25 Free/Cheap tech we use to achieve our goals

Calendaring: Google Calendar (free)
Documents, Spreadsheets, Powerpoints: Google Docs (free), although we also like Zoho.com…
Project Management: Basecamphq.com… ($24/mo)
Email: Gmail.com… (free); we avoid Yahoo.com… because they’ve given names of Chinese dissidents to China
Communications: Skype.com… (free), Google Voice (SMS send/receive, phone number forwarding), Pamela ($14.95, meeting/call recorder)
Cloud Storage for documents, photos, files: Google Accounts (400GB, $100/yr)
Images: Management, Picasa [...]

Technology: 6 DEC 2009: Cell phone worship & more

Cell phone entertainment, worship takes off in India. Many of India’s 750,000 villages are completely isolated, despite rapid modernization. The only exception is cellphone reception which now blankets the country. In some villages, people have begun using their cell phones to call a phone number with a recording of Bollywood tunes, and then listening to [...]

New Technologies: July 6, 2009

At first, China said it would require all PCs sold in the country to ship with software that blocks access to particular corners of the Web, extending the “Great Firewall” from the network level to the individual computer level. (Fast Company) One writer expects the effect of the new software to be nil: Why I’m [...]

New Technologies: Face recognition, Google Wave, Lifehacker Pack, more…

Face.com is a powerful new face recognition technology being applied against Facebook photos: tagging more than 9,000 photos a minute, having already tagged over 700,000 faces across 400 million public photos. Missionaries: just one more thing for you to worry about. Fortunately its still in private beta so you have a little while.
Who hasn’t heard [...]

Mauritius and the ICT pillar

One of the laments that I have had through the years is the incredible sluggishness with which many African countries have embraced information and communication technology (ICT). I have for several years envisioned the possibilities of a thriving business process outsourcing (BPO) business in Africa akin to that of India, especially for the Francophone [...]

For the e-mail overloaded missionary, here are great tips on managing the inbox

For the e-mail overloaded missionary, here are great tips on managing the inbox from Harvard Business School.

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New Skype 4 Beta

After having played with the new Skype 4 beta it appears to have much better sound and video quality, while being stable on Windows XP. Now may be a good time to upgrade, even if it is in beta form.

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2 billion PCs by 2014

Gartner expects 2 billion PCs in use by 2014. More and more unreached peoples will be gaining access to global connectivity, and Internet outreach will be more and more important (although still not the complete answer). Read more.

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Using social networking software to build a voice for the unreached

One of the biggest “buzzes” on the Internet at the moment is social networking software. These are desktop programs and web applications which allow you to (1) maintain and strengthen online conversations with your friends and (2) meet new friends with whom to have conversations. Social networking software runs the gambit from blogging tools to [...]

Skype 4.0 beta available

The new Skype 4.0 beta is available for those early adopters who want to try it out. Skype has continued to flatten the world and has made a significant impact on missions. How many of you regularly call your friends back home? How has this changed the rate at which you make friends in the [...]