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One Thing That is Good to Procrastinate on Right Now: Getting a New Laptop

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Walt Mossberg has a super helpful article in the Wall Street Journal on what is coming for laptops later this year — both Windows and likely Macs — and why you should hold off on buying one now so you can take advantage of these improvements in the late summer or fall:

If you’re thinking of buying a new laptop this spring, my advice is to think again. Unless your laptop is on its last legs and you have to move quickly, there are compelling reasons to wait until at least the summer, and probably the fall, to buy a new machine, especially if you are looking for a Windows PC, but even if you are in the market for a Mac.

That makes this annual spring buyer’s guide a bit different. People always worry that buying tech products today carries a risk of obsolescence. Most of the time, that fear is overblown. But this spring really is a bad time to buy a new laptop, because genuinely big changes are due in the coming months.

Here’s a quick summary of what’s coming.

For Windows Users (if you must!…)

  • Windows 8. Windows 8 is scheduled to be out in the fall and will be a major redesign. It will likely be oriented to tablet-like touchscreen navigation, and many PC makers are “planning convertible Windows 8 models for the holiday shopping season that can act as tablets or regular clamshell laptops.”
  • Touchscreen laptops. Here’s a simpler way to put it: sounds like touchscreen laptops are coming. Current laptops will be able to upgrade to Windows 8, but won’t be able to take advantage of all the features.

For Mac Users

  • Mountain Lion. Mountain Lion will likely be out this summer. Of course, this will run on previous Macs as well (unless Apple does something really strange). But:
  • Redesigned MacBook Pros. As most know, “Apple is overdue for redesigned laptops, especially in its MacBook Pro line.” I think Mossberg is right that “it is a good bet that new, possibly heavily redesigned, models will begin appearing later this year.” I would expect the new MacBook Pros to be closer to MacBook Airs, without sacrificing performance. However, I don’t know if the spring refresh will do this, or if the spring will see another small refresh with the more major redesign coming in the fall. See MacRumors’ buying guide for more.
  • What would be best of all. My wish, though I have little basis for this hope right now: 500 GB solid state drives becoming standard on MacBook Pros. Spinning hard drives should no longer exist. Enough with them. They crash, they are slow, and solid state drives are awesome.

If you do need to get a new laptop this spring, at the end of the article Mossberg gives some helpful guidelines on choosing.

Other Interesting Things (Not From that Article)

  • The iPad Mini. Apparently Apple is considering an iPad mini. My first reaction: this should not exist. If someone wants an iPad mini, they should just get a regular iPad so they have the full experience. Cost should not be taken into consideration when getting iPads.
  • The iPad Mini, part 2. But, my more measured reaction is: I see a place for this given that it will likely be priced between $249 and $250. That’s a big savings over the regular iPad (typically at least $600 if you do it right), and that level of costs savings just might make it a good idea for it to exist.
  • The iPhone 5. It looks like the iPhone 5 will probably be out in the fall.

God Sets and Keeps the Agenda

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This is a great post by Ben Stafford, director of short-term ministries at Training Leaders International.

It is so good I’m copying the whole thing here (but don’t forget to check out his blog):

In a recent post I wrote: There are definitely upsides to [being a planner by nature] but the temptation to think of myself as captain of my own destiny, my protector, and my safe-keeper is not one of them.”

On rereading it today, I thought of Psalm 121 and Derek Kidner’s comments on it.  Clearly the emphasis of this Psalm is on God’s keeping of his people. So of course, it would be idolatras for me to think of myself as my own safe-keeper.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
(Psalm 121:3-8 ESV)

On verses 7 & 8 Kidner says:

     The promise moves on from the pilgrim’s immediate preoccupations to cover the whole of existence.  In the light of other scriptures, to be kept from all evil does not imply a cushioned life, but a well-armed one.  Cf. Psalm 23:4, which expects the dark valley but can face it.  The two halves of verse 7 can be compared with Luke 21:18f., where God’s minutest care (‘not a hair of your head will perish’) and His servants’ deepest fulfillment (‘you will win true life’) are promised in the same breath as the prospect of hounding and martyrdom (Lk. 21:16f.). Your life, in the present passage (7), is as many-sided a word as in Luke; it means the whole living person. Our Lord enriched the concept of keeping or losing this by His teaching on self-giving and self-love (e.g. Jn. 12:24f).

The Psalm ends with a pledge which could hardly be stronger or more sweeping.  Your going out and your coming in is not only a way of saying ‘everything’: in closer detail it draws attention to one’s ventures and enterprises (cf. Ps 126:6), and to the home which remains one’s base; again, to pilgrimage and return; perhaps even (by another association of this pair of verbs) to the dawn and sunset of one’s days. But the last line takes good care of this journey; and it would be hard to decide which half of it is the more encouraging: the fact that it starts ‘from now‘, or that it runs on, not to the end of time but without end; like God Himself who is (cf. Ps 73:26) ‘my portion for ever’.

