iOS7 Review

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Many are asking me whether they should upgrade to iOS7 on their iPads and iPhones. Here are some quick observations that may help you decide.

Generally, I like it, and the things I don’t like are not show-stoppers.

• Things I Like
• Apple finally let us put Newsstand into a group and get it off the desktop!
• Apple now lets us set what day of the week we want to be the first day of the week in Calendar. I prefer Monday so that when viewing a week I can see the entire weekend. Previously you had to change the International Regional Setting to Northern Mariana Islands to accomplish that.
• The Calendar month view scrolls forward (down) and backwards (up), helping to see events in context better.
• You can now have unlimited Apps in groups.
• The iTunes song select no longer requires a search.
• Browsing restrictions can be a great help to keep inappropriate website from being available. And the setting impacts all browsers installed!
• Things I Don’t Like
• The Dock hides the bottom of the wallpaper. It would be better if it had transparency and size settings.
• Groups only show 9 Apps at a time in a panel (more than 9 Apps in a group generates a second page in the group). It would be better if groups had setting options of how many Apps they showed on a page. 
• The Camera no longer has the iris close and open animation when taking pictures. That’s okay, but now there’s an immutable sound with every picture snap.

So I say, "Go for it!" 

TSA Pre Check

I applied for the TSA Pre-Check security program more than two years ago. Because of some stupid things I did as a 17-year old that I got caught doing, I was declined. Twice! But those mistakes were more than forty years ago, so I appealed theough the TSA ombudsman. This week, my conditional approval came through (subject to a brief in-person interview scheduled in a couple of weeks).

I fly for business a lot-- nearly 3,000,000 domestic miles in my career! Today was the first time I checked through airport security and got to use Pre. It was so fast and easy, I almost wept! I didn't have to take off my shoes or belt, or empty my pockets or laptop bag. It was the nicest experience I've had since increased screening began twelve years ago!

Thank you, TSA! You made my day!

Chuck Smith Is With The Lord

This morning at about 3am Pastor Chuck Smith (Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa) passed away in his sleep. He is in heaven with The Lord now; I miss him already.

Pastor Chuck is credited by many as being the father of the Jesus Movement, during which I became a Christian. I told him I feel he is thus my spiritual grandad.

The impact he had-- and will continue to have-- on so many lives is amazing. Today I found myself praying that God would find me as easy to lead and use for his purposes as he found Chuck to be.

New Article on BYOD Policies

BYOD-- Bring Your Own Device-- is an IT wave that is sweeping corporations. IT Directors are understandably uncomfortable about this. Adopting enforceable policies will make the difference, however, in BYOD's success in any organization.

Read the full article for free by clicking here!

2nd Most Important Day of My Life

Okay, so yesterday was the second most important day of my life (I shared about the most important one earlier in the day yesterday). 29 years go I asked Grace to marry me. She never said yes, but did say she thought she could handle it.


Me, last night: "So, are you handling it?"
Grace: "So far."
Me: "Are you starting to feel more confident that you'll be able to?"
Grace. "No, but I think I can!"

I'm so glad! And she is wonderful-- still!

9/4 - My Spiritual Birthday

It was 38 years ago tomorrow that I prayed to sincerely give my life to Jesus. It was a well thought-out decision: I had been running into folks for a few months who were different; each was a Christian, and many shared with me a promise of God.

That evening of September fourth I prayed, "God, I've been hearing a lot about the promises you make to those who let you be the top authority in their lives. The promises sound good! I'll do the research and find out which you actually made. To the extent you're faithful to your promises, to that extent you can have my life."

Thirty-eight years ago, and he has never missed being true to his promises-- those actually in the Bible. Promises like forgiveness for me and those who've hurt me, peace that is beyond normal, purpose in life, joy that is unaffected by circumstances, and real love.

My observation is that he is called The Faithful and True for a reason! I've seen it in my life and in the lives of many around me who have also decided to trust him and do life his way. The only times I regret are those in which I took back the reigns of my life and decided to do something outside of his clear and perfect will-- the things I tend to think I know better about (yes, I still struggle...). Every time, though, I learn again that there is forgiveness and more peace, joy, purpose, and love doing life his way.

New Article on Software Recommendations

Our team has had the privilege of serving many hundreds of ministries nationwide as network engineers and consultants. In those roles we have found that some software works better in church and ministry offices than others. We have also found that some software seems to be more trouble-free than others.

Click here to read this article about our recommendations!