This is GREAT!  He talks a bit about why we should use the internet to preach the gospel and the awesome new JesusChrist.lds.org website.

It’s Friday, so I am going to jump out on the edge a bit and write about something fun and out there… You may have seen the e-mail going around as of late about “AMAZING TECHNOLOGY FROM JAPAN” about a pen that projects a keyboard and a screen.  It includes this image.

It then goes on to say something to the effect of…

In the revolution of miniature computers, scientists have made great developments with bluetooth technology… This is the forthcoming computers you can carry within your pockets.

This “pen sort of instrument” produces both the monitor as well as the keyboard on any flat surfaces from where you can carry out functions you would normally do on your desktop computer.  Can anyone say, “Good-bye laptops!”

When I first saw this I was super impressed… then I did some digging.  Apparently this has been around since at least 2006.  And some people say that it doesn’t exist at all.

I know for a fact that the infrared type keyboards do exist (I have personally played with one), but what about the projection monitors?  I heard a rumor that they exist… but I have not been able to find a reference for them… so I turn to you dear reader’s.  Does anyone know if this exists?

If it does exist, this is pretty awesome.  I’m not sure it is any better than mobile phones, in fact, it is probably not, because not as many people will have these as people that have mobile phones, but it’s cool.

Okay, I admit I really like the title of this article, but it is a good article as well. This morning I read “Called to Blog: Fighting for the Church Online.” It deserves a read. A couple of excerpts:

An Orem woman posted a video of her testimony on YouTube. A man in another state watched it four times and emailed, asking for a copy of the Book of Mormon.

A man in Vegas wrote on his blog that he was grateful for the law of tithing. A questioning reader asked him why Mormons like commandments. After several online conversations, the missionaries began meeting with the man.

That is just cool… I love stories like that.

Curtis… thinks the web is an easier venue for members to share the gospel. Even students can be sharing the gospel, he said, even though most of the people they live with are already members. With the web, students can reach out to people everywhere.

“People don’t go to their neighbors like they used to,” Curtis said.

Instead, people google things, Curtis said. The Internet is where many people will go to find answers to religious questions as well.

“I’ve had a handful of people that have started asking me questions,” he said.

One woman found Curtis online and the two began conversing about the gospel. She had been converted when she was younger but went inactive after her mother disapproved. That testimony in her never left, Curtis said. After a while, she began attending church and took her family as well.

Awesome! So go out and spread the word! Technology was created just for this!

So couple of days ago I posted about a new Google Chat client that I have embedded on my blog.  First off, it has been great fun to interact with all sorts of people that I normally wouldn’t get the chance to chat with!  A lot of you just entered to see if worked, but never said anything.  But I did have some good conversations. 

This morning I received a chat invitation from a Philippe Dewost, a young guy from France, who was reading a popular post from from my Educational Technology blog from about a year ago: “8 Ways to use Camera Phones in Education.“  Philippe is a the guy behind, or at least a part of a cool program called Qipit that I thought might be of use to some of you out there. 

Functionality

Basically it allows users to take a pictures of notes/whiteboards/etc. and email them to a service that converts them over to PDF.  It actually works pretty good.  It takes out all the ugly from the picture and makes a pretty good copy of what ever you are seeing (but it does have to be large). 

Cons

• Multiple pages is somewhat hard.  You can do it by attaching multiple pictures to an e-mail, but that is difficult on a phone.  From what I can see there is no way to edit it once it has been sent and combine pictures together.
• 100 page limit… okay, this really probably isn’t an issue for most people, but there is a limit.
• Still new… there might be others…

Church Uses

For me the main use would be for seminary or Sunday School classes.  When I taught seminary I would often write/brainstorm on the board with the students.  I took pictures with my phone, but then I had to get them off.  This would allow me to send them to myself and even share them with those that weren’t there. 

Could be a good way to share a bit of Sunday School with someone that couldn’t make it to church…

What other uses can you think of?  There is a Facebook group devoted Qipit too…

Just read about a new Google Chat option that I think is pretty sweet.  You can now embed a widget on a blog that will allow ANYONE, even those without Google accounts to chat with you.  I have embedded one on my blog, so feel free to chat with me.

Uses for church?  Could be used by missionaries as another communication method.  Mostly I just think it is cool. 

Great article on about using social networking for LDS folks here.  At the end of that the author references a great site: Mormonwebtv.com.  This is GREAT! :)  I wasted a good hour watching movies… some of my favorites:

This one makes me think about user generated content and the place it is playing in the church as well. If kids are spending their time making fun stuff online (which I would totally have done) they aren’t getting in trouble. Which leads me to this next one.

