Founder & Editor-in-Chief Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com VP of Operations Michael Hewitt - mike@ccmag.com Contributing Editors Dr. J.D.

Doc Watson, Terry Wilhite, Yvon Prehn, Nick Nicholaou, Walt Wilson, Jim Vanduzer Kevin A. Purcell, Ross Gile, Donald Stratton, Ben Woelk Copy Editor Gene Pearson Corporate Home Office
Mailing address: PO Box 319 Belton MO 64012 Delivery address: 311 Manor Dr. Belton, MO 64012 Phone: (816) 331-8142 FAX: 800-456-1868

Applying Tomorrows Technology to Todays Ministry Volume 19

COVER STORY - Page 9

August 2007

No 8

by Steve Hewitt SPECIAL FEATURE - Page 12

Oikos Makes SAFE Online Social Networking

SPECIAL FEATURE - Page 19

by Lauren Hunter by Steve Hewitt

Page 3 by Steve Hewitt Page 4 Page 7 by Scott Howard Page 15 by Donald Stratton Page 17 by Terry Wilhite Page 21 by Bob Dasal Page 22 by Nick Nicholaou Copyright 2007 by Christian Computing, Inc. All Rights Reserved Christian Computing is a registered trademark of Christian Computing, Inc. Written materials submitted to Christian Computing Magazine become the property of Christian Computing, Inc. upon receipt and may not necessarily be returned. Christian Computing Magazine reserves the right to make any changes to materials submitted for publication that are deemed necessary for editorial purposes. The content of this publication may not be copied in any way, shape or form without the express permission of Christian Computing, Inc. Views expressed in the articles and reviews printed within are not necessarily the views of the editor, publisher, or employees of Christian Computing Magazine, or Christian Computing, Inc.

Software4Nonprofits DONATION
EDITORIAL Ministry Technology Institute Start Off Strong CCMAG NEWSBRIEF SCOTT HOWARDS HOTPICS Blog Sites and More INSIDE THE BOX DirectX 10: Early Feedback MUSIC AND MULTIMEDIA How About That Big Screen WORDSEARCH WORD The Thompson Chain Reference Bible NICK AT CHURCH Managing Balance in Ministry TECH TALK Hot Tips 32 ACS IDEAS TO IMPACT Good Stewardship: An Offering Plate of Ideas INTERNET MINISTRY Rise of the Micro Giants HIGHER POWER WITH KEVIN Nick - Its Just You MINISTRY COMMUNICATIONS Internet-to-print, the HP Print 2.0 Initiative INFORMATION SECURITY Illegal File Sharing

Page 26 by Dr. J.D. Doc Watson Page 28 by Barry Moon Page 30 by Walt Wilson Page 33 by Kevin Purcell Page 36 by Yvon Prehn Page 38 by Ben Woelk

Articles highlighed in Yellow are provided by our partners. www.ccmag.com/2007_03/2007_03editorial.pdf 2 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

Editorial
Steve Hewitt - steve@ccmag.com

Ministry Technology Institute Starts Off Strong

ast month, I announced that I was co-founding the Ministry Technology Institute (MTI) with Nick Nicholaou. MTI will provide a certification program for those wishing to receive training in order to serve the technology needs of todays churches and ministries. Although we have not opened registration at this time, over nearly a thousand people have visited the site and over 200 have requested additional information whenever we are ready to open registration.
It is exciting to watch as God is literally putting MTI together. Each week Nick and I discover new ways to help MTI meet its ministry mission. Classes are beginning to take shape (I think 27 are in the works as of this writing) and all of the other areas of development in order to launch this fall are falling into place. Watch the MTI site (www.ministry-tech.com) for more information. We will continue to add information as it develops. Each week Nick and I meet and pray together, asking God to direct each step of our way. And God is answering those prayers. At the early stages of our talks, Nick and I both felt the need for an advisory board and we have been praying about who we would invite. We want to create an advisory board of ten people and are still working to fill all of the positions. However, five have agreed to serve so far, including: Clarence White CIO and IT Secretary The Salvation Army Western Territory Tony Dye IT Director Perimeter Church Jason Powell IT Director Granger Community Church Trace Pupke IT Director Seacoast Church Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 Fady Eldeiry IT Infrastructure Willow Creek Church We are still planning to open enrollment later this fall. While enrollment will be limited at first, we are aware from the response we are receiving that there is a great amount of interest, and we are working to allow as many as are feasible when we open enrollment. What can you do? Please continue to pray for this new endeavor. It seems each day I talk to someone new about MTI, and with each contact the Lord affirms that there is a need for this new ministry, and that He is indeed the potter, and we are the clay. Together We Serve Him,

Do You Text Message While Driving?

In a recent survey, nine out of ten people agree that text messaging while driving a car should be banned. However, the same survey revealed that 60% of those surveyed admitted that they had sent a text message while driving. The state of Washington in May passed the first ban in the United States on texting while driving and at least six other states including New York, California and Florida are considering similar legislation. There is little doubt that texting while driving can be dangerous. I have to admit I did it once when my son sent me a text and I felt the need to reply immediately. Several aspects come to mind on the level of danger. First, the persons vision is important. In my case, using bi-focal glasses, it was dangerous to glance at the tiny screen and display and then look up at traffic. However, would sending preset messages be as dangerous? In addition, more importantly, how will this be enforced? Could you be caught glancing at your cell phone and be ticketed? Or is the purpose of the law to provide proper blame for an accident. For more information, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/07/AR2007080700515.html

Beat the Heat May Mean Turning off Our Gadgets

Electronic devices have become smaller, sleeker, faster and hotter. We are talking REAL heat here, since everything from stereo tuners to DVD players are emitting a growing level of heat. Since people want sleek thin devices, the ability to dissipate heat has become a real problem. Some people have to add their own external fans to add cooling help for their entertainment centers. There have been many reports of Xbox360 failures on the rise and unofficial reports blame overheating since the boxes are normally stacked in close proximity to other heat producing digital recorders, cable boxes, etc. In addition, the Xbox360 uses three times the power of its predecessor. Last year my wife and I moved to a new home and I set up one of the bedrooms as a home office. As summer hit, I discovered the room was never comfortable and I simply couldnt keep the heat down. This year is much better, although right now we are going through a very high heat wave. The difference? I replaced the three large cathode-ray monitors with flat panel models. For more information, visit http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-heat4aug04,1,515041.story?coll=la-headlines-technology

New York Times to Stop Charging for Article Access

The New York Times has unofficially announced that they are preparing to drop their program of charging for accessing articles on their website. They have a program that is subscription only, called Times Select, which allows online readers to access articles after their initial publication. Non-paying readers were not able to view articles online a short time after they were published. Many other pay-to-see programs on the Internet have folded long ago. It seems that people expect content on the Internet to remain free and are hesitant to pay for online content. In addition, one of the things I always found frustrating about the New York Times Select program was, a person could read a current article and link to it on a website or in an email. Shortly after, when people would click on the link to read the reference they would be presented with a screen informing them that it was no longer available except to paying subscribers. This goes against the way Internet research has developed. For more information, visit http://www.nypost.com/seven/08072007/business timesselect_content_freed_business_holly_m__sanders.htm

Catholic Article Calls for Missionaries to Second Life

Imagine a city with 8 million residents that has a reputation for tolerating sexual content. What should the proper Christian response be? Well according to a new call to Catholics, the proper response is to send missionaries. The virtual world known as Second Life now boasts over 8 million users. It is a virtual world in every way. Can we imagine sending missionaries to reach virtual people with the message of Christ? While it is certainly true that Second Life is a virtual world with virtual people, the fact is that behind these animated graphics sit millions of real people with real souls. Second Life allows people the opportunity to go out into the world and meet people without ever leaving their real homes. There are already reports that some churches exist. And, I know that there are already some denominations 4 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

supporting missionaries to the Internet. Will virtual worlds become the next mission field? For more information visit http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=jesuits-say-take-word-of&chanId=sa003&modsrc=reuters

YouTube Is Ready To Release Anti-Piracy Tool

YouTube has been criticized, and is now being sued in court, because they have allowed copyrighted materials to be uploaded by users and viewed by millions. YouTubes best defense is that they have willingly removed copyrighted videos whenever they are reported. However, the courts may require more. So, YouTube is announcing a new tool that will allow electronic screening of videos that are uploaded. First copyrighted files must be submitted from legitimate sources and the digital code transferred to a database. Whenever a new video is submitted, the software will check the database for similar coding that appears in copyrighted materials. The service will be similar to fingerprint database used by the FBI. The new service is scheduled to start in September. For more information, visit http://www.computerworld.com/ action article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9028280&intsrc=news_ts_head

Laser Printers Present Health Hazard

New studies show that laser printers (not to be confused with ink jet printers found in most homes and small businesses) represent a health hazard equal to smoking cigarettes. It seems that the powder toner does not stay contained while the printers are in use. While you can not see the ultra-fine particles that are being released, new research shows that because the particles are being inhaled by those using the printers, and because of their ultra-fine size, the damage is very real. Studies shows that the amount of ultra-fine particles in the air in a large office space increased five times during work hours throughout the space as a result of the use of printers. Not all printers are as bad as others, and the results of this study suggest government involvement on regulating particle emissions. For more information, visit http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/printers-pose-health-risks-study/2007/07/31/1185647880054.html

Apple Announces iTunes Reaches Three Billion Downloads

Apple now has five million songs, 550 television shows and 500 movies. Their weight in the marketplace continues to grow and hitting three billion downloads is a great sign of their success. For more information, visit http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/31/ap3970514.html

Christian Computing Magazine

August 2007

Software Security Flaw BlackMarket Do Legitimate Vendors Pay?

