Netbooks Versus Laptops

I encountered the following article, felt that readers might find it to be timely and have re-published it (with permission) below. I myself have been considering whether the advantages of a Netbook might influence my next purchase, so I know there are others out there who probably feel the same way. Consider carefully, though, before you make that leap into new technology...

Netbooks Versus Laptops - What You Need to Know Before You Buy, Pros and Cons

Author: Christophe Catesson

Netbooks - What you need to know before you buy Comparing laptops and notebooks, pros and cons

Are the days of the Laptop numbered?

As the world becomes a smaller place, the Internet grows ever larger and more resourceful. Today, we cannot survive without the Internet at our disposal for a very long time. Hence, vast arrays of handheld solutions which promise Internet access are available. While all of them have their uses, Internet on handheld devices is hardly as rich and resourceful as that on a full-fledged PC. Mobile browsers come with limited support, especially for features like embedded video and animation, thus leaving your web experience half-baked. In today's age of extensive mobility, even the much vaulted laptop looks like a lumbering giant. The solution? Enter the Netbook world.

As of today, Netbooks are little more than ultraportable laptops. As the name suggests, it is best suited for surfing the net on the go along with other lightweight allied tasks. It is not fundamentally designed to be a multimedia center or an office workstation and most Netbooks reflect that.

Screen size for Netbooks is generally 8-9 inches. Screen resolution varies according to make and model and is available up to a respectable 1024x600. While the smaller form factor has definite portability advantages, the smaller keyboard and touchpad area can be a real pain for people with large hands. Connectivity in Netbooks is paramount and hence it generally comes with a whole array of USB connectors, an Ethernet connection and the latest available wireless technology. External display devices maybe supported through DVI/S-Video. Optical drives are optionally available.

Under the hood, the processor for Netbooks needs to be a frugal drinker of electricity. As of today, three different platforms are available. The reliable but ageing VIA C7D (HP 2133 miniNote), the popular Intel Atom processor, and the mixed-bag options offered by AMD (Sempron 2100+, Turion64 or the puny Geode LX800). Memory typically comes in the 512MB-2GB range. Storage may be in the form of a SSD (solid state drive) or a simple hard drive. While SSD's are faster, compact and consume less power, they also add a lot to the price tag of Netbooks. As a compromise, some vendors ship their units with a limited capacity (2-4 GB) flash memory which usually contains the operating system, and a standard hard drive for storage.

In terms of software on your Netbook, you can go for Windows XP or Linux. Linux distributions like Ubuntu 8.10 are an excellent choice as they work very well out of the box. Windows Vista performance is generally poor as they require more power.

A checklist while getting Netbooks can be as follows:-

• Power efficiency- The Atom offers the best bet, but the 945 chipset it ships with is old. The newer US15 chipset is expected to be out soon. Keep a lookout
• Memory- 512MB maybe adequate but you are better off with 1GB+
• Video - Look out for the upcoming Ion(Atom+ GeForce 9400) platform for NVidia with HD Playback capabilities
• Hard Drive -SSD's offer performance and efficiency at higher prices
• Price- can be bought within $500 in general

Most major brands like Dell, HP, Compaq and Acer have Netbooks in their lineup. The ASUS Eee Pc, the first one launched, is also a decent choice. What you have to decide is whether you actually need a Netbook. While it offers portability, a rich web experience and lightweight computing capabilities, it is not really a replacement for a laptop or a phone and in general have failed to find a market niche till date.

About the Author:
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Article Source: ArticlesBase.com - Netbooks Versus Laptops - What You Need to Know Before You Buy, Pros and Cons

Article: The Hazards of Facebook

I've told you before about the usefulness of the social networking phenomena called Facebook. I still believe that it is a useful tool and serves to give people more of a sense of connectedness. However, there are hazards you need to be aware of when using this software.

First, being connected is good, but master the art of using security and privacy settings. Another post will go into more detail about the mechanics of this, but the understanding the reasons for doing so are important. If you have been using Facebook for long you will know that your list of 'friends' can grow quite long. One associate of mine has over 400 'friends'. These can be immediate family, close relatives, work associates, church people and people who know people whom you know (AKA strangers!). You do not necessarily want everyone in each of these groups knowing everything about your life. Learn how to handle the privacy settings to limit access to your information.

