Youth Ministry Geek » Brandon

5 Tech Toys I got for Christmas

Brandon — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:40:26 +0000

1. BookBook for iPhone – I love BookBook for iPad (Read about it HERE) so I had to check it out for iPhone. I am use to slipping ONLY my iPhone in my pocket so this feels a little bulky but I really like it! If you have $59.99 for a case check it out @ twelevesouth.com
2. Roku 2 xs – This this is SICK! It blows away my Apple TV. Truth is, the only thing the Apple TV has over Roku is AirPlay (that actually may be a big deal to some of you) and if you have a ton of Apple video purchases. Roku is so much more robust and has about 100 more channels to choose from than the Apple TV. The “xs” has a USB port so you can add your videos to a thumb-drive and watch them…no jailbreak needed. check out more @ roku.com
3. Gift Cards (That’s digital, right?) – I am not a huge fan of gift cards because they lock you in to buying at one location. Even if I like shopping at Target, Best Buy, or Game Stop I usually find much better prices online.
4. Apple Wireless Keyboard – This has been a great addition to my iPad. I am writing this post on my iPad using iA writer app and my new keyboard! Last week I wanted to hit the local coffee shop to do some writing but I did not want to bring my MacBook Pro. This would have been so much better than typing using the on screen keyboard. Best Buy + Gift Cards + Open Box Item = Greta Deal…I think I paid $14.
5. Zhu Zhu Pets – Ok, I did not get these…my kids did…and I have to put up with them. Worst gift ever.

Box.net: Free 50 GBs of Storage for Life

Brandon — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 04:24:08 +0000

I love “The Cloud.” Apps like Evernote, GoogleDocs, iCloud, and Flickr are great for share and freeing up space on your hard drive through free online storage. One of my favorite cloud apps is dropbox. Dropbox is a free app and online site that lets you store pics, docs, and videos and access them from any device. In addition to accessibility and its freeness I can easily share folders and files with other dropbox users or with a link from my dropbox “public” folder. If you want to check out dropbox click this link and install the app.

If you don’t think dropbox has enough storage space for you check out BOX.net. Right now iTunes has the BOX.net app (iPhone & iPad) for Free downloaded. You have today until December 2, 2011 to register or sign in to your account from the app to receive 50GB of lifetime storage on Box.net (usually $19.99).Check out both and see which you like more! Share in the comments some of your favorite cloud apps.

Quick Look at BookBook

Brandon — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 01:46:01 +0000

I have never been a fan of cases for my phones, laptops, or my iPad. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen some cool looking cases but my top values are 1) to protect my device and 2) to keep it as thin and light as possible. I use Zagg’s Invisible Shield for my iPhone and for my Droid and I have stuck with Apple’s iPad case, it is super thin and protects the screen…And then I met BookBook.

Twelvesouth’s BookBook is not the lightest or thinnest but its vintage appearance and feel are awesome and as a speaker it is comfortable to teach from. I serve at a four generational church and I find that the BookBook conceals my iPad in a way that is less distracting to those around me. In the past I have been confronted for texting during church when I was actually reading my iPhone Bible. Now with BookBook no one knows I am on my iPad and I can get my Bejeweled on…jk. For some of you this may not be a big deal but for others this could be the cover you have been looking for. A Case that brings enough tradition to your iPad to make it useable for weddings, funerals, and hospital visits.

I have had my case for about two months and have enjoyed its form and function, and to be honest I have enjoyed the attention too. Here are a few pros and cons of iPad BookBook…

Pros:
• Protection, inside (soft lining) and out (durable hardback).
• Drool factor, people think it is a cool looking book, when they find out it is an iPad case they go nuts.
• iPad becomes less distracting in a church service.
• Zipper is super quiet (again, not distracting to others).
• The smell…I love leather!

Cons:
• Bulky for a Backpack.
• While there is a slick design for viewing angles (Pic #1) there’s no design angle for typing (Pic #2).
• First gen iPad causes the back to curve.
• Price. While the hardback leather case is worth $70 that maybe be steep for some.

Pic #1

Pic #2

To check out a full description and pick up a BookBook head over to twelvesouth.com.

