Google Phone is Almost Here! September 30, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Technology, Tech Tips , add a commentThe first mobile phone powered by Google was launched last week, ready to do battle with Apple’s iPhone for the top spot on many people’s Christmas gift list. The long-awaited smart phone, the T-Mobile G1, which was unveiled at a press conference in New York, will go on sale in the US next month (Oct 22), and T-Mobile announced they will begin selling the G1 phone for $179, the first to run Google’s Android operating system.
Check out the first video review of the Google Phone here.
Android has been compared to Apple iPhone interface and the G1 phone happily adopts the best features of the iPhone and BlackBerry — two of the best smart phones on the market. It has the easy-to-navigate and intuitive touchscreen, like the iPhone. But, like the BlackBerry, it has a qwerty keyboard, which slides out, and a “trackball” that helps you navigate around the screen. It’s features include: downloadable applications, 3G data service, WiFi, 3-megapixel camera, 256 MB storage and microSD slot, a slideout keyboard and a full web browser. Local T-Mobile stores will have demo units, but the carrier is only selling the G1 at stores where T-Mobile offers 3G service. Sprint Nextel also plans to sell a Android phone in the future.
What’s promising about Android is it is open platform that developers can make interesting programs. One that caught my eye uses the phone’s camera to scan barcodes. The phone then scans the Internet shops for prices of that product. Since the Android operating system is being offered for free to phone makers, there will be many flavors of the phone. Unlike the iPhone, which has only one model, there will be a lot of variety.
The arrival of Android signals the opening round of the battle between Google and its rivals, such as Nokia and Apple, to create software for the next generation of mobile phones that allows users to connect seamlessly to the internet.
At $179 with a two-year contract, the G1 will cost $20 less than the 3G iPhone. But for all of the hullabaloo about Android’s impact on Apple, Google’s efforts appear to be targeted directly at Microsoft’s Exchange, a multifaceted e-mail server software, says Pablo Perez-Fernandez, a wireless analyst for Global Crown Capital, a San Francisco boutique investment firm. “The tight integration of Google’s mobile applications and business services, such as maps, Gmail, calendar and search, essentially eliminates the need for an Exchange server for a wide range of companies,” Perez-Fernandez says.
I-Phone Joins the Suits March 6, 2008
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Technology, Tech Tips , add a commentApple made a major announcement today – they will begin offering “enterprise” support for the iPhone – meaning direct support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync!
One of the most requested corporate features is support for Exchange, Jobs said. To meet the demand, Apple licensed Microsoft’s ActiveSync protocol for connecting the iPhone’s e-mail client directly to an Exchange server. As a result, e-mail, calendaring and contact items can pushed directly to the smartphone, a feature that Apple demonstrated at the event. In addition, Apple will be adding Exchange as an e-mail option on the iPhone, along with Yahoo and Google mail and other options. Apple will build software for easy configuration of the device to an Exchange server.
Apple is currently testing the iPhone enterprise features, including the Exchange support, with Nike and Disney, Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior VP of worldwide product marketing, said. “It’s real and it’s exciting,” Schiller said of the new technology.With this announcement, Apple has moved with great intentionality to take on the Blackberry by allowing its iPhone to link up to corporate email systems. Until now, the Blackberry has been the preferred gadget of the business community as it allows executives to synchronize Microsoft applications, such as Microsoft Outlook email, contacts and calendar, with the smartphone. Many businesses shied away from using the iPhone as it does not work well with their email systems.
Apple hopes these steps will convince corporations to adopt the iPhone as the device of choice for mobile workers.
iPhone - Is it worth it? June 25, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Breaking News, Technology, Methods & Strategies, Tech Tips , add a comment
It retails for $500….It has lead to a huge increase in Apple’s stock price since the announcement of the iPhone in January. The hype around Apple Inc.’s upcoming iPhone is abundantly clear. So is the hysteria. But is it worth it? Will the gadget - which triples as a cell phone, iPod media player and a wireless Web device - be as “revolutionary” as Apple CEO Steve Jobs has claimed? Will it revolutionize your life?
The proof will come June 29 when the iPhone gets into users’ hands. The all-touch-screen device, which lacks a button keyboard, will force users to get accustomed to typing messages on a virtual keyboard instead of regular buttons. It will also be using a slower 2.5-generation network instead of a 3-G network, which might also hamper the experience of data transfers or Web access. Many people are already clamoring for the gadget. More than 1 million people have signed up with Apple and AT&T for more information.
I am in the market for a replacement to my 2 year old Treo 650 — but I am not sure I want to make the swap to a rookie in the phone business. While Apple does many things well, they have not been a long term player in the phone business. Should I wait and see? Are you planning to switch? What do you think?
Only 20 Minutes to Live March 27, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Sunday Services, Church , add a commentOn Sunday, Ron May spoke about his harrowing experience in the Crash of Flight 232 on July 19, 1989 in Sioux City Iowa. Click here for his audio message. Click here for the Wikipedia page. Click here for the Google video.
One of his statements which I have reflected on for the last few days is that the pilot came on with about 20 minutes to go and said to the passengers “Folks, the damage to Engine number 2 is more extreme than we thought….We are going to make an emergency landing in Sioux City in about 20 minutes. I’m not going to kid you, it going to be a rough landing…I don’t want to fool you…it’s going to be really rough. I will come back on and give you several warnings about the time, then finally I will come back and tell you when to brace.”
What would you do if you were told you potentially have 20 minutes to live?
Since Sunday, I have tried to look at my watch and say to myself — Steve, you’ve got 20 minutes to live — then I wonder what and who would I think about, and how would I reflect on my life. I want to love Jesus with all my heart and don’t feel like I have done that yet — that would be a major regret right now if I had 20 minutes. I want to love my wife and kids better. I wnat all of my kids to come to accpet Jesus as their Savior. I want to see many come to know the salvation I have experienced in my own life…..try this exercise and see what you do as a result……
Can You Go Without for One Day? March 5, 2007
Posted by Steve in : Technology, The Cultural Conversation , add a comment
It is obvious that people would find life extremely difficult without computers, maybe even impossible. If they disappeared for just one day, would we in church-land be able to cope? Be a part of one of the biggest global experiments ever to take place on the internet. The idea behind the experiment is to find out how many people can go without a computer for one whole day, and what will happen if everyone participates! Shutdown your computer on March 24th and find out! I am interested in all the pastors and church staff out there……Can you survive for 24 hours without your computer? or have you become addicted to email, calendars, etc……
Vote YES or NO here.
Leave us a comment — let us know here if you and your church staff can turn off the technology for one day.
The Shutdown Day idea started because the founders were worried about how much time everyone spends on computers and how little time is left these days for the other things in life. It has developed into an international event, a global experiment…Be a part of it, Shutdown Day, March 24th 2007
(right now the voting is 88% of folks say they can go 24 hours without using their computer…..How about you?)
Sanitized Christmas Cards? December 10, 2006
Posted by Steve in : Weblog, The Cultural Conversation , add a commentSUNDAY MISCELLANEOUS:
Today in the Daily Mail is a story out of London that in their recent nationwide survey, only one in a hundred Christmas cards has any sort of religious symbols or message. WOW! Have we progressed to that point already? The God of the universe comes down into our world, and people celebrate that momentus, world-changing event (upon which our calendar is based) with a card depicting some drunken bears? A good friend of ours recently left Park to pastor a church just southwest of London (Ashford) and he tells us that God is nowhere in the lives of most folks under 40 in London so this comes as no surprise to him. What do you think?
Here is a snippet:
