Why Macs Rock!

Okay … I’m back home and almost caught up on everything!

I came across this article in a news blog today and think it’s awesome … another reason why I love my Mac computers!

A remote-desktop access feature found in some Macintoshes is being credited with leading police to two suspects in the burglary of an apartment in New York.

 

In addition to flat-screen TVs, iPods, and DVDs, the thieves made off with two laptops, one of which belonged to Kait Duplaga, an Apple store employee, according to a report in The New York Times on Saturday.

While police in White Plains, N.Y., were coming up empty with their investigation, Duplaga learned that her computer was being used on the Internet, and she turned on the Back to My Mac feature installed on her Mac from another Mac, according to the report.

The feature allowed Duplaga to see immediately how the computer was being used at the time, as well as operate it remotely. Recalling that she had a camera installed on the computer, the fast-thinking Duplaga snapped images of one of the burglary suspects before he realized what was happening, according to the Times. Duplaga showed the image to friends, who recognized the suspect as someone who attended a party at the apartment.

The photo led police to arrest two suspects on Wednesday and recover nearly all the stolen property.

“It doesn’t get much better than their bringing us a picture of the guy actually using the stolen property,” Daniel Jackson, the deputy commissioner of public safety in White Plains, told the newspaper. “It certainly made our job easier.”

The Back to My Mac feature, which runs on Leopard-based Macintoshes, requires a $99 subscription to the .Mac online service.

 

iPhone in Canada

Well, Rogers announced today that they will be bringing the iPhone to Canada. The Mac forums & b

logs that I read are pretty excited about it. My guess is we will be seeing them in stores here sometime late summer or early fall. Everyone believes that a new iPhone will be announced the end of June, so we wont be seeing anything here before that time.

Now, I realize that some of you are thinking, “So what, it’s just a phone.” I’ve had my unlocke

d iPhone for two weeks now, and I am truly amazed with it. Yes, it’s a phone. But it’s more than that. Since getting my iPhone, I haven’t used my MacBook once. Why? Because I can sync my email, web browsing, etc. on my iPhone. When on wifi, the speed of my iPhone is equal to that of my MacBook (yes, I said equal)! 

In the U.S., the iPhone has transformed the mobile phone market. It will do the same when it finally shows up in Canada. Just watch.

If you want to read a few interesting articles about the Canadian launch of the iPhone, here’s a few:

Globe and Mail

iPhoneinCanada.ca

Simon Tonekham

Technology & the Church

Ed Stetzer is a guru in church planting circles. He has written loads of books on the subject, and has been heavily involved in his denomination as a church planting leader. His research company, Lifeway, has just released an interesting study on church attendance – who is – and who is not – likely to attend church. 

One of the interesting paragraphs in the article says,”The 2008 study revealed that 25 percent of unchurched adults would use a church Website or an Internet search tool to find a congregation to visit,” he said. “For one out of four unchurched people, the first visit to your church may be on the Internet. Churches need a Website that favorably represents who they are and, more importantly, who Jesus Christ is.”

I think that’s encouraging for those of who have have embraced technology as part of the local church’s vision. I know that Bikers’ Church has benefitted greatly by having a strong web presence. This article encourages me to continue to develop new technology for use within the church structure.

Interactive & Online

Sometimes I wonder if the energy I spend trying to connect to people online is a good use of my time. I design and update our website. I am on Facebook (including a Bikers’ Church group). I do this blog. I have the daily email devotional. And yet, we have heard from many who tell me how much the online stuff has helped them in their own journey.

It encourages me when I read an article like this one from Digital & Leadership Network.

Is Your Church Leadership Interactive?

One of the most predominant characteristics of the New Media is it’s interactivity.  Regardless of what specific application you’re using, web-based media, in general, provide more user-to-user interactivity than any other form of mediated communication in history.  Additionally, interactivity between user and information is what marks the shift from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.  The “one-to-many” model of traditional mass communication is being replaced with a “many-to-many” web of interactive communication. 

Since the New Media alters traditional models of mass communication, we must radically review the ways we interact and communicate with others.  The Church, as a primary vehicle for communicating theGood News, stands to amplify it’s voice by using the interactive attributes found in the new media.

The image below represents a New Media mindset rather than a string of specific apps.  Whether youblog or podcast, whether you facebook or MySpace, whether you Twitter or Jaiku, the significance of your web presence (whether individual or corporate) is greatly diminished if you are not providing ways for your users to easily hear and access you.

Let’s remember, the congregation is not just listening.  They’re also talking.

Image attribution: Wayne Sutton

– Cynthia Ware, The Digital Sanctuary