Previously, we’ve talked about the growing use of technology in our parish centres – from the use of projectors replacing OHPs and songsheets, to the use of the internet to make the mass available anywhere you can get connected. An enterprising padre in Italy however is about to take technology in mass to a whole new level – the priest’s missal is about to get an upgrade!

The Rev Paolo Padrini, a consultant with the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications, originally developed iBreviary as an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This excellent application provides the book of daily prayers as used by Catholics worldwide, and has proved very popular – with around 200,000 installs. With the advent of the iPad, Apple’s new book sized device, however, Rev Padrini has rewritten the application to add the functionality of the complete missal – with all that is said in the Mass .

This has the potential to be a huge boon to priests worldwide. No longer would your priest have to flick through pages to find the appropriate prayer for the day. And our mobile priests will find it most useful, with this easily able to follow around with them on their journeys. While this will not replace the need and usefulness of paper books, it’s a fantastic example of how technology can aid prayer and remove distractions from the awesome sacredness of the mass.

Rev Padrini will be launching this in July, which should time in nicely with the launch of the iPad in New Zealand, due to launch So you could well be seeing this in a parish near you in the near future.

Have you seen other ways in which technology is being used effectively by the Church? Share them with all @ www.catholic.geek.nz!

There are so many areas of our lives where technology is becoming ever more important. For most people their health is pretty high up on priorities so let’s have a look at how health and technology are moving on together. Did you know that there is such a thing as robotic surgery? Using robots surgery can be done remotely (over the internet!) in a minimally invasive way and essentially unmanned. Some of the theoretical advantages are that the incisions are smaller, the movements more precise and therefore there is less risk of bleeding and quicker recovery times. And this isn’t just science fiction – in 2006 an Italian 34 year old man had a heart procedure to ameliorate an abnormal heart rhythm by a surgeon in Boston, USA.

On a slightly different note there is a huge growth in the industry of what is called telemedicine. This is where clinical medicine takes place by the transfer of information over an interactive audiovisual platform. If you think about the Australian Outback where the average person is just unable to access healthcare, particularly specialist care, you can immediately see it’s usefulness. By employing satellite technology and videoconferencing technology a real-life and real-time medical consultation can occur between a patient at Ayers Rock and Central Sydney. This is also very time and cost efficient from the medical specialist’s point of view as there no longer the need to travel vast distances around the country – both saving money, and improving peoples access to quality healthcare.

Another fast growing are is telemonitoring – whereby a patient for example wears a blood pressure cuff and all recordings are sent directly to their GP, the same could be done for blood glucose measurements done at home in diabetic patients.

This is rapidly developing area in IT – so watch this space… and next time you visit your doctor, see how technology is helping you!

We have spoken about computer backups in the past in this column, and there are some things that you just can’t remind people of enough! However, some recent experiences have encouraged this column to be on more than just backup, but total disaster recovery.

Most large corporations have what is known as a “business continuity plan” which basically covers how the business can make sure that it can keep the doors open, even in the face of a catastrophe. Usually, the plan is a mixture of backup, redundancy and preparation: multiple, regular backups of all critical data; extra pieces of computer equipment as spare in case something breaks; and planning and communication to all staff to ensure that best practice is followed.

There is a lot the average home user can take from these plans. With the price of external hard drives so low these days, there really isn’t much of an excuse to not be backing up your critical files and photos regularly. But backing up isn’t just copying to a hard drive. Make sure you follow the 3-2-1 model – 3 copies (1 primary, 2 backups), 2 on different formats (e.g. hard drive and DVD), with 1 copy stored offsite (including online).

Also think about the less obvious outages: what happens if you lose your internet connection? Do you have a backup dial-up modem? How long can your home business run without email? Do you have paper copies of really critical documents in case the digital copies were lost forever? Do you test your backups to make sure they’re “good”?

The best time to plan for a disaster is well before it happens. So we suggest you hop to it!

One of the great things about the internet is it’s ability to allow people to connect all over the globe. By jumping online, you can be up and communicating with someone on the opposite side of the globe immediately. Now this reach has stepped even further with the ability for you to tap the internet to reach out and help someone on the other side of the world! Welcome to the world of microfinance.

Microfinance works on the principle that there are a lot of people who would like to try and improve their position in life, but due to falling below the thresholds required by traditional financial institutions, are normally unable to get access to loans. Microfinance institutions help give these people a chance to better themselves, and the internet has brought this concept into the 21^st century – allowing people to directly connect with others in need of help to lift themselves up.

