Logos 5 Discounts, Free Upgrade and Cheap Upgrade – UPDATED

Posted by Kevin Purcell on Feb 4, 2013 in Digital Bible Study | 0 comments

Logos 5 is here! That’s nothing new but the upgrade process comes with quite a sticker shock. Today is the last day to get some discounts on the base packages, but users can also move up to Logos 5 with three other less expensive options available either now or very soon.

UPDATE: We can now download the free limited Logos 5 engine for free without paying for a crossgrade or upgrade.

Two Less Expensive Upgrade Paths for Logos 5

Logos offers what they call the Logos 5 Core Datasets for $79.95 or about $21/month for a few months. This set includes the following:

• Bible Facts: Events
• Passage Guide: Events
• Bible Word Study: Phrases
• Topic Guide
• Visual Filter: Reported Speech
• Timeline
• Phrase Concordance
• Preaching Themes
• Thematic Outlines

See the “What’s New in Logos Bible Software 5 video below:

Logos 5 Minimal Crossgrade

With the Minimal Crossgrade, the buyer gets more for about twice the price. It costs $159.95 or $21/month. They call it the “bare-bones crossgrade to Logos 5″. This gives the user all the new stuff added for Logos 5. See the above video for details about these new features.

The list above comes with this upgrade. They also add the following:

• Clause Search
• Bible Word Study: Senses
• Bible Sense Lexicon
• Exegetical Guide: Syntactic Force
• Clauses Dataset: LGNTISBL Edition and LHB Edition
• Ancient Texts and Morphologies from the Lexham Hebrew and Greek tools
• Lexham LXX
• Faithlife Study Bible Notes
• Lexham Bible Dictionary
• New Topical Textbook
• Animals Mentioned in Bible
• Complete Book of When and Where: In the Bible and Throughout History
• Plants of the Bible
• Connect the Testaments devotional
• Faithlife maps, photos and media
• Lexham Interlinears
• Bible Illustrations

There’s a lot there for just $160.

Free Basic Engine Upgrade

We expect that very soon can now download the free limited engine of version five of Logos with a basic Logos 5 engine upgrade that doesn’t include many of the above features and content. You’ll have to gamble that you won’t want the new features and only the engine because their discounts will end before the free upgrade shows up on their website. When it shows up they will likely post links to their Support page.

Logos 4.1 Brings More 3.0 Features and More to Great Bible Software Application

Posted by Kevin Purcell on Oct 8, 2010 in Bible Software, Digital Bible Study, Technology | 0 comments

When Logos 4 shipped last year, I was one of the people that had very mixed feelings. There was a lot to like in the new version, but in the early versions it bogged down on my systems and it was missing a few basic features that I used a lot in Logos 3. With the 4.1 update shipping this week, many of those things are now fixed and by the way the program runs much better now. While I couldn’t say this last year, now I can say that there is really no good reason not to upgrade to the new version. I have totally removed Logos 3 from all of my systems and am pleased to be using Logos 4.1 almost every day to do my Bible study. Sadly, there are a couple of features that some will miss and one weakness still exists and may never get fixed.

What’s New in Logos 4.1

A very complete list of what is new in this point release can be found on the Logos support site. Here is my quick hit bullet list with some explanation

• Printing/Exporting – it’s hard to believe they didn’t include printing support, but now it is there and works well; you can also export to many useful file formats
• Sentence Diagramming – I used this feature a lot and really missed it; now it is there and actually better; it imports your old Logos 3 diagrams, but keep them backed up as some have reported a few problems
• Smart Tages for Word – if you have a 32-bit version of MS Word installed, then install the update and you get smart tags, which will help you insert Bible passages simply by typing the passage in Word and then right clicking to gain access to the smart tags menu
• Gestures – if you use gestures to navigate in your browser you will understand what this is; by doing simple mouse movements you can move around in the application
• More keyboard shortcuts
• Lectionaries can be added to custom Passage Guides
• Better export to Outlook for Reading Plans
• Customize the shortcuts by right clicking them
• Huge list of bug fixes

