Folder Marker

A really cool little utility to help you be productive.

This utility lets you change folder icon (mark folders) by priority (high,
normal, low), level of project completeness (done, half-done, planned)
and type of information stored in them (work, important, temp and
private files).

Since I’m a visual person, this application is extremely useful for
me, because I can see at a glance now which folders are waiting for my
urgent attention. Folder Marker is a free download, Windows only. — Wendy Boswell

Folder Marker [Lockergnome]

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Universal AutoCorrect

I stumbled accross this yesterday and found it extemely helpful.  I have all of these codes set up for me in Word autocorrect.  Now I can use them on the web.

Windows only: Blogger Jim Biancolo has put together an excellent AutoHotKey script that will automatically correct a predefined list of misspellings, à la Microsoft Word’s AutoCorrect feature.We’ve seen all of your most common typos, but Jim went a step further to create his AutoCorrect, using Wikipedia’s huge list of common misspellings. So not only does the AutoCorrect handle your everyday “teh’s” – it will also handle a much larger set of probelmed words (<– unfortunately it’s not savvy to pluralization or tense changes).Since AHK apps are always running in the background, what you end up with is a “cross-application AutoCorrect.”For whatever reason, Jim didn’t compile the script as an executable, so I went ahead and did so (you can download it at the second link below). If you want to look at the source script and possibly add or remove a few words, maybe add pluralization support, or just get a look at a great AHK program, Jim makes the script available for download at his site. — Adam PashUniversal AutoCorrect with AutoHotKey and Wikipedia [biancolo.com]Download Universal Autocorrect.exe

Download of the Day: Universal AutoCorrect – Lifehacker

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Skype Web Toolbar

I have found Skype really useful in ministry, especially since they have made calls to US phone numbers free. This toolbar really makes calls really quick.

Windows only: make your Skype experience even sweeter with the Skype Web Toolbar.

Once you’ve gone through the quick download and install process, the
Skype Web Toolbar magically recognizes phone numbers and Skype
usernames whenever you come across them on the web. See someone you
want to call? With the Skype Web Toolbar, you’re able to gab with one
convenient click. The Skype Web Toolbar is a free download, Windows
only, available for both Firefox and Internet Explorer. — Wendy Boswell

Skype Web Toolbar [via Digital Inspiration]

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Google Talk new features

For most people I know, AIM is the main chat client. For email, gmail really seems to be gaining ground. Therefore, a few new features from Google Talk may serve useful to gmail users. This article is worth a read. I especially like the voicemail feature. It may really serve useful for those who want to leave a message without taking the time to type an email.

Voicemails can now be left for friends who do not answer calls through
Google Talk. Unlike File Transfers above, this feature does not require
that the friend use the Google Talk client. In that case, they’ll
receive an email with the message attached as an audio file. Voicemails
can be up to 10 minutes long, and messages can be left for people
online without calling them directly by clicking the down arrrow from
any profile card or chat window. Voicemail will also automatically kick
in after 4 rings.

You might find some of these features useful.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/07/28/google-talk-swings-back/trackback/

technorati tags:gmail, google, chat

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gmail and google calendar

Calendaring and email is one of the most crucial areas of efficiency in our world today. Organizing life with a schedule is key to success and reliability. Communication in our digital world is no longer just for those tech savvy ministers. However, finding the right tools to make this happen can be a challenge. Many churches make this easy for ministers with tools like Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Exchange. But many ministers are just left to find their own way in this realm. My wife continues to keep her calendar on paper and refuses to go the digital route. Nevertheless for those looking for the right solution, there are some new tools that can really make life simple. And best of all, they are free.

There are hundreds of calendar and email options on the web (many of them free), but allow me to suggest google’s new suite of applications. Gmail and Google calendar are superb! There are several advantages to using this system that might make the shift.

Gmail

In my opinion, Gmail is the best free web based email solution out there. It is easy to use and offers all the features that you could want. It even allows you to set it up to send from any email address that you own. So, if you have a web site and therefore have a domain name, you can set Gmail up to send from yourname@yourwebsite.com . It also gives you plenty of storage (2GB).

Being web based, you can work on email anywhere that you have a web browser. There is no software needed and your emails are always accessible, as long as you have an internet connection. Gmail also works great on cell phones.

Gmail is Google's free webmail service. It comes with built-in Google search technology and over 2,600 megabytes of storage (and growing every day). You can keep all your important messages, files and pictures forever, use search to quickly and easily find anything you're looking for, and make sense of it all with a new way of viewing messages as part of conversations.

There are no pop-ups or untargeted banner ads in Gmail, only small text ads. Ads and related information are relevant to your messages, so instead of being obtrusive, they may even be useful for once.