Lets say you are a good computer programmer and you notice a potential security hole in a program. In the past, if you were a good person, you would contact the software manufacturer and inform them. They would re-write the code and fix the problem, and then issue an update. However, if you were not an honest person, you would use the flaw to allow you or other people to hack into computers for illegal purposes. About five years ago, it was discovered that a black-market of sorts was developed, allowing those that had discovered the problem but didnt want to exploit it, an opportunity to sell the information. In some cases, the original company would be contacted, given a hint of the problem and a price for the information. Some companies began to pay. Now a company has openly opened up in Switzerland helping to be the middle man between such ventures. They say the seek to insure that the person selling the security leak is actually talking to someone from the company that can fix the problem, but some believe they are not doing that serious of a check, and anyone could purchase such information. Others warn that if companies agree to buy this information, they are setting up a dangerous future. Now more people than every, qualified high-tech people, will be searching for bugs because it is profitable. For more information, visit http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/23/ap3943179.html

Windows Vista Suffers Growing Pains and XP Is Making a Comeback?

Vista has been out for 6 months and according to some stats is a great success. For example, more units have been bought in the first few months than any other new OS Microsoft has released. However, some point out that this is because there are so many more computer now than when XP was first introduced. When XP came out, there were also growing pains. While a new version of Windows can work just great on a computer it is installed with, users can quickly run into driver problems when they want to download their videos from the camera, use certain shortcut keys in the programs, etc. Because we use more technology products that are required to interact with our computers, there are more bugs to work out than with any other release of Windows in the past. As a result, computer manufacturers are discovering consumers still want to purchase Windows XP computers. Therefore, HP and Dell are both introducing new models that had in the past only come with Vista, to now sell with XP. Vista is working great for many people, and as more drivers become available and software programs get updated things will all work out. But for now, XP is making a comeback! For more information visit http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?alias=vistas-growing-painsleav&chanId=sa003&modsrc=reuters 6 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

Scott Howards hotPics

Scott Howard - scottdhoward@gmail.com

Blog Sites and More

have been interested over the past couple of years in how various churches work together in different areas to better glorify our Lord. Yes, I do understand that this is a very general statement and that there are some definite reasons why certain churches cannot work together due to some major doctrinal issues. However, besides those situations there are many churches that do agree on the major doctrines and it is interesting to see where they are combining resources and where they are not. I am not saying that we have to work together but it is something that I believe we should at least consider in different areas since all who are Christians are THE body of Christ.
Of course being that I am a systems administrator and information technology is what I spend most of my time doing, I tend to look at this area more than other areas. Right now there is something that is really percolating in the coffee pot that is called Church IT Roundtable. If you have not heard about Church IT Roundtable yet, you may want to look into it because it is bringing a lot of church IT guys together all over the nation. I think this is just incredibly awesome. The reason I bring this up is because I will be sharing some of the blogs and resources that I know of that relate to Church IT Roundtable in the coming months. As a matter of fact, my first blog that I will share with you today is by a guy that is definitely a hard hitter with Church IT Roundtable. The Roundtables are popping up across the nation and if there is not one already near you, it may already be in the works. www.jpowell.blogs.com is a blog by Jason Powell who is the IT director at Granger Community Church in Indiana. For a lot of you it is probably needless for me to have to say that what Jason does at Granger can be significant because of the influence his church has on the nation. Well, you need to know that Jason is doing a great job at leading the IT at Granger and has grown a passion for the Church IT Roundtable on top Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 of that; His blog is a great starting point to see what the Roundtable is all about by reading his posts and even checking out the blogs from his blogroll. If you live anywhere near northern Indiana and you are interested in getting involved, I would highly suggest that you contact Jason with the email address that is posted on the blog. www.perfect-optimization.com is for all of you bloggers and webmasters out there. Search engine optimization has become a huge interest lately and you dont want to miss out on some easy tips and tricks to better present yourself or your company. One section that tends to appeal to me since I am a bookworm is the SEO Articles under the SEO Tips category on the right sidebar. Also, if you click on SEO eBook you can download a free eBook on SEO which you 7

can open up a total of 3 times. There are many more really useful tips and information on this site which I really cant do justice in this small paragraph so just browse to it and see what you can pick up from them. www.ianmurdock.com is the personal blog by, yes, Ian Murdock. How did you guess (smile)? For those of you who do not recall who Ian is, I would say that he is best known for being the founder of Debian back in 1993. I will not go into great detail on Ians credentials as I realize this is not a resume submission but I will say that he is currently the chief OS platform strategist at Sun Microsystems and the chairman of the Linux Standard Base. Ian has a typical techie blogroll and bookmarks section which I am sure you may want to checkout to see what he likes to checkout from time to time. The opinion that I have formed from reading Ians blog is that he doesnt necessarily seem to care too much if he gets a lot of traffic to his blog. What I mean by that is that he doesnt seem to be the type that is racking his brain trying to get a post up every day or on some other type of consistent schedule to keep people coming back. Rather he seems to post sporadically but with rather interesting writings and not just a bunch of words thrown up to fill a slot, like some bloggers tend to do.

Read CCMags Review of our LogosGiving Service! Visit www.ccmag2.com/logos/0205coverstory.pdf

www.totallydrivers.com is a great site for finding those drivers that you have difficulty finding for whatever reason. I realize that the majority of drivers out there are accessible from the manufacturer but I also realize that occasionally there are situations where you will need to access the drivers from a location other than the manufacturer. This site does have a section devoted to the latest Vista drivers and they also have a program that will scan your computer to check for drivers that can be updated. One last thing, you may want to check out the different utilities they have for testing different areas of your computer motherboard. www.fullcirclemagazine.org is a fairly new digital magazine for all you Ubuntu lovers out there. When you browse to the site, just click on download and you can download whatever issue you would like. I wont go into the details of the site itself but I can tell you that the magazine is pretty cool in that they have covered things like how to install a specific distribution, how to use a particular genealogy program, or even the latest information about MythTV. The idea is that every issue that comes out may cover different topics that pertain to Ubuntu so you can be an all around Ubuntu guru.

August 2007

Christian Computing Magazine

by Steve Hewitt

ver 10 years ago I discovered Manna Bible Maps. They produce a great collection of Bible maps available on a CD. We reviewed their product over six years ago (http://www.biblemaps.com/review.html) and I have personally used their maps many times since. Several months ago I called Matt Hennecke, founder and president of Manna Bible Maps to find out what was new. I was pleased to discover that Manna has expanding from offering a great Bible map software program, to offering a new online fantastic service!
Since it has been so long since we have featured Manna in Christian Computing, let me start by reminding you what Mannas Bible maps provide, because they offer much more than just basic maps. However, dont forget this is an overview of what they have offered for sometime, be sure to read on for the exciting new services. their list of content is accurate. It is amazing! Sometimes, I fear that the name of what Manna offers is lost because people just think it is a collection of maps. That is why they add the word PLUS to the title

Bible Maps PLUS

If you teach the Bible (or even if you just study for yourself) Bible Maps has some exciting tools to help make your teachings come alive! Quoting from their website, Bible Maps includes maps of the following: Egyptian empire, Babylonian empire, Assyrian empire, Greek empire, Roman empire, the Exodus, conquest of Canaan, travels of Christ, tribes of Israel, kingdom of Saul, kingdom of David, divided kingdom, archaeology, fertile crescent, journeys of Paul, topographical maps, Salt Sea, Sea of Galilee, and the journey of Abraham. City maps include 12 maps of Jerusalem, Antioch, Athens, Babylon, Corinth, Damascus, Ephesus, Jericho, Masada, Nineveh, Pergamum, Rome, Samaria, Ur, and more! When you click on a city or feature, Bible-based information is displayed. There are over 500 cities, 400 pages of text, and 3,000 searchable items! I have used the program over the years and can tell you that Christian Computing Magazine August 2007

of what they offer, Bible Maps PLUS! For example, you can view the chronology of kings and learn more about the kingdoms of 9

Saul, David, and Solomon. Then discover little-known facts about the northern and southern kings of the divided kingdom. Want to know more about a particular king? Simply click on him and pop-up information appears! Or go to our genealogy maps and trace the lineage of Christ beginning with Adam. Click on a person on any of the genealogy maps and pop-up information appears telling you more about that person. Also included are time lines of the prophets and judges, a time line of biblical events and time lines of the Old and New Testament books. The program provides many other valuable features such as a search engine that can help you find any map or referenced material. You can add your own notes to the map notes already provided. They provide animated maps which is fantastic when showing, for example, the journeys of Paul. And, they have provided the maps in various forms for display on screen as well as printable files in higher resolution in color and black-andwhite.

So, whats new?

Manna is offering new products and new services, but the biggest news is that they are really taking advantage of the Internet to enhance everything they offer! For example, Bible Maps Plus is still available on CD, which is especially convenient when making this incredible Bible study enhancement product a gift (when IS your pastors birthday?) But now, for this with high-speed Internet connection, you can purchase the entire collection and have it downloaded directly to your computer! About the only limitation Bible Manna Maps Plus has is that the window size of the software program could not be maximized to fit the entire screen if you wanted to have it display on an video projector. However, one of the exciting new features that Manna is now offering is map files that can be easily imported into PowerPoint and sized to fit your needs! In fact, the most exciting new feature is that Manna has developed the ability to provide a map to meet any and everyones needs. What if you dont need or want 300 different maps, but you DO need a specific map for a Bible study you are leading THIS evening! Manna to the rescue! They now offer a service that allows us to purchase and download individual maps for as little as $1.49!! (I know, you are not supposed to use two !!, but in this case I think what Manna is offering with this new service is worth of it!) You can still purchase maps in category sets, saving you up to 25%. There are ten different categories to pick from 10 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

with the newest being a complete set of animated maps. Purchased maps are sent to your email, where they can be sized to fit your need, inserted into a document, printed full page, or used in PowerPoint. In most cases two versions of a map are provided, one with map labels, and one without, in case you wanted to add your own labels, or if you wanted to use a blank map as part of a test to see if students can properly place cities and events on a blank map after your lesson. Now Manna uses the Internet to allow Christian teachers anywhere in the world to purchase maps for Bible studies in a fast and convenient way, and without having to pay any shipping! There are more than 150 maps available for download now, with more added each week. All of Mannas maps have been recently redrawn to improve their appearance. They have done such a fantastic job on the quality that several publishers have been working with Manna to use their maps in upcoming publications. Want more? Manna has more! They are now offering 26 of their most popular maps in a laminated wall mount version. The maps are a large 22" x 35" format and are printed on 100# glossy paper and come laminated or unlaminated. Visit their website (www.biblemaps.com) for more information on pricing and shipping of their new wall map collection.