Second, when dealing with church people (and sometimes family, too) you might find out a lot about other people's lives. Sometimes you don't want to know that much. Recently I have been dealing with some people who I found were leading double lives, one as pious church-goers, and the second as full-on party people with an offensive sense of humor. Some of the things they were getting into made it onto my 'Wall', which caused questions about the company I was keeping. When confronted about it, they grew hostile. Sometimes it is better to distance yourself from such people.

In another instance I joined a legitimate group on Facebook dealing with ministry. However, the kind of ministry this group was involved in offended the sensibilities of someone else I knew. I was told I was "obviously backsliding" because no real Christian would be involved in such a ministry.

Third, Facebook and other social networking sites can take up large amounts of time better spent in other activities. They can suck up your day and leave you wondering what you did. Limit your time to something reasonable and stick to it.

The lesson here is that social networking sites are tools. Like any tool they can be used for good or ill. Be aware of the pitfalls and avoid them as best you can.

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Review: Holiness Data Ministries

Title: Holiness Data Ministries
Format: Website, DVD
Website: http://www.icehouse.net/hdm/

Hard to find classic publications in the Holiness tradition, scanned into electronic format. Also Powerpoint slides of various materials including hymns and songs.

PROS
Huge collection of hard-to-find works.
Available via 'free will' offering.

CONS
Currently available only via DVD

SUMMARY

Need to find a rare text from Samuel Logan Brengle, William Booth or Phineas Bresee? Check here first!

Dorothea and Duane Maxey have been doing this ministry as a work of love since the early 1990's, recognizing that many classic works in the holiness tradition needed to be converted into electronic format in order to be disseminated and saved from disappearance. Currently, they have over 5,000 works available on their DVD. They used to offer their scanned materials on their website, but with the collection growing so large it is available only on DVD now. The Maxeys will send a particular work via email if requested. All services are offered on a 'free will' basis.

It's hard to beat this one! 9.5 out of 10!

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Article: Beware the Banner!

My wife said I had to write this, and she is (of course) correct!

We as pastors and techies in the church are always trying to get things for cheap or free. There is nothing wrong with that and it is a form of good stewardship. Why pay for it if someone is giving it away? Well, the answer for that question is, "There is no such thing as a free lunch". Simply put, there is always a cost. Someone is always trying to entice you to do something and get money from you, one way or another even if it is not immediately obvious. In the world of the Web, this often translates to advertising dollars.

"Pay-per-click" is one such scheme. Every time you see an ad on the web and click on it, someone makes a quick half-penny or so. Add up all those fractions of a penny, and someone just made a nice paycheck. Not so bad, right? Just keep an eye on 'em!

In our first church I set up our website with a free service provider. The site looked good and was a good place to send people who wanted to know more. The site started with an 'enhanced' account with no banner ads for 3 months, which I promptly forgot about. After the three months, with no payments, it reverted to the 'free, banner-supported' format. One day I got a call from one of our church members who went on the website and wanted to know why we were running banners for casinos and gambling! I have heard even worse stories, from people who ended up running a website with banner ads for porn sites. Not the kind of image you want to portray.

Check your free website provider and see how they determine what banner ads might be run on your site. It might be worth the $3 a month to buy the 'banner-free' option.

Just a word to the wise....


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Article: Using "Groups" software effectively

Groups? Groups! What is a Group, anyway, and why should I use one?

Simply speaking, a Group is an online software product that allows people with a common interest to communicate and coordinate activities of one kind or another. What kind of activities? Anything from disease management (colitis and crohns at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/colitiscrohns/), freecycling (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Franklin_County_Freecycle/), sports (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Red_Sox_Chat) or church events (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smallchurches/). You'll notice that each of the groups I've highlighted here comes from the Yahoo!Groups site. There are others, notably Google, but this is the one I choose most often to use.

The benefits to the group using this software is quite extensive. Here are some of the features that you can utilize.

• Calendar function with email reminders
• Archived discussion threads
• Ability to post photo albums
• Email distribution list management (mail one note to the site, which then distributes it to all members)
• Simple flat file database capability...maintain address books, etc.
• Ability to store useful files and documents
• Generate polls and surveys

Sound good? So what can you realistically use this for in your church? There are dozens of ways a church can use this kind of software, from connecting with other denominational churches in your area to connecting youth group members to scheduling Bible Quiz tournaments to facilitating communication on boards and committees. An easy project with immediate benefits is to start an email prayer chain. Within a matter of minutes you can construct the basics needed and invite your congregants who have email to join.