Gmail also integrates instant messaging right into the email experience, so you can stay in even better touch with your friends when you're online. Easy, efficient and maybe even fun to use. It's a whole new way to think about email. It's Google's approach to email.

Read more about Gmail at http://mail.google.com/mail/help/about.html

Google Calendar

Google calendar has only been out a few weeks, but is rating very high for most people. If you do not have a good digital calendar system and are looking for something easy and efficient, I would recommend Google calendar. You can even set it up to remind you via text message or email about important stuff.

Calendar Sharing: Set up a calendar for your company softball team, and share it with the whole roster. (Your shortstop will never forget about practice again.) Or share with friends and family so you can view each other's schedules side by side.

Invitations: Create event invitations, send them to friends, and keep track of people's responses and comments, all in one place. Your friends can receive your invitation and post responses even if they don't use Google Calendar themselves.

Quick Add: Click anywhere on your calendar where an event belongs (or use the Quick Add link), and start typing. Google Calendar understands whole phrases like "Brunch with mom at Java Cafe 11am on Saturday," and will pop new events right into your agenda.

Gmail Integration: Add your friend's Super Bowl party to your calendar without ever leaving your Gmail inbox. Gmail now recognizes events mentioned in emails.

Search: Find the date of the Baxter family BBQ (you knew it was sometime this summer). Or, search public calendars to discover new events you're interested in and add them to your own calendar.

Mobile Access: Receive event reminders and notifications on your mobile phone.

Event Publishing: Share your organization's events with the world. Learn more with our Event Publisher Guide.

Read more about Google calendar at http://www.google.com/googlecalendar/overview.html

Looking for efficiency in ministry, try these free tools.

basecamp

In ministry, one of the key tasks is working with teams. If you are not working with teams, you are probably not as effective as you should be. Team ministry is rewarding, efficient, and essential. However, the challenge many times is collaboration. Email and phone calls have become the way to share information, but are certainly not the most effective. Email gets piled up and disorganized faster than most would like. And unless you are taking notes, phone calls provide very little reference material.
There is a host of collaboration software on the market for businesses, but most of it is very complex. About 3 months ago, I came across a web based collaboration tool called Basecamp.

What is Basecamp?

Basecamp is a unique project collaboration tool. Projects don't fail from a lack of charts, graphs, or reports, they fail from a lack of communication and collaboration. Basecamp makes it simple to communicate and collaborate on projects.

It's elegant, easy, and web-based. You don't need to download, install, or configure anything (no IT department required!). All you need is a web browser and an internet connection. And don't worry, your data is safe with us.
How can Basecamp help us?

Basecamp makes it easy to centralize group communication with co-workers and clients.

Assign to-dos and tasks
Post messages and gather feedback
Simple scheduling and permissions
Share files internally or with clients
Track people's time
Who uses Basecamp?

Over 250,000 people and small businesses. Freelancers, designers, lawyers, publishers, teachers, students, non-profits, and more.

We have been using basecamp in our ministry to track contacts, assign tasks, post messages, and share files. It has been invaluable for us. I would highly recommend you give it a try. The base package is FREE and gives you a chance to play around with it. You can upgrade for more features for a monthly fee. 37 signals also has a few other products that are worth testing out. I especially like the ease of use and simplicity of their products.

http://www.37signals.com/

http://www.basecamphq.com/

sync toy

Syncing podcasts to my Treo 700W (or any other pocket pc)

I recently got a Treo 700W phone/pda. I used to carry a phone and a pocket pc. Having the two in one is great. I am always about making life more simple and consolidating devices. Another device that I have is an ipod. I enjoy listening to podcasts in particular. I was looking for a way to sync podcasts up to my treo so that I would always have them with me. Downloading podcast through itunes is hard to beat. The last thing I want to do is to manually go through and move mp3 files over to my treo. I searched around for the perfect solution and I think I have one.

The process involves using a free tool called SyncToy. It is actually provided by Microsoft as a Windows XP powertoy.

SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows XP, is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without added complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

So here is how it works. Use Itunes to download your podcast. If you set Itunes to run when your computer starts, it can run the background and will download your podcasts when they become available. Itunes then stores all of your podcasts in a folder on your hard drive. (Usually in …\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Podcasts)

You will then need an SD card (or whatever kind of flash memory your PDA uses).

Run SyncToy. Configure SyncToy to sync between your flash memory and the folder in Itunes (…\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Podcasts). I actually created a folder on my SD card called Podcasts. In SyncToy, you choose two folders you want to sync. With my SD card in the reader, I choose G:/Podcasts (G being the drive of my SD Card) and C:\…..\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Podcasts). I name the job podcasts.

