Faith Finds a Place in the Wireless World

New services bring religion to your cell phone.

By David Ho

Michelle Williams goes to church, writes a journal and reads about spirituality, but lately relief from life's tough moments has arrived through her cell phone. It's not wireless conversation that soothes her, but inspirational quotes from speaker and author Michelle McKinney Hammond, delivered daily as text messages through a service called FaithMobile.
"When I'm having a bad day and someone's getting on my nerves, I can just look at my cell phone and say 'Wow, I really needed that,' " said Williams, a state traffic safety consultant from DeKalb County outside Atlanta. The messages often concern encouraging women and "getting to know God," she said. "It's just something to uplift you throughout the day."
From Christian rock ring tones and messages announcing Jewish holidays to handsets that point to Mecca and remind Muslims when to pray, the world of wireless content is increasingly getting in touch with its spiritual side. Companies sensing growing demand have launched a variety of faith-based mobile services in recent months.
"Picking up that inspiration on the go whether you're in the car, you're at a traffic light, you're on a train, you're on the bus — a lot of it is just reminding yourself who you are, reminding yourself what you believe in," said Martha Cotton, co-founder of Good News Holdings, the California firm behind FaithMobile.
FaithMobile operated the first half of this year and then relaunched in September after a technology overhaul. It offers $1.99 downloads of Christian hymns as ring tones and screen backgrounds featuring Bibles, angels and crosses. For $5.99 a month, subscribers can receive daily messages from one of FaithMobile's partner ministries. Companies offering faith-based mobile content range from start-ups to telecommunication giants.
Atlanta-based Cingular Wireless, a joint venture of BellSouth Corp. and AT&T Inc., offers more than 750 cell phone ring tones from Christian artists ranging from gospel singer Mahalia Jackson to contemporary Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman, spokesman Clay Owen said. "Contemporary Christian is clearly one of our largest special segments," he said. "We have grown the number of ring tones available as demand has grown." Beliefnet Inc., a New York company that runs a Web community representing many faiths, launched a mobile service in August that delivers inspirational and humorous quotes from spiritual leaders and others, including the Dalai Lama and Maya Angelou. "New technologies provide a lot of really cool effective ways of providing reminders and of being conscious of the divine," said CEO Steve Waldman.
Catholic Mobile offers daily prayers in English and Spanish, the "saint of the day," ring tones such as "Amazing Grace" and screen "wallpaper" depicting the pope. Charges range from 49 cents for single message to $4.99 for a monthly subscription.
And the merging of faith and mobile technology is not limited to Christianity. Dubai-based Ilkone Mobile Telecommunications offers a handset that can alert Muslims of prayer times with a muezzin's voice and point them in the direction of Mecca from locations around the world. The phone also contains the full text of the Koran, with an English translation. London-based MyAdhan, which dubs itself "your intelligent call to Islam," offers prayer and fasting reminders and wireless charity donations. Future features will include a mobile mosque locator.
Jewish information Web site AskMoses.com launched a mobile service in May that delivers free daily text messages with thoughts, questions and moments in Jewish history. It also can tell subscribers their local sunset time and when to light candles before the Sabbath. Rabbi Simcha Backman, director of the Los Angeles-based site, said the next step will be live wireless text chats with Judaism scholars. "We have a responsibility to harness the power of technology and use it for good things," Backman said. "It all boils down to helping people."

• On the Web
• FaithMobile: faithmobile.com
• Beliefnet: www.beliefnet.com
• Cingular: www.cingular.com
• Unity in Values: www.unityinvalues.com
• Mfaith: www.mfaith.com

HEROES - The Linderman Quotient

Linderman has been described as a "mob boss". We have heard his name since the Heroes series began. However, we have yet to see his face. I'd like to put forth some information, about Linderman, for fans to ponder.

A ) Linderman is a higher up to D.L. Hawkins and his gang.

B ) Linderman knows Niki/Jessica -- possibly from her relationship w/ D.L.
- Jessica killed Linderman's men and stole the $2 million in order to frame D.L.

C ) Linderman made a $30k loan to Niki, so that Micah could go to private school.
- He offered to forget the debt + interest (now $50k) if Niki would sleep w/ Nathan and have it videoed (for purposes of blackmail).
- At first, Niki refuses to help Linderman blackmail Nathan. Linderman's goon threatens to hurt Micah, so Niki relents. Jessica comes out and goes back to sleep with Petrelli.

