Over the past few years, the idea of Software as a Service (SaaS) has taken off.  Instead of purchasing software like Microsoft Office, for example, you sign up for a web-based service such as Google Apps to accomplish your tasks.  The advantage is that you don’t have to keep upgrading to newer versions of software, and you can access your stuff from anywhere with an Internet connection.

Google Docs is a SaaS tool that allows you to create spreadsheets, word processing documents, and presentations, among other things.  You don’t have to purchase and install software on your computer to use it - you just sign in to your Google account and start creating to your heart’s content!

There is a new SaaS entry into the word processing arena - Adobe Buzzword.  It’s a Flash-based online word processing tool.  You can try it yourself.  You can also follow a discussion about it or read its blog.

Could be a decent alternative for some churches…

The Church Marketing Sucks website has an entry about the power of blogging posted a few years ago.  sony music box ringtones | convert mp3 to ringtones | free nokia ringtones | free ringtones maker download | free cingular music ringtones | free crazy frog ringtones download | cheap mobile ringtones virgin | free funny ringtones | britney spears ringtones | motorola q ringtones | 2 pac ringtones | ctu free ringtones | caller download hotlink ringtones | blackberry ringtones | free lg ringtones verizon wireless | music ringtones | free cricket ringtones | free ringtones sprint | blackberry ringtones | make your own free ringtones | It’s a story about how a blog entry helped people connect with each other to remember someone who passed away.  The writer of the blog, Rick Klau, said that a comment left 2 years after the original post “is the one thing he is most proud of on his blog.”  Not something HE wrote, but that it allowed others to connect.

Some pastors have a blog; but many still don’t.  A blog is such a great (and FREE) tool to use to reach out to this generation.  I have a personal blog in addition to this one, although I’m not a pastor, and sometimes the things I blog about really help others.  I even blogged about my son’s Pinewood Derby, and that has helped others looking for Pinewood Derby information.  I’ve also blogged about other seemingly mundane things that have allowed others to connect with each other or find information they needed.

Sometimes we need a personal story to remind us that these things do matter.

For those that still run Windows XP (which is probably quite a few of you), Service Pack 3 has finally been released.  If you have your computer set up to install Automatic Updates, you still won’t get it automatically - quite yet.  Microsoft is offering it as an optional update until sometime this summer.  They have also provided a stand-alone installer that you can download and install without going through the Windows Update process if you wish.

Do You Need It?

Should you install SP3?  I think so.  The list of fixes for it is long.  It contains about 1,174 individual hotfixes and patches.  But, having said that, for most it will be better just to wait until Windows Update pushes it to you.  The installation process will take about 1/2 hour (after you download it), so make sure you have the time.  And ALWAYS back up your important files before installing any new service pack.

A Word of Warning

Anyone using IE7 that might want to roll back to IE6 will want to do that rollback BEFORE installing SP3.  If you have IE7 installed and then install SP3, you cannot roll back to IE6.  And anyone that has a beta version of the new IE8 will want to uninstall it before installing SP3, and then reinstall it after SP3 is installed.

Another interesting thing to note is that SP3 will not be available at retail.  If you purchase a new computer with Windows XP on it (while you can), you will need to do an after-the-fact update to SP3 on your own.

Certainly you’ve heard this saying before.  And before you argue its merit, I agree that is is not ALWAYS the case.  Having said that, I will take a stand and say this:  when your church decides to start a web site, you do indeed get what you pay for.

I have always advised churches not to rely solely on volunteers to design and/or maintain their web sites.  I recently came across an article on the CMS web site that agrees with me:

Internet Ministry Best Practice #2: a successful Internet ministry does not rely exclusively on volunteers to create or maintain their web site.

Continue reading this post…

I’ve been gone to the West Coast for a couple of days to help plan this year’s UMITA (United Methodist Information Technology Association) meeting in Seattle in the fall.  Thus, no blog posts for a while.  But I’m back now, so here we go!

Have you resorted to using a free email account (like Hotmail, Yahoo!, or Google’s Gmail) to send church-related email messages to your congregation because you thought hosting your own email would be too cost-prohibitive?

Many churches are starting to look toward Google Apps as a solution to this problem.  And it’s not just for email.  The CMS website posted an article outlining 9 ways to user Google Apps in your church.  Here’s a rough outline:

1. Hosted Gmail
2. Shared calendars
3. Calendars as event management tools
4. YouTube to share video
5. Blogger to set up a blog
6. Google talk to chat
7. Picasa to share pictures
8. Google Groups to get people together
9. Share docs, spreadsheets and presentation via Google Docs

I know, some of these items are not really part of the Google Apps suite, but are simply other offerings from Google.  And I’m not sure I’d completely buy into the Google Docs stuff just yet, but it is an option.

Google now provides a version of Google Apps with some pretty nice features completely free of charge to qualifying non-profit organizations (including churches).  It’s worth a look for any church.

Do you use Google Apps?  Or know a church or other organization who does?  Leave a comment and let us know how it’s being used!

Last time, we talked about hard drive fragmentation, and how that can slow your computer down.  But what about the stuff that’s on the hard drive?  Many times, when you install software (or even hardware), you install more than you think.  And, sometimes, software gets installed on your computer without you even knowing it (that’s called “spyware”).

But does having more software on your computer really slow it down?  In some cases, yes.  Today, we’ll examine software that loads on startup.  Next time, we’ll talk about viruses and spyware.

Continue reading this post…

When it comes to technology in the church, I firmly believe that you need to have at least one person on staff that embraces it in order for it to be used effectively.  However, you will inevitably need to use volunteers in order to get a lot of the work done. 

So how to you deal with volunteers so that you don’t burn them out?  I recently came across this brochure posted on the Church Marketing Lab:

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We’ve looked at how the processor speed and the amount of RAM installed can affect computer performance.  But those 2 items require at least some cash to upgrade.  Today, we’ll talk about fragmented hard drives and how they can affect your computers performance.  And the best part is: you can fix this issue without spending a dime!

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Last time we talked about processor speed as the single most important factor in determining a computer’s performance.  But we were also left with no way to really speed it up without spending a lot of money, or buying a whole new computer. 

Today, we talk about the second most important factor: RAM - commonly referred to as “memory.”  The best part is that RAM can be upgraded without hurting your wallet too much.

Continue reading this post…

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This is a topic that could probably take over an entire blog by itself.  But I will attempt to cover this topic in 5 posts, each of which will cover a different cause of computer slowness:

1. Processor speed
2. Amount of RAM installed
3. Hard drive issues
4. Software installed
5. Viruses & spyware

Today, we’ll tackle processor speed:

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