Have you ever found yourself on vacation and in need of a file that’s on your home computer?  Or maybe, you’d just like to be able to access your multiple computers from multiple places.  Forget expensive services like GoToMyPC.  Instead, opt for a free alternative.  This service can really help you get more done.

For about a year now, I’ve been using a free (as in FREE) service from a company named LogMeIn.  And that’s pronouned Log…Me…In, by the way.  It’s not some new dish at the local Chinese takeout.

LogMeIn has a full suite of services, but two in particular are likely to offer the free functionality that you’ll find helpful.  Here’s a rundown on the two services.

LogMeIn Free
The first service allows you to securely connect to your PC through any web browser.  In essence, it will open up your desktop in a browser window.  What you see through the browser is what you’d see if you were sitting right in front of the PC in your home.

LogMeIn Hamachi²
The second service links your various PCs so that they appear to be in the same network group…meaning you can share files and use your remote desktop client.  They are linked as if they were all at the same site.

5 Reasons Your Should Use LogMeIn
So, let me sum up the top five reasons you should use one of the flavors of LogMeIn.

1. It’s Free – You pay nothing for personal use of these services.
2. It’s Secure – Your data is encrypted. It’s safe.
3. It’s Simple – Although LogMeIn may sound geeky, anyone can use it!
4. It’s Convenient – You will save time.  You can work on files from anywhere.  No more driving back to the house to get the files you need.
5. It’s Cross-Compatible – The browser-based version can be used on PC & Mac.

So, check it out!  This could be just the thing you’ve been waiting for.  No complicated port forwarding or other advanced router stuff.  Just a great product that’s simple to use.

Here’s a video clip that shows how easy it is to set up LogMeIn Free.

By no means am I one of those Apple fanatic (You know who you are).   I mean, the only Apple product I own is a second generation iPod Nano…which was given to me by my brother.  It was broken at the time, and I got it fixed.  I’m content right now with my Windows Quad-core, Netbook,  and Phone.  That said, I do think pretty highly of Apple products.  They’re well-made…just expensive.

This past week though, I came across an impressive video featuring the new iPhone 4. And, while I am not an Apple user, I am someone who puts together a lot of videos, and I can applaud quality stuff when I see it.  That said, check out this video which was shot and edited entirely  on the iPhone 4. Impressive!

For about a year now, I’ve been using Google Voice, a phone service from our friends at Google.  Last summer, I got in on the ground floor with a special invite (remember when Gmail was invite-only?).  But now, Google has just announced that Google Voice is available to anyone!  My take: you need it…go get it.

Let me give you my top 5 reasons you should use Google Voice:

1. Pick Your Number
With Google Voice, you get to pick your own number.  You can even search for number combinations that you like.  That’s pretty slick.  Plus, you can pick any area code you want.  So, if you’re like me and got a cell phone number while in college that you’re kind of attached to, you can pick a new number that’s local to where you live now so that landline users don’t have to dial long distance to reach you.  This is the biggest benefit to me.

2. Transcribed Voicemails
Although the transcription isn’t perfect (yet), it’s very convenient to have a copy of your voicemails emailed or even texted to you.  That way, you can read them, even when you can’t call up your voicemail.  Also, Google Voice can handle the voicemail that comes in through your standard cell number.

3. Forward Calls
When a call comes in on the Google Voice number, you can have it ring any phone you want.  You can even have certain callers ring to certain phones.  At my church, this is helpful for special events.  I can give out one number as an event hotline, and then it will ring to specific team leaders so that the call isn’t missed.  This also protects the “real” numbers of our team leaders.

4. Screen or Block Calls
There’s no nice way to say it, but let’s face it, we all have certain people that we’d rather not receive calls from.  With Google Voice, just send ’em straight to voicemail or block them altogether.  You can also screen calls that are from private or unknown numbers.  This make them announce who’s calling.

5. Do Not Disturb
Going on vacation? Well, you gotta take your phone, but you probably don’t want just everyone and their brother calling you.  With Google Voice, you can send your calls directly to voicemail while you enjoy your vacation. 🙂

Bonus: It’s Free!
Free is good.  It makes this very appealing. You have nothing to loose.  Try it.  If you don’t like it, you’ve lost nothing, right?