Manna now offers Bible class materials

For years Manna Bible Maps has provided great maps and reference materials to enhance any Bible study. Now they are actually providing detailed Bible class materials suitable for teen or adult classes. They have a variety of materials available for purchase on their site (www.biblemaps.com) that you will want to spend some time browsing. Click on a class material icon and you will see samples of the class materials including lessons with blanks for the students to fill out, maps, and great reference materials.

Conclusion
What else can I say, other than I have been a fan of Manna Bible Maps for over a decade? It is exciting to see how they have expanded their services, products and even their method of sale and delivery. I love a company that moves with technology, and Manna has shown that not only do their products and services continue to improve, but they are on the cutting edge in providing their services quickly, easily and available to the world, with what I believe is a great tool for those seeking to make the Bible come alive for their students. Good job! Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 11

Oikos Makes SAFE Online Social Networking a Reality for Churches

by Lauren Hunter

uch has been discussed about the advent of social networking and the web, and its only until recently that solutions have come onto the land scape to provide real community tools to churches, ministries, and other nontraditional religious organizations that are, in fact, safe from the unwanted threats of the World Wide Web.
With more and more people wary of MySpace and other large, open social networking communities, our appetites have been whet by the Web 2.0 capabilities possible, yet concerns abound. With new technologies being created everyday to target Christian organizations, there are now a plethora of technologies for churches to review. Overarching these options, safety and security of users must be taken into consideration in order for social networking to become a viable technology for increasing community within the Church. People hunger connectedness; they want to communicate and deepen relationships beyond the obligatory handshake and smile on Sunchurch People desire community, this is a fact, says Mike Simon, president of Simon Solutions (www.simonsolutions.com), creator of Oikos. With millions of people now integrating their online world with everyday living, we see Oikos as a ministry tool that helps people connect and build relationships. Seven years ago, full-time minister and community leader, Mike Simon, felt inspired to gather together a The Acts 2 Church dynamic team of young web They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and developers to build interactive fellowship, sharing in the Lords Supper and in prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers websites for ministry purposes. met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and At the time, he was very shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, excited by the unlimited potenmet in homes for the Lords Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity tial of the Internet, but frusall the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord trated by how complicated and added to their group those who were being saved. - Acts 2: 42-47, NLT expensive it was to build a truly interactive website that enday morning. The overall goal to increase a sense of community is the hanced communication between users. renewed desire that many people feel to return to an Acts 2 model While this vision was put on the backburner 12 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

for several years, God graciously brought the same team back together in 2006 to complete the vision and build Oikos, the first completely secure online social networking platform for the church market.

What is Oikos?
Oikos (www.oikoshq.com) is a revolutionary online community-building platform with which congregations, ministries, schools, and cell groups can connect, share, and communicate onlineall in a secure environment. Oikos (also the Greek term for household) is intended to allow organizations to have their own mini-social network community, not join churches and organizations into one MySpace-type community. Although the MySpace model is certainly valuable in some respects, the mounting problems with security leave much to be desired, especially when working to provide religious organizations with ways to communicate online. While some providers out there seek to create a public network of churches, our goal is to provide organizations with a way to have their own private social networks where they can build up and encourage members to extend their physical communities of believers online to enhance relationships, says Ben Stedman at Simon Solutions. Oikos is like nothing elseits truly interactive and ultra-cool user interface is unique and extraordinarily simple to navigate. Any organization can have an Oikos, and have the ability to create unlimited numbers of groups within their Oikos to provide ways to increase community. For instance, say First Baptist Church signs up for their own Oikos. They can then create groups within their Oikos for each and every ministry area within their church so that each of these groups of people have a specific place to communicate and share. When people log in to Oikos, they see a main page where the church or organizations leader or administrator can post a welcome note, sermon files to download, images, prayer requests, etc. The possibilities are endless. Because Oikos is built as a Web 2.0 application, interactivity is inherent in the makeup of the Oikos platform. When members login, they can see who else is online and even chat one-on-one with others.

Features Abound
Oikos offers a host of interactive features within the system and is always adding new ways to communicate and share more efficiently online. Below is a list of the main features that make Oikos so robust: Profiles/Directory: The handy Oikos directory shows you a list of all members in your Oikos alphabetically. You can see who recently joined and know who is online when a green light appears by their profile. Each member in your Oikos gets a profile page that can be customized with different widgetslittle interactive boxes that display comments, messages, images, and more. Members can post notes and comments to others as well as receive comments. They can also have a blog or make a photo slide show of their family. Calendar: Each group leader and administrator can add events, so that the church secretary is freed from the burden of keeping up with every event that happens around the church. This way, Oikos members have an online way to instantly find out whats going on. Conversation Forum: This section allows members to start a conversation and get responses from anyone in their Oikos. As an example, sermons could be supported with interactive discussions. A conversation forum is a great way for pastors to get an idea for the thoughts and feelings of their congregation. Media: On the media page, members can share pictures, video, and audio. Members can create an album and fill it with whatever they want. For example, missionaries could log in remotely and upload photos from their current efforts to share with the congregation. Groups: Members can browse group listings that have been created such as Womens Ministries, Mens Ministries, High School Ministries, or whichever groups your church chooses to create within its Oikos. Groups each have their own profile page so that members can get a better idea of what the groups purpose is. Organizations can also create private groups with their Oikos that do not show up in the main group directory, for leadership groups or committees Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 13

that need to remain invitation-only. Chat: Members can see who is online at anytime and start a chat session with them. For organizations that have members all over the country or world, this makes real-time communications possible without charge; for others, it can be a simple way to communicate quickly and effectively and to encourage, pray, or share with one another.

Overall Benefits
Online social communities such as Oikos can be extremely beneficial to many types of Christian organizations. For instance, Worldwide Missionary Evangelism (WME) (www.wmeinc.org) is an organization dedicated to promoting genuine ministerial fellowship and purposes to counsel, train, and guide those with a call of God upon their lives. Because were a missionary organization, we knew that Oikos would be a great way for our members to networkall in one location, comments Serina Tustin, administrator for WME. Oikos had all the same features that are popular out therebut no ads, no pop-ups, all those things that are annoyingespecially to ministers. One of the things that drew us to Oikos was the ability to have the communication tools plus the security, without all the junk. WME is able to utilize Oikos to communicate via profile pages and chat, encourage one another through groups, discuss issues through forums, pray for one another 24/7, and share images and media files. Now, instead of having missionaries send me pictures and e-mail updates to include in our e-newsletter, Oikos provides for us a way to stay in better communication with one another without doing mass e-mails with tons of picture attachments. We also use Oikos to send out prayer requestspeople get notified that they have information on the WME Oikos and can log on and read. Since we have some members that are in countries with very sensitive e-mail regulations, we dont have to be worried about information being censoredOikos prevents the information from being seen, adds Tustin. For organizations that connect people in various locations throughout the world, Oikos makes perfect sense; it provides a place for people to come together to share, pray, encourage, discuss, and encourageall in the name of Christ. Other benefits of Oikos include the ability to send mass e-mails to groups through the announcement widget, share files with groups through the file sharing widget, get feedback from groups through the conversation page, and report of missionary trips and more through the media page. We are working to set up groups by regions and by location, such as ministers in Mexico or Africa. Were assigning people that live and function in those areas to be the administrator of their small group so that they can stay current on seminars and conferences, stay in general contact with one another, as well as network with others in their area, notes Tustin. This gives them a sense of an established home base that is more centrally located to where they are. They can also post event notifications for their particular regions in this groups section.

Security Affirmed
As you can note from WMEs comment above, the security of Oikos is critical. For organizations that want to connect people in various countries around the world, it can be of utmost importance that the information within Oikos be kept private. Due to the back end technology used to build Oikos, search engines cannot see inside your Oikos, so organizations and individual users can be sure that their information is safeall the time. Each person within your congregation or organization can be given their own login. Oikos does allow guest access, but their interaction is limited, and guests can only get enough of a taste of your community to want more. Guests can request membership, and the administrator will be notified by email. Simon Solutions is currently offering discounted rates on Oikos through the end of August in order to encourage more churches, ministries, and religious organizations to give Oikos a try. Click here for a full pricing list: http:// www.oikoshq.com/pricing.html. You can also sign up for a free 30-day trial to find out if Oikos is right for your organization. Simon Solutions aims to be technology consultants to the Body of Christ. They desire to help ministries grow and move forward through creating powerful web development and community-building software for ministries, both small and large. Their mission is to combine together innovative technology, intelligent enterprise, and interactive community by building synergistic solutions to empower the Church. Lauren Hunter is a freelance writer and public relations consultant dedicated to the faith-based technology market. For more information on how internet technology can improve your organization, contact Ms. Hunter at lauren@laurenhunter.net.

