Church IT RoundTable

The deadline has been set.  Finally!  The FCC has made official their order regarding wireless mic systems operating the the so-called 700 MHz band. As of June 12, it will be illegal to operate wireless mics in this spectrum. This has been a drama played out over more than 10 years. It’s nice just to have a firm date. There is more background on the “why” behind this decision this morning, over at TechnoPraxis if you’re interested.

So, if you still have systems operating between 695 and 806 MHZ, what should you do?

First, if you have not already done so, it’s time to contact your dealer to replace your now obsolete systems. You can check your system on the FCC website to see if it’s covered by the new rule.
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/wirelessmicrophones/manufacturers.html

The good news is that the major manufacturers have extended their rebate programs through the end of June, so you can get some help with the financial impact of this decision.

Beyond that, expect the remaining spectrum that we are allowed to use for wireless to get a bit more congested. The FCC has stated that wireless mic usage takes priority over these new broadband devices, but only when it comes to preventing interference. If you’re operating a wireless microphone, the THEORY is that the new devices should avoid you and pick another frequency to operate on.

There will be a registration database that will allow wireless users to stake a claim for specific frequencies in specific locations. There are also ongoing tests to create workable sensing technology. The new devices will check to see if you’re operating a wireless mic before they operate on a specific frequency. We may also see the development of wireless beacons. Think of it as a wireless lighthouse. Wireless mic users will transmit a signal that will tell these new broadband devices to stay away.

Regardless of how this all shakes out, one thing is clear. The airwaves are getting more crowded, and wireless mics are expensive. You can avoid all of these problems pretty easily, by simply using wired microphones whenever possible. If the talent isn’t moving around, and moving around a lot, think wired. As my friend tp:// is fond of saying, “the cheapest wired microphone on the cheapest cable is FAR more reliable than the most expensive wireless system available.”

That is good advice.

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The Spring 2010 Church IT RoundTable is just a month away.  If you haven’t registered go on over to www.citrt.org and claim your seat, QUICKLY!

 

One of the great aspects of the CITRT National events is to learn about great products and services that you might need to implement or use in the coming year.  We will be again having the Vendor Bazaar were CITRT partners can share, demo, explain etc the technology and tools they sell. 

Every time I attend a National RoundTable I end up learning a ton about a specific tech or product and then get home just in time to hear a staff members say,  “Would it be possible to… “

Maybe there is already one of those “would it be possible…” projects on your list and you don’t know of a vendor with the solution, shoot an email to info@citrt.org with your need and we’ll see if we can find a vendor to meet with you face to face at the Roundtable.

Maybe you know of a vendor that others should meet and learn what they have to offer, if you have a vendor in mind contact them and encourage them to check out the CITRT Spring RoundTable Sponsors Page or email info@citrt.org for more information.

So maybe it's not really as dramatic as all that, but as far as wireless microphone use in the so-called 700 MHz band, it is now official.

As of June 12, and possibly earlier in some cases, use of wireless mics transmitting between 695 and 806 MHz is officially illegal. The final rule was issued on January 15.

This wireless spectrum has been reallocated for use by public safety agencies, and by wireless service providers. 

As we've said before, the FCC won't have a squad of 'wireless cops' cruising the streets on Sunday morning, looking for violations.  What is clear, though, is that the wireless companies who have spent BILLIONS of dollars to buy up spectrum will be watching.  One of those providers began sending letters to higher profile wireless users last year, warning them that they would be watching for any infractions. 

So, it's time to stop using the systems.  It will be against the law to fire them up after the deadline. Thankfully, church techs now have a firm date to refer to when discussing this with church boards.  It would have been nice if they'd announced the date a bit earlier... say before budgets for 2010 were set, but they didn't. 

Beyond the fact that it's wrong, there is actually an element of danger in continuing to use the systems.  As the FCC order itself points out, your system could interfere with a public safety radio system.  Is it highly likely?  Probably not.  But it is possible, and that would be bad.

So, where to go from here? More on that over at Church Tech Matters this morning!

