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

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

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!

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

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...

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..."

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Book Recommendation: Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts

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?

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?

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.

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!

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."

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A well taken iPhone picture.

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?

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!

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!!!

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

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

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

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!

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.

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

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!