E4 Fantastic Theological Content In A Portable Format

In 2003-2004 I had the privilege of participating in a series of intensive lectures featuring some of the great theologians of our generation. The intensives were part of a project called ‘e4’ and they varied in length from one to five days. Each class featured both lecture and impromptu Q & A sessions and was professionally recorded. And just recently, this content was made available in an affordable iPhone app format.

This app features a series of in-app purchases that enable the user to be able to learn from some of the most influential and thoughtful theologians and religious scholars of the modern era. Each module is reasonably priced as they contain several hours of video content of teachers like Dallas Willard, Rick Warren, Andy Stanley, Alister McGrath, Graham Tomlin, Gordon Pennington, and many others.

As an example, for $4.99, a user can purchase 19 hours of lectures from Dallas Willard sharing thoughts about spiritual formation, the nature of truth and a number of other subjects.

The app allows users to switch from watching video to reading while listening to a transcription of the lecture, and even has a feature which allows quotes to be tweeted directly from the app with the hashtag #e4app.

The lectures are divided into individual sessions of approximately one hour each so one does not need to download the entirety of the content at once, but can enjoy the lectures within a course section by section.

The app was created by a friend of mine named Pavi Thomas and features all of the content created during the series of e4 lectures in 2003-2004. He had a pretty incredible team of people working on the initial project with him, and as a participant in the classes and a user of the app, I am extremely thankful for the efforts of his team to bring together such a high quality tool, and to make it readily accessible to many for a low cost.

Overall, I highly recommend this app for its quality of content and its extremely affordable and portable platform. If you have an interest in theology, spiritual formation, media, science & faith, stewardship and/or apologetics these classes are an incredible tool  for learning.

I now have an iPhone4

Well, last Wednesday I took the plunge and bought iPhone 4. I haven't used all of the features yet, but so far I'm really impressed. My old phone was an iPhone 3G that was given to me by my best friend in the whole world, Willie. I used it pretty heavily, and it served me well for blogging, tweeting, emailing, phone calling, and more during the time I had it, but the last few months it wasn't quite working up to par. I talked with a number of people before taking the iPhone 4 plunge, and all agreed that regardless of proximity sensor, antenna, and other issues that iPhone 4 would be a massive improvement from my old phone.

So far it's been great! I had a brief scare on Friday when the phone didn't turn on. I took it to the apple store to check for possible tech problems, but it was an easy fix with a reset. So far I've only had a couple of issues with dropped calls, and on one of those occasions it was directly related to the way I was holding the phone. I'll probably take advantage of Apple's generosity and apply for their iPhone 4 case program.

Right now my big issue is the proximity sensor. Sometimes I mute calls or put people on speakerphone when the touchscreen touches my face. Again, I can make adjustments and prevent a repeat of the problem.

Anyhoo, I have really enjoyed the privilege of being able to have access to this phone. Is it for everybody? Probably not, but this phone's predecessor was a huge help to me over the last several months, and I'm sure that iPhone 4 will be a great tool for managing my schedule, responding to emails on the go (when necessary), and even serving as a great telephone.

Who would have dreamed that there would be day when we would carry our phones around with us? Who would have dreamed that we would be able to have video phone calls on these portable phones? Who would have dreamed that a telephone would have a more powerful computer with more memory than the standard desktop of ten years ago?
Beyond this, who would ever imagine we would live in a world where people communicate by text, email, tweets, phone, and more?

It's pretty amazing how much technology has advanced in ten years. What do you think about smart phones, and all of the portable technology to emerge since the year 2000?

Iphone 3.0 Software Released

I was recently given an iphone by my best friend in the whole world, Willie, and I am mesmerized by this little phone like contraption. It's an ipod that plays videos, and it's a phone. It's also a web browser, and it's able to accomplish a number of other amazing tasks.

With the latest advance in the software, it also includes a number of new applications and is making life with an iphone even more amazing.

Last week also marked the release of a brand new iphone, but for now, my recently gifted iphone has plenty of features to distract, er uh, make my life more simple and streamlined.

If you have an iphone, I recommend connecting your iphone to your computer and downloading the update. It's like opening your iphone again for the first time.

Now, if only Morgantown's 3G network would get established, then this iphone celebration would be complete--at least locally.

The Future of Cell Phones

It's been a while since I have blogged, and the irony is that I have had such a large amount to blog about, I have simply lacked the time/opportunity to do it well. So today, I am just blogging about the most exciting piece of technology since the ipod. Apple changed the way we thought about computers, and now we have computers in the majority of homes in America. Then, in 2001, Apple changed the way we listen to music with the advent of the ipod.

Tuesday, Apple unveiled the future of cellular phones, the iphone. If you use a cellular phone, apple has combined the capabilities of a cell phone, an ipod, an email/chat service, and internet browsing in a handheld device. The phone features a 2MP camera among other neat goodies.

Even though I love the advances we are making in technology, and the way Apple makes technology so fun and accessible, even to non-techies like me, I still wonder about things. (Don't get me wrong, this phone is way up on my birthday/Christmas list if you are wondering what to get a hip young shawnee with a love for cool stuff that makes life easier.)

I wonder, as simple as the cell phone and email/chats make it to stay connected, are we better connected? What about time to think and be alone? I mean, on the college campus, I see hundreds of students every day with cell phones attached to their ears as they walk between classes. Are the people gabbing away better connected with their friends? With themselves? With God? Sometimes I wonder if we aren't just the most distracted generation in history.

Again, no mistake, if I held the power of the iphone in my hands, I would use it for good! And cell phones in general have allowed us to stay connected with more people, more often. What do you think about cell phones? Have they been a help or a hindrance to you in your life? And what do you think about the iphone? Pretty cool huh!!!