Kiva is a fantastic example of an organisation working in microfinance. Kiva was set up in 2005, to provide a way for the public to directly help people in developing countries help themselves.To date, $128 million US dollars have been loaned to 323,000 entrepreneurs in needy countries with a 98.5% repayment rate. Kiva even partners with other microfinance institutions to broaden their reach – including a number of Catholic partners. You can find out more at http://www.kiva.org/ and sign up to get involved. Make a little change go a long way!

One of the things I like about the internet is its ability to foster innovation. Sure, there is plenty of not-so-good stuff on there – and some downright evil stuff too – which basically means that the internet has evolved to become a microcosm of our fallen world. But it is often out of such muddy soil that the best roses grow.

Take Twitter. We’ve written about this microblogging technology before, but a lot of people are still struggling to add any real value with the 140 character limit imposed by the site. So, we’re left reading a lot about what people are eating for lunch, or where they’re going on Friday night. However, amongst all this, there have been some examples of how the platform seems to be fostering some innovative and creative ideas.

On the most recent St Valentine’s Day, an online video company organised for the world’s oldest married couple to respond to questions using Twitter. Nearly 5,000 people signed up to “follow” @longestmarried to find out the secrets to the successful marriage of Herbert and Zelmyra Fisher – who have been married for 85 years!

The pair took fourteen questions and provided answers in less than the 140 character limit to share some of their experience and wisdom. The questions included my favourite at #14: “What’s the one thing you have in common that transcends everything else?” (answer: “We are both Christians & believe in God.Marriage is a commitment to the Lord.We pray with & for each other every day”).

They didn’t need to have to find the capability to create a website, or write an extra-long essay – Twitter provided a simple way to broadcast their wise answers to earnest questions. Sharing wisdom like this from incredible people I’d probably never make contact with otherwise is Twitter used well!

With summer drawing to an end, students across the country all drift back to another year of education. However, technology is helping make this return less of a chore with may neat ways the Catholic Geek can get into their education and have fun with technology at the same time. Firstly, what has become a staple for practically any student serious about their study: laptops . There are a great range of basic models available from as little as $700 now, which are all fantastic for taking your notes, writing assignments, and even a occaisional bit of entertainment between lectures. If you are looking for something smaller you can pick up a netbook for even cheaper – a light way of carrying all you need round on campus. However, it’s important to remember to back up your information in case your laptop suffers from an accident – keeping copies of important information on a USB stick or two is highly reccommended.

Moving on, more and more textbooks are moving into the digital era. While NZ doesn’t directly get great devices like the Kindle (www.amazon.com/kindle) and Nook (www.bn.com/nook), their software versions let you access their libraries on your PC or mobile device. For those who prefer the comfort of paper, www.amazon.com, and the local equivalents www.fishpond.co.nz, www.thenile.co.nz and www.realgroovy.co.nz have a great range of textbooks; often at cheaper prices then the University bookshops. If you have friends in the same courses go in together and save on shipping.

Finally, open to anyone wanting to broaden their education, iTunes U brings a heap of University content freely online – including content from a number of leading Catholic Universities. This makes for an easy way to study while en route to Uni via your MP3 player. Fire up the iTunes store (www.apple.com/itunes) and check it out!

As we stare down the barrel of a new year, and a new decade, one cannot help but wonder what the future holds for us. When you look back on the past ten years from a technology perspective, things have changed quite a bit (as you would expect), and this rate of change seems to only be increasing.

Take, for example, the number of people using computers. Even in a recession, the numbers grow – seemingly without limit. But it is not just how many computers there are now out in the marketplace, but the plethora of other devices and ways for accessing technology playgrounds like the internet. Cellphones, smartphones, PDAs, netbooks, nettops, ebooks – it looks like we are only limited by the nouns we can smash together and acronyms we can create!

This increasing saturation of technology looks set to continue as the trends point to even more ubiquitous internet availability – whether we like it or not. So, where will things be in 2019? Well, it really is anyone’s guess, but if you would like one company’s take on things, check out this “visioning” video by Microsoft Research. The video shows a possible future where schoolchildren, business people and families all interact seamlessly with some pretty cool interfaces.

While it is all pretty sci-fi at the moment, ten years ago the idea of doing half of what we can now do with an iPhone was pretty farfetched too. The message in all of this? It does not look like technology is going away and as it becomes further intertwined with our lives, if we are to continue to spread the Good News of Christ in a way that is relevant and powerful, we’d do well to keep one eye on possible technology future states…lest we get left behind!

