Tools
There are a lot of different services, applications, etcetera that keep Traditores.org and Traditores Radio humming. This page is to give credit where credit is due.
Work still needs to be done to make sure we’ve covered everything, but this should be a good start. 🙂
Web Site
Traditores.org wouldn’t exist without…
- Inexpensive, full-featured, and unlimited web hosting and e-mail with great support from FatCow.
- A free, robust, and amazing content management system (CMS) from WordPress.
- A clean, beautiful WordPress theme from StudioPress called Prose. What makes StudioPress’ themes so great is their Genesis Framework. (Please click-through and read about the extraordinary features it provides.)
- Millions of royalty-free images available thanks to an inexpensive clipart subscription from iCLIPARTÂ (a company run by great people).
- The web scripting language PHP. WordPress (and a kazillion other things) wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for PHP.
- An easy to read but research-worth Bible translation, the English Standard Version from Crossway. (It is what Alan quotes from most.)
- The on-line Bible Biblica.com. (Traditores Bible reading plans leverage it.)
- Inexpensive and easy to manage domain registration services from EnomCentral.
- A simple way to create a favicon from a square image using Favicons from Pics by HTML Kit.
Traditores Radio
Traditores Radio would not be preaching the gospel around the clock and around the globe if it weren’t for…
- Inexpensive Icecast streaming with great support from ShoutCheap. They have been with Traditores Radio from day one.
- Inexpensive SHOUTCast streaming with great support from ShoutHost.
- Inexpensive, unlimited, “don’t nickel and dime you” SHOUTCast streaming with great support and a “can do” attitude from Museter. They will definitely be a “keeper” long term for providing Traditores Radio’s SHOUTCast streaming.
- Inexpensive SHOUTCast streaming from Mixstream. We use this for live broadcasts to feed SAM Broadcaster (please see below).
- Convenient listen to Traditores Radio by phone service from AudioNow (please dial 832 999-1791 to check it out).
- Cutting edge, highly programmable Internet broadcast software from Spacial called SAM Broadcaster.
- Simple but complete Mac broadcasting software from Rogue Amoeba called Nicecast.  (Basically, we use Nicecast to broadcast to Mixtream, and then have SAM Broadcaster push it out to ShoutCheap and Museter.  ShoutHost then relays Museter.  If you would like an explanation of why it’s done that way, please .)
- Uncomplicated but comprehensive Mac sound editing software from HairerSoft called AmadeusPro.
- Completely portable  wireless lapel microphone system purchased from Sweetwater. We try to get all our audio equipment from Paul Rowan at Sweetwater.com (you can reach him by e-mailing paul_rowan at the Sweetwater domain).
- Marantz PMD660 digital audio recorder to record all Alan’s sermons. The PMD660 is no longer available, but Sweetwater will recommend some other options if you use the link. (Wireless mic to Marantz to MacBook Pro to Nicecast…well, you can read the rest of the path above. :-))
- Embedded Flash Internet radio player Minicaster (doesn’t seem to be available for download anymore…hmmm…).
- Embedded Flash Internet radio player Muses Radio Player.
- Traditores Radio is listed in TuneIn.com (which also provides the TuneIn Internet radio software for all smartphones), SHOUTCast.com (which provides the SHOUTCast iOS app and a list of radio stations for other apps), Windows Media Guide (and in the Windows Media Player under “Religious”), and in iTunes (under “Internet” then “Religious”).
WordPress Plugins
One of the most amazing things about WordPress is the number of powerful plugins available to extend its functionality. The ones we use are…
- AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget so people can share our posts and pages easily. Free.
- Akismet to stop comment spam dead. Free (since its being used non-commercially).
- Genesis Simple Hooks to allow some easy customization of Traditores.org’s look and behavior. Free.
- Google XML Sitemaps to make sure we are as visible as possible on Google. Free.
- Jetpack by WordPress.com for notifications, statistics, comments, subscriptions, contact form, shorcode embeds, and more. Free.
- Kwayy HTML Sitemap to provide a sitemap that is useful for humans instead of Google. 🙂 Free.
- List category posts to make it for easy for folks to see a list of sermon notes. Free.
- MP3-jPlayer to easily insert a player for audio in sermon notes.
- Raw HTML Pro to safely allow some complicated HTML and/or JavaScript code in pages (preventing WordPress from tweaking it). $15, although there is a free Raw HTML.
- RefTagger to use provide pop-up Scripture references in posts using ’ . Both are free.
- Shadowbox JS and Shadowbox JS – Use Title from Image to allow image pop-up/shadowbox functionality. Free. Underlying Shadowbox.js is free for non-commercial sites.
- Simple Social Icons widget to provide good looking icons that make it easy for folks to like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, subscribe via RSS, and contact-us. Free.
- Traditores In-One-Year to provide Bible reading plans in WordPress pages or posts. Free – from us! 🙂
- Use Google Libraries to leverage Google’s fast and worldwide copies of common JavaScript libraries instead of local Traditores.org copies. Free.
- W3 Total Cache to speed up web site performance (with a configuration file from FatCow). Free.
- WPaudio to provide an in-line audio player for MP3 files. Free.
- WPtouch Mobile Plugin to give Traditores.org a beautiful, well designed mobile interface. Free (although we’d love to be able to have the enterprise version of WPtouch Pro).
- YOURLS: WordPress to Twitter to automatically create short URLs via the YOURLS-powered traditor.es. Free.  (YOURS is also free if you want to set-up your own URL shortening service.)
We didn’t link to every plugin because it’s best to download them within WordPress.
Applications
Some applications are already listed above (e.g. Nicecast and AmadeusPro), but here are some other ones that sure come in handy (none are free, but all are worth it)…
- There couldn’t be a better audio file tagger than Jaikoz from JThink. Mac and Windows.
- The end-all when it comes to producing RSS feeds is FeedForAll from NotePage. Mac and Windows.
- There is no better text editor than BBEdit from Bare Bones Software. Mac only. (It should be noted somehow all the > and < characters got stripped out of this post when it was first submitted. BBEdit’s regular expression capable find and replace was a lifesaver in quickly fixing it.)
- Alan can locate what he has been working on very quickly via Trickster from Apparent Software. Mac only. I know it sounds simple, but it is sooooo useful.
- FTP/SFTP/Google Cloud/etc. is easily transferred to and from with file transfer software Cyberduck. Mac and Windows.
- Expensive, but it is the best graphics editor: Photoshop from Adobe. Mac and Windows.
- Alan comoses all his sermons using book/play/screenplay/etc. writing software Scrivener by Literature and Latte. Mac and Windows.
- Alan does the vast majority of his sermon research using the Bible software Logos by Logos. Mac and Windows. More powerful than we even know how to use. 🙂
- Working with files is so much easier with the file utility Path Finder by Cocoatech. Mac only.
- This post is being typed using the handy and powerful blog editing software MarsEdit by Red Sweater. Mac only.
- It’s so good, Alan pays when he could use the free version: “available everywhere” note taking software Evernote. Mac, Windows, and any smartphone.
- There is only one Twitter app you should own: Tweetbot from Tapbots. Mac and iOS. Tapbots builds perfect applications.
- If you’ve ever wanted to schedule a post/tweet/etc…or send more than one at once…or…basically get all your social media posting older control, you should subscribe to social media marketing app Sendible. We do. Browser based (and there is an iOS app).
Other
- Can’t forget to mention my “so much better than Windows” 17 MacBook Pro laptop from Apple. 🙂