 

Occasionally I want to only display something based on the number of categories that is assigned to a particular entry. I wrote a small plugin to help me grab that number and use it in conditional statements. An example of use would be displaying a specific word like "category" versus "categories" in the sentence "This entry was filed in X category/categories." You could also choose to display content based on this number. A few examples of use are included in the documentation.

• Superbowl party with a ton of people. Great food and a great game. #
• Ok… the Monster.com boogieman commercial is pretty funny. #
• @benjordan 120dB. If it's too loud, you're too old. or hand out earplugs with communion. in reply to benjordan #
• @theporch delivered a great message this morning @watermarkchurch. Life is too short to worry. Awesome new song from @prcmusic too. #
• Successful birthday. Now to grill some tomato ranch chicken on the grill. Yum. #
• At Main Event for the big girl's birthday party. #fb #
• Any other wm peeps going to pierce HS basketball game tonight for family night? #
• 635 shutdown had all streets in n Dallas slammed with traffic. #
• Lots of great stories unfolding on http://www.watermarkblogs.org. Check out stories from Africa, community, & others. via @watermarkchurch #
• @aaronalexander I use all of them interchangibily. in reply to aaronalexander #
• @rhowell trip to Lover's Egg Roll = rancid dog meat! in reply to rhowell #
• @watermarkgeek @benjordan Would love to hear more about that. (via @PeaElAre) / …trust me, you really don't. #
• Today @benjordan used bluegrass music to remind me of several atributes of the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. #
• @brookemauritzen Nope… you know… we only watch HGTV. No Lost here. =) in reply to brookemauritzen #
• RT @davidpenuel: Busted! @skedersha doing a women's bible study while wearing a pink shirt. http://twitpic.com/1110hk /Real men wear black #
• And in walks @davidpenuel… he apparently didn't get the memo on the shirt… #
• We are officially a cult. @wesbutler, @skedersha, PB & I are all at the same Panera. 3 of us wearing same shirt. http://post.ly/LnwQ #
• @dszp Proud of your hard work and diligence through the last 7 years and excited for where God is leading you. Way to go! in reply to dszp #
• Headed to National Church IT Roundtable at Saddleback – March 11-12. If you are a church IT leader, you should be there. info at citrt.org #
• ease of use, win-win, major requirements, milestones, demo, phased approach, time sensitive, show the interface… I need buzzword bingo. #
• Love sitting at panera surrounded by baby IT consultants… using words like knowledgebase, rollout, parallel cutover, and methodology. #
• Best thing about Xwing vs Tie Fighter? It works just fine on Windows 7. #
• Playing Xwing vs. Tie Fighter… In all of it's "Made for Windows 95, 640×480 max resolution goodness" Great soundtrack. #
• Good Morning Texas – Story about group from @watermarkchurch who went to Haiti last week http://bit.ly/a0R1m4 #
• John Tyler, 10th US Pres, has two living grandsons. How many of us can say "My grandpa was born in 1790." ?! http://bit.ly/bBSpZp @voorhis) #
• @dszp He wanted to keep the old account for personal use… new account for more ministry related things. in reply to dszp #
• What is it exactly with teething kids, coughing and vomiting in the middle of the night? 3 kids. It's always the same outcome. #

That’s right! Only 50 days until Church/Ministry IT staff and volunteers from across the country will descend upon Saddleback Church in warm sunny Lake Forest California to partake in 2 days of invaluable peer learning, networking and inspiration March 11-12.

If you can only attend one IT conf this year, this is the one I recommend without hesitation! Regardless of your church/org size, I guarantee you’ll leave with new knowledge, new friendships and loads of inspiration.  I’ve been to every National Church IT Roundtable since 2006 and I leave each one totally amazed at what I’ve gained.  Not to mention the incredible friendships I’ve built over the past few years are invaluable on both a person and professional level.  So in other words – make every effort possible to get to this event.  If you need me to write a note to your boss to help your plight let me know ;-)

We’re still firming up final costs, but it will be under $100…and that will include lunch and snacks both days…and if we get enough sponsors hopefully even dinner both nights.  Registration is open and cost is only $75 for both days including meals!