D ) Linderman is pulling strings for and against Nathan Petrelli.
- Linderman gives $2M to Nathan to get him in the mob's pocket.
- Linderman blackmails Nathan w/ the sex video (Niki/Jessica).
- Linderman was Mr. Petrelli's "biggest client".
- The DA wants Nathen to prosecute Linderman.
- Linderman knows Peter due to the Petrelli family's business association with Linderman.

E ) Linderman's men (or maybe the big boss himself) crosses paths with Hiro and Ando as they cheat at cards (by time jumping) at the Las Vegas Casino.
- After Niki does the deed with her ex D.L, Jessica gets up during the middle of the night and massacres Linderman's card-playing hinchmen -- while Hiro & Ando were in another room.

F ) Linderman purchases paintings from Isaac.
- We can most likely safely assume that Linderman knows about Simone, too.

G ) We can now safely say that Linderman is NOT Sylar. [Sylar is in fact a watchmaker named Gabriel Gray.]
- I still say there will be a close connection between Sylar and Linderman.

I have read there are references to Linderman being referenced by HRG (Mr. Bennet) as well.

The "heroes" I don't see a Linderman connection for are: Matt Parkman, Eden McCain, Charlie (the waitress), the Haitian, Ted Sprague and Claire Bennet.

So, WHO IS LINDERMAN?

• Is he a former member of HRG's DNA/Genome Manipulation group?
• Is he simply a mob boss who coincidentally knows about the heroes, but doesn't understand their significance yet?
• Is he the key to the origin of the bomb in NYC?

HEROES

No, not the fireman or police or soldiers... but HEROES the NBC dramatic series. I started watching Heroes at the first episode. The show's creator and Executive Producer, Tim Kring, threw viewers a curveball right from the first moment. These heroes are NOT superheroes in the image of Batman, Flash Gordon or Wonder Woman. They are ordinary people who have, unbeknownst to them, developed extraordinary powers that can be used for good or evil.
A high school cheerleader has the ability to regenerate. Break an arm, it heals completely in 15 seconds. A heroin attack paints torturous dreams from his fix. The paintings show real life future events. A beat cop can hear the thoughts others around him are thinking. A young Japanese office worker can stop time or travel within time. Each "hero" is struggling -- from the very outset -- with their newfound abilities.
Even though only nine episodes have aired, Heroes has a HUGE cult following on the Internet. Fansites have popped up everywhere -- and a large gathering chats on the NBC site after each episode. Oddly enough, the SciFi Channel rebroadcasts every Heroes episode on Friday following the original airing Monday nights at 9:00pm EST.
If you're reading this far into the post, you might be a Heroes fan, too. SO, here are some of the questions I'm pondering, along with some conclusions I've drawn on what's happening in the storyline...

• I haven't heard anyone mentioning the "dark side" in relation to Linderman. Who is he? It seems that he has connections to Hiro & Ando, Niki, Nathan, Peter, Isaac and Simone. Did I leave anyone out?
• What about a theory of Linderman being Sylar... or Mr. Bennet's partner gone awry?
• BTW, Mr. Bennet has LOTS of power -- even if he doesn't have "hero powers". How would he be able to command "the precog", Eden, the Haitian and others?
• What significance will Shanti (Mohinder's deceased sister) play in explaining why Dr. Suresh devoted his life's work to locating the "heroes"?
• How does the Haitian figure in to the storyline? He has been seen taking down Sylar; fighting with Nathan; hanging around Ted Sprague and in proximity of Matt.