Come to the Biola Digital Ministry Conference

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I go to the Biola Digital Ministry Conference every year I can. I think since 2007 or so I’ve only missed once (it used to be known as The Christian Web Conference). It is a fantastic time to learn, innovate, and connect with other like-minded people who are excited about ministry and the web.

The Aim and This Year’s Theme

This year’s conference is June 5-7 at Biola. Here’s the aim of the conference:

The Biola Digital Ministry Conferenceis designed to empower individuals with the vision, knowledge, and relationships necessary to be thoughtful designers, developers, and practitioners of digital technologies for the cause of Christ.

Well said.

The theme this year is “The Disruptive Nature of Digital.” The sessions will focus on three key topics: theology, strategy, and technology.

That’s incredible because so often, ministry conferences focus only on strategy and tactics. But they will be focusing on the theology and philosophy of digital ministry as well.

What I’ll Be Talking About

I will also be speaking there again this year. I’d be highly recommending the conference either way, but since I’ll be out there, I’d love to see any of you as well.

My message will be: Practical Usability: Why So Many Websites Frustrate their Users and How to Make Your Site a Destination that People Actually Enjoy.

Last year I gave a theology of usability — why it ought to matter greatly to us to make our websites usable, and the (very interesting) biblical basis for doing so. This year I’m going to dive more fully into the nuts and bolts: how do you actually create a usable website? And how do you do this in the midst of budget constraints? I’ll talk about the core fundamentals of web usability, which we built the Desiring God website on the basis of, and practical principles that are at the core of almost every easy-to-use website.

Also, I love questions, especially super hard ones. So bring your questions on usability or ministry web strategy in general, and we’ll take some time to interact with them.

And, if anyone is interested in getting together to talk in more detail about ministry web strategy while out there, contact me (see the tab above) and I’ll see if we can pull a meal or something together.

The Essential Importance of Usability

Here’s one way to summarize the importance of usability: free is not enough. Even if you post all your content online for free (which I highly recommend!), your content will still not serve people or spread to the extent it can if your site is not usable.

Good content is not enough, either. You have to make your site usable. And, this comes from actually understanding usability and knowing how — you can’t just do what you think will be good. You have to actually know what you are doing.

Other Speakers

Other speakers include:

  • Drew Goodmanson (CEO of MonkDev, creators of Ekklesia 360)
  • Chad Williams (CEO of Five Q)
  • John Mark Reynolds (professor of philosophy at Biola and founder of the Torrey Honors Institute)
  • Brett McCracken (social media manager at Biola University)
  • And many others
Registration
You can register here.

Related Stuff

Here’s the article I wrote back in 2007 at Desiring God on why every ministry should post all of its content online, for free, without requiring registration, in a maximally usable interface.

And here’s the message I gave at the conference last year:

The Top Five Guiding Principles for Ministries

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A friend of mine recently asked me, “What would you say should be the top five guiding principles for ministries?”

Here’s what I listed, slightly updated to make sense in a blog post. This is off the top of my head, so I wouldn’t say this is comprehensive, and of course every ministry also would have its own principles that express its individual uniqueness and calling. So this is a general, high-level list.

  1. Prayer and the word. Seeking to do all things in God’s power, which comes most as we trust his promises and are built up by his word, and fellowship with him in prayer. This includes asking him for the impossible and being set free from bondage to small dreams.
  2. Radical generosity. This is about others and the church first, not us! We are to be liberal and abundant in using all our resources for the good of others, even at sacrifice to ourselves.
  3. Servant leadership. This includes humble authenticity (not going after position, but becoming the lowest servant; this isn’t about our name but Jesus’ name), and along with this a leadership approach that explicitly seeks to build others up and unleash them, not control everything from the top.
  4. Love. Sort of repeating points 2 and 3, but it’s critical. Related to this is “respect for the individual.” Seeing people, especially employees, as valuable and letting that be the governing principle for how you treat everyone.
  5. Trust. We need to trust our people and be trustworthy ourselves, as trustworthiness is the foundation of trust. Trusting your people is what enables you to lead from values, not detailed rules, and lead in a way that unleashes their creativity and initiative.

 

Don't Waste Your Employee Training: Build on Strengths, Not Weaknesses

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The latest Gallup Management Journal has a good article on Why Strengths Matter in Training.

Here’s the summary:

Too many training and development efforts fall short because they don’t factor in employees’ talents.

