Telephone Wiring

I recently had the opportunity to rewire the phone lines in a church office that is served by three PSTN lines that serve multiline phones with conferencing. Here’s the before and after pictures.

Before

After

Church IT Management Research

I recently reached a milestone in my research study on church IT management and the variables strategic planning and business processes. I have finished chapter 3 and am working with my Advisor/Committee Chair to get approval to release it to the whole committee. I’m hoping to have the research questionnaire posted by time Ministry Tech starts in April.

MinistryTECH: 23-24 April in Colorado Springs

Here’s a great conference to attend if you are involved in either computer networks or audio and visual technology for churches or nonprofits. I attended last year’s conference in Oklahoma City and found it worth my time and money. The most important part is the interaction with other technologist who shares a passion for utilizing technology to further advance their ministry. Check out MinistryTech's web page!

Secure Virtual Networks

I found an interesting article on virtual networks and security yesterday. The article by Joern Wettern, titled “How to design a virtual infrastructure with security in mind” offers some good thoughts on what needs to be looked at in terms of security and virtual machines. I got it as part of the Redmond Magazine Newsletter. The article can be at the Redmond Magazine web page.

Outlook PST Errors and File Corruption

I had two users complain about errors in Outlook 2003 running on XP-Pro recently that uses a POP3 account. Two of the errors were:

C:\DOCUME~1\lynda\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERcd7a.dir00\OUTLOOK.EXE.mdmp

C:\DOCUME~1\lynda\LOCALS~1\Temp\WERcd7a.dir00\appcompat.txt

In researching this, one of our IT Team members suggested the “scanpst.exe” tool that comes with Microsoft Office. I followed up with additional research on this and found a Microsoft Office link that provides detailed directions that are easy to follow.

I ran the “scanpst.exe” tool on both PST files, the tool identified over 80 errors in each PST file, and it then successfully corrected all of the errors or file corruption in Outlook. Both Outlook PST files functioned error-free after running this tool! What a great tool along with good documentation from Microsoft.

Enercient HVAC Monitoring

I attended the kickoff launch of a new start-up company Enercient Systems Technologies (www.enercient.com) tonight. Enercient is providing wireless sensors and a router with unique software for monitoring HVAC systems such as boilers, heat pumps, furnaces, and air conditioners. This might be an excellent opportunity for church IT people to talk to your facilities people to see what monitoring your HVAC systems have and if they are capable of being monitored over a network.

As the cost of energy (gas, electric, or oil) continue to fluctuate, this may be a way of improving the efficiency of existing systems without costly replacement.

Church Technology Management

I just read (actually I read it on 23 Dec, but only am now getting to posting this) David Drinnon’s blog posting on the relationship between IT, communications, and media. Great article that supports the view that these technology intensive areas should be led by one person and that one person should participate in the leadership of the church. So often, there is a lack of coordination between these parties and as David states, “Churches can't afford to operate inefficiently because of the high cost of technology”. Having a holistic strategy with IT, communications, and media has to improve the ability to reach your audience in addition to improving the overall efficiency of technology management.