Crossfire
Sunday 14 March 2010
• Readability is a simple tool that makes reading on the Web more enjoyable by removing the clutter around what you’re reading.
• Write or Die is an anti-procrastination writing tool, and although it may not technically kill you, there is swift retribution to be had for those tempted to stray from the task at hand.
• Check this sample of what can be done with the handy Newspaper Clipping Image Generator.
• Coming soon to a PC near you. To your PC, in fact: The Browser Choice Screen for Europe: What to Expect, When to Expect It.
• Want to set up a networking site or add a social element to an existing site? The future is BuddyPress.
• Facebook in 15 minutes a day: How to maximize your time on Facebook for those in ministry.
Sunday 7 February 2010
• Lent begins soon … you can start to prepare at the CTBI site where the theme is People on the Edge of His Pain.
• The General Election’s looming, and CTBI has resources to help churches organise.
• Meanwhile, the Evangelical Alliance Scotland is gearing up for local elections in 2012.
• Tweet, tweet … we’re on Twitter!
• (Psst … Len doesn’t know this yet, but so is Crossfire!)
• No Gizmo of the Month for February. Instead … Gizmos of the Year!!
Sunday 20 December 2009
• Scottish Christian.com is 10 years old! Many thanks to Len and the Crossfire listeners for your support and encouragement!
• Here’s how the site looked in autumn 1999, December 1999, 2000 and 2001.
• Check out our Christmas news…
• Especially the story about While Shepherds and Scotland the Brave.
• Incidentally, watch out for the helpful Related Posts feature on the news pages.
• An excellent new website: Being Catholic. Could other denominations follow suit?
• An invaluable resource: BibleMap links bible chapters with Google Maps.
• Gizmo of the Month: trying to extract text from PDF documents can be a real nuisance, but now you can convert PDF to Word online using PDFtoWord or on your own computer with Free PDF to Word Doc Converter.
Sunday 8 November 2009
• Am Baile – Highland History and Culture – is a treasure trove. Finding the key is a bit tricky, though.
• Self-explanatory: 10 Things Every Web Designer Just Starting Out Should Know
• A cautionary tale from Glasgow solicitors: don’t steal pictures from the web!
• Microsoft is offering free security software. But I’ll stick to Avast.
• Handy for neosurfers: What is a Browser? Google Explains…
• Gizmo of the Month: Browser Compatibility Check for Internet Explorer Versions from 5.5 to 8.
• In similar vein, you never know when OldVersion might come in handy.
• Freebie of the Month, which you’ll either love or loath: PocketMod: The Free Recyclable Personal Organizer.
Sunday 13 September 2009
• Are you Facebooking or Tweeting? This presentation made in Edinburgh earlier this year by Steph Gray, head of social media and stakeholder engagement at the UK Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, explains why organisations should use social media and how they can go about it.
• Here’s an article about implementing this for churches: Religious Evangelists Spread Faith through Social Media.
• Plus some backup stories: 10 reasons your church should be on Facebook, 15 ways for churches to use Twitter,
• Lots of good ideas at Aussie blog Communicate Jesus.
• Freebie of the Month: nothing to do with churches or websites, but a must-subscribe: Martin’s Money Tips.
Sunday 5 July 2009
• Freebie of the Month: desktop wallpaper for July.
• Gizmo of the Month: it’s a biggie … Windows 7, Microsoft’s successor to Vista. You can download a test version which is yours to keep until next Spring. And if you pre-order in July, you can have the real thing for as little as £50.
• Wizard Wheeze of the Month: create a Google map like this with Map A List.
Sunday 19 April 2009
• Our all-new-look website went online on March 21. It uses the Neoclassical theme on Wordpress with plugins including Automatic Links, Clean Archives Reloaded, Contact Form 7, MyCSS, My Category Order, My Page Order, PHP Code Widget, Sub Pages, The Future Is Now, Widget Logic, Yoast Breadcrumbs. Search is by Atomz. Information about masthead pictures can be found here.
Sunday 15 March 2009
• We’ve changed the tool for creating the News Monitor from Thingamablog to WordPress. “Whoopee”, says the casual visitor. “So what?” Well, it means that you can access the news through dozens of categories. So there!
• A feast of freebies and a gallimaufry of gizmos this month: Texter, Copy To + Move To, TinyChat, Strip Generator, Let me Google that for you.
Sunday 8 February 2009
• This month we’re looking at the extraordinary range of Google Analytics.
• Here’s another church magazine site … The Sheep Dip!?
• Gizmo of the month bonanza at Open Source Windows.
• Added bonus: ‘50 sites to find free stock images‘.
Sunday 18 January 2009
• Oddee.com lists oddities of our world. Visit the planet’s grammatically challenged but impressive Ten Most Unique Churches.
• Shame on you if there isn’t a pic of your church at Geograph British Isles!
• Did you know that there’s an Association of Church Editors?
• Enjoy Dave Walker’s work at ChurchCartoon.com. And if you like it, you can use it.
• Nine useful tools for analysing web design.
