Whether you’re in an office job, or just addicted to checking your email, the part of your screen that you see the most is probably your desktop. This should be true regardless of operating system and screen size, so it makes sense to wallpaper your desk with something worthwhile.

There are a number of sites that can help. PhatMass has some really great images in different resolutions. All are free but you can donate a small amount if you download a lot of them. Catholic Digital Studio also has some nice shots with Bible quotes on them. Wallpaper4God (www.wallpaper4god.com) has some slightly edgier shots, along with Bible quotes broken down by book.

For those who aren’t aware of how to change your wallpaper, if you’re using Firefox, simply right click on the bigger image and select ‘Set as Desktop Background’. In Internet Explorer, it is roughly the same – right click on the image in question and select ‘Set as Background’.

But maybe none of these quite capture what you’re looking for. In that case, maybe get one of your own photos, select your favourite Bible verse, Papal quote or Church document line, and make your own wallpaper. In Windows, this is as simple as opening your image in Microsoft Paint (which is free) and adding your text where you like. If you’d like a little more creative control, trying downloading GNU Image Manipulation Programme and download the free – and very powerful – GIMP programme to your Windows, Mac OS or Linux box. This tool can take some time to master, but adding text is pretty easy (click on the ‘T’ tool, click again on your image and type away) so give it a go. And drop us a line if you’d like to share your results.

Technology has made navigation a whole load easier. Anyone with an internet connection can get turn-by-turn instructions to their destination, rather than this being restricted to the favoured few. One of the best examples of this is Google Maps,(http://maps.google.co.nz) which has an excellent presence in New Zealand and around the world.

First off, is the ability to get those turn by turn directions. With Google Maps, you simply have to give the start address and destination, and the site will plot your route. From here, you can then fine tune the route by dragging and dropping the trip – allowing you to bypass motorways if you want! Once you’ve got the directions just how you want them, you can print, save, or even email them to a friend – making it that much easier to give directions!

As an added bonus, Google have sent cars with cameras around major towns in New Zealand. So, if you’re unsure of the route you’ll be driving, you can use street view to take virtual tours of where you’re going, making it not just a theoretical map – you’ve actually seen the sights beforehand.

But the best part of Google Maps is that these maps available for others to reuse in their websites, letting the same powerful map technology be reused. An excellent example of this is how Auckland Diocese using this to show the location of all Auckland parishes on an interactive map. You can see this at http://tinyurl.com/c8pb2c.

Do you have any utility sites you can’t get by without? Don’t be shy about it – swing by www.catholic.geek.nz and share it with one and all – and we might feature it in an upcoming article!