69: I need a Skype Man
2011-01-31
Download MP3 For Geekons Episode 69
Pop-Up: Mobile Skype
- Back in episode 26 we reviewed Skype 3, and since then 2 versions for the desktop and several mobile applications have come out.
- Today I'm focusing on their current mobile offerings, specifically the ones that run on iOS devices
- The old review showed that there was a 2 second delay in audio and no video features at all.
- Now, the audio delay is shorter and they have video!
- Many phones come with Skype pre-installed now and show Skype calls the same way they show incoming phone calls.
- The main reason I use Skype instead of Apple's Face Time is now I can make mobile video calls to various devices regardless of carrier, plus I already have Skype.
- The Mobile Skype app also works over my phone's data plan, so I don't need WiFi to make video calls
- While the quality isn't great, imagine missionaries being able to show your congregation live video of their surroundings with nothing more than an expensive phone and a data connection.
- I'm going to give mobile Skype 4 out of 5 stars, but only because the video and voice are a little out of sync.
Geek-Tweak: How to make a simple blog
- I had someone from our worship team come up to me and ask for help setting up a WordPess blog on their own host.
- Originally I showed him how to download the web app, extract the files, configure them, set up a database, then upload them to his host.
- Then I realized the host for my side business, bluehost.com, will install the very latest stable release with very few things to configure. (not every host stays current, so make sure yours does!)
- So here's what I did, and what I recommend others to do:
- Set up a hosting account with a shared host that has the latest WordPress release
- Bluehost, where http://www.woventhorns.com and http://www.ministrydecals.com are hosted (affiliate link: http://gkns.us/bluehost )
- PowWeb, where this blog his hosted (affiliate link: http://gkns.us/powweb )
- Not GoDaddy... I'm not going to rant here, but please don't use them.
- Login to that host's Control Panel/Admin Interface and locate their software installer. (for both BlueHost and PowWeb you just scroll down and click on WordPress)
- Follow the instructions.
- Login to your blog and start blogging! (the installer should have given you a link to log in to the admin interface of your blog, be sure to bookmark it!)
- No really, that's all I'm going to tell you.
- Set up a hosting account with a shared host that has the latest WordPress release
- It took me about 10 minutes to set up http://www.woventhorns.com/blog, so I'm definitely sold in letting your web host install WordPress for you.
- Now that you have a blog, start writing all kinds of interesting stuff, while making sure you take every opportunity to share the love of Christ in your writing!
View-Source: Biblical Time Management
- I recently read a tweet by @mrnickcrespo that said "My time is inflexible. My decisions flexible. God help me to make decisions that redeem the time. Eph 5:16"
- I've decided to run with that and make a bible study out of it!
- Basic instruction: See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.
- Circumspectly is defined as careful to consider all circumstances and possible consequences www.m-w.com/dictionary/circumspectly
- This gives me the impression that it isn't about just how you react to things, but how you avoid things altogether.
- It is foolish to go through life without thinking about consequences to your actions, to what you watch and what influences you allow into your life.
- Proverbs 4:23 says to Keep (or guard) your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
- If we don't actively protect our heart it will show in our daily lives.
- Verse 16 continues with, "redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
- This is where @mrnickcrespo's tweet comes in.
- We know that time is a constant and our decisions and actions are the variables, so we need to adjust those variables for the best outcome.
- a few definitions for redeem that really hit home concerning time are:
- to buy back
- to release from blame or debt
- to change for the better
- to free from the consequences of sin
- What can we do to redeem time?
- Spend time studying God's word and meditating on it day and night (Joshua 1:8)
- Don't deceive yourself and just read it, actually do it (James 1:22)
- Do what you do as though you are doing it for God (Colossians 3:23)
- Since this idea came from twitter, you can also think of this as "redeem the use of your characters, for you only have 140"
- just like we need to make each character in a tweet count, we should strive to make every hour of the day count for God's glory.
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