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New iBooks Author App Not What it Seems?


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In an earlier post I wrote about the new iBooks Author app that Apple released this month.  The release has garnered a lot of attention and excitement across the tech and education worlds.  However, that attention has not been entirely positive.

While many share my opinion that this is good for educators, writers, and yes, even churches, there are plenty who don’t.

Almost immediately after the announcement, Microsoft began posting snide comments on Twitter about the deal.  Perhaps that is not surprising, since they won’t be getting any of the cut, but others have joined in. [Read more…] about New iBooks Author App Not What it Seems?

iBooks Author: The eBook Revolution Has Come


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Apple, today, made a major announcement regarding the future of ebooks. iBooks is getting a significant upgrade to version 2.0, and authors will now be able to create completely interactive digital textbooks.

Think of it like “Garage Band” for iBooks. (If you don’t know what Garage Band is, it’s a Mac app that allows you to easily create songs using a variety of tools and pre-recorded sound bytes).

An announcement about ebooks was expected for today, but nobody was quite sure what the tools would look like.

[Read more…] about iBooks Author: The eBook Revolution Has Come

Keynote Kung-Fu: Wireframe Like a Ninja


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There are many ways of wireframing web site designs – from using the back of an envelope to the ever popular Photoshop.

However, if you’re a web designer who uses a Mac (or a PC with an iPad), you can use my favourite wireframing tool – Keynote!

Keynote (the Mac version of Powerpoint – which is just a thing of joy to use!) can be a great tool for wireframing. It’s got great support for shapes, type and nice things alpha layers and masks on images and grouping and snap alignment tools. (There’s also files for PowerPoint, but Keynote is soo much nicer!!! 🙂 )

I’ve been wireframing with Keynote for a couple of years and it makes my life so much easier. The ability to export the slides as images/pdf makes showing them to clients very simple.

But there’s one extra tool which can make you a real wireframing ninja – Keynote Kung-Fu.

[Read more…] about Keynote Kung-Fu: Wireframe Like a Ninja

ROAR Releases Mobile App Building CMS


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When mobile apps became a “must have” just a few years ago, only the largest churches and nonprofits could afford the $30,000 plus price tag to hire a firm to build a custom mobile app. Because the majority of nonprofits can’t afford that kind of price tag, ROAR is now releasing their own app-building CMS to help nonprofits and churches afford their own iPhone and Android apps for a fraction of the cost.

“Our goal is to enable each nonprofit and church we work with to reach into the community and into the pocket of every person to encourage, connect, and retain them as a customer and participant,” comments Matt McKee, president of ROAR. “With our new software, building a custom-looking mobile app for any organization is an affordable reality.”

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A Creative Donation App & How Your Church Can Use It


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A new app out by Oven Bits allows for electronic donations to your favorite charity.  If your church hasn’t gotten involved with online donations, this might be something worth checking out.

When you install the app on your iPhone or iPad, it prompts you through a very simple 3-step process.

The first is to choose what you are “giving up”; the second is to select the dollar amount; and the third is to select a charity of which to donate.

Of course, it’s really just a fun way of saying “how much do you want to donate to your favorite charity?”  But, here’s the idea behind the app:

We all consume things that take up money and give us a “quick fix”, which we generally end up regretting later.  Take the screen-shot below, for example.

[Read more…] about A Creative Donation App & How Your Church Can Use It