There seems to be a lot of chatter online these days regarding Apple’s intentions for the future of the Mac in light of the meteoric rise of i-devices such as the iPad and the upcoming iPhone 4. Others are discussing the role the iPad might play as a notebook replacement device. I think that both of these topics miss the point that the Mac and the iPad (along with smaller siblings, iPhone and iPod Touch) both fill needs and niches. There are a number of things that I can do on my iPad that I used to do with my Macbook Pro. The ease of access, portability, instant on and off are among some of the conveniences that the iPad fulfills. I recently listened to Dave Hamilton (Mac Observer and Mac Geek Gab Podcast) discuss the use of an iPad at an all day conference and I would agree that it is an awesome device to use when you are moving from keynote to workshop, etc. at a conference. Another writer for The Mac Observer, Ted Landau writes:

These are not one-or-the-other alternatives. There’s room for both.

An analogy that fits well here is the microwave oven. When microwaves first arrived, manufacturers attempted to market them as a complete alternative to the traditional oven. Cookbooks showed how you could cook virtually anything in a microwave — from steaks to cakes. The sell didn’t work. People quickly discovered that microwaves could not do it all — at least not well. Traditional ovens never disappeared. Yet, microwaves became a huge success — because it did many things better than a traditional oven. Today, nearly every home has both a traditional and a microwave oven.

Read the rest of Ted’s article at

http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/the_mac_lives/?utm_campaign=shorturl

Read this very brief article in the China Daily Chinas official English language newspaper. Its the testimony of a university student who converted to Christianity.Now if youve been following China for any length of time you might be picking your jaw up off the floor. Get this: The official and highly controlled newspaper of the Communist government is featuring a story of a religious conversion of an exceptionally bright university student who found meaninglessness in existence apart from God. He was given a Bible by a colleague, and the reader is not led to believe this is a bad thing. He converted to Christ after reading it and now is experiencing fulfillment. And hes now happily attending an unregistered church i.e house church.  Whoa.

via China? :: Desiring God.

We are never more vulnerable to sin than when we are successful, admired by others, and prosperous, as King David tragically discovered.

via Success Can Be Perilous :: Desiring God.

Key question then: why do smart people engage in negative thinking? Are they actually stupid?The reason, I think, is that negative thinking feels good. In its own way, we believe that negative thinking works. Negative thinking feels realistic, or soothes our pain, or eases our embarrassment. Negative thinking protects us and lowers expectations.In many ways, negative thinking is a lot more fun than positive thinking. So we do it.

via Seths Blog: The problem with positive thinking.

(via http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/resources/video/What-does-inerrancy-mean-Is-it-essential-to-Christian-belief/)

While battling depression and thoughts of suicide, Shawn Craig was spoken to by the book of Deuteronomy where it says “God will never let you go”. God’s hand will hold you wherever you are or if you’ve “made your bed in hell”.

In 1979, I wrote all my stories to the accompaniment of a grating hum, which sometimes modulated to a low growl. These, along with the greased metallic Gatling-gun clicks that punched out my prose character by character, were the sounds of my Olympia Report deLuxe typewriter .

Compared to using a word processor on a PC, using the ORD was an earthy process: Hands-on ribbon changes, the smell of ink, and cranking the platen to see what you just typed. Not to mention an unforgiving process–all too often I was faced with the option of swabbing Wite-Out on a typo or an infelicitous phrase, or simply using a pen to cross it out and scrawl a correction in the blank line between double space. But in 1979, an electric typewriter was the tool of choice, and my was the Olympia.

via Gizmodo Juicer Hub.

Chances are youve already heard about the iPhone 3G S and some of its cool new features and same goes for the iPhone OS 3.0 and its cool new features. What you might not have thought about, however, are the apps which many developers have slaved over for weeks that were entirely rendered obsolete by the new features the iPhone will include. Read on for a list of 15 apps whose days are coming to an end.

via 15 Apps Rendered Obsolete By The New iPhone 3GS : iSmashPhone.

Now what about Twitter? I find Twitter to be a kind of taunt: “Okay, truth-lover, see what you can do with 140 characters! You say your mission is to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things! Well, this is one of those ‘all things.’ Can you magnify Christ with this thimble-full of letters?”

To which I respond:

The sovereign Lord of the earth and sky

Puts camels through a needle’s eye.

And if his wisdom see it mete,

He will put worlds inside a tweet.

So I am not inclined to tweet that at 10AM the cat pulled the curtains down. But it might remind me that the Lion of Judah will roll up the heavens like a garment, and blow out the sun like a candle, because he just turned the light on. That tweet might distract someone from pornography and make them look up.

I’ve been tweeting anonymously for a month mainly to test its spiritual and family effects on me. In spite of all the dangers, it seems like a risk worth taking. “All things were created through Christ and for Christ” (Colossians 1:16). The world does not know it, but that is why Twitter exists and that’s why I Tweet.

Read more here: Why and How I Am Tweeting :: Desiring God Christian Resource Library.