Biting Forbidden Fruit

I’m a Microsoft guy, plain and simple. I work solely with their software and their Xbox 360 has taken my gaming world by storm. But I’ve come to the realization that I’ve been missing the forest for a tree…

Prior to my editing this photo was taken by Alfie W. and found via Flickr

Earlier this summer I left my Zune days behind and bought an iPhone 3GS. The ‘S’ stands for “speed.”

Yes, you are paying for that kind of originality when you buy Apple products. But the thing with the iPhone is this: It really is a computer in your pocket, there’s no doubt about it. And the thing with the iPhone 3GS is that it makes that computing even faster. Everything from accessing email anywhere you go, using AIM, finding directions on the go, loading up games like Sims 3 or Peggle, everything is faster than any other “smart phone” I’ve ever owned or tried.

And the internet functionality is phenomenal. Built into the iPhone is web browser Safari which let’s you browse the web via AT&T’s 3G network or wifi if it’s available. And when I say browse the web, I mean use the Internet just like you would on your computer at home. You certainly pay for this ability (via a monthly $30 unlimited internet fee) but for full internet access, the ability to browse and buy off of iTunes on the run and a nearly limitless supply of Apps, it’s worth it. A large quantity of these are free including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, MapQuest, Bible, etc. But when it comes to free Apps, few compare to Google Maps.

Because you are always connected to the internet, you have access to your GPS location via Google Maps. From there you can search for a location, ask for directions and just about everything else you would expect to be able to do. But it’s how other Apps use Google Maps that makes it shine. The “Around Me” App will pick up your location and tell you what gas stations, businesses, stores, restaurants etc. are around you. Similarly, using your GPS location the Flixster App tells you what theaters are around you, showtimes, what movies they are playing, contact info etc. The Fandango equivalent even lets you buy tickets via your iPhone. Here are a few other Apps worth noting:

Ever been in a store and wondered if you could find the movie, game, cd or book you are considering cheaper at another store? Using StapTell, you can. Simply open the App, take a picture of the item you are looking at and then in less than a minute you’ll have the results with comparison prices. This is an incredibly practical and usefulful App that’s free to download and a blast to use.

Does anyone else get annoyed when a song comes on the radio and the dj doesn’t tell you why it is? Yes, there is an App for that. (Did I really just say that?) Simply open the App “Shazam” and let it listen to whatever the song is that is playing and just seconds later it will give you the song title, artist, lyrics, a link to buy the song off of iTunes (via the iPhone’s iTunes App) and more… This may be my favorite app that I’ve tried yet, and certainly one of the best deals: FREE!

So a typical order of events may be hearing a song on the radio, using Shazam to identify what song it is, buying it off of iTunes and then Tweeting about it to see if any friends also like the song right from your phone. Or taking a picture of a funny family moment, posting the photo on Facebook and then repeating back to the family what relatives or friends had to say about the photo. The possibilities are endless, especially with the 3GS’s introduction of video capturing functionality to the iPhone.

For example while on vacation I recorded the following video and then uploaded it to Facebook all within minutes of it happening:

(shrunk for quality)

From the minimal amount of research I did for this ‘review’ or sorts, it looks like you can take up to an hour of video at a time. The quality is solid considering its being taken with a phone’s 3 Megpixel camera.

And that quality jumps from solid to freaking spectacular when just taking pictures:

(Using the “Pano” App I was able to capture the entire scene instead of just a portion of it)

Close up’s look good too allowing you to tap on the area you want the camera to focus on:

I could go on and on but for your sake I’ll wrap this puppy up. All in all, the iPhone 3GS is an incredible device. Those of you with a laptop know what it is like to go from always being tied to a corner where your desktop PC is located to being able to take your laptop wherever you go. The transition to the iPhone is much like that, only sweeter. Combining a computer with a phone is a beautiful thing, especially when it works like the iPhone does. No matter what you are doing, if you get a call, your music fades/game pauses/internet fades out and your phone call comes to the forefront of the screen. Then upon completion of the call, the ending beep is soon replaced by your music fading in right where you left it, game continuing, or internet being pulled back up. Whatever you were doing is reinstated.