What’s Still Missing

Sadly, there are a few things still missing that were present in Logos 3. You can find them on the support page. Here is a quick list:

Coming in Q1  2011

• Vocabulary and word lists
• Video resources

Coming Later than Q1 2011

• Personal Book Builder (Improved to use the native book format!)
• Sermon File
• Illustrations section in Passage Guide

You will also notice that the missing features page says more is coming but they are not revealing it. If you want to see what comes next. you may want to get in on the beta distribution of the application. To do so, simply open Logos 4.1 (or any 4.0 version) and typ the following into the command bar:

set update channel to beta

Remember that this is  a beta and therefore will have bugs and problems. Don’t install if you don’t want to walk on the wild side. I am currently downloading beta 4.2. The list of new stuff in the beta is as follows:

• Improvements to …
  • resource panel
  • print/export
  • biblical people/places/things
• Added book abbreviations
• Bug fixes

Notes -  Why?

The last issue with this update and with Logos 4 in general is the notes feature. Version 3 notes was okay even though I complained about it for not being simple enough. I like a very simple notes interface. Well, Logos 4 was actually a step backwards. For that reason I still use Bibleworks 8 for my note taking.

With Logos 4.1 there is little to no improvement. So that’s wrong? The notes feature is very slow. You can only type a sentence before it really bogs down. If I type more than once sentence in to a notes entry, eventually it craws to the point where I can type a word … wait … type a word …. and wait some more. It is unusable for longer notes entries.

Logos, Why can’t you just make it simple like Bibleworks, e-Sword, WORDSearch and almost everyone else? This is the biggest disappointment in Logos 4.1 for me. Everything else is a huge step forward.

Logos 4.1 Coming with Great New Features

Posted by Kevin Purcell on Sep 23, 2010 in Bible Software, Digital Bible Study, Technology, Video | 0 comments

Mark Barnes created a nice video highlighting the great new features in the upcoming Logos 4.1 update that should be shipping soon. It is at the RC or release candidate stage now.

Here is Mark’s description of the new features:

Logos Bible Software 4.1 includes several new features: tweaks to the Passage Guide and Bible Word Study, mouse gestures, Smart Tags for Microsoft Word, Sentence Diagramming and the eagerly anticipated Print/Export feature. This video demonstrates each of the new features.

Great video Mark! And good update Logos! Here’s the video:

Introducing Logos 4.1 from Mark Barnes on Vimeo.

MantisBible Update to 4.7 Adds Voice

Posted by Kevin Purcell on Mar 31, 2010 in Bible Software, Digital Bible Study, Review, Technology | 0 comments

Bible study on the iPhone just keeps getting better. I am blessed to get to play with some exciting products on the iPhone, PC and hopefully soon the iPad. One of those products is from one of the smallest of the companies producing Bible software for iPhone, Mantis. But they are also one of the most creative. And is named as one of my top four Bible apps for the iPhone.

The company just released 4.7 from the Apple App store with a few really nice improvements.

Text to Speech

The first addition of note is the Text to Speech capability using one of five optional voice add-ons. The voices can be purchased either in the app or through MantisBible.com for only 1.99. I tested them out reading from 1 Peter.

Of the five voices, I liked the Ryan voice the most. It is an adult mail voice and is clear and easy to listen to. If you prefer a female voice you can choose Heather or Laura. The Heather voice was my personal favorite. Two of the voices are children’s voices and they are not as good, but your kids might prefer them. The Kenny voice actually sounded a little more like a girl to me.

You first must install the voices from the library menu by tapping the book name in the top left corner. Tap the Media tab and scroll down to see the voice names. Purchase them by tapping and the next screen will give you the option. If you purchased them online, you will have to tap the Check for updates in bright red at the top of the screen to have them in your list of available content. They take a little while to download, so be patient.

While in a reading window, tap on the Tools button in the top right to reveal the toolbar. The button directly next to the larger white Options button is a sound icon. It reveals the reading toolbar at the bottom (pictured below). From there you will see the toolbar at the bottom of the text with the close button to turn off the voice, a long slider, the voice chooser button in white and the play button to the right. Tap the white box to choose among the installed voices. Hit the play button and it will start reading to you.

I am not sure what the slider is used to adjust. It thought it was for the speed of the voice or the volume, but it seems to do nothing right now. Also you cannot switch voices on the fly; you must first pause the voice and then tap the voice selection box. Not sure if this is by design or a bug. I wish it would automatically stop the voice and take me to the screen where I can choose another voice.

While choosing the voice you can adjust the volume and speed of the voice (see the above screen shots – the lower left screen shot shows the voice selector with volume and speed sliders).

This will be a nice feature while driving or exercising. You can do your devotional “reading” while on the go. Aside from the minor annoyances, it works great!

Verse Memorization Module

There are verse memorization apps in the Apple App store, but it makes so much sense to have one in your Bible app. When reading your devotions or listening to someone teach on a verse you can quickly add the verse to the memorization module and come back later to learn it.

You access the module from the menu that appears when you press and hold the verse number. For example, if you want to add Romans 3:23 to the memorization list, top and hold the 23 in Romans 3:23 and the menu will appear. If you have used Mantis for awhile you will recognize this as the way to access the inline translation chooser, commentary chooser, and other functions like adding notes or highlights. The inline study Bible as they like to call it is one of the greatest plusses of MantisBible. Now there is a Memorize button with a heart over the word.

After adding the verse by tapping the Memorize button, you access your list of verses by going to your notes. At the top you will see folders. If you have no other folders of notes it will be the only one there. Otherwise find the Memorize folder. Tap on the verse you added and the Memorization module screen appears. From there you can work on memorizing the verse. Hit the Question mark button to learn about how to use the module as it is not obvious, but once you are told it is quite useful and easy to work with.

The way to memorize is by repetition. You read and re-read the verse over and over. You then start tapping words to remove them from the verse (see right below). After awhile the entire verse is gone but you are saying it from memory.

At the bottom of the screen you see [RESET VERSE], which you tap so you can see the original verse. When you think you know it, tap the test  button at the upper left (see above pictures). There are two test styles. With the Scrambled button selected, when you tap the Test button it puts all the words of the verse in the bottom half of the test screen all scrambled in the wrong order (see left below). Tap the words in the proper order to show that you have it memorized. The alternative test type lets you type out the words. When the 1st Letter button is selected prior to tapping the Test button, a keyboard is placed in the bottom of the screen (see right below). Start typing the first few letters of a word to make it appear above to test your memorization.

 

Advanced Search

The final new feature in this release is the Advanced Search function. I won’t go into a lot of detail here. But from the MantisBIble.com forum, here is what they developer is saying about it.

New Search Screen (allows you to search across all installed volumes at the same time, select specific books of the Bible to filter the search, and allows you to view the entire verse for each "hit" and drill-down to strongs numbers, etc., all in the search screen.)

The search feature is much improved and will give you more control over finding content.

MantisBible just keeps getting better. The text to speech and memorization modules are very nice additions. As per my custom of rating using the App Store model, I give Mantis a definite five star rating. After reading some of the reviews about stability issue in the App store reviews, I was surprised. I think that one caveat iPhone software users should consider is that if an app is buggy or crashing ask yourself two things.

1. Have I reset my iPhone since upgrading? That usually fixes problems I have had with a cantankerous app.

2. Have I been updating for so long that it might be time to do a fresh install. The iPhone OS keeps all your preferences when you simply upgrade. After a few point releases it is a good idea to delete the app and reinstall from scratch either from the App store or by syncing with iTunes on your desktop.

I have had no issues with buggy behavior with v. 4.7. Nor has it crashed once. YMMV!

Logos 4 Getting Better

Posted by Kevin Purcell on Dec 10, 2009 in Bible Software, Digital Bible Study, Technology | 0 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.

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.

One of the most criticized features was the ribbon. Users said it was too big and they wanted 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.