Firefox 1.5 released

Firefox, the nest web browser on the planet, has just released a major update. Version 1.5 was released yesterday and can be downloaded from their website, Mozilla.com. Here are some of the new or improved features:

• Faster Browsing: improvements to the engine that powers Firefox deliver more accurate display of complex web sites, support for new Web standards, and better overall performance.
• Automatic Updates: Firefox automatically downloads small updates in the background and prompts you when they are ready to be installed.
• Tabbed Browsing: Use tabbed browsing to open multiple web pages in a single browser window, and quickly flip back and forth. Drag and drop open tabs to keep related pages together.
• Live Bookmarks: Stay up to date with your favorite Web sites and blogs. Use Live Bookmarks that update themselves automatically with the latest content from the Web.

• Customize Firefox: Select new button controls for your toolbars, install extensions to add new features, or change the look of your browser with themes - the way Firefox looks and works is under your control.

I simply love Firefox and the ability to customize it as I like through themes and extensions. I'll do a post soon on what extensions I use, but feel free to post in the comments what Extensions and Themes you use for Firefox.

Happy Surfing!
Jason

OpenCD Project

TheOpenCD.org project is a fantastic site. OpenCD is a collection of Open Source software, many of which I am already using. They have everything from web browsers (Firefox) to image editors (Gimp) Here is their blurb about TheOpenCD:

TheOpenCD is a collection of high quality Free and Open Source Software. The programs run in Windows and cover the most common tasks such as word processing, presentations, e-mail, web browsing, web design, and image manipulation. We include only the highest quality programs, which have been carefully tested for stability and which we consider appropriate for a wide audience.

I want to point out that just because the software is free and open source, does not mean that is cheap and poorly produced. In fact, many of these projects are labors of love. Firefox and OpenOffice, the two most popular Open Source Programs have had such an amazing impact on the community that Microsoft is adopting aspects of FF and OO into IE7 & Office 12.
Open Source is more a philosophy that anything else. The people behind these projects believe that the software code should be left open to the public. Because of this, anyone with coding knowledge can create "extensions" or "plugins." This means that the software will be continually improved upon and made better.
As Christians, we can have Bible Study Toolbars for Firefox, Christian RSS feeds for Thunderbird, and anything else a creative believer thinks would be an asset.
Here are the programs that I am currently using:

• Firefox (the greatest web browser, I've been using it since version .4!)
• Thunderbird (since version .3)
• Audacity (a fantastic MP3 editor)(you will need the LAME extension to convert the files back from Audacity to MP3, but it is no big deal.)
• PDF Creator

I'd be suing OpenOffice and Gimpif I had not already purchased MS Office 2003 and Paintshop Pro, but for people on a budget, these can be a huge budget savor. Give these programs a try. If you don't like them, your not out any money!

God Bless
Jason

Track your Web Site Traffic

There are a lot of great services and programs available to track the traffic to you website, and many of them are free. Here is a list of three that I have used. Some are more advanced, while others are pretty basic.

1. GVist: gvist is a fun site tracker that utilizes Google Maps. It does not track much, nor does it give you a lot of surfer information, but it is fun to see the little push pins around the world for people who have been to your site. Gvist is free, but with a donation of any amount they will upgrade your account to show you the last 100 visitors instead of 20.


2. StatCounter: A free yet reliable invisible web tracker, highly configurable hit counter and real-time detailed web stats. Insert a simple piece of our code on your web page and you will be able to analyze and monitor all the visitors to your website in real-time.
3. Google Analytics: Google Analytics is by the most advanced (free) statcounter I have seen and probably more advanced than many you would pay for. Google Analytics tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. It tells you things like what web browser your visitors use, what the screen resolutions is, and if the have flash and java capabilities.Currently, Google analytics is not registering new acocunts. Seems they were getting such a demand that they where forced to cap their registrations at 234,725. I was one of the lucky ones to get in early, but I imagine that they will soon open it back up or at least do an invite system like they did with g-mail early on.

Ministry Tech Blog renamed to "Missionary Tech"

I have decided to rename this blog "Missionary Tech." For starters, none of the "MinistryTech" domain names were available. The second reason has to do with focus. I intend to focus this blog more towards missionaries and those who raise support for their ministry.

Great Free Program from Microsoft

Microsoft, who is not usually known for giving things away for free, has recently purchased a program called Folder Share. Simply put, this great program allows you to do several things:

1. set up your own 2 person peer to peer network.
2. sync files from one computer to another.
3. Access your computer or device remotely.

Currently, I use this program to keep my laptop and desktop synched together. I keep all my important files on my desktop, but since many of them are updated on a regular basis (my supporter database for example) it can be a real hassle keeping two sets of data up to date. Not to mention I often take my laptop with me to coffee shops when I prep for a Sunday school class or other lesson. In the past, I would have to dump my PowerPoint or Word doc onto a thumb drive to move it from one computer to another. With Folder Share, you can tell the system what files and folder to "sync up" and it will automatically update both systems. So if I work on a slide show at the coffee house, as soon as I save it the changes will register on my desktop computer.

Hope you guys find this useful as much as I did.

Jason