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Christian Computing Magazine

inside the box

Donald Stratton - Donald@PowerNotebooks.com

DirectX 10: Early Feedback

irectX is a programming interface (API) between the game code and the graphics card driver. It exists to enforce uniformity between different manufacturers so that everyone gets a more consistent experience and manufacturers and game developers can design for a solid set of specs.
As new hardware features and techniques are devised, they are then incorporated into DirectX. Up until DirectX 10, it has been backward compatible with previous versions. DirectX 10 is not backwards compatible with DX9 and earlier versions so Vista includes both DX9 and DX10 to maintain game compatibility. But in order to take advantage of the gains provided by a newer version of DirectX, both the game and graphics card must be developed with that version in mind. The Nvidia 8xxx and ATI HD series are the first DirectX 10 chips on the market, and the first games are making their way out now. The question is... is DirectX 10 worth it, and does it overcome Vistas performance hit? First, the pitch from Microsoft: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/ windowsvista/articles/447226.aspx Looks fantastic, right? Everyone is looking forward to seeing what graphics hardware will be required for such stunning graphics detail. Of course, the Halo graphics shown above it are completely pathetic for representing what current DirectX 9 games provide. They are closer to the Unreal Tournament from 2000. Going back to Crysis, here are some links with Crysis DirectX 9 vs. 10 comparisons. http://uk.media.pc.ign.com/media/694/694190/imgs_1.html http://blog.thebackbuffer.com/2007/05/crysis-directx-10-vs-directx-90video.html http://www.gametrailers.com/player/19967.html .... and an Age of Conan DX9 vs. 10 comparison: http://www.legitreviews.com/article/487/1/ One other note. That truly awesome Flight Simulator DirectX 10 screenshot isnt a screenshot at all. Its an artists concept of what a DirectX 10 Flight Simulator X would look like. Look at the bottom left corner of this image: http:// media.pc.ign.com/media/792/792287/img_3876940.html Water being rendered that realistically would be fantastic. I hope they can pull it off. But will they? At the moment, there are less than 5 games that support DirectX 10 on the Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 15

market. That number is expected to rise rapidly as we approach Christmas. You can keep an eye on this link: http:/ /en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ List_of_games_with_DirectX_10_support Two of the games that currently support DirectX 10 are Lost Planet and Company of Heroes. Both were designed as DirectX 9 titles but added some DirectX 10 feature support. Lost Planets appears to have been focused primarily on performance, quoting a 1020% performance improvement. This basically makes up for the 20% performance hit Vista applies over XP. Company of Heroes modified their explosions and a few other details, but the performance was abysmal in comparison to Dx9. You can read the two reviews here: http://www.bit-tech.net/ gaming/2007/06/20/ company_of_heroes_dx10_comparison/ 1 http://www.gamespot.com/features/6171326/index.html One other thing that DirectX 10 changes is that there will no longer be feature comparison lists for different graphics cards. Either they support DX10 or they dont. With DX9 and earlier versions, many features were only supported by some DirectX9 cards. Microsoft has put a stop to that. Basically, DirectX 10 adds a geometry shader and some efficiency improvements over DirectX9. That should allow games to look better, especially in lighting, smoke, and distance environmental detail, but it probably wont be as mind-blowing as the Flight Simulator X screenshot suggests. The real question is whether they will be able to make these improvements on the current crop of 8600-level cards or whether well have to wait for more GPU horsepower to really use it. Only time will tell.

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Christian Computing Magazine

music and multimedia

Terry Wilhite - ccmag@terrywilhite.com

How About That Big Screen?

ts been a long time since we discussed the big screen in church. Its a foregone fact that projection screens are now as common as crosses and flank sanctuaries across America and beyond. But are they being used any more effectively than in the early days? Then a few pastors and a handful of volunteers knew PowerPoint in church had the potential to be a great visual aid, just as it was in the corporate boardroom, but few knew how to capture its potential impact in the sanctuary.
The progress report is this, in my opinion: If the big screen at your church doesnt feature the best, most striking visuals possible, including powerful videos, its not the industrys fault. In the early days, any video, background image or slide had to be created in-house a laborious job, to say the least and although many would-be graphic artists were quite proud of their creations, by professional graphic standards, they were relegated to cheap clip art and built-in type, obnoxious, arching type effects. Bottom line? Most graphics were really pitiful. Now the picture has changed (literally) with resources such as www.powerpointsermons.com, www.sermonspice.com, and www.wordsearchmedia.com, a few bucks will get you the best of the best. Another clearinghouse is www.worshiphousemedia.com. Its probably my favorite because it is a one-stop shop of graphics and video material. In my cursory progress report, however, there is some sad and disappointing news. Too many people responsible for their big screen at church, unfortunately, still dont get it that, indeed, less is more, when it comes to creativity. Christian Computing Magazine That cherished rule is still being forsaken for way too many shake, rattle and roll transitions that distract from the message. So, it appears, we now have the digital assets that we need to really effectively communicate at incredibly low prices but our best practices still wane. Were yet to get the fact that our true test of success is our transparency and that the best visual on the stage is still the pastor. Or that one of the best tools in making a message click is a hand-held prop of some sort and that the best way to project Bible verses is with Scripture held in ones hands. So with good digital assets in hand, great messages in mind, what we need are a few tips to tighten our efforts to communicate visually on screen. The industry has come through. The ball is in our court to be great communicators. Here are my top pieces of advice for you.

Top 21st Century Visual Advice

1. Preparation is still key. Handy visuals that can be downloaded on Saturday night are no substitute for a meeting of the minds with the worship leader, pastor and big screen artist days in advance of the sermon and worship time. 17

August 2007

2. Consistency is still a best practice. While sermon title slides can be creative with type in good taste of course a common type style and format should be employed every week for the jest of the sermon outline just as the newspaper reports news everyday, but uses the same type and style guide. One always knows where to look for what subjects. 3. Less is more. You can wear out your welcome really fast with the use of too many videos and creativity. 4. Story telling is what were doing. Pictures, pictures, pictures, not words, words, words. If youre still using your big screen mostly for words, youve missed the boat. Somehow we forgot that the same communication techniques that intrigued us as third graders are really the ones that work best for adults. Tell a compelling story. Illustrate it. Dont word it to death. 5. Eliminate anything but a straight cut transition. Period. (No dissolving or typewriter text!) 6. Make your announcement slides interesting, but keep the location of information the same. Date, time, place information should be the same on the screen every time. Your viewers eyes and brain cant hunt down key information if its in a different spot every time as announcements fly by. 7. Its no sin to sing out of the hymn book or to have a piece of paper in your hand as a handout. Nothing should ever take the place of a Bible held in ones hands. Using one in worship is great practice for using it during the week. Id be interested in knowing your favorite on-line sources for good, bigscreen material. I only mentioned a few of my favorites. Id also like your war stories and your success stories too. How do you graphically plan for a worship service? Who is involved? Is it everybody that youd like? How far in advance do you plan? What are your best practices? Id like to share those with our readers. Drop me a line at ccmag@terrywilhite.com.

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Christian Computing Magazine

Software4Nonprofits DONATION
Designed to track donors and donations and issue charitable receipts
by Steve Hewitt

ome software programs spring onto the market, while others start as a seed and grow over time. Software4Nonprofits program DONATION is one of those programs that started small and has grown over time. Dan Cooperstock is the creator of DONATION, and he created it out of a need in 1994 when he was serving as Treasurer of his Quaker Meetings Finance Committee. As treasurer, he was introduced to a commercial donation-tracking package that they were presently using, but he found himself frustrated by several drawbacks. He approached the company and asked for some improvements but was frustrated that they were never made. He asked other non-profits about their software packages but didnt find anyone completely satisfied. Since he also had programming background, he decided to create his own program.
clear as to what their product provides and what it doesnt. Dan tells you clearly on his site what DONATION will not do. I find that kind of honesty incredible. DONATION does not have special features for tracking your members, it doesnt pretend to be a Church Management Software package and Dan does not intend to turn DONATION into a full accounting system. In the feature list on the DONATION website, Dan states, DONATION is best suited to situations with about 2,000 or fewer donors because of the way it organizes its data. Also, larger organizations might want a more full-featured and customizable program. Technically, however, it can store an unlimited number of donors. You have to love Dans desire to make sure you understand what you are getting with DONATION. I have to give 19

That first program was written in DOS. In 1998 when Dan rewrote DONATION as a Windows program, he started giving it away on the www.freedonationsoftware.org website. At the time, Dan offered the program for free (donations were welcome) because he wanted to help smaller churches that couldnt afford a commercial package, and he didnt want a side business while he still worked fulltime. This year, 2007, Dan started a complete rewrite of DONATION in order to add many long-requested features. He also decided that he could best serve the non-profit sector by working full-time on DONATION and would be able to provide even better support to his customers. Obviously, the first step was to change the domain from freedonationsoftware.com to www.software4nonprofits.com. However, Dan still offers DONATION on a shareware basis. Shareware in this case means you get to try a demo version for free after registering, but you must pay if you decide to continue using the program.

Why Check Out DONATION?

First of all, I love the fact that Dan makes it clear exactly what he is providing. DONATION is primarily for tracking charitable donors and donations and issuing receipts. Few sites go out of their way to make it Christian Computing Magazine August 2007

him one of the highest truth in advertising ratings I have seen in many years. The fact is, DONATION fits a niche in the market by providing its needed services at a DONATION: Simple. Powerful. All you need. great price with a try-it-before-youbuy offer that is going to be a hit for DONATION is an affordable program used to track donors and donations and a lot of non-profits. issue receipts, for churches or charities. It has over 4,000 registered users. It is very user-friendly and easy to learn, and has full documentation and great technical Second, for what DONATION support. For more information, or to download your FREE Evaluation copy, go to: does provide, they have many feawww.software4nonprofits.com/ccmag tures. For a complete list of features, visit http:// www.software4nonprofits.com/ features.htm. However, here are some of the features I like most! Record names, addresses and phone numbers of donors. Use member or envelope numbers, if desired. Specify various categories of donor and donation. Record 3 user-specifiable fields about donors, plus a virtually unlimited-length comments field. Record an annual pledge amount for each donor. Record dates, amounts, donation categories and check numbers for individual donations. Use a special data entry form to speed entry of weekly collections for churches. Use an optional limited-entry password for volunteers to do entry without necessarily seeing full details on donors or donation history. Print over 30 different reports on donors, donations, receipts and categories. Save any report to various exported file formats, such as Excel or CSV (comma-separated value). Create mail merge letters for one, all or some donors Print numbered charitable receipts in a simple standardized format, plus mailing labels for those receipts Select different receipt formats for users in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, and other countries. Print duplicate receipts (e.g. if someone loses one). Generate receipts in a format that you design, using the mail merge features. DONATION has context-sensitive help and a full manual online. Uses a powerful Sybase Adaptive Server Anywhere database, and thus the data can be accessed for other purposes (with appropriate tools). Has a simple option to backup all of your data to diskettes, your hard drive, or elsewhere (e.g. a writeable CD or USB memory key). Can be used to store donations for multiple organizations on the same computer. Third, DONATION is easy to use. When you visit their site, be sure to read all of the testimonials posted. One of the common threads you see throughout the comments is that DONATION is simple to use, has an easy learning curve, and most state they were able to begin data entry immediately after installation.

