Monthly archive: April, 2008

Joomla on a hosting plan

April 25, 2008, by No comments yet

If you are like me, you do not manage your own server but rather pay a hosting fee each month (OK, this is not entirely true, I do, in fact, manage several servers, but go with me here).

It is rather easy to install if you have one of those wonders of technology called One-Click Installs or Simple Scripts. But, what if you don’t. Since I have clients that manage their own servers (think Rackspace), any software that needs to be installed has to go through me first. While this is the tried and true method of server management, there is much to be said for having someone else handle these tasks. Yes, you give up control of the machine, but if you are using off the shelf software or open source tools that can be installed via ftp or ssh, this is really the way to go. Most virtual hosting environments know their customers want the software to run without problems and that’s what they get paid to do. So, if someone tries to convince you to setup a machine that you will manage without much help from the hosting company, make sure they understand the limitations and cost.

For a small ministry on a budget, ten bucks a month sure beats having a beast of a server you barely use.

[Updated] Windows blogging software

April 25, 2008, by No comments yet

So, I am working on a new windows-based blogging tool called Windows Live Writer.  So far, I am impressed. It looks uncluttered, is very clean and, very importantly, is free.  Now, that’s a great development.

Update:  So far, it looks like a good tool for use on blogs.  I can not only post, but update (like I’m doing here).  You can select Categories and also add Tags.  Overall, this looks like a good tool.  As for connecting to my WordPress install, I just had to give it the usual suspects: url, username and password.  It did the rest.  For most folks, that is all they will want.  I have yet to try and upload a new image, but that will come soon enough.

I will update my thoughts on this as soon as I can get the photos off my iPhone and onto this machine.

[Updated] Getting things done, a.k.a. fulfilling your “yes” and “amen”

April 18, 2008, by No comments yet

If you’re like any other minister (youth minister in the house), you have an (over)abundance of things to do and some method to organize and get them done.  If you’re like me, that means some form of digital To Do list stored either via email, calendar or some third party software.  While I am always looking for a new way to make sure I accomplish my tasks, finding a tool that meets your needs can take as much time as actually getting things done.  My wife would say that paper and pencil still work well, and she would be correct.  However, I don’t like carrying slips of paper or a yearly calendar. I like digital notes and storage devices.

Since I use a Mac, I decided to look and see if the developer community has managed to create a tool that 1) anyone can use (meaning I don’t have to read the entire manual to get started) and 2) that will integrate with any number of other services and software installed on my computer or available on the Internet.  What I found is that there are several options available to suit many tastes.  Some look better than others (eye candy) and while some are so functional that it almost tells you what to do before you know it.  I wanted something in between.  I like the flexibility of a digital list that sometimes is copied off paper where I took notes (my wife would be happy).

So, I looked over and downloaded three (3) possible solutions.  In no particular order:

  1. Omnigroup’s Omnifocus
  2. Bartek Bargiel’s iGTD
  3. Objective Decision’s Contactizer
  4. Things

Overall, they each provide some measure of list management. While I will put up a more thorough overview, I liked Omnifocus the best. It provided the best management for me. It was a little rough at first (Things is easier), but I managed to get my list created and assigned to their respective projects.

[Update]
In case you are unaware, there is now an iPhone version available via the App Store. Yes, I downloaded it, setup the sync and now have it running on both iPhone and laptop. It syncs via my mobileMe.com account (alternatively, you can use a WebDAV server) and keeps the information identical on both platforms. Truly wonderful.

In addition, the iPhone version is location aware. This means you can create lists and view them by location. By using the EDGE network on my iPhone (yes, I have the original), I can view lists according to where I am. Great if I only want to see work or home ToDos instead of both.

[Updated] Ordaining a new webmaster

April 17, 2008, by No comments yet

Recently (two days ago), I had the good fortune to hand over the reins of my church website to someone else.  While I have been the webmaster over the last three (3) years, I have actually put one up (we only had the domain prior), setup everyone’s email accounts, scoured all our handouts for content, purchased a template and made (very) few changes.

I am sure this is typical of many churches.

You manage to get someone who can setup the website.  (In case that person is you, our main site has all you need to know to get started.)  He/She gets started and immediately runs into a problem.  (OK, they probably ran into one when they needed to figure out the username/password combination for the domain registrar or hosting company, since the person who originally set it “hasn’t worshipped here in a while”.)  They have precious little content and, despite their best effort, no one is willing to step forward.  Now, keep in mind, that the senior pastor will probably commit to putting their sermon on the website “every week”.  Each department has also been told they need to provide initial and ongoing content for their events in order to show visitors how dynamic their congregation and ministries.  The church secretary has been asked for the bulletin and any other material that gets sent out.  Still, there is an empty website.

Why?

It’s really hard to keep the momentum moving.  Someone not only has to receive all this information, but also format it and make sure it’s timely.

Sound familiar?

If it doesn’t, you either have one very determined webmaster or someone on staff is tasked with the responsibility of managing your church communications.  As much as I like the idea of a willing volunteer (webmasters sheepishly raise their hands), I prefer having a communications director for the church.

A what you say?

You heard me, communications director.  And its better if they are on staff.  Still, very few churches have one.

Why would you want to add another salaried person to your meager staff, especially when tithes are hard to come by?  Well, because while even the most fervent evangelist can bring in new members, they can’t copy/paste, edit content and “pretty” it up all the while presenting a cohesive (and coherent) message about your ministry.  And don’t even get me started on the church podcast. It really takes time and talent, and we should consider the benefits of having someone manage how we present our ministries to the outside world.

[Update] Unfortunately, the person who volunteered for this ministry was unable to take the reigns. I fully understand. Its a daunting task to be the one who manages the “online presence” of a ministry. Fortunately, I can keep doing this for the time being. In my mind, it simply justifies my thoughts above.

And so it goes, WordPress 2.5

April 17, 2008, by No comments yet

Ahh, the sweet joy of knowing that you have installed a brand-new version of a cherished program.  There are few joys like it.  Still, I almost missed this one because I don’t usually use the online login to manage this blog.  In fact, I use an offline program called Mars Edit from Red Sweater Software (review posted later). While I enjoy Mars Edit, it does not pull up the updates from the WordPress.com home page like when you login to the admin area (where I am actually writing this post).  That’ll teach me!

Lesson learned.

I need to remember that the folks at WordPress put in a lot of long hours to make sure I can get the best experience possible from their product.  The least I can do it give them a chance to impress me.  So far, they have done a bang up job.  I am truly impressed with the layout of the new release.  I will be poking around for the next few days (sorry Mars Edit) and post my thoughts.