When the much-delayed Windows Vista was released three years ago, it met a frosty reception from end users. The improved features delivered didn’t come cheap – Windows Vista needed a grunty system to work at it’s best, and out of the box had a number of issues which stopped it working to it’s greatest potential. Fast forward to October this year, and Microsoft has released the replacement, Windows 7, to far more positive reviews. Windows 7 is a fantastic advance on Vista’s solid foundation which can now be strongly recommended.

The most visible change to Windows 7 is the interface. The toolbar has been revamped dramatically – now allowing you to pin your most commonly used applications to the toolbar for quick and easy access. In a nice small touch, moving windows around is easier too – you can drag windows around to maximise and minimise quickly and easily.

On the entertainment side, Media Centre has received a number of improvements, the best for New Zealand being full compatibility with Freeview HD. You can add a TV card to your PC and be up and running with full HD TV in no time at all.

For more information, check out this very detailed review: http://bit.ly/4NuaVx However, if you’re in the market for a new PC for Christmas, you can buy a Windows 7 system with no worries.

Finally, Microsoft has also released a free security package, timed – Microsoft Security Essentials. Based on the same technology platform as their enterprise package, this free solution is an excellent option for home antivirus and antimalware protection. This is available for both Windows 7 and older operating systems – right back to Windows XP. Check it out at www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

Want to hear more about other platforms? Let us know at www.catholic.geek.nz.

In previous editions of Catholic Geek we’ve talked about how going mobile with your faith can enhance your spiritual life. This week we’ll take a closer look at how Apple’s ultimate accessory the iPhone (and also, its non-phone sibling, the iPod Touch) can help you bring together a complete mobile Catholic Geek experience for those of you lucky enough to have one.

Podcasts – the iPhone makes a great MP3 player and has fantastic support for podcasts. There’s a large range of great Catholic podcasts available – see http://www.catholic.geek.nz/Blog/?p=57 for some starter podcasts to tune into.

Mobile Internet – one of the iPhone’s biggest strengths is the mobile browser. Mobile Safari is fantastic for browsing the mobile internet, and is also very capable of handling full web pages too! Check out http://www.sacredspace.ie/mobile/en for a great mobile reflection website we’ve talked about before.

App store – this is potentially the “killer” application for the iPhone. The App store provides a great resource for expanding your iPhone’s capabilities, and there’s a fantastic range of Catholic applications available in the store. There’s a good mix of both free and paid applications. Some of the better applications are:

• RC Calendar – a free application from the publishers of Universalis (http:// www.universalis.com), this is a comprehensive calendar that links through to the Universalis website to give you the daily Mass readings and the Liturgy of the Hours. The paid for application Universalis gives you a self-contained version of this, which is great if you don’t have a mobile internet connection.

• iMissal – This great app lets you turn your bulky Roman Missal into a svelte iPhone app, meaning you’ll always have your Missal handy! http://bit.ly/O6zXX

With all these tools at your disposal, you can make your iPhone your ultimate Catholic companion!

Do you have your own favourite device you’d like the team at Catholic Geek to investigate? Get in contact with us at www.catholic.geek.nz and we’ll include it in an upcoming issue!

It’s always good to pay attention to your priest when sitting in the pews on Sunday (or any other day, for that matter). We’re not just saying that because our local parish priests might be reading this, but because we’ve heard some great homilies in our time.

If you ever leave your parish wanting more, there are some great sites online that are full of homilies to read or even listen to. A local example is Antipodean Catholic, run by Fr Frank Maguire. This site, while slightly dated in its design, is loaded with PDF copies of homilies for not just your regular Sundays, but weddings, funerals and other special occasions. There are also some essays and mediations for specific times of the year like Good Friday.

Also close to home is Living the Word – a site owned by Fr Frank Bird, a Marist priest in Auckland. Fr Bird’s site has a weekly reflection on the Sunday Readings for Mass that week. The documents are uploaded each Tuesday evening and have a copy of the Readings, some comments and some questions to guide personal reflection. Fr Bird encourages others to use these reflections and other resources on his site to form groups and share the Faith with others.

Internationally, some priests publish their homilies in audio form. EWTN publishes a free MP3 download each day with the readings and a sermon from the celebrating priest. These, along with other free podcasts, are available at www.ewtn.com/podcast. An American priest – Fr Jack Durkin – provides his sermons also as a podcast for free download and listening to at www.catholichomily.org. Subscribing to these (if you have an iPod or similar MP3 player) is a great way to follow the readings on the way to work or around the house.