Conclusion
How can you go wrong by giving DONATION a try? If you need a simple program that allows you to manage the task of recording donations for your non-profit organization, visit www.software4nonprofits.com and give DONATION a try. Remember, you can download it and give it a test run before you have to commit to purchasing the product. Who could ask for a better deal? What is the price? DONATION is free for very small charities (under specified conditions), $50-$100 for the rest, depending on the number of donors! 20 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

wordsearch word
Bob Dasal - bdasal@wordsearchbible.com

The Thompson Chain Reference Bible

Providing an intimate understanding of Scripture for 100 years

n 2008 we will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Thompson Chain Refer ence Bible. Dr. James Kennedy has said, Few Bible study helps have been as universally used as the Thompson Chain-Reference. Dr. Charles Stanley tells how when entered Seminary he was given a Thompson Chain-Reference Bible. I soon learned that this study Bible was worth more to me than a pot of gold.
If you love the Thompson Chain you need the powerful software version. If you are new to this Study Bible, you will fall in love with the power and ease of the software version. This popular Study Bible software is available exclusively from WORDsearch Bible software. For a limited time (until October 30, 2007) the software version of the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, which retails for $49.95, is on sale for just $29.97. Included in this powerful package are ten Bible translations, plus 63 reference titles. This special is available through Lifeway Christian Stores, Berean Christian Stores, Mardel, Parable Christian Stores, Christian Book Distributors, Discount Bible Software, Discount Christian Software, Rejoice Christian Software, and most Christian retailers, this is the best value in Bible Study Software today. Besides these fine Christian retailers, this great software package is available from WORDsearch online at www.WORDsearchBible.com, or by calling 1-800-888-9898. powerful Bible study system even better. With a click of the mouse button you can search over 100,000 links covering over 7,000 topics and in the electronic version you can hear over 13,000 Greek and Hebrew words pronounced.

The software includes:

Outline Studies of the Bible Bible Character Studies Bible Harmonies and Illustrated Studies Lists of the Great Passages Memory Verses of the Bible How to Mark Your Bible Helps for Christian Work and Witnessing Diagrams Charts Maps of Biblical locations An extensive Archaeological Supplement Innumerable facts, figures, distances, dates, offices, and calendars of Bible time With study features developed by Dr. Thompson helping people, for a hundred years, study the Word of God with clarity and understanding the Thompson ChainReference Bible software provides even more in-depth understanding of the Scripture. No other software available today can match this WORDsearch Bible offer for power and value. Visit your local Christian bookstore and ask for the SPECIAL OFFER on the Thompson Chain Reference Bible software, visit the WORDsearch web site (www.WORDsearchBible.com) or call 1-800-888-9898 .

Brief History
In the late nineteenth century Dr. Frank Charles Thompson, a Methodist Minister, saw the need for a study Bible that would present the Scripture in a clear, scholarly, interesting, yet simple and compact form. It needed to be a well-organized reference Bible that could be of practical use to the layman and the minister. In 1890 he began researching the Bible and writing down his findings and thoughts opposite the verses. Some of the men in his church saw his Bible and told him that this was what they needed to help them in their Bible study. They encouraged Dr. Thompson to have his Bible, with marginal references, published so that everyone could have the advantage of these helps in their Bible study. The Methodists Book Concern of Dobbs Ferry, New York printed the first edition of the Bible in 1908. For a century laypersons and pastors have used the one volume Thompson Chain Study System as a complete study library. This study Bible is invaluable for those who read and study their Bibles every day. The software version, developed by WORDsearch Bible, has made a Christian Computing Magazine August 2007

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nick at church
Nick Nicholaou - nick@mbsinc.com

Managing Balance in Ministry

any of us who work in ministry have lives that are out of balance! Ministries often need more people but cant afford them, were called to the greatest task on earth and want to give it our all, and more. But at what price do we push ourselves further than we should? Many are watching us neighbors, friends, and family and our relationships with them often suffer. There are tools that can help! Lets look at a few.
Managing Our Environments
In his great book Rising Above the Level of Mediocrity, Chuck Swindoll said, People who soar [like eagles] are those who refuse to sit back, sigh, and wish things would change. They manage their environment. When I consider this, I picture a thermostat. We often dont realize how much we affect those around us, but when we do, we can choose to manage our environment like a thermostat does. Thermostats need to know the temperature, so they come with built-in thermometers. Then they use that knowledge; they dont just reflect their environment, they manage it. Here are four questions that have helped me assess how Im managing my environment: Q1. Does the pressure of the moment get to you? If so, those around you will too. Q2. Do you work too many hours for your personal or family health? If so, those around you will too. Q3. Do you take breaks? If you plan breaks and rest, so will those around you. Q4. Are you an approachable team player? We need to demonstrate appropriate schmooze (the art of casually visiting with others) to show we care. 22 August 2007 This came to me in a sensitive way in our office. One day I noticed a member of our team sitting at her desk crying. When I asked her what was wrong she looked up, still crying, and said, I just cant keep your pace. I almost responded that I never asked her to, but I often worked from dawn until late at night and hadnt realized that I was setting the pace in our office.

The Sabbatical Principle

When I told my friend and mentor, Dr. Ted Engstrom, about that situation, he shared with me his two-part Sabbatical Principle. It has two parts: Part 1. Regularly take breaks in order to remain resourceful and to avoid burning out. He recommended: a couple of minutes every hour, twenty minutes each day, one day each month, at least one week each year, and Christian Computing Magazine

Christian Computing Magazine

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 an extended time every seven years. Part 2. He also recommended dividing each day into three sections: morning, afternoon, and evening. Three sections each day, times seven days in a week, equals twenty-one sections in every week. He said, Try to not schedule more than fifteen periods per week. Then he said, Nick, I wish Id been doing this all of my professional life! And he wasnt only talking about work schedules, he was talking about all scheduling. Ive discovered great freedom through his Sabbatical Principle. During heavy workload periods I can take a morning or an afternoon off to balance my schedule. You may have that kind of flexibility too. In either case, try to not schedule yourself too much. Otherwise you wont be a good resource in your office or your home.

Do You Plan for Daydream Time?

It is the key to organizational vision and health. Mr. Benno C. Schmidt, Jr. became President of Yale in 1986, and in a television spot he addressed this very point. From behind a mahogany desk in a beautiful, paneled office he said, When they asked me to take the presidency of Yale University, I told them that if I had to live by a packed, frenetic agenda I could manage it, but I couldnt lead it. Then he leaned back, swiveled his chair around, and sat gazing out the window. That was his daydream time! If were going to serve well, we also need to have daydream time so we can creatively come up with new solutions to old problems. Daydream time helps us to be resourceful. Remember that you set the temperature in your workplace. You need these resources to set a comfortable temperature.

What About Excellence?

We have been discussing some ways to manage an appropriate level of balance in our lives. We are all leaders at some level, and as such we are responsible for how we lead. Scripture warns fathers not to exasperate their children. We might paraphrase that verse, Leaders, do not exasperate your followers. We should push for excellence in our lives. I dont think theres anything that adorns the work of Christ as much as excellence except for healthy relationships. 24 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

You may know the books In Search Of Excellence and A Passion For Excellence by Tom Peters and Nancy Austin. In the second book, the second-to-last paragraph says, We are frequently asked if it is possible to have it all. A full and satisfying personal life and a full and satisfying, hardworking professional one. Our answer is no. The price of excellence is time, energy, attention and focus. At the very same time that energy, attention and focus could have gone toward enjoying your daughters soccer game. Excellence is a high cost item. As David Ogilvy observed in Confessions Of An Advertising Man, If you prefer to spend all of your time growing roses or playing with your children, I like you better. But do not complain that youre not being promoted fast enough!

Apostles of Balance
Rich Buhler, a syndicated Christian radio host, has been called an apostle of balance. Its important that we strive for excellence in our lives, but also keep the balance. Id like to share a short story with you as we bring this article to a close. A biblical scholar was sitting in his English study in the days before electricity. As he looked through his study window, he could see across the valley in which he was situated a lamplighter going along and lighting the gas street lamps. As dusk settled in and the light continued to fade, the scholar noted he could no longer see the lamplighter, but he could tell where the lamplighter had been by the trail of lights he left along his way. We affect those around us. We owe them balance. As we think of our trail of lights, what kind of a trail are we leaving? Nick Nicholaou is President of MBS, a consulting firm specializing in ministry computer networks, operational policies, and CPA services. Since 1986 Nick and his team have served many churches and ministries in the U.S. and beyond, and he speaks often at conferences. You can reach Nick via email (nick@mbsinc.com) or phone (714/840-5900). You may want to check out his firms web site (www.mbsinc.com) and his unofficial blog at http://ministry-it.blogspot.com.

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Dr. J.D. (Doc) Watson - docwatson@nctelecom.net

tech talk

Hot Tips 32
his installment of our endless series describes how to adjust the vertical space between icons, how to change the focus of Explorer, since things have changed since the old days when I first shared this tip, and how to change the picture on your Welcome screen to something more personal. In case youre having stability issues, well also see how to open each folder in a separate part of memory.
Adjusting the Vertical Space Between Icons
Desktop getting a little crowded with all those icons on it? Yea, you could just clean it up (grin), but another solution is to adjust the space between icons to tighten up the space (or even leave room for more). First, right-click on the Desktop and click Properties. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab, and then click the Advanced button. Second, click the Item list, and then click the Icon Spacing (Vertical) option. Third, in the Size box, decrease the number to move icons closer together (or increase the number to add space), and then click OK. On a monitor with 800 600 resolution, for example, changing the default icon spacing from 43 to 39 squeezes eight icons into each column, up from the original seven. Fourth, to change the spacing for your existing Desktop icons to the spacing you specified, right-click your desktop, click Arrange Icons By on the shortcut menu, and then click Align to Grid. Fifth, right-click on the Desktop once more, click Arrange Icons By on the shortcut menu, and then click Auto Arrange. you can change it in the Registry. Do be aware, however, that if you do this, selecting Explorer from the pop-up menu in any folder will open Explorer with the focus on the folder you specify. If this is okay with you (and it is with me), then proceed. First, open Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell \explore\ddeexec. Second, in the right pane, right-mouse click (Default) and select Modify. Third, on the Value Data line, replace both instances of %I with the path of any folder. For example, I changed mine to read (and this is what has changed): [ExploreFolder(c:\Documents and Settings\Doc\My Documents, c:\Documents and Settings\Doc\My Documents, %S)]. (NOTE: the My Documents path has to change according to the user, in this case Doc, but yours will be different.) Fourth, click OK and close the Registry Editor. Now when you rightclick Start (or any other folder) and select Explore, the folder you specified will be Christian Computing Magazine

