I love my books. Maybe a little too much. This infographic caught my eye - and they make a lot of great points.
You can't resell an eBook. You can't feel the pages in an eBook. But smell an eBook? Not a real selling point for me personally.
Big Week is a mid-week recap of some big stories I'm following this week. Enjoy.
Kid President Gets His Own TV Show
That's right friends. Kid President, who I met personally and never knew he would get this big (along with his big bro Brad Montague) are really hitting the big leagues now. They've now got their own TV show that will premiere on the Hub Network this Summer.
Microsoft is Making Moves
Really impressed with what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is doing, and he's only been on the job for two months. Looks like Windows 8.1 is much improved, Office apps are finally touch-optimized, and last week he unveiled Office for the iPad. This is looking more and more like a forward-thinking Microsoft.
Amazon Fires Up TV
Amazon announced its own set-top box today (a la Roku) that has some pretty neat features, like voice search.
I have actively struggled with how to take notes. From organizing them in nested folders in plaintext and markdown documents to throwing everything I digitally collect into Evernote, I have never been really happy.
Microsoft's OneNote made a splash last week when the company released the Mac app (on the Mac App Store no less), and reduced the price to free. I've heard a lot about OneNote and loved the iPhone app, but without a companion Mac app, it was dead to me.
I've been using the Mac app, along with the iPad and iPhone app for over a week now, and I am truly impressed.
First, it's a Microsoft product. I didn't know that the boys from Redmond could make quality and stable apps on the Mac. Usually you got one or the other: it was great but not stable, or it was stable but not great. OneNote is both.
OneNote for Mac
I plan to do some comparing and contrasting of OneNote versus other note-taking platforms in the coming weeks, but I can faithfully say that I've found what I'm looking for.
Why do I like it, you say?
1. It's pretty. I know that doesn't matter to some people as long as it's not ugly and it's great at what it does, but it matters to me. A lot. In OneNote, you can add notebooks, which go down into tabs that you can color any way you want. Then those tabs can be further subdivided into pages in that tab. Microsoft's stamp is all over the product and it should be - from Calibri font to the famed "ribbon" for formatting at the top. What's weird is that after kicking Office to the curb six years ago, all this doesn't bother me one bit. I will use whatever I deem is the best for me, no matter what company makes it.
2. It does everything Evernote does. From a basic functionality standpoint, OneNote does everything Evernote does for me. It just does it a bit better. I never bought into the tagging system - even with multiple tags on one note, I still didn't feel like everything was organized. With OneNote, everything is categorized into your tabs and then subdivided into your pages if you wish. OneNote is also pretty great in the fact that it lets you type anywhere on the document open, almost giving you a canvas feel to the thing. I can put blocks of text, to-do lists, pictures, and anything else I want to - anywhere I want to.
3. OneNote interfaces with Office much better. If I was an Office user, I would be absolutely giddy over OneNote. It would be a major thing for me. As it stands, I'm not, but OneNote is still a great standalone app for me. It collects everything I need it to, and it syncs to my devices for later use. I can configure what I need to and drop whatever I need to in it. And it will be organized where I want it.
You should give OneNote a try, on the Mac or PC. There are obvious advantages to using OneNote on Windows, and for the low price of free, you can't lose by trying it out. I hear that the Windows Phone app is pretty swell also.
Bottom line: don't change your notes system if it's working for you. Just like the Bible says though: "Test everything." Doesn't mean you have to change your whole process, but it might be a good thing for you to do.
If you know me at all, you'll know I'm a Star Trek nut. And one of the coolest things they did on those shows was talk to the computer like it was a person. The voice recognition knew exactly what you said and would do whatever you told it to do.
When Siri first came out on the iPhone, I had high hopes. "My very own Star Trek computer, waiting for my commands!" is what I thought. Turns out it's not like that. Siri is useful, just not Trek-level computing. Yet.
But think about how much voice recognition has improved on computers and smartphones in just the last 10 years. Now I can speak to my computer and dictate, just like I'm doing with this article right now. And most of the time, it's correct.
Jesus says in John 10:27:
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."
Lots of things to look at in this verse. First and foremost, we must be a part of the flock. We can't hear our master's voice if we're not in the group to hear it. Secondly, when we're in that flock, Jesus knows us. He knows who we are. He knows what our heart is. And third, if we hear his voice and obey, we will follow him.
Voice Recognition isn't quite up to Star Trek standards yet, but it's getting there. One thing we can always depend on is Jesus' voice - if we hear it, we know we're in the right place.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas.Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
Acts 16.25-33
As Christians, the example we set matters. Even on the worst of days.
It doesn't matter if we're in a nasty jail cell and imprisoned for all the wrong reasons, or just in a bad mood because our car won't start - our example matters.
How people see you will be how they see Christianity. Will they see something positive like the Philippian jailer saw, or will they see negativity, confusion, and dissent?
We all decide the message we send out to others. Make yours a positive message today.