So, that’s my top 5ish reasons to use Google Voice.  And, I didn’t even mention the other features like: conference calls, low international rates (as low as 2 cents per minute), web widgets, call recording, special voicemail greetings for special callers, ring certain calls to certain phones, and more.  Click here for Google’s feature page.  Click here and here for reviews from other bloggers.

For those who are inherently suspicious of new techie things, here are the supposed cautions to Google Voice.

So, are you persuaded yet?  Or maybe, you’ve been using it for a while.  Let me know in the comments.  In the meantime, watch this clip from Google to learn more.

If you have begun to read my blog regularly, I hope that you are beginning to see the value of blogs all over the web.  There are blogs that cover practically every topic you can think of.  Want to read a blog about sports?  Here’s one.  Want to read a blog about the iPhone? Here’s one.  There are even blogs about blogs…like this one.  Crazy, huh?  Some blogs write long posts.  Some write short ones.  And, they’re all pretty valuable in their own way.  So anyway, here’s a short list of my favorite blogs (for right now anyway):

1. Seth Godin – The guru of marketing.  His blogs are short, and they challenge you to think outside the box.
2. Tony Morgan – This guy is a church strategists.  Some of you might not understand what that is, but his blog is full of church-related insights.
3. Ed Stetzer – This guy leads the research department at LifeWay. His blog is church-related with a research and missional emphasis.
4. Church Crunch – This is a techie blog for churches.  Very helpful for a guy like me.
5. Michael Hyatt – This guy is the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. His blog has a wide range of emphasis, but it’s pretty insightful stuff.

So, how about you?  What are your favorite blogs?

Do find yourself visiting two or three social media sites over and over again every day?  Do you end up with three windows (tabs if you’ve moved into 2010) open at the same time so that you can stay on top of your social networking?  I have a solution that will make your life much easier.  Hootsuite!  It’s a true time-saver.

Hootsuite allows you to see all of your favorite social networking sites in one place – on one page!  You can update and be updated all from one site instead of visiting and logging into several different ones.  Now for those of you who are techies, I know that you already know that Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, and Seesmic exist, and you probably already have a favorite.  But, for everyone else, let me tell you why I like Hootsuite, and encourage you to use it.

1. Hootsuite brings all of the major social networking sites into one place.
2. Hootsuite allows me to manage multiple profiles and pages.
3. Hootsuite allows me to customize the look and placement of my feeds from social networking sites.
4. Hootsuite allows me to shrink URLs easily.
5. Hootsuite runs remotely (no software to install), which means I can access the same info from any computer.
6. Hootsuite allows me to schedule tweets and status updates to be sent later.
7. Hootsuite allows me to share control of certain social media profile with other users.

Well, that pretty much sums it up.  If you want to see a comparison between Hootsuite and Tweetdeck, visit here.

Now, don’t wait any longer.  Go make your life easier (Hootsuite.com).

So, what are your thoughts?  Do you use one of these services?  Will you?  Let me know.

The guys over at Church On The Move put together this video for Father’s Day.  And, although Father’s Day has come and gone, we can still all enjoy this clip that pays tribute to dads…in a pretty humorous way.  Enjoy!  I’m sure some of you dads out there can identify with this video.

Dad Life from Church on the Move on Vimeo.

It strikes me that in the church world we sometimes spend more time fighting against each other instead of fighting against the enemy…the devil and his crew.  The thing is, what President Lincoln said about our nation is probably true for our churches as well, “United we stand. Divided we fall.”  And actually, that’s a biblical concept.  Check out Matthew 12:22-30, especially verse 25.

Today, marketing guru, Seth Godin, made a blog post about his growing frustration with people who try to divide their tribe.  Here’s what he says:

The easiest way to make noise within a community is to divide the tribe.

Modernism, classicism, realism, impressionism–dividing things into schools of thought–or even warring camps–makes it easy to create tension and thus attention.

I’m running out of patience for people who would further their personal or media goals by dividing us in exchange for a cheap point or a few votes. If members of a tribe encourage schisms and cheer on the battles, is it any wonder that it’s hard to create forward motion? When we’re not in sync, power is dissipated.

Thoughtful conversation, dissent and disagreement are an essential part of growth. Intentionally pitting people against one another to make a few bucks is dangerous self-indulgence. The hardest part of being patriotic to your cause is rooting on the whole even when it’s easier to be a cynical critic.

So, take an inventory of where you are in life.  Are you contributing positively to your tribe or is it time change things around (join a different tribe or get on board with your tribe)?

