Our church - Christ Lutheran La Mesa (7929 La Mesa Blvd., La Mesa, CA 91942) - is having three Christmas Eve services in 2012:

• Saturday, December 24 - Family Christmas Worship with Children's Message at 3:30 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary. This service is designed for young families and incorporates traditional Christmas carols that are family friendly to sing as well as a special children's message geared for our kids, led by Cheri. Childcare is available in the nursery.
• Saturday, December 24 - Christmas Worship with Communion at 5:30 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary. This service features the celebration of Holy Communion as we celebrate Christ's birth. Join us afterwards for hot cider and cookies on the patio. Childcare is available in the nursery.
• Saturday, December 24 - Candlelight Worship at 7:30 p.m. in the Church Sanctuary. This service features our choir as well as our traditional "candlelight ending" as we sing together the great carols of Christmas for those passing by on La Mesa Boulevard. As we conclude, we will have the opportunity for hot cider and cookies on the patio.

There will also be a service on Christmas morning:

• Sunday, December 25 - Christmas Day Communion Worship at 10 a.m. in the Church Sanctuary. As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we celebrate the gift of His Supper, receiving the body and the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. The message is from John 1, the Christmas Day Gospel reading, and speaks of God among Us which the Christ Child brings as He moves into our hearts and lives.

For a while I've been doing a little bit of ambient information testing DIY style by loading up webpages that I want to see information from and then automatically moving through the tabs after ~20 seconds.  

These sites are loaded on an external display and then running in the "ambient" background most of the day.  I have been accomplishing this using Firefox and an add-on called Tab Slideshow.

Ambient information displays and displaying information in a meaningful way seems to be a growing area of interest within new products and computer science research circles.  The new version of Windows 8 is going to have some of these features that Microsoft has already brought to Windows Phone.  

There is also a company called Ambient Devices making alarm clock size devices that show you what you want in a very customizable way.  Another major player in this market is chumby with a complete line of options including support for Android.

Today, I was wonder what options were available for replicating this DIY browser approach with Google Chrome. In Firefox, I've been using the feature Full Screen after launching Tab Slideshow. There is a similar feature called Enter Presentation Mode in Chrome which seems to do a better job IMHO of getting more of the computer out of the display.  

To get the tabs you want to autmoatically cycle through there appears to be three plugins to check out for Chrome:

• Tab Slideshow Plus
• TabCarousel
• Revolver - Tabs

I think I'm going to start with Resolver - Tabs and see how it works.  Anyone have any other suggestions?!?

I noticed this morning in the Sunday Union-Tribune (5/1/2011) what seemed to me to be an increased number of  tablet and ebook advertisements:

• Best Buy: Kindle with Special Offers ($114); Acer Iconia Tab A500 ($450); NOOKColor ($350)
• Office Depot: ViewSonic 10.1" Tablet ($300)
• Staples: Dell Steak 7 ($400); BlackBerry PlayBook ($499); Motorola Xoom ($600); Amazon Kindle ($189 plus $25 gift card); NOOKColor ($249)
• Target: Kindle with Special Offers ($114)

I do think both the Kindle and the Nook are great ebook readers based on what I've heard from others about them.  I am still very happy with the new Apple iPad 2, so I don't think I'd seriously consider any of the other tablets at this time.  And since I like my iPad 2 for reading books, adding an ebook reader to my technology toolkit probably won't happen.

My usuage pattern for the iPad 2 are still pretty much the same since I purchase the original iPad: ebooks/PDF reading, email, web browsing, personal GTD, casual gaming, and consuming podcasts/music/video.  

Are you using a tablet?  If so, which one, and what are you using it for?

You can find out what I'm up to in near real-time via: Google+, Twitter (@sholden), About.me, and del.icio.us. I also recommend checking out my AztecMedia.net (@adwatch) produced podcasts: Tech News Radio (@technewsradio),  Jersey Boys Podcast, and Veteran Stories.

I got a question from a friend asking if I was considering replacing my Apple iPad with a Motorola Zoom now that Best Buy is running ads for them.

The short answer is no.  I am still very happy with my iPad and use it every day as my primary personal "knowledge navigator."

After reviewing the Best Buy ad (the Zoom is expected to be released Feb. 24), I think the things that are attractive about this device:

• 10.1" screen
• 32-GB memory
• Adobe Flash support
• Front (2-MP) & rear (5-MP) camera for pictures & video capture
• Andriod OS
• 3G upgradeable to 4G LTE

Some things that are big negatives for me:

• $800 price range
• WI-FI can only be used after paying for a 1 month data subscription with Verizon

The other thing that is going to be hard for iPad users who are comfortable with using iTunes as their primary media sync tool (podcasts, music, movies, etc) is finding that same experience in the Android/Zoom eccosystem.  There are some good alternatives like doubletwist, but they are different.

The other big negative is going to be people's investment in iPad applications.  I know that is going to be something I'd have to consider because I do have some key applications I've purchased and use everyday that paying for them over again isn't very appealing.

From my perspective the goal of David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) is to get you focused on the things you want to do, when/where you can do them, and with the energy/motivation you might have at the moment of decision.

I cannot recommend this book Getting Things Done enough. 