Changing the Focus of Explorer

While this is an old tip, going way back to my Hot Tips 1 booklet, something has changed making it necessary to revisit. Of course, the fastest way to start Explorer is to right-click the Start button and select Explore from the pop-up. The focus in the resulting Explorer window, however, is the Start menu. If you find this as annoying as do I, 26 August 2007

the focus. In case you want to change it back, heres the default value: [ExploreFolder(%l, %I, %S)]

Changing the Picture on Your Welcome Screen

By default, each user account in Windows has a standard picture (chess set, soccer ball, rubber ducky, etc.) associated with it. If youd like something more personal, however, you can change this by simply specifying your own image for each account. Kids (of all ages) will enjoy this. First, log on as administrator, go to Control Panel, and then open User Accounts. Second, under or pick an account to change, click the account for which you want to choose a picture, and then under What do you want to change . . ., click Change my picture. This displays the Pick a New Picture Fig. 1 The My Pictures folder being used to change the box, in which youll find all the default pictures. If you picture on the Welcome screen. want one of these, click it and then click the Change Picture button. If you want something else, keep going. Third, click the Browse for more pictures option, which opens your My Pictures folder. Figure 1 shows my own personal folder and a picture showing only a part of my ugly mug is selected. Fourth, click the picture you want to display for that account, and then click the Open button.

Opening Each Folder in a Separate Part of Memory

Here is a quick tip for those who might be having stability problems. As the boys and girls at Microsoft state: When you open each folder window in a separate part of memory, the stability of Windows can be increased. However, this process uses more memory, and may cause your computer to run more slowly. Open My Computer (press Windows Keys + E), go to Tools > Folder Options > View, check the Launch folder windows in a separate process option, and reboot. BTW, this is recommended only for 512MB memory and higher.

Windows Hot Tips 3 and More

Windows Hot Tips 3 covers all the tips and other stuff presented in my column from January 2004 to January 2007 (including graphics). Order yours today (it will be greatly appreciated). Like its predecessors, it makes a great quick reference because its divided into sections, each of which contains related tips. There are two other booklets in this Hot Tips series, Windows Hot Tips 1 and 2. A single copy of each is $6.50 (sorry for the price increase, but printing costs demanded it). Bulk prices are: $6.00 for 2-9 copies of the same title and $5.50 for 10 or more copies. If youd like to help with costs (not required), add 50 cents for any number of booklets you order. Docs Giant Utility Collection on CD is still postage paid at $14 (2-5 copies $13 each, and 6 or more copies $12 each). Send orders to: MicroManuals; PO Box 235; Meeker, CO; 81641. Thanks again for your faithful support. God bless. Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 27

ACS Ideas to Impact

Good Stewardship: An Offering Plate of Ideas

by Barry Moon

wo of the most valuable resources that each church possesses are money and time. However, many churches struggle to manage these resources efficiently, causing them to become unfruitful stewards.
defined. It can also be difficult to pull together different reports that may not share the same format, making it nearly impossible to get the complete picture. However, by using one system, a variety of reports can be generated according to what decision makers want to know as they decide how to care for the congregations current needs and try to do new things in the upcoming year. Reports and graphs can also be generated and giving trends can be examined, helping the church predict future contributions as it plans the budget.

For example, there may be many slow and repetitive processes that cause staff to waste time that could be better spent doing things to propel the ministry forward. Funds may be misspent, preventing churches from getting the most for their money. Good stewardship is a primary ingredient for success. The key principle is that if you are not wise with what you have, you will not be given more. This is why it is important for every church to make the most of its resources. By making some changes and using the proper tools, your church can be a model of good stewardship and operate more efficiently than ever before. The following are practical ways to avoid these pitfalls and get the most out of your resources.

Reduce Spending
Take steps to eliminate unnecessary spending. Your church relies on the faithful giving of your members, and you want to make the most of every dollar. If you can do things more efficiently and save money, you can put that money toward other ministries. The mission of your church is to meet needs, and with more capital, you can meet more needs. One way to save money is by keeping better track of fixed assets and the cost of replacing those assets. You can track specific asset details from acquisition to depreciation to maintenance by using a central inventory system for managing your organizations equipment. This software can be used to plan, document insurance claims, and support good stewardship of plans and property, helping you make wise decisions with your church property. Christian Computing Magazine

Find Tools
Acquire tools that will help you provide as much information as possible to the decision makers who plan your financial budget. With more information about your churchs ministries and financial situation, they can construct an efficient budget. You can also gain insight into your ministry that you could not have otherwise. While not all data management systems interface with a financial package, there are systems that can interface between your contribution and financial programs and offer you a better look at your churchs complete financial picture. These systems provide databases that can give you a comprehensive look at the ministry involvement of your members and their giving history. You can use this information to help you make decisions on how to stimulate more giving among those who give regularly and those who do not. You can also use software to enable members to give online. Not having interface capability creates a disconnection between the posting of contributions and the accounting system. This means that deposit information has to be re-entered and the audit trail is not as clearly 28 August 2007

Educate Staff
Train your staff to handle tasks more quickly. There are many integrated software systems available that allow churches to gain helpful insight for raising new contributions within their congregations. With a central database that tracks giving information, you can find out who is giving, track peaks and valleys, and see other participation trends that will help increase giving. Another advantage of using one of the many integrated software solutions is that you can provide your members with the opportunity to give online or set up an automatic bank draft. This can strengthen giving through the months of the year when giving is usually low because members are out of town. By making it more convenient to give, you could see a large increase in the consistency of giving within your congregation. Consider offering financial training and counseling for members, as well. Many people do not give like they should because of debt or lack of understanding about giving. Some pastors choose to give four or five stewardship sermons a year to educate and challenge their congregations. As your church learns to operate more efficiently, you will be amazed at what you can accomplish with the valuable resources you already have. To find out more about creating a good stewardship plan, visit www.ideastoimpact.com/contributions . Barry Moon has a Masters degree in Christian Education with 14 years of ministerial experience in education and administration. He is employed with ACS Technologies assisting churches in implementing their ministry ideas.

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Internet Ministry
Walt Wilson - waltccm@aol.com

Rise of the Micro Giants

he Internet has matured to the point where a small business in Silicon Valley and elsewhere is able to leverage global connections and build customers numbering in the tens of millions.
What about the church any size church, even a small church? Can the same be true for the church as it is for business? Can small churches leverage the Internet to build converts across the world numbering in the tens of millions? Yes. In fact its being done by more and more churches who, just like a business, can build a global presence on the Internet and become one of the micro giants. In the world of the 20-inch monitor no one out there knows if they are reading, watching or hearing a gospel presentation from a church of 100 people or a Saddleback. In fact, no one actually cares. The trick is presenting Jesus prominently on page one, making it easy to find and respond to. Gods Word it is the power by which men and woman are saved. Get rid if the idea that we need to somehow to put ourselves in the equation. How do we put ourselves in the equation? First, is our flawed strategy for the use of the Internet. We show pictures of the church, mug shots of the staff, the statement of faith, perhaps a doctrinal statement and certainly a list of all the outreach ministries offered by the church as if a non-believer would understand or even respond to such a collection of data including last weeks sermon on Jesus in the Old Testament from Hebrews. The web site of most churches is all about us. Secondly, we have convinced Christians that they must be theologians in order to share the gospel with someone. Almost 100% of the people we train to share their faith on the Internet have what I would call a yes, but. Yes Id like to share my faith but Im afraid Ill not be able to answer a question or Im afraid Ill make a mistake or Im just not a Bible scholar. The reason the church in America is not growing is because we are just plain afraid. Fear is the opposite of faith. Ill get lots of e-mail for saying this but as I read Gallop and Barna it is clear the church in America is failing. We have lost our influence in society and with institutions. We can 30 August 2007 place all the blame on courts, legislators, schools or government but its rare that we accept blame ourselves for our own poor performance in witnessing and discipleship leading to growth. A pastor friend of mine, the leader of a large and prominent mega-church in a recently described how two folks from a nonmainline religious group came to the door of his home to share as missionaries for their organization and their faith. My friend, being well schooled in their position easily rattled off a number of flaws in their history and theology. Realizing he was so knowledgeable, they beat a hasty retreat. Then something interesting happened. My pastor friend said he fell under such conviction that these people, who dont even possess the truth of God, go door-todoor witnessing and we, who posses the truth and the resulting power of God, dont even consider doing such a thing. He said he got on his knees in his living room to ask forgiveness for his own indifference to being an effective and active witness for Jesus Christ outside of the church. It is evident that most Christians are living in disobedience to the Great Commission. Is there at least one way we can fix this problem? The answer is yes. Every day almost a thousand people are now sharing their faith on the Internet in an environment that we call anonymous intimacy. Anonymous - in that a seeker can Christian Computing Magazine

explore the claims of Christ without going to church. Intimate - in that they share their fears, pain and issues in the most intimate details, sometimes from the very first message they send us. It provides our trained on-line responders with the opportunity to conduct gutlevel ministry for those in need. Each day, as many a five million people conduct a spiritual search on the Internet, while many Christians are fortressing within the church unaware of the huge numbers of people all around them silently crying out to God. People well past the point of allowing their intellectual arguments to keep them from actively pursuing a relationship with God. Their only question is how?, not why. Many churches along with Christian colleges and universities, such as Biola, Wheaton, Liberty University and William Jessup University are participating with us in this outreach. The current daily traffic to our 41 evangelical sites is 1 visitor every 5 seconds, (700 an hour, 17,000 a day). We see an indicated decision for Jesus Christ every 35 seconds (100 an hour, 2,400 a day). Every 3 minutes we receive an email from someone asking for help in knowing God or seeking assurance of salvation. Here are a few of the typical response we see from most every country in the world: I want to know God. I want to know Jesus. Will he forgive my sins for being a Muslim? I am a disabled Marine, wounded in Iraq and I want to get right with God. Can you send me anything that will help me get to know Jesus? I would be thankful. I began to weep as I read your e-mail. I am so grateful that you took the time to respond back to me. Its 2AM and Ive read the scriptures you sent I put down the gun. Im 32 years old and Ive never been so lost in my life I just want to give up and die, the only thing that keeps me going is my 5 year old son, I need help. I do not know how to Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 31

