If you’re anything like me you have a compulsive need to take notes on anything you read combined with a compulsive fear of writing in books. This has been a problem for me. Pencils are no good since the graphite eventually smudges and gets all over the place; colored pencils are better but are not completely erasable. 
Well, 3M just might have a solution, as noted here for a slightly different purpose. Underline away! And without fear that someday your notes will appear out-dated and silly! …. Someday I might actually post something about theology…
May 282008
May 242008
Technology like this has been available to hackers in the Linux community for a long time, but it looks like the excellent people at Fedora are taking things mainstream. Imagine: your entire computer in your pocket. Looks like I have a new weekend project!
May 222008
Many potential readers of this blog may be unfamiliar with the concept of “Open Source” software. There are a variety of possible definitions (depending on your preferred open source licensing schema), but what essentially qualifies software as being Open Source is the availability of its underlying source code for reading and editing. Why is that important? Because if you know how something is built you can always rebuild it, or build something similar that does the same job. Put it another way: ever feel like your information has been hijacked by software companies? What if you stopped using Microsoft Office, or you want to distribute your writing to someone who can’t afford pricey software? Sure there are workarounds, but those workarounds (1) require the use of open formats (that is, they presuppose the existence of Open Source software) and (2) require you to take extra steps to have unrestricted access to your own data.
Practical Advantages of Open Source
I have long preferred using software that supports open standards out of the box, such as the free and multi-platform openoffice.org, for practical reasons. In addition to the points mentioned above, open source code allows for easy third-party modification, which has resulted in the overwhelming success of software such as Mozilla’s Firefox and Thunderbird. Need a feature not included in the original? Just Google, click, restart, and you’re ready to go, and all free of charge.
Ethics and Open Source
But the issue may be more than practical. Westminster professor Vern Poythress has made an ethical case for the superiority of open computing. This is a very interesting read. There are, of course, certain qualifications that must be made, such as for security software and other areas were privacy is necessary for proper program performance, but Poythress’s suggestions provide an interesting perspective on the current debate. As a side note, Dr. Poythress puts the open source mentality into personal practice–he has released almost all his writings for free reading on his website.
Recent Moves by Microsoft
Microsoft has recently come to appreciate the advantages, if not the necessity, of opening up their format standards. Many (including myself) question the company’s commitment, but yesterday’s news is in their favor, as is their recent commitment to begin opening up their API. The fear that open code leads to less revenue has apparently been thoroughly debunked, and Microsoft may have some catching up to do with regards to their business model in order to compete.
At the very least, this saga is an interesting example of the application of Christian ethics. No area of life is neutral; all most submit to God’s Lordship.
May 212008
May 212008
If you have not already downloaded Zotero, the free, open source bibliographical reference manager for Firefox, now would be a good time. It now supports the cutting edge Firefox 3, and, for all those interested in writing papers in biblical studies, there is now an extension that produces SBL-compliant citations and bibliographies.
Installation is easy enough. You will need to have Firefox installed (either link above will guide you, but I recommend Firefox 3 RC1, as it is pretty stable and supports a lot of great features). Once you have firefox up and running, follow this link and click of “Download.” Firefox should do the rest. You will need to restart firefox to get started–you should see the Zotero icon in the bottom right corner. Click on it to play around!
To install SBL support, Click Here in Firefox and let Zotero do the rest. You will need to restart your browser for the changes to take affect.
Zotero takes a little practice. You can manually type in entries or download them by clicking on the little book icon in your browser’s address bar on cites such as Amazon.com or The Westminster Library. Once you have some entries, try creating a citation or bibliography. First, go to “Preferences” (an option under the gear icon in the main bar). Click on the “Export” tab and select SBL as your “Default Output Format.”
To create a citation, click on the entries you want to cite. Use the keyboard shortcut a to create a citation in your Clipboard, which you can then “Paste” into any document editor. To create a bibliography, select the desired entries, right click on one of them, and choose “Create Bibliography from Selected Items.” Follow the instructions. Paste wherever you see fit.
There is also a plugin for Microsoft Word that integrates the Zotero interface into your document editor. Usage instructions are provided in the previous link. For those more dedicated to open-source software, there is also an openoffice.org version available.
I hope to publish a full guide to using Zotero in a week or so–complete with Screencasts.
May 202008
This blog highlights the variety of useful resources, both online and in-print, that pastors, amateur theologians, and academics can use to help develop and spread their own ideas for the advancement of God’s Kingdom. Continue reading »