And is some important data, for any who somehow think organizations can ignore the importance of focusing on their employee’s strengths:

Gallup research shows that people who know and use their strengths — and the companies they work for — tend to be better performers. In a study of 65,672 employees, Gallup found that workers who received strengths feedback had turnover rates that were 14.9% lower than for employees who received no feedback (controlling for job type and tenure).

Moreover, a study of 530 work units with productivity data found that teams with managers who received strengths feedback showed 12.5% greater productivity post-intervention than teams with managers who received no feedback. And a Gallup study of 469 business units ranging from retail stores to large manufacturing facilities found that units with managers who received strengths feedback showed 8.9% greater profitability post-intervention relative to units in which the manager received no feedback.

Companies that want to boost productivity and innovation must help employees apply their natural abilities to the day-to-day requirements of their role. Implementing a strengths-based approach often demands a fresh mindset; the old ways won’t do. The questions below can help employees figure out how they can best apply their talents in their role — and can help managers and leaders learn how to use a strengths-based approach to boost company performance.

Earthen Vessels on Kindle for Super Cheap

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Matt Anderson’s book Earthen Vessels: Why Your Bodies Matter to Our Faith is available on Kindle now for the super cheap price of $4.99.

This book is worth having. There is almost nothing out there on why our bodies matter to our faith and Matt Anderson treats the subject very well. He is, in my opinion, one of the best young writers in the evangelical world.

Here are a few blurbs:

“We evangelicals don’t think we care about the body, but we really, really do. And Matthew Anderson–one of the brightest lights in the evangelical world–helps us care, ponder, think and pray more wisely as we give our bodies as a living sacrifice to Christ.” —-Mark Galli, Senior Managing Editor, Christianity Today

“Matthew Lee Anderson…is a serious student of God’s Word and God’s world, and in this book he patiently and insightfully explores a theology of the body from numerous angles…I suspect that many of us will think differently–and more biblically–about the body as a result of this very fine work.”—Justin Taylor, ESV Study Bible

“On nearly every page you can find two virtues rarely combined: surprising new insights and good old common sense. Here is good counsel (solid, soulful, scriptural) about how to be humans, in bodies, under the gospel.”—Fred Sanders, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University

“This book is for the church who is in the world. It is a truth-balm for a broken culture addicted to body image. Be challenged to forsake your “quasi-gnosticism” and embrace the divine dignity of your body so that you can worship well.”—Darrin Patrick, Lead Pastor at The Journey and author of Church Planter


Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?

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An article in The Atlantic. I don’t agree with everything, but it’s interesting.

Here’s the summary:

Social media—from Facebook to Twitter—have made us more densely networked than ever. Yet for all this connectivity, new research suggests that we have never been lonelier (or more narcissistic)—and that this loneliness is making us mentally and physically ill. A report on what the epidemic of loneliness is doing to our souls and our society.

And here’s a core part:

The idea that a Web site could deliver a more friendly, interconnected world is bogus. The depth of one’s social network outside Facebook is what determines the depth of one’s social network within Facebook, not the other way around. Using social media doesn’t create new social networks; it just transfers established networks from one platform to another. For the most part, Facebook doesn’t destroy friendships—but it doesn’t create them, either.

I disagree there. I have five things to say here, but I’ll only say three.

It’s true that Facebook alone doesn’t create friendships. But, as Christians at least, when we “meet” other Christians on Facebook, we are indeed establishing real relationships because we already have a relationship with them in Christ, apart from ever having met them in person. If you are a Christian, when you interact with other Christians on Facebook, you are interacting with a true brother or sister in the Lord — and what a great thing it is to know of them and be able to interact with them, even if it’s just electronically.

Second, I like Twitter better than Facebook and find that much more conducive to relationships.

Third, the real value of Facebook is when it is combined with travel. I have gained many new friends through Facebook, Twitter, and blogging not simply because of interacting with them on those sites, but because of then meeting them in person when I’m at a conference or wherever. Because of social media, I have met a lot more people when I travel than I otherwise would. And, because of Christ, those are real relationships and it is fantastic to meet and get to know more and more people in the body of Christ around the world.

While it perhaps comes close to pulling a Jesus juke on the article, I would say the problem is not Facebook or social media, but Facebook, social media, and anything outside of Christ.

Why a Christian Understanding of Work Matters

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Here’s an interview Luke Daughtery did with me for the Sojourn blog. I talk about how I got interested in the doctrine of vocation, where most Christian teaching on vocation is thin right now, on the connection between productivity and management and leadership, and more.

And, if you attend Soujourn or are in the Louisville area, join us this Saturday from 8 am to noon where I will talk on a fruitful leadership in the marketplace.