I'll be walking away with an iPhone and I cannot wait. It feels like Christmas day for me like when I was a kid.

There are about 15-20 people inline as of 9:41am eastern time. I've already met George, my line buddy, and we've already been talking about the iPhone. I don't think we'll start seeing a lot of people until later this afternoon. We drove by the At&t store on our way in and the same people I saw last night were the only ones there today. Lots of comments are being made as people pass by and security guards are walking about as well. So, I'll do my best to keep you inform and let you know any other details.