start or what to do. My parish priest told me to check out your site in preparation for a meeting with him. I have been very troubled lately, bothered by impure and blasphemous thoughts. My fear was that I had committed the unpardonable sin... but last night I prayed the prayer on your site and asked Jesus into my life. Following is typical of what we hear from our trained responders: When I was younger, I could never have dreamed of such a wonderful way to reach the world. (Im 52.) It astounds me every day. I am so very grateful to you and your team, the engineers and the thinkers who have put together this method, monitor it, and continually make it better. I really feel so blessed to have this tool every day. What could I do thats more important than this? And I do it while eating raspberries in the comfort of my kitchen while a load of laundry is drying. Amazing, so amazing. And finally my very favorite: I have never been a Christian. I was born and raised as an atheist ...Your simple message that I found by Googling Jesus, and pressing feeling lucky, led me to your site. It answered some basic questions for me. Have I come to the right place? Did I get lucky? Thanks for anything you can do for me. I have avoided Jesus freaks, and slick pastors my whole life. Why is Jesus calling to me now? I have heard his voice now, and received an invitation that I did not ask for. I must now turn to those living for more answers, so that I might find what I have always sought. I just prayed to receive Christ as my Savior for the first time. Would your church like to join the revolution and reach across the globe in the power of Jesus Christ? Would you church consider becoming a Micro Giant? If so, we recruit teams of responders from churches as opposed to just individuals Christians. Secondly, if your church would like to join the growing ranks of Micro Giants, consider linking to us with a presence on your landing page. In doing so you will partner in reaching thousands of people daily with a clear gospel message and a way to respond to Jesus as Lord and Savior. Following that decision, we will begin to disciple and connect people to churches and Christian movements across the world. Our two most popular sites are Jesus2020.com and FourStepstoGod.com. We are Global Media Outreach, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. Log on to http://www.globalmediaoutreach.com/footer/link.htmlm to become a Micro Giant. Your church and your people will be blessed. 32 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

Higher Power With Kevin Kevin A. Purcell - kevin@kevinpurcell.org Purcell

Nick - Its Just You

Why I love Microsoft Office 2007!

am a big fan of Christian Computing Magazine. Before I was a writer I was a subscriber back in the days when you actually had to fork over your hard earned cash for it. I looked forward to it and read it cover to cover. Now I read it click to click. So I was stunned when I read the first line of the ever informative and often entertaining Nick at Church column. He asked, Is it just me or is this the worst version of Office ever? What? Of course Nick is a great writer and knows his stuff. But this time I have to disagree.
a moment of weakness, I might as well use it since it does the job and is easier to sync with my Treo and share with my friends. I say all of that to let you know that I am not a Microsoft fanboy. But I think Microsoft Office 2007 is probably the best version of Office ever. Our good friend Nick Nicholauo even admits that Word and Outlook are better in version 2007 than 2003. I agree. Ironically for the very same reason Nick hates the newer version the ribbon. To remind you, the ribbon sits across the top of most of the new versions of Office apps. It puts the most often used features right there where you can see them, instead of being hidden in nested menus. They are visually present and easy to find. If you must, you can still bring back your precious menus via the options dialogue box. The ribbon is organized in tabs sort of like the modern day web browsers. Everything you might insert into a document is on 33

I am no Microsoft Fanboy! For years Ive been trying to switch to Linux. I even wrote a column about Ubuntu once; you never saw it because it doesnt fit our purpose here. I think OpenOffice.orgs product is perfect for almost everyone. I dont use it because one of the most important devices I own is my Windows Mobile Treo 700w Smartphone. It nearly requires Outlook in some version. There is a product called Birdiesync that lets you synchronize Windows Mobile with Mozillas Thunderbird email app and Sunbird calendar app. It also works with the combination of Thunderbird with the Lightning calendar extension for Thunderbird. Since I have Office, I use it. But I am not an MS devotee. When I first installed Microsoft Word 6.0, back in the day, I was sick. I knew I had wasted money on a product that was clearly inferior to WordPerfect. Then Microsoft updated to Office 95 and it was more usable. I still preferred WordPerfect. When I was given a copy of Office 97 I thought it began to compete with WordPerfect and I noticed people around me were using it almost exclusively. By the time Office XP showed up I jumped on the Windows CE, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile train. So I also jumped from WordPerfect to MS Office and have been using it ever since. Every few months I look for ways to dump the MS habit, though. I never really am able to do so because the compatibility hassle of sharing files with other people. The best reason to not use MS Office is the cost; OpenOffice is a perfectly acceptable alternative for absolutely nothing. But since I sunk a pretty penny into Office in Christian Computing Magazine August 2007

the Insert tab. Need to layout your page? Go to the Page Layout tab. You get the idea. This takes getting used to, but once you do it is quite intuitive. There are some things hidden that I use a lot. But the great thing about Office 2007 is that it can be so easily changed to fit the way you work. I use the print feature in Word a lot. So I found it in the office menu (see the picture for the circular Office logo) and right clicked and selected Add to Quick Access Toolbar. You can do that with almost any feature. Find it in the Office menu, which you find by using either the ALT+F key combination or clicking the round office logo, or find it on a tab. Adding a few items to the Quick Access toolbar is a great way to organize your most used features. One great addition to Word is the prominence of styles. Writers should use styles. If you train yourself to use styles, then you will have a uniform looking document and you can quickly apply formatting to text, paragraphs, pages, and whole documents. Another great feature is the ability to quickly publish blog entries. You can write and format your blog entry in Word and have it put it on your blog page for you. It takes a little simple configuration. Once that is done, you are ready to become a blogging maniac right from Word 2007. This feature alone nearly makes it worth the upgrade if you are a heavy blogger, that is one who blogs a lot not one who weighs a lot while you blog. Now, one of Nicks complaints was that MS replaced Frontpage. If you are like me, then you cannot say goodbye fast enough to Frontpage. I hated it. It created bad HTML code and when I changed to using Dreamweaver, many of the pages I created in FrontPage were not displaying correctly inside Dreamweaver. That said, I dont use either one much anymore now that I have created a blog site using WordPress. But if you are a FrontPage person, then you will be unhappy about the change. PowerPoint 2007 did take some getting used to. But the more I use it the more I had the same impression I did with the ribbon in Word. When you get used to it, it becomes a huge step forward in productivity. It will take you a while to get used to the changes; Nick is right. I just think maybe people who agree with him on this issue should give it some time. Ive been using 2007 for many months and I now believe it is the best Office ever. Instead of getting rid of the ribbon and putting all your buttons on the Quick Access Toolbar, give them a try for a while. But now that Ive totally ripped poor Nick apart (not really, nor was I trying to) let me say that ultimately we agree on a couple of things. First is the file format. My brothers article implied that the change was not necessary. Most of us dont care about XML versus some other format. We just want to be able to open our files. I love the fact that WordPerfects latest iteration uses nearly the exact same file format that it did 6-8 years ago. Microsoft changes their file format every time they release a new version. That is silly. There are some good reasons to update to the XML based format. For example, XML is a coding language that people and computers can understand. However, you and I dont really care about that unless you are coding with it. The church secretary and pastor dont care what language you use to organize 34 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

your file format as they type a letter, the weekly bulletin or a sermon. Your kids and their Sunday School teachers just want it to work without taking up too much hard drive space. That brings us to the second benefit. The newer file format is supposed to help create smaller files. My experience is that this is true. But the difference is not enough for me. With lower cost storage, a few kilobits doesnt really matter. The second thing I agree with my colleague about is this if you are not already hitched to the Microsoft Office wagon, then hook up to OpenOffice. It does almost everything that 95 percent of us want to do in an Office Suite (see www.openoffice.org) and it has a couple of other tricks, like the Math and Draw feature, that Microsoft leaves out. It also allows you to save as Office file formats so that you can share files with your friends easily. If you have a large office staff, then you can save a few thousand dollars by not buying Microsoft Office. Maybe the biggest deficiency is a calendar application. If you need one, then get Mozillas Sunbird or Lightning (see http:// www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/sunbird/ for Sunbird and http:// www.mozilla.org/projects/calendar/lightning/ for Lightning) both of which are simple to use and adequate calendar programs. Alternatively, you can use an online calendar like Google or Yahoo which can be updated wherever you have a computer with Internet access. Microsoft Office 2007 is the best version of Microsoft Office ever! But that may not be saying that much. The price alone makes it far from the best first choice for the vast majority of budget-conscious, non-profit organizations and home users.

