Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
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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Review: Tiger Census Data Mapper
Title: Tiger Census Data Mapper
Format: Website
Website: http://tiger.census.gov/cgi-bin/mapbrowse-tbl/
Interactive site allowing customized demographic mapping of communities in the USA.
PROS
Extensive mapping capability.
Allows customized overlays.
Freely available to anyone.
CONS
Demographic data is based on the 1990 Decenniel census and 1998 Tiger Line data, so it is a bit outdated, but it is still useful if combined with other sources.
SUMMARY
This site offers some very exciting tools for the churchplanter or pastor. Maps of any area can be generated and modified using custom overlays for various factors, both physical and demographic. The biggest problem is the age of the data, which can still be useful when showing trends in combination with other data sources.
Only because of the age of the data, this site ranks 4 out of 10.
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Format: Website
Website: http://tiger.census.gov/cgi-bin/mapbrowse-tbl/
Interactive site allowing customized demographic mapping of communities in the USA.
PROS
Extensive mapping capability.
Allows customized overlays.
Freely available to anyone.
CONS
Demographic data is based on the 1990 Decenniel census and 1998 Tiger Line data, so it is a bit outdated, but it is still useful if combined with other sources.
SUMMARY
This site offers some very exciting tools for the churchplanter or pastor. Maps of any area can be generated and modified using custom overlays for various factors, both physical and demographic. The biggest problem is the age of the data, which can still be useful when showing trends in combination with other data sources.
Only because of the age of the data, this site ranks 4 out of 10.
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Review: Community Demographics Report site
Title: Community Demographics Report
Format: Website
Website: http://map.nazarene.org
Interactive site allowing research on demographics of communities in the continental US.
PROS
Fairly extensive reporting.
Allows download into MS Excel sheets for offline research.
Freely available to anyone.
CONS
Only covers the continental USA.
Most stats only available for communities with existing Nazarene churches.
Demographic data based on 2000 census, so it is a bit dated, but still useful.
SUMMARY
This site allows research of demographics in communities with Nazarene churches in the continental USA. The research is based on the 2000 Census, so some of it may be a bit outdated. However, the data is still useful and can show some significant trends, especially when combined with other sources, such as state census data (usually conducted every 10 years at mid-decade). The controls are a little awkward. For a churchplanter looking for data in a new area this is useless, but for a pastor looking in the area of an existing Nazarene church it can be a goldmine.
I give this one a 6 out of 10.
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Review: OpenOffice.org productivity suite
Title: "OpenOffice.org 3.1"
Author: Sun Microsystems
Format; Electronic download
Website: http://www.OpenOffice.Org
PROS
Download is free and unlimited
No license fees
Easy to use
Various languages and operating systems are available
CONS
Some (very) small learning curve for users of other suites.
SUMMARY
Originally called StarOffice and acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999, OpenOffice is a suite of software products which includes a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet program (Calc), a presentation program (Impress), a graphics program (Draw) and a database program (Base). It is known 'on the street' as "OpenOffice", but the official name is "OpenOffice.Org" since "OpenOffice" is held as a trademark in the Netherlands by another product.
The suite is "open source", which means that it is maintained and improved by volunteer programmers. The program is available for free download for various operating systems, including Windows and Linux. Best of all it is completely compatible with other large productivity suites, such as Microsoft Office., so you can share files with other users easily. There are no license fees, installation can be on as many machines as you want. The programs were written to be as easy to learn and use as possible, so it bears a great deal of resemblance to other mainstream packages. A user of Microsoft Office will have very little difficulty moving between the two applications.
I have no difficulty in giving this suite of programs a 9.5 out of 10. Looking for a viable way to save your church money? This is a way to save hundreds of dollars and not sacrifice anything in terms of functionality.
Author: Sun Microsystems
Format; Electronic download
Website: http://www.OpenOffice.Org
PROS
Download is free and unlimited
No license fees
Easy to use
Various languages and operating systems are available
CONS
Some (very) small learning curve for users of other suites.
SUMMARY
Originally called StarOffice and acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999, OpenOffice is a suite of software products which includes a word processor (Writer), a spreadsheet program (Calc), a presentation program (Impress), a graphics program (Draw) and a database program (Base). It is known 'on the street' as "OpenOffice", but the official name is "OpenOffice.Org" since "OpenOffice" is held as a trademark in the Netherlands by another product.
The suite is "open source", which means that it is maintained and improved by volunteer programmers. The program is available for free download for various operating systems, including Windows and Linux. Best of all it is completely compatible with other large productivity suites, such as Microsoft Office., so you can share files with other users easily. There are no license fees, installation can be on as many machines as you want. The programs were written to be as easy to learn and use as possible, so it bears a great deal of resemblance to other mainstream packages. A user of Microsoft Office will have very little difficulty moving between the two applications.