Simply beautiful.

If you have the cash, value staying connected with friends, family and the world as much as possible and don’t mind switching to AT&T…make the trip to the Apple store and take the plunge. The experience is incredible and has proved itself to me day after day.

And even if you can’t make the switch, the good news is that with technology advancing the way it is, eventually the iPhone experience will be a standard one, and that is an awesome thought.

The iPhone 3GS retails for $199 (16gig) and $299 (32gig) in addition to the price of a new AT&T contract. The iPhone 3G (8gig) is available for $99 plus said contract.

Project: Get you off the couch

A couple of weeks ago Microsoft announced “Project Natal” for the Xbox 360. Natal is a camera that picks up your body movement exactly. It’s comparable to Nintendo’s Wii with an important variation. On the Wii, the controller you are holding in your hand is tracked allowing you to move the controller to play games. Now imagine taping 20 Wiimote’s up and down your body so it can track YOU. This is Natal.

Here’s some video of what it’s like

(No you don’t need a Jimmy Fallon jumpsuit to play it)

And here is the potential of Natal: (Yes this is real)

Learning Office 2007…

Hey gang!

For those of you new to Office 2007 or perhaps have been using it for a while but have some questions, I found some great resources to use.

Below you will find links to some training presentations on the Microsoft’s Office website.

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Power Point

There is also training available for Publisher, OneNote etc.  If you still have questions or issues, check out the help section or shoot me an email!: nickw023@gmail.com

Second (and Third) Chances

About two weeks ago I had just about given up all hope on Windows Vista.  Not necessarily because of Vista itself, but my experience with Dell hardware.  After my laptop’s hardware had crashed for the third time in two years I wasn’t a happy camper.  And then…it happened.  Three days after my average ‘ol Dell laptop crashed this arrived at my doorstep:

4 Gigs of RAM, an Intel Centrino processor, Backlit Keyboard, Internal Mic and Webcam and more including…Windows Vista Ultimate.

I’ve been using this laptop constantly for nearly a week now and absolutely love what I’ve been able to do with it.  I’m quickly coming to the conclusion that the biggest problem with Vista isn’t the Operating System itself, but the hardware it’s running on.

And with Windows 7 just around the corner and getting rad reviews…my dillusions of Apple granduer are fading.

 

(No worries, iPhone I’m still going to get you!)

 

God is good!

If Your ‘Sticky’ is Community…You Might Be The City

During my time at the Gospel Coalition a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to chat with the guys who helped create and run something called “The City”.  Adam Wygle,  Graham Stinson and Pastor Zack Hubert all hopping in on the conversation.   Actual creator Pastor Zack from Mars Hill Church in Seattle describes The City as “A tool to help transform lives through the Gospel.”

Essentially, it is a social networking client for churches to use within their congregation. Imagine the creators of Facebook gutting the feature set, design and purpose of Facebook and re-engineering it for churches.(Here is more on how Facebook and The City differ)  Complete with real time prayer requests, a Marketplace where the hurting person can find a helping hand, a People Search for finding someone of the perfect skill set to help out with a project and much more The City is an excellent service to Christian communities.

Now I totally didn’t do any of those features justice with my descriptions so for a complete list (and description) of the features go here.  And for a much better explanation of The City check out this video:

As you just witnessed, The City has the potential to be an amazing tool for bringing people in your church together to continue to love, serve and fellowship with one another throughout the week from the comfort of their own homes. The City is a spark for communities that already exist driving them toward an even more connected community.

During my talk with Pastor Zack he told me a story about a certain software company coming to visit to find out more about The City.  During the discussion they asked what the “Sticky” for The City was.  What made it stand out and kept people coming back?  Pastor Zack’s answer was simple: Community.  This is the heart of The City- helping spark existing communities through The City with the Gospel.