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Ministry communication
Yvon Prehn - yvonprehn@aol.com

Internet-to-print, the HP Print 2.0 Initiative, and its impact on the communication strategy of your church
he Internet didnt create the paper-less officeit has created a deluge of printing. According to the Hewlett Packard (HP) Print 2.0 initiative, 48 percent of all printing done at home is content from the Internet. For example: your church posts the directions for church campyou print them out along with the map. The church posts the schedule for youth group activitiesyou print it out and put it on the refrigerator. For how to make these and other Internet-to-print experiences more effective for your church, read on:
The challenges of Internet-to-print
Weve all had the experience of finding something we want on a website, hitting print and then having a dozen pages print out with writing chopped off, text missing, and lots of pages with empty space and only a few words. In recognizing these challenges and at the same time recognizing that a large number of these pages are printed on HP printers, the company began a massive initiative to make the Internet-to-print experience less frustrating. They are launching a number of free Internet-based, interesting products and processes, termed HP Print 2.0. Though the potential of these products is exciting, from my initial experience with them, they are all, whether acknowledged by HP or not, very much in beta mode. Having said that, they are constantly under development and Im sure some of the initial glitches may be worked out even by the time you read this article. Following is an overview and commentary on a few of the HP Print 2.0 solutions, plus some comments on the impact to your church communication strategy. people want to print the material on the web, but most websites are very difficult to print. Not only, as mentioned above, is the frustration of wasted paper, but as environmental issues become more and more important the waste of paper becomes more significant. To address this issue, HP has two solutions. The first is HP Blog Printing, http:// developer.tabblo.com/index.php/hpblog-printing. This is a plug-in that allows readers of blogs to chose what posts they want to print, instead of having to print a group of posts and comments or posts and ads. You can see an example of it at work at www.techcrunch.com. In my trials with it, this tool seemed to work pretty well, although it was irritating for an ad to be printed along with some of the posts. It is not available for all blogging sites. Christian Computing Magazine

Web printing
This area is one of the largest challenges according to HPthat 36 August 2007

The second is HP Smart Web Printing: http://h71036.www7.hp.com/hho/cache/482779-0-0-225121.html?jumpid=ex_r602_go/smartwebprinting. This one sounds a whole lot better in theory than how it worked out for me. The idea is that you can download a nifty little tool, ClipBook that resides in your browser tool bar. When you find a web page you like, say on a travel site, you can click on it, and then capture various parts of the webpage and move them over into the right hand margin. You then can arrange them anyway you want (minus the junk you dont want) and print that out. Great ideacool demo. Problem is, I got it to work once, sort of and nothing would make it work after that. Granted, I didnt want to take a whole lot of time trying to make it work and I thought it might be wiser to wait a week and then re-download it, but it is very much worth trying to make it work.

Application to church communication strategy

Simply considering that many of your web pages will be printed out is something not many churches think about when designing web pages, but you really need to if you want your website to serve your congregations. In addition to making use of tools like the ones above, look at your website and: 1. Print off various pages. What happens? Do you have a dozen or so pages if you just want to print off a notice of the childrens program schedule? 2. Are you using a web site program that has a print page function or if not, do you create one in your programming? One reason why I chose the e-zekiel website creation system for my website (www.thelionsvoice.com) years ago is that they do have a print command that makes sure all the pages print with all the text on them. 3. Fake it til you make it..It would be great if we were all incredible programmers, but if your website prints off in bits of pieces when you want information tied together there is an easy way around it, when for example, you have a page with a picture of camp and the main speaker, directions to it, the map, lists of what to bring would print with the elements on separate pages when printed directly from your website. To make a useful print that doesnt waste paper, make a one-page flyer, convert it into a PDF, link to the PDF from your website so people can download and print it.

One more Internet-to-web tool: www.tabblo.com

This one is neat. It is a way to create all sorts of print projects with your digital photos. From a way to do a photo cube that you can print out on your home printer, to creating posters (send in and they will print) and photo books, this application has great potential. Again, potential is the key word. Though it functioned a lot better than ClipBook, I did get a number of error messages when attempting to execute simple commands. In spite of that, check this one outit is a great way to do things such as creating a memory book of a mission trip that team members could print out or all sorts of church communication projects. This is just the beginning of the many different tools that I think well see being developed in the future. HP projects that in 2010 there will be more than 53 trillion pages online. Much of that will be on your church websites; its now time to consider how we can format this content for maximum impact for the kingdom of God. Final note: this is just one of the issues we will cover in my discussion of multi-channel communication in my seminars this fall. My seminars, Effective Church Communication and Marketing will be held all over North America. Please go to www.thelionsvoice.com for complete information. Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 37

Information security
Ben Woelk - ben.woelk@gmail.com

Illegal File Sharing

Romans 13:1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established...

ost of us would agree that violating copyright law by engaging in illegal file sharing or downloading is wrong. However, only one in ten of our teenagers agrees.
Unauthorized sharing of copyrighted materials is illegal. This article will not discuss the arguments advanced by both sides on the file-sharing/downloading issue. It will provide information on potential dangers and consequences of illegal file sharing and downloading. Internet was The Passion of the Christ. The digital piracy tracking firm BayTSP found 36,693 copies of the film free for the taking, putting it well ahead of Aprils runner-up for the ignominious honor, 21 Grams.3 Clearly, we are in a situation where teens normative behavior is not legal behavior.4

Defining the Problem

Wikipedia1 defines file sharing as the practice of making files available for other users to download over the Internet and smaller networks. File sharing is usually done through peer-to-peer (P2P) sharing between personal computers. File sharing in and of itself is NOT illegal. However, most people use file sharing and P2P networks to share copyrighted material. Its the sharing of copyrighted material without the agreement of the copyright holder thats illegal and thats making the news. File sharing gained notoriety through Napster, Grokster, and other file-sharing services. Today, many teens use file-sharing software such as Kazaa or LimeWire.

Dangers
There are a number of dangers inherent in file sharing. Many file sharing programs install spyware, allowing third parties to track your internet usage. File sharing may also provide an avenue for malware attacks. Attackers target users of file sharing by disguising malware (viruses, worm, etc.) as movies, music, etc. File sharing software that is not installed correctly or is incorrectly configured may result in the inadvertent sharing of private information, which can lead to identity theft. Closing your file sharing software may not close your network connection, leaving you exposed to all of the danger on the internet. These dangers may be mitigated somewhat by following sound security practices, such as: keeping your software up to date installing and using antivirus software Christian Computing Magazine

Measuring the Impact

Most Christian organizations have come down squarely on the side of the law and agree that illegal file sharing of copyrighted works must stop. However, according to a survey by the Barna Group,2 nine out of ten teenagers believe illegally downloading is OK. This number holds true among Christian teenagers as well. A Salon columnist, Katharine Mieszkowski, noted in a May 2004 column that in perhaps the most chastening blow, in April the most widely available pirated film on the 38 August 2007

 using a firewall using anti-spyware.

Enforcement Activities
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) provides protection for copyright holders by criminalizing attempts to circumvent digital copyright protection (digital rights management) and strengthens penalties for copyright infringement of materials on the Internet. Copyright holders have taken a number of steps to protect their rights. Most commonly, they send out DMCA notices that warn users that they are infringing copyrights. They require them to take down the copyrighted material. DMCA notices are issued for all types of copyrighted materials, including text, photos, graphics, music, movies, etc. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been pursuing students who practice illegal downloading on campuses nationwide. In the past year, they have been sending pre-litigation early settlement letters to colleges and universities. The letters identify the IP addresses (Internet Protocol Addresspersonal Internet IDs) of the alleged copyright violators and request that the schools forward the early settlement letters to these students.5 In the letters, students are given the option to settle for $3000 to avoid a subpoena and court costs. Because the cost of hiring a lawyer often exceeds the settlement cost, many students choose to settle rather than being subpoenaed and engaging in a long and potentially costly court battle.6 Even students who believe they are innocent often find it cheaper to settle than to fight. According to the RIAA, no one can distribute copyrighted music without authorization from the copyright owner. Distribution can mean: Sharing music files on the Internet Burning multiple copies of copyrighted music onto blank CD-Rs Selling or giving copies of music Christian Computing Magazine August 2007 39

to others when you keep the originals.

Potential Consequences
As parents, we know that our teens (and college-age students) often think only in terms of the here and now and dont worry about future consequences. However, there are longterm consequences beyond a financial settlement for those students who are caught sharing or downloading copyrighted material illegally. They may face legal consequences including fines and felony convictions, the violations may be recorded on their transcripts, and they may find future job prospects limited.

Championing Whats Legal

Your teens should know the rules regarding what is legal: Sharing music, movies or other original work that youve created and to which you hold the copyright Downloading music or movies from an authorized site or service Making a copy of music you own for your own personal use As Christian parents we should talk openly and respectfully with our teens about the potential dangers and consequences of illegal file sharing and downloading. This will not be an easy conversation. Teens are concerned with fitting in with their peers and 90% of their peer group does not believe illegal downloading and file sharing is wrong. Parents should encourage their teens to use legal downloading sites. 7 Useful links Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Risky Technology News Daily, July 25, 2007 http://www.technologynewsdaily.com/node/7533 P2P File-Sharing: Evaluate the Risks FTC Consumer Alert http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt128.shtm Information for Parents RIAA website http://www.riaa.com/toolsforparents.php?content_selector= Music Piracy: Millions of Wrongs Dont Make it Right! The Facts about Downloading, File Sharing, and CD Burning http://www.cmta.com/brochure.htm Fewer Than 1 in 10 Teenagers Believe that Music Piracy is Morally Wrong Barna Group Press Release; April 26, 2004; http:// www.cmta.com/research.htm 40 August 2007 Christian Computing Magazine

Thou Shalt Not Steal, Katherine Mieszkowski, Salon.com. May 25, 2004. http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2004/05/25/christian_pirates/index_np.html On File-Sharing Networks and Civil Disobedience Jonathan McPherson, Homepage. http://jmcpherson.org/peertopeer.html Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Wikipedia provides and overview of the law and links to additional materials. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMCA (Footnotes) 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_sharing 2 Fewer Than 1 in 10 Teenagers Believe that Music Piracy is Morally Wrong Barna Group Press Release; April 26, 2004; http://www.cmta.com/research.htm 3 Thou Shalt Not Steal, Katherine Mieszkowski, Salon.com. May 25, 2004. http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/feature/2004/05/25/christian_pirates/index_np.html 4 I am privileged to work with colleagues, Professor Samuel McQuade III and Nathan Fiske, who are researching illegal file sharing and other types of cybercrime and victimization among college and high school students. You can read more about McQuades current work in the Rochester Regional Cyber Safety & Ethics Initiative at http://www.rrcsei.org/index.html . 5 It is important for students to realize they are held responsible for computers registered to them. They should not allow others to use their computers unsupervised. 6 It should be noted that the RIAA has been criticized from many quarters for what are regarded as draconian tactics. There is no evidence that their tactics have proven successful in curbing illegal downloading. See Nathan Fiske, Social Learning Theory as a Model for Illegitimate Peer-to-Peer Use and the Effects of Implementing a Legal Music Downloading Service on Peer-to-Peer Music Piracy Masters Thesis, Rochester Institute of Technology, September 24, 2006. (https://ritdml.rit.edu/dspace/bitstream/1850/2737/1/NFiskThesis09-14-2006.pdf) 7 MusicUnited.org provides a list of legal music downloading sites at http://www.musicunited.org/6_legalsites.html

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