I have no difficulty in giving this suite of programs a 9.5 out of 10. Looking for a viable way to save your church money? This is a way to save hundreds of dollars and not sacrifice anything in terms of functionality.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Review: www.Olivetree.Com
Title: "Olive Tree"
Format: Website
Website: http://www.olivetree.com/
Commercial site offering downloads for Mobile Devices, with many free downloads available.
PROS
Extensive offering including Bible versions, commentaries, study tools and eBooks.
Many free downloads.
Easy navigation to find software compatible with your device.
Wesleyan materials are available as well as Calvinist.
CONS
Some items are for purchase only (to be expected...this is not a non-profit company!)
SUMMARY
I would give this one an 9.0 out of 10.0. In the words of their website, "With Olive Tree's trademark BibleReader software, which comes free with any Bible download, all of these translations are fully searchable. You won't need a concordance since you can look up every occurrence of a word or phrase of Scripture in seconds. With the Palm, Pocket PC, or Smartphone BibleReader, you can create bookmarks, take notes on a verse, and quickly and easily customize your screen layout to best suit your needs."
This is a great tool for the pastor on-the-go. Some of the translations are available only as purchase (such as the NIV for $24.95 or the NCV for $16.00)
This website should be your first stop when looking for Bible software for your mobile device.
Format: Website
Website: http://www.olivetree.com/
Commercial site offering downloads for Mobile Devices, with many free downloads available.
PROS
Extensive offering including Bible versions, commentaries, study tools and eBooks.
Many free downloads.
Easy navigation to find software compatible with your device.
Wesleyan materials are available as well as Calvinist.
CONS
Some items are for purchase only (to be expected...this is not a non-profit company!)
SUMMARY
I would give this one an 9.0 out of 10.0. In the words of their website, "With Olive Tree's trademark BibleReader software, which comes free with any Bible download, all of these translations are fully searchable. You won't need a concordance since you can look up every occurrence of a word or phrase of Scripture in seconds. With the Palm, Pocket PC, or Smartphone BibleReader, you can create bookmarks, take notes on a verse, and quickly and easily customize your screen layout to best suit your needs."
This is a great tool for the pastor on-the-go. Some of the translations are available only as purchase (such as the NIV for $24.95 or the NCV for $16.00)
This website should be your first stop when looking for Bible software for your mobile device.
Review: "Bible Reader" for PalmOS
Title: "Bible Reader"
Author: AsaiSoft Limited
Format; Electronic download
Website: http://www.AsaiSoft.com
PDA Bible version for PalmOS
PROS
Download is free
Easy to use
Various commentaries and translations are available
CONS
Hard to find; company website has disappeared.
SUMMARY
I would give this one an 8.5 out of 10.0. As one person said, just having the capability of carrying your Bible on an SD card or in active memory on a PDA is almost worth the cost of the PDA! This is an excellent Bible program, the main disadvantage is that it is now a hard-to-find commodity.
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Author: AsaiSoft Limited
Format; Electronic download
Website: http://www.AsaiSoft.com
PDA Bible version for PalmOS
PROS
Download is free
Easy to use
Various commentaries and translations are available
CONS
Hard to find; company website has disappeared.
SUMMARY
I would give this one an 8.5 out of 10.0. As one person said, just having the capability of carrying your Bible on an SD card or in active memory on a PDA is almost worth the cost of the PDA! This is an excellent Bible program, the main disadvantage is that it is now a hard-to-find commodity.
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Thursday, June 18, 2009
Review: "Facebook for Pastors"
Title: "Facebook for Pastors"
Author: Chris Forbes
Format; Electronic download, PDF
Website: http://ministrymarketingcoach.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/facebook-for-pastors-by-chris-forbes.pdf
Chris Forbes has written a 31-page electronic book on how to use the social networking tool "Facebook" to market the local church. He discusses such things as branding your ministry, using Facebook to 'touch' your congregation, make your connection to people more immediate and personal, how to best use the Profile page and how to use Facebook to promote church events.
PROS
CONS
SUMMARY
I would give this one an 9.0 out of 10.0, a truly hearty recommendation for any pastor to read and profit by Chris Forbes experience and wonderful writing. This is especially useful for the bivocational pastor who has to make the best possible use of time, and who is not free to physically drop everything and talk to or see their parishioners.
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Author: Chris Forbes
Format; Electronic download, PDF
Website: http://ministrymarketingcoach.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/facebook-for-pastors-by-chris-forbes.pdf
Chris Forbes has written a 31-page electronic book on how to use the social networking tool "Facebook" to market the local church. He discusses such things as branding your ministry, using Facebook to 'touch' your congregation, make your connection to people more immediate and personal, how to best use the Profile page and how to use Facebook to promote church events.
PROS
- Download is free
- Content is very relevant and timely
- Author writes well and the eBook is well done
- Associated Facebook account, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=18403101472
CONS
- Some of the newer features of Facebook are not covered as yet. Hopefully an update will be coming soon.
