Can’t justify replacing PowerPoint with a $400 piece of software? Maybe it’s time to take the $200 plunge and get the newly released MediaShout Express, the stripped down version of the popular presentation software created specifically for churches. Download this pdf for the differences between their Express and Standard versions.

We’ve used the full version of MediaShout for years now and we’ve never looked back…

Finally, a web app that shows PowerPoint Presentations in conjunction with a video. Zentation is in beta, so it’s free right now. One drawback, depending on your opinion, is that you must upload your video using Google Video. Sample presentations are on their front page. The ability to go full screen is great. I have yet…

What you will find in this ongoing series are my observations and ideas about both rapid development frameworks and why one might use them. I will be completely subjective and if you need more information you can always contact the different projects themselves. The point of this will be a perspective that is not geeky, but might help project managers and team leaders make development platform decisions.

As a developer (yes, I know I just contradicted myself) I MUST find things that make my life easier. As a designer, I need to know what tools I have available to me. I was teaching a class the other day to a bunch of high school students about CSS and standards based design. In the class I let them know that you can no longer be a designer without knowing what the tools are and how they work. I am constantly playing and learning.

I tried to envision an online space for our Bible Study groups, a secure site where any member could post prayer requests, or pictures, or update a shared calendar, or share valuable internet resources, or upload Bible study notes or Powerpoint presentations. And then I thought, I don’t have the resources, the talent, or the time to make such a place. But then I searched…and found Nexo.

From their site: “Nexo is a free service that allows groups to collaborate online. Groups can share interactive calendars, pictures, videos, tasks, polls, comments, blogs, files and much more. Nexo is free, flexible and secure.” Read on for more information…

Perhaps you have heard the buzz surrounding Silverlight.

To get a snapshot with some links, read “Silverlight - a welcome surprise from Microsoft“

In our continuing series, here are three more letters full of tips for your church website, with a Wordpress-centric bent. Comments, suggestions, and additions are always welcome. Read on for D, E, and F.

Wow. That was lame. We made some server changes and the DNS got messed up. That brought the site down for a bit. Sorry for the confusion. We aren’t going anywhere.
Looking for an all in one solution for your church or para-church organization? Have you been looking at Microsoft Exchange or other hosted solution for […]

The ABC’s of a Church Website
Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love a Redesign
Or 71 Suggestions for a Church Website Leaning Towards Developing for Wordpress
Part 1 of Many: A-C

For those of you who do not know, Second Life is a paid online community taking place in a completely interactive virtual world. What a fascinating place. A completely virtual world with out constraints like death or physics, disease or a personal history. My head is spinning with what this new world represents. What it will mean to sociology? What will it mean to corporate responsibility?

Instant Message monitoring. Help protect your kids while they go about their on-line lives.

Meet the creators in an interview with Robert Scoble. If this is a topic you are concerned with, YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS INTERVIEW. They discuss chat, IM, MySpace and more.