Sync Multiple Google Calendars to your iPhone iPad iPod

Brian Fegter — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 01:44:26 +0000

After searching through a maze of help documents from Google, I found this link that lets you choose which calendars get pushed to your iPhone/iPad/iPod

http://www.google.com/calendar/iphoneselect

It allows you to check off the calendars you want to appear in your Calendar app.

Sync Multiple Google Calendars to your iPhone iPad iPod is a post from: Mister Nifty

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Create An iPhone App For Your Church

Brian Fegter — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 02:48:23 +0000

ChurchDrop.com just featured a great tutorial on how to create your own iPhone app for your church. It’s practically free with a new web app called AppMakr. Read the full article here.

AppMakr is a free service that allows you to basically drag and drop an app into creation. The base cost to get your app to the iPhone is $99.00 for registering as a developer with Apple. There also may be some other costs associated with rebuilds of your app as well. Compared to what used to be over $1,000, this is a fantastic way to save money and get your church on the iTunes store.

Check out AppMakr

Create An iPhone App For Your Church is a post from: Mister Nifty

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My thoughts about the Apple culture

Brian Fegter — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 06:32:05 +0000

Before I begin, let me preface this post by saying that I own an iPod Touch. I’m very familiar with the ins and outs of Apple computers. I’ve worked on a Mac for several years and really enjoyed the experience. However, I’m not a die-hard Apple guy. I tend to see myself as a hybrid user. I really don’t care if it’s a PC (unless it’s Vista) or a Mac.

This Saturday the much anticipated iPad will be released to the public. I have several friends who are cult followers of Apple who plan on standing in line for hours to get their hands on this new digital treasure. The iPad is certainly worthy of buzz, but is it really worth taking an entire day to make one purchase?

I’ve been thinking a lot about the response to the iPad. The day it was revealed, the sun stood still for techies. It was said to be the death sentence for netbooks and a new era of gadgetry. I voiced/tweeted a skeptical opinion and was sharply rebuked by a couple of passionate Apple junkies. Later that day, someone posted that Steve Jobs has a way of creating things we didn’t know we needed. Three things in short happened that day across the US:

Mass hysteria over a new toy
Rejection of those who didn’t drink the Keynote Koolaid
Amenity was cast as necessity

Mass Hysteria

Companies like Apple love this because it drives sales. I watched people drunken with iPad glee the day of the keynote. I have scratched my head at mega lines of people outside stores to get their hands on the iPhone. Not to be offensive, but to me, it speaks of greed that so many have to be the first to get their hands on a product. The question that screams in my brain is, “Why can’t you wait until next week when there will be no line and you don’t have to look like a fool sleeping on the sidewalk to get a new phone?”

Whenever I see mass hysteria about a product, I refuse to buy the product for at least six months. This saves me money and helps me get a clearer perspective about the technology. Another reason I refuse to purchase immediately is that I don’t want to get caught up in technological classism.

Techno Classism

There’s a reason I don’t carry an iPhone. It’s not because I can’t afford it, it’s because I won’t afford it. I did a cost analysis of carrying an iPhone and it wasn’t worth the extra dough for me. However, I love the applications on the iPhone so I chose to go with a significantly cheaper refurbished iPod Touch. One thing that frustrates me about Apple is that they fuel techno classism. Their commercials are funny and extremely effective, but at the core are demeaning to millions of PC users who can’t afford the latest Apple fashion.

I see this type of demeaning classism bleed into the consumers. I have had people shocked that I, Mister Nifty didn’t have an iPhone. Though words never express the superiority complex that a percentage of iPhone consumers have, it certainly is felt by those who don’t carry one. I have been made fun of so many times because I still work on a PC. It’s humorous to me that those same people call me asking for help to navigate their Mac or make the keyboard and mouse feel more like a PC.

My point is, Apple has created a culture of trendy tech. I can do the same things on a PC that you can do on a Mac, but for less money and maybe my computer doesn’t look as pretty. I know I know….Macs don’t have viruses. Yes, they do, and they will have more and more in the next few years as Apple takes more of the desktop market share.

For me, I don’t do trendy. I don’t have to define myself by my gadgets and electronics. At the end of the day, the iPad is another toy. Sure, there are legitimate uses for it in the medical field and elsewhere, but the majority of people who buy will use it as a toy. Just because you buy the iPad this Saturday does not make you a superior human being. It just means you spent $500 bucks on an electronic amenity.

To all the Apple elitists: Why is it such a bad thing that I think the Android platform has huge possibilities? Why can’t I think other smart phones are cool without being branded as a nobody? Why can’t I speak freely about Apple’s prohibitive app store policies and share ideas of a freer app market? Why should I be shunned because I have a phone that can’t do my laundry? At the end of the day, our gadget batteries all go dead and we’re still human beings.

Amenity == Necessity ?

The iPad is an amenity. It’s a comfort electronic. When I read that Steve Jobs creates things we didn’t know we needed, I take a huge step back. This sounds an awful lot like brainwashing or really good marketing. What if we said the same statement about the government and politicians. That logic would be rejected. I’m not being conspiratorial at all, I’m just being real about the hype. When amenities are cast as necessity, people need a reality check.

You don’t need an iPad, you want an iPad. You breathed in and out before you bought your first Apple product, and you will still be kicking after Apple is long gone decades from now. The more you think that an electronic is a necessity, the more you will spend your money on first generation gadgets. I prefer to wait patiently, let the hysterical crowd work out the bugs, and then buy either a used or a second generation gadget at a much lower price. If tomorrow, I drop my iPod and the screen cracks, my identity will still be intact.

I like Apple AND PC Products

If you think I hate Apple products, I don’t. I just hate the aura that sometimes surrounds them in our culture. I will buy an iPad, but I won’t spend as much as the people on Saturday. I will probably buy an iPhone when they offer it with carriers which will drive down the prices (not a fan of ATT). I will buy an iMac next year for my web development business, not because it’s pretty or a status symbol, but because Apple makes excellent, quality products and there is some killer web dev software for Macs.

I will also continue to use PC because I can. When my PC crashes, I will reformat and start again, because I can.

Reality Check

Do you buy electronics because everyone else is buying it?
Do you judge electronics by appearance rather than function?
Do you have to have the latest and greatest brand name?
Do you research other options on the market before you buy?
Do you always have to buy first generation?

My thoughts about the Apple culture is a post from: Mister Nifty

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Want an iPhone app for your church?

Brian Fegter — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 07:17:29 +0000

After Mars Hill Church released their iPhone app, I’ve had a deluge of people wanting to know how to create their own iPhone app. To begin, if you’re looking for free, you probably shouldn’t be trying to create an app. There are a few ways you can go about getting your own custom application.

Pay an iPhone developer anywhere from $5,000-$10,000 to have a completely custom solution.
Create an iPhone friendly website. This also costs a bit of money to hire a web developer.
Use a service like Mobile Roadie that keeps the cost down with an app template. – $500 setup fee – $29.00/month

If I were undertaking this project, I would go with option 3. I have never used Mobile Roadie, however I’ve looked into their site extensively and it appears to service all the needs a church might have in an app. It’s originally created for bands, but it can be morphed into a pretty feature-rich digital church app. Here are some of the features that caught my eye: