They are a little later than i would have liked, but here are the notes from our gathering at the Nation Youth Ministry Conference:
Questions you would like answers to:
What would i need to do some basic video work?
iMovie is an easy great way to easily edit videos, comes with your mac
I would recommend the middle MacBook, with as much ram as you can afford.
refurbished products from apple a good way to save some money
CDW for non-profits,
iPhoto great way to organize you pictures, make albums, slideshows
Mac will integrate into a PC network pretty easily. Also run windows on your mac can be on it,
Wireless networking makes it even easier
For printers, if it doesn’t find it, use the IP address
Shelby alternatives: fellowshipone.com (online app works with the mac), youth tracker, tuggle
Cool and easy software
iWork / office alternatives:
openoffice, neo office, Google apps
Best tools you’ve found for ministry:
Quicksilver (app launcher),
learn keystrokes
Presentation Software:
live worship
Propresenter
iWorship
Video Tools:
handbrake (rip dvd to video file)
visual hub / isquint
Perian (video plugins for quicktime) / flip for mac (windows media)
Quicktime Pro (worth the upgrade)
Productivity:
backpack from 37 signals
MacNews:
macforums.com, macrumors.com, maccentral.com, tuaw.com, maccast.com,
Free training: screencastsonline.com
Paid training: totaltraining.com, lynda.com
search for podcasts on finalcut, photoshop, any app
smcfancontrol.com – control fan of computer to keep it cool
Web: sandvox
In addition to these also check out my resource page with lots of other software links.
Twitter
Facebook
Digg
Flickr
Buzz
LinkedIn
YouthMinistry.com
My two cents:
Productivty:
Omnifocus + Circus Ponies Notebook – pricey apps but incredible at organizing information for either tasks and projects, or notes and planning.
Graphic Editing:
Pixelmator – only $60 but feature packed and fast! Feels like a sexy photoshop and for the nerds it runs through the GPU, which is where it gets its speed.
Shelby:
37Signals Highrise – web based, works really well.
Best tools you found for ministry:
Hands down I think this would be 37 signals product Highrise. It helps you to track and take action on your relationships in a way that is accessible to who ever needs it. This software is simple and flexible enough to fit any “paradigm” of ministry.