As for which side (good or evil) the heroes are on...
I don't want to "define" them too early, but here's the way I see the breakdown so far:

• Good guys: D.L., Claire, Hiro, Charlie, Peter, Matt, Micah, Isaac
• Bad guys: Sylar, Nathan, Jessica (aka Niki), Linderman (not sure of power)
• Unknown Quantities: Eden, the Haitian, Ted Sprague, Mohinder Suresh, Soccer boy
• NO "hero" powers: Simone, Ando

And the all-important, yet unanswered, question regarding which side, if any, HRG (aka horned rimmed glasses or Mr. Bennet) is on -- I think that Bennet knows what Claire (his daughter) can do because he was studying the "heroes" group 14-18 years ago. Her parents were killed (possibly by Sylar) -- leaving her behind. Bennet adopted Claire at that time -- so he knew she had powers (even if he didn't know what kind).
My theory is that Mr. Bennet has been tracking "heroes" trying to find some sort of key information that will help him either control them OR possibly save Claire from certain death (at some point not related to the "save the world" mantra).
I'm starting to think that Bennet and Linderman (the gangster) were on the same "research" team -- once upon a time; and that Linderman went bad. I haven't heard anyone mentioning the "dark side" in relation to Linderman. Who is he? It seems that Linderman has connections to or has crossed paths with: Hiro & Ando, Niki, D.L., Micah, Nathan, Peter, Isaac and Simone. Did I leave anyone out?

Check out "the list" I copied from Mohinder's discovery in Dr. Suresh's secret computer files:
Felipe Acorra *
D.L. Hawkins #
Byron Bevington
Niki Sanders #
Daniel Buzzetti
Isaac Mendez #
Tracy Chobham
Nicholas Datre *
Paula Gramble
Curtis Hovsepian
Nathan Petrelli #
Noel Menzies *
Penkala Burton
Teresa Hue Pham
Matthew Parkman #
Hiro Nakamura #
Partial Names:
... Andrews (Midland, TX)
David Bera...
Leonie Pin...*
Adam Soo H...
Linda Tava...*
Norman Ven...*
Sparrow Re...
Amid Haleb...
Michelle V...
Candace Wi...
Harry Flet...
Ethan Kint...*
Abu Aswan
Frank Cava...* [Assumed as Cavanuagh]
Diego Vel...*
Jess Murph...* [Assumed as Murphy]
Sue Lander...
Pam Green...
++ Names marked with " * " where shown as "Deceased". Names marked with " # " are "heroes" we have met.

Whew! Have I mentioned that you can click over to NBC.com and watch snippets or browse the boards, or read the Heroes online comic book? Two other excellent Heroes blogs are Heroes Among Us, Heroes: The Forum and Heroes: The Series. Better get going...

You still here?!?
In case you're looking for information on upcoming episodes, here's a plot line for the season ending Chapter 11 "Fallout":

“The tragic events in Texas have sad, serious repercussions for many of the “heroes,” their families and friends. Meanwhile, shocking details about the moments leading up to Issac’s (Santiago Cabrera) predicted New York City nuclear bombing are revealed. Later, Issac’s newest painting has fascinating future implications for a hero in crisis. Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) takes the first steps along his new path. Matt (Greg Grunberg) and F.B.I. Agent Audrey Hanson (guest star Clea DuVall) pursue a break in the Sylar case. Horrified by Jessica’s recent actions, Niki (Ali Larter) makes a tough decision to protect her family."

Science Gives Christians Upper Hand Over Atheists

Today’s Christian no longer has to try to maintain only by faith their belief in the origin of the universe. The atheist now does.

by Lillian Kwon, Christian Today / US Correspondent

Former atheist and American award-winning Christian author Lee Strobel premiered his one-hour documentary "The Case for a Creator" to hundreds of Christians at an apologetics conference in the US on Friday. The aftermath of the movie: Christians felt they actually learned something. "We are actually living now at a time of tremendous intellectual renaissance of Christianity," said philosopher and author Dr. William Lane Craig. Craig's comment came after fellow philosopher J.P. Moreland told conference participants that the church has become anti-intellectual. "We've got to start using cognitive language and not just faith language," Moreland exhorted.
Over the last several decades, Christians have begun to emerge back into the intellectual public square. This is primarily occurring in the field of philosophy, New Testament studies with regard to the historical Jesus and the gospels, and it is now beginning to occur in the physical sciences as manifested in the Intelligent Design movement, Craig explained.
Presenting clear scientific evidence that Christians had largely been without, Strobel's "Case for a Creator" revealed a complex universe that many scientists could now only explain with the existence of some kind of intelligence. Biochemist Michael Behe demonstrated how bacterial flagellum are molecular machines that could only function with all its parts present simultaneously, much like a mouse trap. If one part is missing, it would not function and would thus have no reason to exist. Evolution would not preserve it. Such evidence as Behe's was presented in other scientific fields including cosmology, physics and astronomy in the documentary. "I believe that by doing science, we find God," said Strobel.
Philosopher Jay Richards of Acton Institute concluded from his findings that the universe was designed for discovery. And with each discovery, the Darwinian theory of evolution is expected to go down as "a huge mistake in history," Richards said.
One participant, Robert Wedan, 53, praised the documentary, saying that it gave him stronger grounds to defend Creation. "It's movies like [‘Case for a Creator’] that I think will make it a lot easier to address those issues."
"Today, science is pointing more powerfully to a creator than any other time," said Strobel. "The most logical and rational step is to put my faith in the Creator that science tells me exists." Now, Christians can stand confidently within biblical truth knowing that it's in line with astrophysics and cosmology, said Strobel, quoting a cosmology expert. "It is now the atheist who has to maintain by faith, despite all of the evidence to the contrary, that the universe did not have a beginning."

Computer History - LISA, LISA and the Jobs Jam

Apple Computer announced the Lisa Computer in 1983. The Lisa was named after Steve Jobs' daughter. However, LISA officially stood for Logical Integrated Software Architecture. The Lisa's significance in computing history is that it was the first commercial computer with a GUI and mouse designed for the mass market. Although critically acclaimed, the Lisa generated relatively low sales numbers -- primarily due to its $10,000 price tag.

SANS Top-20 Internet Security Attack Targets (2006 Annual Update)

Check out the SANS Top 20 Security Attack Targets for 2006! Click each link to go forward, then come back for the next target. Very interesting reading!

Operating Systems

W1. Internet Explorer

W2. Windows Libraries

W3. Microsoft Office

W4. Windows Services

W5. Windows Configuration Weaknesses

M1. Mac OS X

U1. UNIX Configuration Weaknesses

Cross-Platform Applications

C1 Web Applications

C2. Database Software

C3. P2P File Sharing Applications

C4 Instant Messaging

C5. Media Players

C6. DNS Servers

C7. Backup Software

C8. Security, Enterprise, and Directory Management Servers

Network Devices

N1. VoIP Servers and Phones

N2. Network and Other Devices Common Configuration Weaknesses

Security Policy and Personnel

H1. Excessive User Rights and Unauthorized Devices

H2. Users (Phishing/Spear Phishing)

Special Section

Z1. Zero Day Attacks and Prevention Strategies

Audio 'Bible Experience' a Big Hit!