SUMMARY
I would give this one an 9.0 out of 10.0, a truly hearty recommendation for any pastor to read and profit by Chris Forbes experience and wonderful writing. This is especially useful for the bivocational pastor who has to make the best possible use of time, and who is not free to physically drop everything and talk to or see their parishioners.
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Thursday, June 11, 2009
Review: www.biblegateway.com
Web Address: http://www.biblegateway.com/
"Biblegateway.com" is a web-based Bible study tool.
PROS:
CONS
Summary
This is an excellent tool for pastors who have internet access available when preparing a sermon or lesson. It is, of course, not available when out of contact with the web, so a PC based application is needed in this case. Also, the lack of ability to limit searches to a specific area of the Bible is a handicap. Nevertheless, this is definitely a good site to bookmark and use when possible!
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"Biblegateway.com" is a web-based Bible study tool.
PROS:
- There are many versions of the Bible here, including the NIV, KJV and The Message, as well as various other language versions.
- Search is possible on boolean operators for words as well as for specific passages.
- Access is free
- Available wherever web access is present
- Copy and Paste into clipboard is available
- Various other study helps are included, such as Nave's Topical Bible.
CONS
- Not a PC-hosted application. Web access is needed (can't use it if no access is available).
- Boolean searches can turn up too many entries in some cases to easily go through.
- Searches cannot be limited to certain areas of the Bible (NT, OT, Gospels, Epistles...)
Summary
This is an excellent tool for pastors who have internet access available when preparing a sermon or lesson. It is, of course, not available when out of contact with the web, so a PC based application is needed in this case. Also, the lack of ability to limit searches to a specific area of the Bible is a handicap. Nevertheless, this is definitely a good site to bookmark and use when possible!
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Review: www.ChildrensBulletins.Com
Web Address - http://www.childrensbulletins.com/
"ChildrensBulletins.com" is a web-based service that provides the busy pastor with a way to generate activity bulletins for their young parishioners with a minimum of effort. The site allows for customization of bulletins with date, a blurb about the church and even upload a logo. Pre-made bulletins are available for two age groups, 3-6 years old and 7-12 years old. Bulletins can be generated via a lectionary lookup or by scripture passage.
PROS
Summary
ChildrensBulletins.Com offers a cost-effective way to provide for the children in your service. For the busy pastor, this service is a time and work saver.
"ChildrensBulletins.com" is a web-based service that provides the busy pastor with a way to generate activity bulletins for their young parishioners with a minimum of effort. The site allows for customization of bulletins with date, a blurb about the church and even upload a logo. Pre-made bulletins are available for two age groups, 3-6 years old and 7-12 years old. Bulletins can be generated via a lectionary lookup or by scripture passage.
PROS
- Royalty-free copy rights.
- Fast and easy generation process.
- Unlimited generation of bulletins during subscription period.
- Professional looking and personalized.
- Electronic delivery or delivery quarterly by mail
- Reasonable cost ($16.40 per quarter when delivered electronically)
- Available in color or black and white versions.
- Free samples are available as well as a risk-free introduction.
CONS
- Not all scripture passages are covered by pre-made bulletins.
- Some passages may be 'out-of-sync' with a particular sermon.
Summary
ChildrensBulletins.Com offers a cost-effective way to provide for the children in your service. For the busy pastor, this service is a time and work saver.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Review: Palm Tungsten E2 PDA
Manufacturer: Palm
Operating System: PALM OS
Price: US$170-US$210
The Palm Tungsten series of PDA's is a mid-priced device which has a set of features fulfilling most common uses. The E series has been around for several years now and has had most of the kinks worked out.
SUMMARY
Overall, the E2 is a reliable and efficient workhorse. There are a few disadvantages with lack of space, and some of the niceties of the higher-end models are missing, but I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking to buy a PDA.
Operating System: PALM OS
Price: US$170-US$210
The Palm Tungsten series of PDA's is a mid-priced device which has a set of features fulfilling most common uses. The E series has been around for several years now and has had most of the kinks worked out.
PROS
- The E2 is equipped with BlueTooth, allowing it to connect with other BlueTooth devices.
- It comes with the useful Palm Desktop software for backing up calendars, contact lists and other vital info to a PC. The included "Documents To Go" software supports native MSWord and MSExcel files so transition between PDA and PC is seamless.
- Battery life during typical use is 2-3 hours. With 'touch and go' use, typically a once a day charge is sufficient.
- Screen size is large enough to be useful and is color, so it is pleasant on the eyes.
- There is a large library of software available which is supported by this device, so there are generally few problems finding something to help you with whatever tasks you are trying to perform.
CONS
- The E2 can reliably support only a 1gb SD card, so space can be limited.
- The power cord supplied in the original Tungsten E was a mini-USB, while the newer E2 comes with a different jack. Replacement of the power cord is a problem...
SUMMARY
Overall, the E2 is a reliable and efficient workhorse. There are a few disadvantages with lack of space, and some of the niceties of the higher-end models are missing, but I would not hesitate to recommend this to anyone looking to buy a PDA.
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