Seems like a great youth activity… or seminary. I don’t know where this one came from… but I felt the spirit at the end… good stuff… great seminary video.

And then this one was a preview for a video I didn’t even know existed!  I so want this…

Anyway… enjoy! This is so getting added to my RSS reader.

Thanks to Rachel Woods on About.com who just pointed me to a new iGoogle gadget… Book of Mormon — One Chapter a Day.  This is great for all those iGoogle homepage users that would like to keep up on their reading.  Here is a preview!

As we more more and more toward a completely paperless society we really need to address digital reading.  There are some great new device’s coming out (like Amazon’s Kindle), but most people, can’t afford a dedicated reading device, especially a $400 one. :) 

So, what do you do?  Use your laptop! :)  Yesterday I read a great article on Lifehacker about doubling your reading speed. They introduced three new programs to me that will flash words on a screen at a high rate. 

• ZAP Reader
• Spreeder
• WordFlashReader (You don’t have to be online for this one)

Why this is Better than books!

To me, this is using technology to help us.  So often we look down at reading online, but this would actually be BETTER than a regular book because it keeps your undivided attention.  And I know we can all read faster than we do, when we have to. 

Of course, if your goal is to ENJOY the book… this might not be the best solution…

Personal Experience

When I was in grad school I had to read LARGE books, and several a week.  When I was drowning in stuff to do, I found a way to download books on my palm pilot and using the auto scroll feature read entire books in half the time it would normally take me.  I have not tried these particular programs yet, but I can imagine how awesome this would be.

Church Applications

There is a TON of information on LDS.org.  I struggle to keep up with it all of my readings for church each and still have meaningful personal study.  Using one of these programs will allow you to get a lot of information at once… of course that might not be the goal… then they aren’t that good.

Another option is for all those classic books out there that general authorities keep quoting.  I have a long list of books I want to read… this would allow me to work my way through them faster…

Has anyone else out there tried using these programs?  What about another program?  What other ideas do you have for making reading online easier?  Do share your thoughts in the comments section!

Ashely Harris, a LDS singer, was asked by her Stake President to put the words offered by President Hinckely in a special prayer for the youth to music.  She gladly accepted and recorded it the day before he died earlier this year.

O God, our Eternal Father, as Thy servant I bow before Thee in prayer in behalf of these young people scattered over the earth who are gathered tonight in assemblies everywhere.  Please smile with favor upon them.  Please listen to them as they lift their voices in prayer unto Thee.  Please lead them gently by the hand in the direction they should follow.

Please help them to walk in paths of truth and righteousness and keep them from the evils of the world.  Bless them that they shall be happy at times and serious at times, that they may enjoy life and drink of its fulness.  Bless them that they may walk acceptably before Thee as Thy cherished sons and daughters.  Each is Thy child with the capacity to do great and noble things.  Keep them on the high road that leads to achievement.  Save them from the mistakes that could destroy them.  If they have erred, forgive their trespasses and lead them back to ways of peace and progress.  For these blessings I humbly pray with gratitude for them and invoke Thy blessings upon them with love and affection, in the name of Him who carries the burdens of our sins, even the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.

President Gordon B. Hinckely, 12 November 2000

You can download the music here!

I just read a GREAT commencement talk by Hugh Nibley given in 1983 at BYU.  This is his opening to the talk:

He goes on to talk about the difference between a leader and a manager.  The conclusion is awesome (remember this is to a class of graduating students from BYU!):

“Most of you are here today only because you believe that this charade will help you get ahead in the world. But in the last few years things have got out of hand; “the economy,” once the most important thing in our materialistic lives, has become the only thing. We have been swept up in a total dedication to “the economy,” which like the massive mud slides of our Wasatch Front, is rapidly engulfing and suffocating everything. If President Kimball is “frightened and appalled” by what he sees, I can do no better than to conclude with his words: “We must leave off the worship of modern-day idols and a reliance on the `arm of flesh,’ for the Lord has said to all the world in our day, `I will not spare any that remain in Babylon’” (”The False Gods We Worship,” Ensign, June 1976, p. 6). And Babylon is where we are.

In a forgotten time, before the Spirit was exchanged for the office and inspired leadership for ambitious management, these robes were designed to represent withdrawal from the things of this world–as the temple robes still do. That we may become more fully aware of the real significance of both is my prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Anyone else read this talk?  If not, I recommend it.  Great stuff!