By JAMES PRICHARD, Associated Press Writer
It's an epic telling of the life of Jesus _ an ambitious production featuring an all-star cast. But it's not a movie or miniseries.
It's a new audio Bible released by Zondervan, one of the world's largest publishers of religious books. "Inspired By ... The Bible Experience: New Testament" features a large, all-black cast including some of Hollywood's biggest names. And in the world of audio books, it's a smash.
It has been at or near the No. 1 spot among the best-selling books listed on Wal-Mart's Web site since its early fall release. The retail chain Family Christian Stores say it's the fastest-selling audio Bible it has ever stocked. The 21-hour production, which lists for $49.99, features the voice talents of more than 250 singers, clergy and actors, including Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding Jr., Angela Bassett and Alfre Woodard. Blair Underwood portrays Jesus, and Samuel L. Jackson, who played a Scripture-spouting hit man in"Pulp Fiction,"is the voice of God.
"It's really good and it's transcending every barrier. We're thrilled with the way that the product has turned out,"said Paul Caminiti, vice president and publisher of Bibles for Zondervan, a Grand Rapids-based division of News Corp.-owned HarperCollins. Zondervan started shipping "Bible Experience" in late September and has sold more than 70,000 units, Caminiti said. By comparison, Zondervan, which publishes the five best-selling audio Bibles in the United States, sells about 60,000 units each year of its longtime top-seller,the "New International Version Audio Bible" (aka Audio Bible Voice Only-NIV
)
"Bible Experience" is available on CD and in mp3 formats, with an Old Testament version due in fall 2007 that is expected to run much longer. It will feature many of the same well-known actors, although someone will take over for Jackson as God, a role that will balloon from about two hours to more than 70 hours.
The project is the brainchild of Kyle Bowser, a former television executive with a law degree. At Fox Broadcasting Co. in the early 1990s, he helped develop such TV shows as the sketch comedy series"In Living Color," a show with a mostly black cast that also propelled white comedian Jim Carrey to stardom, and the Charles S. Dutton situation comedy "Roc."Dutton is one of the performers on the new audio Bible.
Bowser, who is black, said he recommitted himself to Christianity in 1997 around the time his wife, TV sitcom producer Yvette Lee Bowser, was pregnant with their first child. A few years later, he bought a 65-CD audio Bible that he quit listening to "after the first two or three discs" because he was not inspired by the storytelling. "The production value was lacking and I thought, gee whiz, if we could do this and really capture people's attention, how much more impactful and engaging it might be,"he said. Bowser formed a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based production company called Inspired By Media Group with three fellow Christians: new media executive Ron Belk, music producer Louis"Buster"Brown and casting director Robi Reed, who was principally responsible for getting commitments from the talent.
About a year and a half ago, an agent representing the four partners approached Zondervan with their idea. The publisher agreed to provide financing as well as text from its Today's New International Version Bible, a conversational translation aimed at young readers. "Bible Experience" spent several years in development before recording started last December. Work on the entire New Testament, plus part of the Old Testament, was completed around July 1st.
Underwood said in a written statement that he was proud to have worked on the project, which he said was a "unique and timely" version of the Bible. The producers decided early on to cast only black actors and other personalities, hoping to attract a black audience, as well as fans of some of the world's biggest box-office draws. They also wanted to shatter the Hollywood mold of white Bible productions. "I was particularly interested in developing a product that might resonate with the African-American community," Bowser said. "I've long felt that Christian product tends to ignore our perspective." He called it "a gift from our community to the world to be shared and appreciated by all."
"Bible Experience" features a complete, original musical score with selections performed by the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Its state-of-the-art sound effects take listeners into the story. Virtually every actor whom Reed approached immediately agreed to participate. All performers received union scale pay with a few of the biggest names promised "nominal" percentages of profits, Bowser said."No one did this for the money," he said.
There was some debate among the producers whether to restrict the cast to Christians. They finally decided not to, since the Bible is filled with both Christians and non-Christians, Bowser said. "That way we availed ourselves to the best talent in the community," he said. "But I can tell you, whether they were believers or nonbelievers, everyone that participated came with a high degree of reverence and total respect for the significance of this project."
___
On the Net:
Inspired By Media Group:http://www.inspiredby.com

Computer History - Inkjet Printers

IBM invented the first inkjet-based printer in 1976. It took nearly twenty years of research and incremental developments including Siemens' "drop-on-demand" inkjet technology, HP's "thermal" technology, and Epson's "piezo-electric" technology to overcome the challenges of producing a practical and affordable commercial inkjet product. Hewlett Packard released the first personal printer based on thermal inkjet technology, the HP Thinkjet, in 1984. Less than four years later, HP introduced the first mass-marketed personal inkjet printer, the HP Deskjet, in 1988.

Computer History -- Open Source Movement

Eric S. Raymond published his essay "The Cathedral and the Bazaar" in latter-1997. Based on his observations of the LINUX kernel development process and his own software management experiences, Raymond described his "Bazaar" model for software development as the basis of Open Source Software. The paper was published as part of a book of the same name in 1999 . It became the manifesto of the Open Source Software movement.

A $350,000 Laptop? Put That on My Christmas Wish List!

Bargain laptop hunters, do not read this News.com blog. Dutch company Ego-Lifestyle has brought its latest high-end luxury laptop, the Tulip Ego, to the States just in time for the holiday shopping season. Barneys New York will be the first U.S. retailer to feature the handbag-shaped laptop and its corresponding interchangeable "skins," which are available in a variety of designer fabrics and finishes.
And all this can be yours for a mere $5,000. The laptop, first introduced at Milan Fashion Week in the spring, has a 12.1-inch screen, an AMD Turion processor, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, and a DVD/CD burner. But if you're willing to go even further and sell off, say, your house or [more], you might consider the limited-edition Platinum, Diamond, and Otazu Ego Diamond models. The latter, designed by Rodrigo Otazu, sports a total of 470 diamonds arranged in tulip, heart and Otazu logo patterns. The Otazu currently sells for $350,000.