Are you faced with an almost insurmountable stack of email everyday?  Well, I think I’ve found a helpful system for managing email in a post by Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers.

To be honest, this is exactly what I need(ed).  Let me give you a run down of my email scenario.  Every day, I actively check six email accounts.  Some are my personal accounts.  Some belong to the church.  In the course of a day, I easily take in 50 to 100 messages or so.  At this very moment, I have three email accounts with very extremely full inboxes.  One has 108 emails, another has 354, and another has 614!!!  Why do I let these pile up!  And, all that doesn’t even mention my intricate file folders system… between the six email accounts, I have 75 folders!  So, I’m definitely putting some of these principles into practice… starting today!

Here’s a summary of what Michael Hyatt says (Click here to read his full post):

1. Empty your inbox everyday.

2. Don’t get bogged down, keep moving. 5 possible actions for every email:

• Do it now – If you can do it in 2 minutes or less.
• Defer it – Schedule a time to do it (b/c it’ll take more than 2 minutes).
• Delegate it – If it would be better for someone else to do it.
• Delete it – If it’s not important or actionable.
• File it – In one folder. If you need it, you can search for it later.

3. Use keyboard shortcuts and avoid the mouse.

4. Use email rules to filter low-priority stuff (like Bacn)

That’s just the outline skeleton of what Michael says.  Check out his post for the more meaty explanation.

Now, what are you waiting for?! Go forth and conquer your inbox!

Questions:
Did you need to hear this today?
Are you swimming in a deep inbox?
And, what other tips could you give that might be helpful?

Click comment below to give us your thoughts.

So, I’ve recently discovered a new business in town that makes me happy.  And so, I was thinking that for this installment of the Friday Favorites I would share with you one of my favorite local establishments.  For those of you who live near me, go and support this business.  For those of you who live elsewhere, I’m sorry.  You’re on your own.  So, here is one of my favorite local businesses.

Favorite Gas Station – RaceTrac
So, my favorite gas station used to be 7 Eleven.  I mean, who doesn’t like a slurpee every now and again?  But now, my favorite is RaceTrac.  It’s not the biggest or newest in town, but there are several reasons I like it most.  First, this summer they’re running a special deal.  Buy a keeper-cup, and you get free refills all summer!!!  What a deal!  That’s what initially got me coming there frequently, but soon I realized there are many other reasons to frequent this place.  Second, they have a slurpee-like frozen beverage that tastes like Dr. Pepper.  It’s awesome!  Third, there are always plenty of employees on duty there.  So, it’s safer, cleaner, and better stocked.  That’s better customer service!  Fourth, my daughter recently needed to go to the bathroom badly so we hesitantly took her inside, expecting the typical gas station restroom… yuck-tacular!  But, to our surprise, it was clean… really clean… even smelled that way.  Needless to say, that left a good impression on my wife.  Fifth, last night I was there getting my free refill (my “freefill”), and one of the workers went out of his way help another customer and me out.  The other guy was buying bottled water… and the worker voluntarily told him, “They’re on sale buy-one-get-one free.”  That’s awesome.  As for me, the ice machine was “hiccupping,” and the guy pointed me to the special iced coffee ice machine and encouraged me to use it.  Maybe, it doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but get this… the guy was already off the clock, but he still helped us out anyway.  That kind of customer service makes me happy.

So, what are some of your favorite business around town?  I have more to share, but this will have to do for this week.  But I wonder, what makes your favorite businesses favorites?  What qualities do you look for?  And, what steps are you taking at your place of work to encourage people to come back for more?

So, it dawned on me this week that many people are just now beginning to understand what blogging is all about.  Sure, we know that a blog is an online journal of sorts, and it’s an extension of the social media frenzy.  But, many of us are just now beginning to understand the extra features that are out there.

For example, have you ever wondered what that strange, little, orange icon with waves is all about?  (It’s this icon right here ↑ )  This little icon and others like it can be found all across the web, but what is it there for?

That little icon says, “Hey! Subscribe here!  We’ll send you the blog posts from this site for free.”  It shows that an RSS Feed is available from the site.  That’s why I’ve got one in the upper right hand corner of this web page.

Okay, so now you know what it’s there for, but how does it work?

Watch this video to learn more about RSS Feeds & the little orange icon.
(And if you prefer you can subscribe by email, click subscribe to do that, too!)

Welcome to another dimension of the blogosphere!
Let me know if this little video was helpful to you.