Saturday, December 29, 2007

Global Bible Reader

Logos, the Bible software company I keep raving about, has introduced a beta of their new Bible reader software, and it looks pretty sweet. The idea is, as we begin a new year, to read through the Bible this coming year, with thousands of others around the world! I am so excited about this. I downloaded it today and was the 18th person to join. So it sets out your reading plan daily for you, has a checkmark for when you finish the reading, a daily reminder to keep you motivated, and, check this out, a forum for everyone involved to discuss the reading throughout the year. This forum could end up as somewhat of a commentary for future reference or it could degrade into feel-good, happy-clappy stuff, but since it is a beta, I suspect that, for this year at least, the former seems more likely. There is a button in the reader that will open your Libronix and the passage guide for that day's reading. Like, totally sweet!!! I encourage all who use Logos to download and use this. It is going to be a blast. You can download the software here. There is also a post on Still Truth you may want to read here.

8 comments:

Mark said...

I got it. Looks like a cool idea. I can tell it's beta. I hope they can get the memory usage under control--it's using 141,312 KB!

Alan said...

I have heard that complaint and also it looks like the way they are chopping the Psalms up does not look very appealing, but I still love the idea.

Benjamin P. Glaser said...

Bible Works is better!!!

Alan said...

Benjamin,
I respectfully must correct you. BibleWorks is a niche product. It is faster at exegetical work in the original languages, however, faster does not always mean better. It is a much narrower product, and if you want to do any kind of study outside of a word study, you have to leave your computer and go back to print books. There is virtually nothing as far as commentaries or other reference titles, not to mention the thousands of titles that Logos has that are just plain books. Eventually a Logos library could replace an entire print library. With the next release, 4.0, Logos will catch up with BibleWorks and leave them soon antiquated. I suggest you get on board now and start building your library. All these other software programs will always have their supporters and thus a market, but none will ever touch Logos as a true study tool for the scholar.

In Christ
Alan

Anonymous said...

I just started my seminary study and looking for a bible software. Any idea around what time frame logos will release version 4? I'm still undecided whether to get Logos or Bibleworks. Any comments would be appreciated. I'm a quite disappointed that logos' original language package doesn't come with Greek pronunciation and NIV.

Allen

Alan said...

Hi Allen,
Welcome to my blog. First let me say I would recommend Logos over BibleWorks for a few reasons. You seem to understand the desire everyone has for v.4, and I might add it is probably about 18 months out, but it should address the speed issues that are what BW has on Logos at this time. Now I would shy away from the Original Languages package mainly because you do not get anything in that package you can't get in other packages. I would highly recommend you start with the Scholars edition at least. If you contact Jared at Logos (jared@logos.com) and tell him I sent you he will give you a 25% discount and that would bring the silver edition down to $750 and the regular Scholars under $500. You can then upgrade as money allows.

One of the reasons I would recommend Logos is that, although BW may currently have some edge in exegetical work, Logos will catch up and in seminary you will have to do research that BW will be useless for while Logos will be indispensable. I may get BW but I may not as Logos is quickly catching them and will pass them by in their exegetical abilities. Logos is growing and I believe their goal is to be the number one choice of all Bible study software needs. Hope this helps.

In Christ
Alan

Alan said...

P.S.
I never use the Greek pronunciation or the NIV.

Anonymous said...

Alan,
Thanks for the info. I will certainly look at logos regular scholar edition. The silver version will be too expensive for me.
Allen