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Archive for category Bible Study

Community Bible Study iPad Style

Feb 4

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, Technology, ipad, iphone | No Comments

Social networking and Bible study should go together. The iPad may help us in this venture.  I read about some interesting key points (thanks to Gizmodo) that Apple wants developers to keep in mind as they prep iPhone and Touch apps for the iPad coming sometime in the next two months. One of the points said:

They’re super into the sharing thing: "Think of ways people might want to use your application with others. Expand your thinking to include both the physical sharing of a single device and the virtual sharing of data."

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As I read that I thought again about the thing I am most excited about when it comes to using the new iPad – Bible study.  How could developers of Bible study apps incorporate more “sharing” so that we could take advantage of the “application with others”? Already there is some social network built into a few of my favorite Bible apps on iPhone/Touch. YouVersion is probably the best at this with their community based app that can be used by people together in church or together commenting and sharing about the app. My problem is I don’t like the YouVersion’s selection of content or the interface. I also really don’t like only being able to use it online, although you can now download a number of Bibles. While it may be the most downloaded app, it is not more favorite and I don’t have it installed.

Of my favorite Bible apps, Logos can post to Facebook and Twitter from within the app. You can also email verses from within Logos. But there is no two way interaction. Olive Tree syncs notes with Evernote, so I guess there could be some do it yourself interaction there.  Neither Laridian PocketBible nor MantisBible have any social interaction at all.

Imagine, if someone would really jump on this with some really useful social interactivity. I could imagine a Bible app that …

  • Let’s people share reading plans by marking them to be shared between devices and posted to social networking sights
  • Highlighting and other mark-up that is shared in real time. A pastor or Bible study leader wants everyone to look at the word “perish” in John 3:16 so in social networking mode, everyone’s Bible app would sync to the same place (John 3:16) and the word “perish” would be highlighted. Then a note he had already added the word would pop up on everyone’s device with the same content saying “perish means to destroy yourself. God is not responsible for our perishing; we are.” I could then tap a spot in the pop up to save it to my mark-ups or just let it go away once the social networking session is finished.
  • What if I had a book on my device that I wanted others to see while we are studying together – like TWOT as we look up an Old Testament Hebrew word. They might have access to TWOT, but for this session they can see it temporarily during the study. There would also be a link somewhere on the other person’s screen giving him/her the opportunity to purchase this book either now or later. This would be a good way to legally share content either temporarily or permanently and would give a revenue stream to the software maker.
  • Like YouVersion, it would be nice to have a “wall” where we could post comments or sermon notes so that anyone searching that version could access the public content. There could also be a collaborative way to create content together from within the program that is later searchable.

These are just a few ideas. What would you like to see in this kind of app. I know that some of the Bible app producers read this sight so you can speak to them via this post and comments.

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iPad and Bible Study

Jan 30

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, Sermons, Technology, ipad, iphone | 2 Comments

I was one of those Geeks that watched and wondered as Steve Jobs announced the new Apple iPad (worst name of what looks to be a nice product ever). I am an early adopter Tech geek. So I will be wanting one of these devices as soon as they are released.

As I watched, the first thought that I had was what a valuable tool for Bible study out and around this will be. Currently, I have a very heavy HP laptop. It has a huge 12 cell batter which allows me to sit in a coffee shop or the bread place near me for five or more areas not tethered to the power company. It is nice, but also heavy. I’d love to go lighter and though about a netbook. But those tiny keyboards are horrible for a ham fisted guy like me. But an iPad (ugh! – I hate that name) might do the trick. I don’t know yet.

But while my favorite Bible study apps will run on it out of the box, there are going to have to be some improvements to allow me to do full-time Bible study on it. Maybe these will never take place. But here is what I see as the most important improvements needed.

