HOW DO YOU USE YOURS?

In this, the first of what I hope will turn out to be a series, I intend to look at how I use my computer in my Christian walk and how it helps me. In future, I hope to include details of how others use their computers, the aim being to encourage and inspire others and perhaps suggest new ways in which your computer can help. I make no such claim for my use of the computer but pass this on out of interest and to start the ball rolling.

I started in computing in 1981, when I was given a ZX81 with the standard 1k of ram. This was soon upgraded to the massive 16k ram available and eventually a ZX printer was added. For those of you who don't remember the beast, it was a small thermal printer, using special rolls of narrow, coated paper that left black marks all over your hands. Not the most ideal of set up's, but it was enough to get me hooked on computers. I have now graduated through a BBC Micro with the luxury of floppy disk drives, to an Acorn A5000 with hard disk, 2Mb of ram and a colour inkjet printer.

In the mean time, my sister had acquired a 386SX PC for use in her and her husband's business and a friend told her about, and let her have a copy of, the Online Bible v4. I was able to run this on my A5000 under a PC emulator and found it to be fantastic. This started me wondering how may other similar programs were available for computers and how people found out about them, which eventually led to me starting this newsletter under, I believe, the guidance of the Lord.

I now have access to a PC at home on which the Online Bible v6 is a permanent feature which I find very useful, particularly on the odd occasions when I have had to prepare to preach the Gospel in my assembly. The ability to import a verse or passage directly into the text editor, complete with reference, I find invaluable. I also have, on each occasion, printed out the passage I was reading, as I find print at 10 characters per inch to be far more legible than the size of print in my bible, particularly as my eyesight is not brilliant (not a result of my computing, I hasten to add). It has also proved invaluable whenever I have been researching particular topics, at which it excels (as do most such programs, I presume).

I also use a Bible quiz game which has increased my knowledge enormously on Bible events and trivia and which is now being used on my sister's computer by my nieces as I found out recently - with remarkable success I noted! The youngest will soon be challenging me! Non 'Christian specific' software which I use in my work for the Lord includes the Acorn equivalent of the Timeworks Publisher DTP program on which I not only produce this newsletter but also use to prepare worksheets for my Sunday School class and posters for the Church and it's various activities - where the colour facility of my printer comes in very useful in increasing the impact.

With the DTP, I find the ready prepared clip art available of great use, of which there are may church subjects available, both commercially and in the public domain.

A database and word processor are also in use, to keep records of the mailing list for CCCU and to prepare the articles for the newsletter, although a combined DTP and word processor is on the shopping list for a point in the future when I can afford it.

Finally, I also use the computer to operate my public domain library as a support service to other Christians. I hope this has given you an insight into my use of computers and, perhaps, given you a new idea of how you can use yours.

Mark Harvey

How do you use yours?