Sponsors?  Yes, we’re asking vendors to help offset the costs.  Please encourage your favorite vendors to contribute.  Even a small amount will be helpful.  See the sponsor page for more info.

Spouses?  Yes, a number of us have been informed by our spouses that they TOO will be coming to California :-)  Spouses are encouraged to join us during the evening gathering times.  Perhaps during the day they can form their own IT spouse support group and hang out together at the beach ;-)

Final details are still being nailed down, but here’s the schedule gist …
March 10 – optional pre-event informal gathering in the evening (possible dinner)
March 11 – Day 1 - 9am until late … Saddleback “behind the scenes” tour in late afternoon, group dinner, then a special worship service
March 12 – Day 2 – 9am until 5pm … then optional dinner for those flying out Sat/Sun

More details can be found at http://citrt.org … hope to see you there!  Questions? Leave a comment or email info@citrt.org

For the latest up to the minute Church IT Roundtable news follow CITRT on twitter and/or facebook

Golden ~Eye~ posted a photo:

sent from my blackberry

• Slipped and fell in the ice yesterday, in lots of pain today #
• RT @oncee: Twitter Mass Password Reset due to Phishing: http://isc.sans.org/diary.html?storyid=8137&rss #
• Internet down again. !@#*; @mediacom #fail #fail #fail #
• has #shmoocon envy #
• Weather permitting, I'm going to Springfield for #2600 meeting tonight; will anyone be there? #
• On my way 2 Springfield,MO; Red Robin 4 dinner, then #2600 meeting #
• I still use IE… to download FF #
• Searched B&N and Borders and no #2600 #

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One of those can’t miss opportunities for Church IT people is about to take place just a few weeks away.  The Church IT Roundtable’s National Spring event will be hosted at Saddleback Church (Lake Forest, CA) March 11-12.

If you have attended a CITRT event in the past, you know what I am talking about.  If you haven’t attended I am serious when I say its a highlight of my year.  Every time I go to a CITRT event I learn tons about Church Information Technology, I meet awesome peers and I have a great time.  If you are in Church IT (staff, volunteer, vendor) you can’t afford not to attend this event. 

 

If you haven’t already, make plans to head to Southern California March 11-12.  For all the details check out www.citrt.org

Today was the final day of the Next Level Leadership Conference here at Savannah Christian Church… and what a great conference it was. Every year, church leaders across America and around the world come to SCC to network together, and seek out how to take their church to the “Next Level”. We are blessed to be able to give back by teaching what we have learned after many years of conferences ourselves as we have grown over the years, and continue to grow daily.

On the IT side, we not only make sure that our internal infrastructure is performing optimally, but we also offer wireless internet and Internet Kiosks for our guest to use.

For the wireless internet (guest network), we use a device called a Guest Gate, which is a very affordable hardware appliance that separates our guest network from our private network. By adding switches and wireless access points behind the Guest Gate, we are able to create a guest network that is totally isolated from our internal, private network. It works very well! This year, we used an Apple Airport Extreme base station as a central wireless access router for our public network. We also used two Apple Airport Express access points to extend/boost the signal in areas where the signal had gotten weak. The Airport Express access points are actually able to “extend a network”, rather than creating a new network, which is very nice! Doing this, we were able to cover most of the building for Public Wifi.

For our “Internet Kiosks”, we used 4 of our 16 check-in stations. Our check-in stations are non-domain joined, Windows 7 machines with Microsoft Steady State installed. We use Windows 2008 Terminal Server Published App/Remote App to push ACS Check-point to the computer. So, moving these machines to our guest network was simple. We added a “nextlevel” local account without a password, locked the account down with Windows Steady State, disable the ACS local account that we use for the weekends, and move the computers network lines to the guest network in the datacenter. The result, a quick-to-deploy internet kiosk that is completely locked down and isolated from our network. In addition to the security of the computer, we also implemented OpenDNS.com this year for our guest network. Doing this, we were able to protect our guests from certain areas of the internet using OpenDNS’s filters, as well as preserving the bandwidth by blocking access to file sharing, audio & video streaming, etc.