Another easy project would be to use the email distribution capability to send out eNewsletters for your church members with email. The obvious limitation here is that anyone participating MUST have an email address. So even though you might send out newsletters via a Group, you'll probably still send some out in paper format.

A missions trip could connect all the participants with deadlines noted on the calendar and reminders sent out, along with needed paperwork stored on the Yahoo server. That way no one would lose the information needed and be hunting for it at the last minute. A centralized repository would eliminate all of that.

How much does it cost? (I can hear you asking this one.) Obviously, most churches can't afford alot of extra outlay. The good news is that many of these providers cover their costs through on-site banner ads, so there is no cost to the user. All you have to do to be able to use Yahoo!Groups is to sign up for a Yahoo account. This opens up the whole suite of software to you. The people who join your group do NOT have to have a Yahoo ID, just a valid email address.

So what are you waiting for? Give it a try!

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Article: Media and Communication

Imagine a church where the pastor can keep up with the daily lives of his or her people without ever leaving their desk or talking on the phone. Where a sick church member can hear the sermon from the last service without the time and expense of cutting and delivering a tape or CD for them. Where the pastor can send a birthday greeting or note of encouragement to someone without using a postage stamp or having a three day lag in delivery. Where a person searching for a church can find information on service times and ministries before ever walking through your door, and you can make an announcement to the entire church or to the prayer chain by sending out a single message! Sound like science fiction? It was until a few years ago.

Talk to any preacher and they will tell you that their primary job is communication. Our job is simply to communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ in such a manner that the hearer can understand and assimilate the message, which will then be used by the Holy Spirit to change that person’s life through repentance and acceptance of Jesus as their personal Savior. Other jobs within the church also involve communication. Teaching a Sunday School class, one-on-one discipleship, running a board meeting, facilitating communication in counseling, writing copy for ads or newsletters. The pastor is a communicator.

Seeing all the emphasis on communication within the church and specifically within the job description of the pastor, we have to ask ourselves “how can we best communicate to our audience”? The first thing we need to recognize is that our audience is changing. Along with that change comes a shift in the methods of communication our audience prefers. We are accustomed to communicating with our people through the sermon, through the printed word and face-to-face or by phone. But now we can add to the mix several other methods. Television and radio are two familiar technological tools. But how about a church web site, texting, IM services, eGreeting cards, Facebook and other social networking sites, streaming audio and video, church ‘listserv’, YouTube and the classic podcast? It is the rare church that makes full use of even a few of these methods. The irony is that our people, and the people we so desperately want to reach, use these communications media daily.

The church has an unfortunately well-deserved reputation for being ten years behind everyone else on technology issues. We may not be able to affect the whole church, but we can affect the place we serve. We can use the gifts God has given us to reach people through these means.

Here are a few tips:

• If you don’t know what one of those terms used above means, do a search on the web and find out! (Google it!)


• You don’t have to use all of these communication techniques, but picking and using two or three should be enough to get you started.


• It is not necessary to be fancy, spend lots of money or be flashy, just informative and professional. Many of these are actually free or included with other services you already use. A big bang for your budget buck!


• If you want to get started but don’t know how…find a responsible teenager and ask them to help. They'll be thrilled!


• Involve various people in your church in administering these ministries…it helps to assimilate people and relieves pressure on you. Do NOT relinquish final authority on any of these media, however.

Realize that there is likely to be inertia in your church and on your board. You can take one of several approaches. The first is to wait on initiating anything until you get approval. The best way is to talk it up until they think it was their idea in the first place. The second way is to simply go ahead and get something simple started and wait until people notice. Or third, you can do nothing and find yourself increasingly handicapped.

When I started the Facebook account for my own church I wasn’t sure of the reaction I was going to get. Within a week I had 8 people listed as members of the group. Not bad, considering we are a small church running in the 20’s. I also noticed another interesting thing…fully 75% of those people were under 30 and most were under 25. This is the demographic our church needs to reach, and I bet your church does too. Now, realize that each of those individuals have literally scores of Facebook ‘Friends’ who therefore can access your group and find out about your church.

There are many new means of communication out there, and one author has suggested that this is just the beginning. So, if you want to be a pastor and lead a church, then please do lead the way and take the good news of the Gospel to new frontiers!

Happy Podcasting!

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