So now, all I need to do it stick my flash memory (SD card) in the card reader, launch SyncToy, and run the podcast job). All my current podcasts are on my SD card (meaning they are all on my Treo when I stick the card in the Treo).

So how do you play the podcasts on the Treo?

You have several options here. The first is Windows Media player (which comes with all pocket pcs). Update your Library and the podcasts will just show up in the playlist. However, I don’t really like the fact that you are unable to bookmark files. When I use Windows Media player, I find myself constantly loosing my place when I close out of the program.

Another option is a free player called MortPlayer. It works really well, allows you to bookmark and even specify favorite directories.

If you have some cash and want a few additional features, Pocket Player is also a nice player. It runs $19.95.

SyncToy

Itunes

MortPlayer

Pocket Player

SyncToy is also a great tool for backing up files! This method will work with any type of PDA that uses external flash memory. The player and the setup on your PDA may be different if you have a Palm rather than a pocket pc.

 

writely

I few months ago, I was introduced to this cool website called Writely, an online word processor.

You find yourself needing to touch up that sermon or youth talk when you discover that you left it at the office. You can drive back to the church, remote in (if you are able to do that), or just wait until the next day to do the work.

Another solution would be to store all your documents online. Writely provides a way for you to do that. I have not made the total transition at this point, but I have found uses for Writely. Whenever I want input on a letter or schedule, I stick it on Writely. The potential for this solution is great. You have do what works for you.

I do like the fact that a spell check is included and you can save your files in all kinds of formats including MS word and pdf. You can tag your files for better organization and invite people to edit your files.

Writely says:
Share documents instantly & collaborate real-time – Pick exactly who can access your documents.
Edit your documents from anywhere.
Nothing to download — your browser is all you need.
Store your documents securely online – Offsite storage plus data backup every 10 seconds.
Easy to use – Clean, uncluttered screens with a familiar, desktop feel.

Right now, writely is in closed beta, but I have some invites and would be willing to set you up if you like.

If you are interested in playing with Writely, go to http://www.writely.com to check it out and read up on it.

If you want an account, go to http://efficientministry.com/?page_id=29 and let me know.

 

hamachi

I enjoy listening to tech podcasts while I am cutting the grass or riding the bike. Many times, these podcast are a little over my head, but there are valuable tools and suggestions that I get from them. One podcast that I really enjoy is called Security Now by Steve Gibson. It is very technical, but informative. Several months ago, he covered this software called Hamachi. It is a free VPN tool that allows you connect to any computer from any computer. If you think something like this would help you in ministry, I would suggest listening to the podcast and then giving it a shot.

I love it. It allows me to retrieve files from anywhere. I can remote in to my work desktop from anywhere or even slide files between PCs from anywhere. It also provides a secure way to browse the Internet from hotspots. Without getting too techical, here is the link to the podcast and a description from the Hamachi site.

Hope it helps

"Hamachi" Rocks!

This week Leo and I discuss and describe the brand new, ready to emerge from a its long development beta phase, ultra-secure, lightweight, high-performance, highly-polished, multi-platform, peer-to-peer and FREE! personal virtual private networking system known as "Hamachi". After two solid weeks of testing and intense dialog with Hamachi's lead developer and designer, I have fully vetted the system's security architecture and have it running on many of my systems. While I am travelling to Toronto this week, Hamachi is keeping my roaming laptop securely and directly connected to all of my machines back home. Don't miss this one!

Download Podcast (Right click and Save As…) and/or Get the Full Transcript from the Show in PDF format

If you are interested in testing it out, go to http://www.hamachi.cc

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blinksale

One of the least fun things about ministry is collecting money for retreats, camps, and conferences. It is distressful to have to make that phone call to a parent who has failed to pay up for Johnny’s summer camp.

This week, payment is due for our most popular summer camp. Our secretary is always inundated with phone calls and emails asking about the final balance. Most churches have database programs with some sort of built in invoicing. Those are nice features, but sometimes fall short of what we need. First of all, you have to print out invoices and snail mail them. Secondly, the databases are usually only accessed inside the building.

A solution that works well is called Blinksale. It is a web based invoicing system. It is simple to use, emails the updates, sends thank yous for payments, and makes it really easy to see who has not paid.

Blinksale solves both shortcomings of traditional database programs. This year, we had a bowling fundraiser just a week before the final payment was due. Being able to update the invoices and send them quickly through email made life a lot easier.

Another cool thing about this product is that various people can check it out from anywhere. Since it is web based, the youth minister, mentors, and the church secretary can all see real time reports. It also exports the data to an Exel or xml format effortlessly.

You can try it out for free at www.blinksale.com. They have paid plans depending on how many invoices you create. Plans begin at $12/month

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