Quick Tip: Unhiding the Friends Facebook Secretly Hid

Evernote…Again

Brandon — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 16:14:38 +0000

I may be late to the game but did you know you can email notes to Evernote? They have created a slick way to not only send your notes to your account but also to tag and place them in folders.

Here’s a clip from their site:

How it works
First, find your Evernote incoming email address. It’ll look something like [username].12345@m.evernote.com. The address is located under Account Info in the desktop versions of Evernote, under Settings in Evernote Web, and in the Sync tab of Evernote for iPhone. We recommend adding this email address to your address book or contact list.

Next, try emailing something into Evernote. In the subject line of your email, write the title of the note as you want it to appear in your account. In the same subject line, add one or both of the following:

Use @ for notebooks: Use an @ symbol followed by the name of your destination notebook

Use # for tags: Use a # symbol followed by the tag or tags you wish to assign. You can have multiple tags just make sure each one starts with an #

For example, Subject: Trip to Florida @travel #expense report

Would create a note titled Trip to Florida in my travel notebook, tagged with expense report.

This has been a useful new discovery for me, I hope it helps you in your note taking. To read more check out their blog at: blog.evernote.com/2010/03/16/emailing-into-evernote-just-got-better/

Postagram

Brandon — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:57:32 +0000

I love taking pictures with my iPhone and Droid X. I always have one of them with me, and at 5 and 8 megapixels they take pretty good pix. My favorite photo app is instagram (FREE) and a close second is Halftone. Both of these apps are only available for iOS (sorry Droid fans) but that is not what I am here to talk about. I found a great app that takes those digital pictures and turns them into something a grandmother can enjoy (that sounded better in my head). Drum roll please (enters stage right, crowd Awwws, cameras flash)…POSTAGRAM!!! Ok, I guess it is not that big of a deal but it is pretty cool. Postagram, for Android and iPhone, was created with instagram in mind but a recent update allows you to use any photo in your phone and create a postcard. Still not that impressed? Well I tried it out and I was really impressed and so was my mother-in-law when she received a custom postcard with her grandchildren on it. Postagram allows you to create, personalize, and upload, a picture, note, and address. Then Postagram prints a postcard on glossy paper, and mails it out for you. The down side is that whole process took about 5 days, the app told me 3 to 7 days so I guess it could have been worst and each postcard from start to finish costs $1.00. Don’t just take my word for it download Postagram the app and you first postcard are FREE!

I was thinking this app could be useful catching students doing good things, snap a picture and mail them a card with a note from you saying “Thanks for serving!” Or take a picture of a kids face during a sloppy game and a note from you saying, “I love that you are in our ministry.” Or get a pic of a staff person being with students and a note saying “You are making a difference, Thanks!” People love mail and pictures, comment below with how you think you could use this app to better your youth ministry.

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What’s in Your Bag?

Brandon — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 02:45:23 +0000

Last week i was sitting in my room at the Simply Youth Ministry Conference and I thought it might be cool to dump my back pack and show you what I keep in there.

1. My Mac power chord
2. Retractable 6’ extension chord
3. Mini-DVI to VGA adapter
4. SHEMA Braclet ( Deuteronomy 6:4-6)
5. Power supply, three plugs and a USB charger in one
6. Two Headphone splitters
7. USB SD card reader
8. iPad pencil
9. Universal keychain remote
10. Five USB Thumb drives
11. 1 TB Western Digital USB powered hard drive
12. Post-it Note tabs
13. Micro USB Cable (and some change)
14. Pens (metallic silver writes on anything)
15. iPad/iPod charger
16. Elgato Eye TV USB dongle (made by Pinnacle)
17. Droid X (main cell phone)
18. iPod (80gb classic)
19. Droid (Original, backup when/if Droid X battery dies)
20. Notes to edit from a few messages I taught.
21. Two Chapstick tubes (Don’t know why there’s two), and Dramamine.
22. Targus Matrix backpack
23. Three packs of gum
24. Travel Kleenex
25. iPad
26. Letter from Doug Fields to 2009 SYMC speakers (I am not creepy, it just has good leadership insights)
27. Mac Book Pro, 2.8 GHz, Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB, 1067MHz DDR3
28. iPad SD card reader
29. My business cards (Postcards).
30. Bose Comfort fit noise cancelation headphones
31. Three Note books; a Moleskin, a Dare2Share (Moleskin look-a-like), and the top one is from the Apple Store (yes, from the mother ship in Califirnia).
32. Some booklets from recent conferences and workshops (Gurus of Tech, Dare2Share, Willow Creek).