If you are an audio learner then you can check out their free podcasts.  One of the best intros of GTD is by Meg Edwards.

There is also an awesome 2004 interview with David Allen at the Atlantic magazine.

Check out DavidCo.com for more resources.

Here are some tech items I've been tracking:

• PaulaD has published a list of “50 Free Android Apps that Will Make You Smarter & More Productive".
• Gune is a mobile search service/platorm that searches 14 sites in a single interface. 
• Victor Cajiao at Typical Mac User Podcast is speaking that this years Macworld 2011.
• "Teach Yourself WordPress 3 in 10 Minutes" by Chuck Tomasi & Kreg Steppe is at the top of the list at WordPress.org
• Cox Cable is now offering “Ultimate Internet” using Docsis 3.0" ... cost could be up to $100 a month 
• Electronics West is Feb 9-10, 2011 in Anaheim, CA.
• Microsoft & T-Mobile are teaming up to offer a 2-for-1 deal for the new Windows Mobile HTC HD7 phones.
• You can take FileMaker Training Series for FileMaker Pro 11 remotely via GoToMeeting (50% off).
• ScotteVest has a new Sport Coat & Revolution Jacket - plus a special edition leather jacket.
• MindMeister's iPhone app is now FREE and the iPad app is $7.99 ... great online MindMap application.

Here are some new tech related news items and updates I am tracking:

• New version of LastPass for Windows 1.70.1 released for FireFox, IE, and Chrome (includes 32-bit and 64-bit support)
• Adobe PDF iFilter 9 for 64-bit platforms (enables PDF file & content search on 64-bit Windows 7 systems)
• Having issues with new Google Chrome and downloading PDFs? Then check out the Google Forums for some tips.
• No Airprint-capable printer for your iPad or iPhone? You maybe able to build one
  using Airprint Hacktivator.
• AnyDVD (6.7.2.0) for Windows is out with new media protections, updated decryption keys, bugs fixes & updated languages
• Apple has announced an update for Boot Camp from 3.1 to 3.2. It adds support for new hardware & fixes critical bugs.
• AT&T has announced plans to sell in the future Novatel MiFi devices that enable wireless Internet data services.
• New books on Windows Phone 7: Plain & Simple (ISBN:9780735643420), Silverlight (ISBN:9780735656673) & XNA Framework (ISBN:9780735656697)
• AnyDVD (6.7.3.0) for Windows has been released with new Blu-ray updates, DVD scanner update plus other fixes.
• Apple Mac users of VMware Fusion there is a new version 3.1.2 available.
• The Open Group is offering a TOGAF Webinar (v9 Content Metamodel Framework) on Dec. 2, 2010 at 1600 GMT.
• HP, VMWARE & INTEL are sponsoring "virtualization workshops" around the country focused on the HP StorageWorks P4000.

Unwrapping Christmas 2010 in San Diego, CA via Christ Lutheran Church in La Mesa, CA:

• Sunday, Dec. 12, 10:30 a.m. (Gym) - Christmas Worship with Sunday School Puppets
• Wednesday, Dec. 15, 6:00 p.m. (Gym) - Preschool/School Christmas Program
• Sunday, Dec. 19, 8:00 & 10:30 a.m. (Sanctuary) - LESSONS & CAROLS with Sanctuary Choir, Handbells, and Instruments

Out Christmas services include:

• Thursday, Dec. 23, 7 p.m. (Gym) - Pre-Christmas Contemporary Worship with Praise Band and Grounded Band
• Friday, Dec. 24, 5:30 p.m. (Sanctuary) - Family Christmas Worship with Children's Message 
• Friday, Dec. 24, 7:30 p.m. (Sanctuary) - Festival Candlelight Worship with Handbells and Sanctuary Choir
• Saturday, Dec. 25, 10 a.m. (Sanctuary) - Christmas Day Communion Worship with Handbells
• Sunday, Dec. 26, 10 a.m. (Sanctuary) - Standard service

Location: Christ Lutheran Church, 7929 La Mesa Blvd, La Mesa, CA 91942. Phone: 619.462.5211.

Over the last couple of months I've been trying to decide what the best device was to purchase that would allow the family to access the "most" digital content in our living room.

Some things that mattered:

• Access to Internet content: NetFlix, Amazon, Hulu, Pandora, podcasts, etc
• Streaming media from the local network
• Ability to play media from local storage
• Reasonable up front cost, upgradeable, viable roadmap, track record of improvements
• Technical features: easy GUI, upgradable, Ethernet, WiFi, and HDMI

The choices were pretty competitive in many ways -- Apple TV (new & old), Roku, Google TV, Western Digital WD TV, Game Players (Xbox, Wii, PS3), Boxee Box, etc with each having many good points but also a number of issues that just couldn't be over come.

My decision was to go with the Roku XDS Streaming Player 1080p that is currently on sale at Amazon for $99.  It seems to be the one that hits most of the requirements with the only big issue right now is that it does not seem to play well in the Apple ecosystem with video, but you can reportedly stream audio from existing iTunes collections to the device.

After I get the device up and running (it should arrive in a couple of days) I'll send out an updated review.  If you have done a similar analysis, I'd love to hear what decision you have made.  If you have any suggestions or hints on how to better use a Roku device, I'd like to hear that also.