Being a Pastor’s son I’ve seen numerous sides of ministry, from the sound booth to the pulpit.  But from my short time using The City, observing the effects and talking with Pastor Zack, there are several ways I see The City being essential for churches.  Here’s just three of them:

Keep visitors engaged: Being a Pastor’s son I’ve witnessed the situations where someone comes for a while, begins to get engaged and then slowly fades back out of the church. The City is a way for that person’s small group, friends in the church or whatever keep the person informed and engaged about what’s going on at the church without spamming their email inbox or voicemail.
Open the lines of communication within a church: Being raised in the church I’ve witnessed how growth impacts a congregation. As one service turns into two and 500 people quickly makes its way to 1,000 it isn’t long before you stop seeing other members due to the the crowd, service times etc. The City keeps the church connected by giving those who attend a place to collectively come together, regardless of what service you go to, and discuss the sermon, keep up to date and stay informed as to what is going on in your church. Again, this doesn’t replace face to face contact and fellowship only supplements it.

Create opportunities to serve. Coming out of the first months of Mars Hill Church using The City are numerous stories where someone had a need, and because that need was registered on The City it was met quickly and diligently.  I am certainly not saying that needs aren’t met if you don’t use The City.  Only that this tool looks to be an excellent way to take service within the church and with the community around you to the next level.  Via the Marketplace, People Search, Prayer Request options and more This just may be the next logical step for a church looking to expland their technical impact.

I realize I just gave The City an insane amount of praise in a massive wall of text but from the stories I’ve heard, Pastor’s I’ve talked to and short time I’ve had to use it, I genuinely feel like The City will make a huge impact on churches.  As our culture changes, so should our means of communicating the Gospel.  Pastor Zack and company realized that, took the appropriate steps and now find themselves in an excellent position to help others communicate the Gospel and spark existing Christian communities in new and more efficent ways.

Keep up the good work guys!

Twitter Notes from Gospel Coalition 2009

This last week I had the excellent opportunity to attend the Gospel Coalition Conference in Chicago. Unfortunetely I wasn’t able to get out of one of my classes so everyday I made an hour drive back and forth so I could attend the class but still sit in on the teaching in Chicago.

From the time I was there, here is what I was able to Tweet edited for clarity!:

John Piper from 2nd Timothy:

• “you should preach so your people don’t give a rip what you think the main point of the Biblical Text  is…they should see God for themselves”
• “God’s given you the power to speak openly and suffer well”
• Paul begins with grace to you and ends with grace with you. He knows while reading 2nd Timothy grace comes to them and goes with them as they leave.
• “I break my back not to be the authority in my church but for the Bible to be the authority”
• Walk through life with eyes open not just to media but actually watch the sun rise, hear ambulences as they pass by and feel the weight of these things!
• “…you move from age 25 to 65 not with grandeos vision but with daily faithfulness”

Mark Driscoll from 2 Timoty 2:14-26:

• Pastor’s have 3 people to pastor: positives, negatives and neutrals.
• Paul is responding to the negatives for the sake of the neutrals

• I’m often asked ‘Are you a democrat or a republican?’ I just vote for Jesus, I write Him in everytime and someday He’ll come back and win” haha

• “if you only have books from a few publishers you may have turned your library of theology into a prision”
• “I had a guy come up and tell me he’d die for the KJV… and my question was ‘Who’s gonna kill ya?’”

Ajith Fernando:

• We must make the Gospel of the Cross culturaly accessable to those around us. This is our charge
• “This generation neglects talking about hell, the next generation will reject it.”
• “A malnourished child is much more marketable than an adult going to hell”

I'm on the left, Andy's on the right and Ajith Fernando is in the middle.

mmmm SoulPancakes…

Via Rainn Wilson’s (play’s Dwight on The Office) Twitter I found a site called SoulPancake.