Chris is going to post his later this week, and we’d love to know what’s in your bag. Post your pictures or list in the comments or on our Facebook page.

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Word Fun with Wordle

Brandon — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:00:00 +0000

While I was skimming the latest issue of Group Magazine, I found a great blurb by Lyle Huddlestun about a website called Wordle.net. When you create your wordle, you can either input a bunch of text, input the url of your blog or your del.icio.us username and it generates one of these interesting images(The above image was generated by auto-scanning this blog). The size is based on the word’s frequency, and the colors, word orientation, and font are set by you. If you don’t like the first shot, just have it re-layout until you see one you like! And, if you like it all, but want to delete one misspelled or embarrassing word, just click on it and remove it.

What’s even better, you don’t have to sign up to make them. It’s totally free! From volunteer encouragement to cool covers for the material you are writing/borrowing, this tool is worth taking a look at.

btw… I have been a bit silent lately as we just had our second child (Hannah-Claire0 and are finally getting adjusted to the chaos and lack of sleep. (Pics)

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Quick Tip: Find What You Are Looking For

Brandon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:05:52 +0000

Have you ever remembered reading something in one of your books, and maybe even remembered which book, but had no idea which of the couple hundred pages housed the beloved content? Don’t try the index or thumbing through the pages, simply go to books.google.com. There you can search within books to find where the content lies.

This works best when you have the book because many of the selections indexed by Google Books do not have full previews; however, the limited preview is more than enough to put you on the right page.

If your book is not available on Google Books, make sure you stop by amazon.com. Most books that have the small “look inside” logo over the cover image will provide a similar search to help you find what you are looking for.

3D Bible

Brandon — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 17:51:54 +0000

The geek in me loves this. A friend of mine and her husband are in the process of learning Argentine Sign Language. Their long-term goal is to translate the Bible using 3D animation. Here is a slice from an email she sent me,

“The idea is to have a stationary avatar signing the Scriptures. Up until now people have tried to use stationary 2D animations (drawings) to represent a 3D language. This is really new in the world of Bible translation and very little has been produced (almost nothing!). They/we (Wycliffle Bible Translators) are in the huge learning curve as far as the software is concerned (it’s a bit complex). Ultimately, the end user will be the deaf, so it needs to be a pretty straight forward kind of software.”

This looks amazing. Here is link to who is doing this http://www.wordsign.org. Check out this link to see a demo of the 3d animation http://www.wordsign.org/demos.html.

Brandon

YouVersion Online Bible

The Kindle

Brandon — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:03:12 +0000

I received an amazing gift this week. Someone sent me an Amazon Kindle (click the link to watch a video)! This is one of the coolest and most useful gadgets I have seen in a long time. Chiropractors around the world are hating this because it is causing people put put less books in their backpack saving back stress.

* I can buy books form amazing (so far I have not seen anything over $9.99 that I would want)
* I can highlight a section and add a note to that section or any section and then download what I had highlighted and written…this will be great for leadership training, I can send out some great quotes and not forget where they were (because they are saved and downloadable) and I do not have to spend time typing, I just copy and past!
* I can upload a .txt document and take it on the road with me (maybe illustrations of my sermon notes and practice…I cannot change them but I can add note and highlight areas I need to give attention to) or I can use mobipocket (PC only) that converts a word DOC, PDF, HTML, etc…to a kindle file. I am not sure the difference yet but I will try and see what this software can do. I can also email files to my Kindle with that cost 10 cents…I am not sure why I would do this when I can dump a .txt file on for free…I will probably try it though to see what happens. If the lighting is right you could even give your messages using this…go paperless!
* There are other cool features like basic web…yes, I can brows the web anywhere for FREE, not great graphics but FREE! I heard it uses the Sprint cell phone feed. I can also use it as an MP3 player, and there is a feature called NOWNOW…you send in a question and they will research it for you. Don’t let one of your students get hold of this or watch out high school term papers.

I am really excited about the future or reading with my Kindle! Thank you who ever sent this to me, it will be used often.

Brandon

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