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Logos iPhone App Running in Ipad

  1. Since there is no multi-tasking (the ability to switch from the Bible study app to a word processor and back without closing one to open the other) there needs to be two things. First, there needs to be a good word processor in the app. I’m not talk MS Word quality but MS Works quality or even less. Maybe something as good as Notes with formatting and styles and footnoting.  I won’t likely leave my content there, but I want to be able to write my sermon or Bible study in the app. When I am done, I can export it or copy/paste it into something like Docs To Go or the word processor Apple has created for the iPad. Second, there must be the option to open the app exactly as I left it. This is not a big deal for most of the current Bible study apps for iPhone/iPod Touch. But one or two do not remember your lost location. The Logos iPhone app always loads to what I call there ad page. It contains your Reading Plan as well as announcements from the company. But if I am studying in a commentary and have to exit Logos to write in my word processor, I want to quickly go back to that spot I was studying before.
  2. Split Screen view at least. With more screen real estate to work with, there is no good reason not to have a split screen view with one book open in one half and the other open in the other half. This is already possible in some apps, but not many.

I would love to hear other ideas. I will add good ones to this list.

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Nice iPhone App Comparison

Jan 12

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, Technology, iphone | No Comments

Dave Dunkin, a developer of the Logos iPhone app, created a very nice and very fair comparison chart of all the major iPhone Bible apps. The reason this is significant is that he is extremely honest and fair when judging his own app. He don’t just glow about the Logos app. The extensive chart compares Logos, BibleReader from OliveTree, PocketBible from Laridian, YouVersion, Paul Avery Bible and Mantis.

Check it out at Dave’s Blog over at the rabble.rule blog.

logos_iphone

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Creating Content for iPhone Bible Apps

Jan 5

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, Technology, iphone | No Comments

In a recent post I commented that PocketSword was the only app that I knew of that would allow you to create books for your use in an iPhone Bible app. That is sort of true, but not entirely accurate. Let me explain.

PocketSword lets you create books and then install them using special instructions on their web site. That really distinguishes it from the other major iPod Bible vendors. One of our readers reminded me that Laridian has a program called Book Builder that lets you create your own books. The $29 version will let you create books for some platforms, but not for the iPhone. However, their Pro version for $99, does let you create books that you can then submit to Laridian and have them host the book on their servers, making them available to whomever you choose. So, for example, I could create a book of all my sermons and let them host it and make it available for free to anyone who has the iPhone app from Laridian. So, this does make it possible although not for free. The hosting is free but you have to buy the Book Builder. Not sure how hard this is, but at least it is possible.

If you know of another iPhone Bible app that allows you to create books or translations of the Bible for use on their app, I would love to know about it and will pass it on to our readers.

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PocketSword for iPhone

Dec 31

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, Technology, iphone | 4 Comments

PocketSword is a recently released iPhone and iPod touch Bible app sponsored by the CrossWire Bible Society. It is great for those who only want public domain books. It is also the only iPhone app I know of that allows a user to create his or her own module using the format sponsored by CrossWire’s SWORD Project. The project’s purpose is to produce Bible software for as many platforms as possible using a “common technology.” The iPhone app is now available in v. 1.0 in the App Store.

The app is free and has a lot of free content available for download. It comes with the KJV (with Strong’s, but at this point the Strong’s info is not displayed) and Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary installed. But you can add other Bibles and commentaries as well from within the app.

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The interface, as you can see is very simple. You open the app and across the bottom there are five navigational buttons. Each takes you to a different part of the program. You can read the currently open Bible, the currently open commentary, or tap the module button to open a different Bible or commentary.  Currently, that is all that PS has available – Bibles and Commentaries. Other Bible apps let you read books, look up words in dictionaries, etc. The number of modules available is extensive if all you want are free, public domain books. The only modern translations available were the English Standard Version and the New English Translation. The rest are public domain books. Users of the other CrossWire Sword Project applications for Linux, Windows, MAC or other PDA will be happy. Also if you are an e-Sword (unrelated to the SWORD Project) user, then you will likely not miss the modern works. I do so PocketSword will never be more than just a curiosity to me.

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Navigating through the Bible is simple. You can either tap the arrow buttons on the top to take you from chapter to chapter. Or you can tap the reference button which reveals the very unique iPhone scrolling selector. I personally prefer a bingo style Book, Chapter, Verse selector as is available in many of the other iPhone apps. But the scrolling style selector works.

As I mentioned above, there are many available resources. To get them you will have to download and install them. This is a simple process from within the app. Select More on the bottom right and then Downloads. There will be a list of CrossWire sites available (likely two at this point) with a list of all the available modules. Try the first one and you will see Biblical Texts and Commentaries. Tap one and you will see a long list. There are dozens of Bibles in languages I never new existed. I found the Ancient Greek section and downloaded Westcott and Hort’s Greek text of the NT. And then went into the English texts to find ESV, NET, and a couple of others. Downloading takes just a short time on a fast connection. When it is finished and installed you can then open that text to read offline.  I then got a couple of commentaries including JFB, Barnes, the NET Notes and others. Make sure you check out the second CrossWire server too. There were a few different works there not available on the first.

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The preferences in PS are simple. You can change the Font Size and Style. You can also switch to a night mode with dark background and light text. The app has a lock to keep it from going into landscape mode when reading in bed. You can display text in a verse per line mode or paragraph mode. You can also show words of Christ in red letter in some translations.

There are few frills like notes, devotional tracking, syncing, dual pane view. But you can add bookmarks.

The PocketSword app is a nice Bible and commentary reader. It is not much more. Unless you are looking for public domain books, I would look at one of the more advanced tools available. But due give it a download and test since it is free.

One thing that PS has that no one else does right now is the give you the ability to create and load your own content.  To do so you will have to jump through a lot of hoops. See the PocketSword web site for instructions. The process does not look like a minor affair. You have to create a specially formatted Zip file in the CrossWire format. You then load it on your device through a WebKit enabled browser. Safari and Chrome work but the site says that Firefox does not and they have not tried it on IE. You connect your device via wifi and go through your browser and then open the app on the device and go into a special mode from within the preferences called Module Maintainer Mode.

UPDATE: Just to clarify, when I say that no one else lets you create resources for their app, I am talking about on the iPhone. Laridian does have a book builder that is available for $99.00. According to Craig Rairdin of Laridian, they will let you host your books if you use the Pro version to create it. So, Laridian does give you an option to create and load books on the iPhone.

If you want to use the app and get help, not only check out the site but also the user forum. The are not very active yet, but if the app takes off I am sure they will be.

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Christian Computing Magazine Article

Dec 17

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, News & Such, Technology, Writing | No Comments

My latest article for Christian Computing Magazine is online at: http://www.ccmag.com/articles/articles.php?recordID=236.
This month I reviewed QuickVerse 2010 & BibleGlo.

Logos iPhone App More Content Available

Dec 15

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, Technology, iphone | 2 Comments

The Logos iPhone app is decent. One of the limitations I complained about in my review was the lack of content you have in the PC app available on the iPhone. This is not the fault of Logos, but still a limitation. However, things got better today as more of my content showed up. I am reading (or have read through) John MacAurthur’s The Glory of Heaven in the desktop app. But it had not be available on the iPhone app. But it is now. Frustratingly, as far as I can tell, there is no list of available content anywhere. Would be interested in knowing if I am wrong and where such a list is.

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Logos 4 Getting Better

Dec 10

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, Technology | No Comments

In my recent review of Logos 4, I gave it a mixed review. I called it “worth adding to your arsenal” but also said that it was “missing a few of the previous version’s functionality.”

t it is getting better. I just installed the latest beta version of Logos 4.0a which is available for download now. In it there are many new features. Let me mention a few:

First, there is a new ability to change the background color of the open resources. You can see this is the screenshot below.

bible_text_only

Also, notice that in the drop down there is the option to show Bible Text Only. The screenshot shows this. It removes all the extraneous things to get at just the text. No titles or footnotes.

Another new feature is the ability to customize the Ribbon on the Logos 4 Home page.

ribbon

One of the most criticized features was the ribbon. Users said it was too big and they customizewanted to be able to remove things. For example, it contains the above “Choose preferred Bible” feature. I like to do that because I go back and forth between the ESV and HCSB as my preferred Bible. But I don’t like using lectionaries very much. So I removed the lectionary and the recent reading lists. The way to do this is click the customize button on the bottom left of the Home Page as seen to the left.

 

I also have to say that there are a bunch of things that Logos 4 does that Logos 3 could not do. In a recent Logos 4 forum post, Philip Spitzer – one of the more advanced users – lists some of them. You can see from his list there are quite a few things. Click the link to read more about these, but here are some he mentions.

Sympathetic Highlighting
Savable Guides
Customizable Guides
Syncing
Multi-monitor Layout
Reading Lists

Another advanced user and Logos MVP, Thomas Black added Automatic Updating. I would add the ability to put notes on a Guide.

The single greatest improvement in the beta is performance. Logos 4 is not nearly as sluggish in version 4.0a beta 3 as it was in the pure 4.0 release or even the current public 4.0 SR7 release (SR stands for Service Release, I believe). Sadly, the Notes feature is still very sluggish. But the rest of the beta is much better in the performance department.

Is Logos 4 where it needs to be yet? No. This is just a beta release. When they get all of this functionality and more into a public release, then I will be even more impressed. But I wanted to give credit where credit is due. And they have improved it greatly. At this rate, by mid 2010 Logos 4 should be the great software that 3.0 was.

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Need a Prayer Partner

Dec 9

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Digital Bible Study, Technology, iphone, prayer | 1 Comment

Sorry, but this is not a post about my offering to enter into a prayer partner relationship with you. Although I might.

What I’m talking about is a new iPhone app that I’ve had the pleasure of beta testing from Laridian, the makers of the great new, and always improving, Bible app, PocketBible.

PrayerPartner is not yet available on the iPhone but it has been submitted so it could be ready in as little as 2 weeks.  The app does what its name says. It partners with you to help you in your prayer life. The app lets you record and track prayer requests, praises, and people. It interfaces with the iPhone’s contact database so you can attach prayers to a person.  You can also make prayers repeat. The app will probably cost just $1.99 so check back and I will post when it is ready. Below are some screen shots from the Laridian Blog article about it. By the way, I often get free review copies of the apps I talk about here. But this is one I will not even be asking for a review copy of … I will be paying. Not much but it shows the real value I place in this app.

This is the home screen

 

This is the screen where you edit a request

 

Here is the category list

 

This is the screen where you record the request.

You can also keep a prayer journal, email prayer requests to other people or send an email to a person for whom you are praying.

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WordSearch 9 New Features

Dec 9

Posted by Kevin Purcell in Bible Software, Bible Study, Technology | No Comments

As you learned if you read my blog everyday, WordSearch 9 is now available. There are not a huge number of new features, but unlike some other software companies that have done a radical rewrite, WS9 is an incremental upgrade. I said in my first post that it felt more like a point release than a full number upgrade. Maybe WordSearch 8.1 or 8.5 would not sell as well.

But while it may feel like that, some of the subtle new things are much appreciated and make the program better. I am please so far and think that it is worth the $39.95 I paid for my upgrade.

Two of the new features are the target icon (see red arrow below) on the toolbar and the bigger toolbar buttons (see icons in highlight box below).

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The buttons are designed to be bigger and easier to see on high res monitors. Also for lower res eyes (which now that I’m 40 I find is happening to me).  The target icon is designed to make that Bible the target window for all Bible reference links. If you have a dictionary and a commentary open along with the ESV, HCSB and KJV, you can click this icon and make it the default target for all Bible references in your commentary or Bible dictionary. This happens even if that Bible is not the currently active window. Click a link in the commentary and even if the KJV is showing in the Bible window, it will open the Bible window to your Bible that has the target button engaged. I clicked on it in the ESV but then changed to the KJV. I clicked Isaiah 9:6 in the New American Commentary and it switched the Bible window from KJV to ESV. Nice touch! It lets you change the default Bible quickly without going into a settings window from the menu.

Sadly, another new feature is instability. For the first time I can ever remember WordSearch crashed on me. Hopefully this will not be a harbinger of things to come.

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