What do our Soul’s have to do with Pancakes? My research has come back void but to find out what happens when the two words collide watch this video:

Is that awesome or what!? In the video Rainn says he wants “to have a debate about life’s big questions.” and “De-Lamify talking about God and Religion” As far as I know Rainn doesn’t consider himself a Christian, but how sweet is it that someone with his sphere of influence is calling everyone to take Religion and God seriously? No matter what he believes, this movement will only spur more people to search for and think about God. And that’s a very, very good thing.

Let’s have a debate. Let’s SoulPancake.

Zune: “Hey I’m still here!”

I must admit, I’m conflicted. I’ve planned on purchasing an iPod touch for a while now. Now…maybe not.

Neowin has “confirmed” a Zune with the following specs will be launching this fall:

3.6 inchish OLED full touch screen.
NVIDIA Tegra powered.
4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 120GB versions.
HDMI Connection to stream straight to your TV.
HD Radio.
Web Browser.
WiFi compatible, with wireless marketplace.
Released, early fall.
International release of the Zune device itself.
Home AV packs, Car packs, Charge packs.

Now that still won’t compare with the empire of apps and uses the iPhone/iPod touch has but still…That is a very enticing and tempting Zune.

Tweeting it to the Man

One man is the gatekeeper of information to as many people as an entire news network. At least on Twitter.

Live Follower Count

For those late to the story, Ashton Kutcher is utilizing Twitter to signify a changing of the times. Upon seeing that nearly as many people were following him on Twitter as were following CNN, Ashton threw out a challenge to the public~ If he reached a million followers before CNN, he would “Punk” their owner, Ted Turner. Several news outlets picked up on it and Larry King even chimed in at one point. Game developer EA has even said that if Ashton makes it to a million first, they will put his millionth follower into Sims 3.

What will this mean for our culture? Should we be worried about possible effects?

I think that Brian Solis has had one of the best quotes going into this whole thing:

“We participate on social networks to express ourselves and share a piece of who we are in the real world, online, to forge relationships with people we respect, trust, and admire and it inspires us to share, learn, and grow together. With every tweet and update, we reveal a bit of what we stand for and what moves us, forming a unique social graph that contextually connects us to others in an irreproducible network. It’s unique to each one of us, and it’s both empowering and powerful.” Source

Should we be worried when a Holly Wood celebrity is reaching as many people daily as CNN on Twitter? Or that this “empowering and powerful” experience is shaping our culture?

As with many things, it is rarely the actual action that is the problem but how it is used. We are clearly moving into an age where false statements, evidence and the like can (and will) immediately be identified and fixed by the masses.

In Ashton’s case, he is using this technology to mark the slow change of the control of information from the Network’s hands to ours. From Big media to Social media. Dare I say from TV to Web. And whether he gets there first or not, Ashton is donating 10,000 mosquito nets to help fight malaria.

So my hope is that groups with good intent, particuarly Christians and churches see the opportunities here and take the next step, whatever that may be, to keep up with the means of communication culture is offering.
One church already is. Mars Hill Church in Seattle has been at the forefront of integrating tech into church and continues to succeed in that arena.

In conclusion, go @aplusk !

UPDATE 1: Ashton is actually live streaming from his computer right now awaiting the millionth follower and talking (extensively) about how to help cure malaria.

UPDATE 2: Ashton: “I can’t follow myself, thank you!” lol

UPDATE 3: aplusk has reached a million!

A Little About Me…

I exist to glorify God through my life. I am currently attending Olivet Nazarene University in pursuit of a degree in Corporate Communication and am also in the Army’s Officer Training Program. In addition I am the Community Manager for a video game site where I do podcasts, set up community events and everything in between. I have a beautiful girlfriend named Katie who I love spending time with, and when I’m not I just may be playing with friends on Xbox Live.