This morning, we had a Q&A-Information Technology session where we were able to take an hour and sit down with guests to talk about IT in their churches. It went really well. A special thanks to Ernesto, Winston and Scott for doing an excellent job assisting in facilitating this session.

Here are a few pictures from Main sessions of the conference, and the Internet Kiosks:

Command Center :0)
Monitoring the SCC Private & Guest Networks

Normally Check-in Stations being used as Internet Kiosks for the Conference.

Shots of the Praise Services that kicked off the Conference on Wednesday night, and main sessions of the conference on Thursday and Friday.

 

Since today was a snow day, I thought I would break the silence here on the blog.  Well not exactly a snow day with no work or school… but Jonathan’s first day to play in the snow. 

Over the past few weeks Natalie has insisted to find a great buy and purchase snow pants for Jonathan incase of a big snow… Well she found the deal, and I hope Jonathan likes the pants because they are big enough for about 3 winters!

We found the deal just in time for an ‘amazing’ snow fall of 1.5 inches which warranted a snow day.  So Today after we finished lunch we all go our warm gear on (some more gear than others) and headed out to the snow.

 

 

 

Of course when you are out in your first snow adventure, you have to learn you can eat snow as long as it’s not yellow snow (or brown, thanks Toby).

 

Since the snow was really wet we decided to make a Snow Man… as soon as I started rolling the snow we could hear  “Ba, Ba Ba” (Jonathan’s word for Ball).  The bigger the snow ball, the faster and LOUDER we heard “Ba, Ba, Ba”.  Soon he was yelling “BA”.

 

After rolling snow, we had our finished project and it was time for Dad to head back to the office, I think Jonathan enjoyed our lunch time adventure.

“Exactly what kind of companies might get tangled up into this regulatory Rubik’s Cube?…Any Internet company that offers a voice application?” … “With this newfound authority, why stop at voice apps? Isn’t voice just another type of data app? As the distinction between network operators and application providers continues to blur at an eye-popping rate, how will the government be able to keep up?”

Is Broadband able to be classified as a common carrier service?  The FCC most assuredly believes this is well within its authority – and is exercising these “policies” not just over the agency’s ability to regulate the NET – but if it can be classified as a common carrier service.

Comcast is suing the FCC over its Order sanctioning the company for P2P blocking – so their ability to “regulate” needs to be clearly defined – of course re-defining a government entity is not an easy task… however defining ISPs as common carriers would seem suited to the FCC’s purposes, especially if given Title II’s clear definition of what a common carrier can’t do:

“It shall be unlawful for any common carrier to make any unjust or unreasonable discrimination in charges, practices, classifications, regulations, facilities, or services for or in connection with like communication service, directly or indirectly, by any means or device, or to make or give any undue or unreasonable preference or advantage to any particular person, class of persons, or locality, or to subject any particular person, class of persons, or locality to any undue or unreasonable prejudice or disadvantage.”

McDowell stated, “At the same time, broadband companies create and maintain software with millions of lines of code inside their systems. They also own app stores that are seamlessly connected to their networks. As technology advances, will the government be able to make the distinctions between applications and networks necessary under a new regulatory regime?…  Will it (the government) be able to do so in Internet Time?”

One thing is clear -  If we were able to agree on some basic tenets providers could utilize to ensure all accounts are serviceable based upon not only “bandwidth” but also “throughput”  most of these arguments would simply be a mute point.

This past October (2009) The FCC laid out its draft for network neutrality rules which appears to allow to the greater extent a “free and open Internet.”  The principles already existing from 2005:

• Consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice
• Consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement
• Consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network
• Consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.

Those principles along with two new additional principles are now going to be made “binding:

• A provider of broadband Internet access service must treat lawful content, applications, and services in a nondiscriminatory manner
• A provider of broadband Internet access service must disclose such information concerning network management and other practices as is reasonably required for users and content, application, and service providers to enjoy the protections specified in this rulemaking

In this ever changing world of the INTERNET -  I do not think it is reasonable to agree ISP’s are able to perform Network management based on ambiguity:

• To manage congestion on networks
• To address harmful traffic (viruses, spam)
• To block unlawful content (child porn)
• To block unlawful transfers of content (copyright infringement)
• For “other reasonable network management practices”

In November I posted an entry about an article I wrote about Cloud Computing; that it proves Solomon was right that there's nothing new under the sun.  As I've been thinking about Cloud Computing and what it's evolving to mean (server-based computing to minimize traffic and hardware requirements), the following struck me as... interesting!

• When engineering Novell Netware networks in the mid-1980s using programs like WordPerfect, we engineered them so all software ran from the server where the data also resided.  Microsoft decided to enter the word processing game and did so in a big way, eclipsing Word Perfect.  But their solution, Word, was so inefficient they recommended running it from the local hard drive.
• Microsoft decided to enter the network game and did so in a big way too, eclipsing Novell.  They did their best to achieve Netware's reliability, even adopting Novell's strategy of using a database called a directory to manage the network.  But things were often unstable and services conflicted with each other, so they developed the strategy of running many servers to minimize service conflicts and to further distribute the network, pushing as much data and programs as possible to the workstation.  With today's hypervisor technology we're finally able to engineer Microsoft networks with very few server 'hosts'-- part of Cloud Computing architecture.

So, more than a dozen years later we're finally able to do with Microsoft Windows networks most of what we were able to do with Novell Networks.  Congrats to Microsoft!

I've had this update sitting in my repository for a little while and haven't had the time to polish a couple of things up to release it. Finally I had some breathing room after some client work so I'm now releasing version 1.1.0 of Redirect Helper Lite. This introduces an extension to the add-on which greatly enhances the processing time of the actual redirection. In earlier versions ExpressionEngined to being parsing the template before it even performed a redirection. That's a lot of overhead for something that should occur immediately. For this update I've utilized the sessions_start hook and now the redirection occurs as early as possible saving you that tiny bit of processing time.

Every once and awhile a story comes along that breaks my heart again and again.  Please take the time to read this article from The New York Times.  Warning, the content is graphic and disturbing.  To give full credit, the original article can be found here.

Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

I have an Xbox 360. It is a toy, but a fun toy. The kids and I love playing games on it. A few weeks ago I got the dreaded "Red Ring of Death" on the box. Thankfully, I am covered by the three year warranty for this exact problem. So I send it off to Microsoft. Their solution is simply to send us an already fixed box rather than making customers wait to have the machines fixed. Great, sounds

The Biblical Counseling Training Conference is coming up fast at Faith. Our team is working hard to ensure an enjoyable learning experience for our guests that allow them to focus on their walk with the Lord so that they can help others who are hurting. We are blessed at Faith to have over 1550 folks from all over the world attending an event in Lafayette, IN in February to learn about the Bible’s sufficiency.

As you know the weather in Indiana in February is often less than ideal. Anyone remember the blizzard of 2007? I think that one will go down in conference history. We had radar loops showing on all the screens so folks could track the storm progress.

I’m often asked what’s new in the tech realm so here are some things we are excited about and are working on.

1. If our friends at UPS come through for us we will have a new pulpit and video monitor stand in the auditorium. We have been working on this for a while due to an earlier blog post I wrote about the pulpit catching on fire during a Sunday morning service. This week we are replacing the pulpit itself and the video monitor next to it. After the conference we will begin working on the whole up-and-down part.
2. Our wireless network coverage has been increased. We were hoping to have additional bandwidth available but construction delays have that part on hold until the week after the conference.
3. In the Community Center we have made some functional improvements to 2 of our sound systems.
4. We use 10 laptops for the various conference sessions and tracks. We typically rent those and they arrived today so our team is working hard and getting them imaged and pre-loaded with many PowerPoint files, drivers, video codec’s, and other teaching resources.
5. We have added another LCD announcement board in the school wing of the building and are planning to use that to communicate announcements and other upcoming events.
6. We go through a lot of CD’s during the conference as folks take media home with them. We have increased our duplication capacity so we can get as many orders completed before the end of the BCTC as possible.
7. We run 12 full audio/visual systems during the conference. While our gear inventory has increased over the years we still rent some of the equipment. That arrives Friday afternoon. We begin setup on Saturday morning and complete it Sunday afternoon after our morning services.

Another new thing I’m excited about is the use of Twitter to submit questions during the 2 Q&A sessions in Track 1. This is something new for us and if it goes well will probably be expanded. More details about this will be provided in Track 1 and I’ll be there as the Twitter moderator.

My thanks to the many of you who have inquired about my grandfather and have been praying for him. His recovery is going well and he is back to his schedule as it was before he fell. He’s excited that he will be able to participate in the BCTC as he originally planned.

As for the Super Bowl where the Indianapolis Colts are going to beat the New Orleans Saints, I know the BCTC and the Super Bowl are on the same night.  That happens every so often depending on how the calendar falls but since we all know the Colts are going to win anyway it really doesn't matter if you see the first half of the game.  One year I taught a session on Super Bowl night and would periodically update folks with the score from my cell phone.  Even though the Saints' Drew Brees is a former Purdue QB, a fine institution of which I am an alum, I'm still rooting for the Colts.

For those coming next week I look forward to seeing/meeting you. I'm usually running around but I can be found making the announcements in the lunch room in the Community Center so be sure to stop and say 'hey'. For those who are not coming please be praying that God would be at work in all our lives.

So, for the last month or so, I’ve been up to my ears in managing media for a very high profile murder trial going on here in Wichita.  I was working for the courts and the trial was big, big news. 

This is not the place to discuss the merits of the case, or the issue itself, but there were a few lessons learned that I thought were worth passing on.

As you can imagine, there was crazy media interest in this case.  More than 150 credentialed reporters, from about two dozen organizations covered the trial.  Enough satellite trucks that we had to close a lane of traffic on Main Street to park them all.

So, what are the take-aways with regard to media relations?

First, if you aren’t tracking social media,you’re entirely out of the loop.  There were thousands of tweets and other social media posts regarding the trial.  I live in the connected social media world, and I was still shocked by the sheer volume. 

I was also saddened, and shocked by the gross inaccuracies that spread like wildfire via Twitter.   Most were a result of laziness and ignorance, people repeating and retweeting, rather than checking things out.  Some were intentional, leveraging repeating and retweeting to push an agenda. 

Most disturbing were traditional media and ‘experts’ who didn’t do their homework, and spread misinformation via blogs and tweets.

Beyond social media, it’s clear that the definition of ‘media’ has and is changing rapidly.  Because of the nature of this trial, we had a lot of folks claiming to be media who clearly weren’t.  Many were just partisan players on one side of the issue or the other who knew they wouldn’t likely be able to get a seat in the courtroom (due to space limitations) and wanted a seat, or really wanted access to the media themselves.  Those were fairly easy to weed out.  

Harder was dealing with freelancers and those working for web only, or non-traditional but legitimate media outlets. Coming up with a fair and at least relatively objective way to identify who are ‘real media’ is going to become more and more difficult over time.

So what does that mean.  Pretty simple.  Get some help.

Managing media for a major event being covered by national and network level media is not an activity for an amateur or even the average PR person. There are tough calls to make, major egos to manage, and you have to be willing to make a few people more than a little bit angry.  Trying to do it yourself would be a bit like watching monkeys play with guns. 

It’s fun at first, but in the end, somebody’s gonna get hurt.

My buddy Dave down at Fellowship Church asked me to pass along this IT opening … sweet gig at a sweet church!

Fellowship Church – Information Technology Manager
Fellowship Church is looking for an individual well versed in the Information Technology world, that has a passion to support the message, ministries, multi-site effort and infrastructure of Fellowship Church through Information Technology.
The individuals skill set should look something like this:

You must be:
A team player and love collaborating with others.
Passionate about new and Open Source technologies.
A motivated self-starter and learner
Able to to adapt quickly and work in a fast paced high energy environment.
Able to build and lead staff and volunteer teams

Your Skills:
Network Administration
VPN and VOIP systems
Server Virtualization
Windows and Mac Network integration
Active & Open Directory Administration
Corporate 802.11x Wireless-Network Management
Project Management
Help Desk/Technical Support Management
Knowledge of Cabling and Fiber

http://fellowshipchurch.com

For more info contact Dave Clark