the big day

well, the big day has arrived. the day we have all been anticipating with bated breath and beating hearts. Today Apple unveils its “Latest Creation.”

noon our time. be there or be square. should be interesting.

UPDATE:

introductory video here. Interesting, but too expensive for something that nobody who has a smartphone and laptop really needs.

Logos Bible software

I mentioned Logos in passing the other day as my preferred Bible software to use on my laptop. I have been using it for at least 10 years and I love it.

When I originally moved to Mac OS back in 2007, Logos didn’t have a Mac version so I had to buy Parallels and a copy of Windows XP just so I could install Logos and keep using it. That setup has worked very well.

However, now Logos has a Mac version and it should be very nice indeed. (I haven’t bought it yet, but I did use the alpha test versions along the way)

Here is Michael Patton’s fairly thorough review of the Logos software. and here is the part of that review with which I completely agree:

Commentaries and Reference Library: I have basically quit buying DVDs because I can just get all of my movies on Amazon.com and use my Roku player to watch them. That way I don’t have to worry about losing them or worry that they get scratched. Well, it is the same thing with Logos and my commentary and reference library. I don’t buy the paper version any more. I only get them on Logos. That way I never have to worry about them. As well, it is such a blessing to be able to pull up a passage of Scripture and have dozens of commentaries available at the click of the mouse. Yes, there are many books that you would not want to read digitally. At least I don’t like to read digitally. But when it comes to reference works, you need a quick and easy way to reference them efficiently. Logos is the way to go.

To save space: There are certain collections such as the Nicene Ante-Nicene Church Fathers that are too large for most offices. Logos helps to save space. We are moving to a digital world. Start now or you will be sorry later.

Not only does it save space, but it makes all the commentaries much more useful. The global search function allows you to research a passage in the Bible or a topic across every single volume in your library. You can then look at the relevant portions of every book to thoroughly investigate the passage or topic. So much faster and more accurate than finding everything manually.

Here is what Michael says about the search feature:

Searches: With Logos, you can search your entire library for a key word or phrase. Theentire library! This is so valuable. When you are searching to see what the early church fathers said about the Lord’s supper or a particular passage, just type in your key words and hit search.

I love Logos. Like PocketBible, I have assembled a pretty good sized library of books in it and this software makes those books incredibly useful. I am sure that other Bible Software programs work well too, but Logos is where I have invested in a library and I know that it is fantastic.

I am not getting anything from either of these companies for talking about them. They are just what I use and love and thus want to recommend.

HT to vitamin Z.

PocketBible for iPhone

I have been using Laridian’s PocketBible software on my PDA then phones for a long long time. I used it on my old Handspring Visors, my Treo300 phone, my Treo600, my samsung PPC6500 (windows Mobile), and even on my Windows computer. For powerful Bible software on the go, it has been a dream. Lots of good selections on Bibles and other books to purchase. Very well integrated. just a dream. Love it.

The only drawback to getting an iPhone was losing my PocketBible software. For almost 2 years, I haven’t had it. Other solutions that became available when the Apple App Store became a reality were not nearly as good. The web based subscription that Laridian devised was ok, but not nearly good enough.

(by the way, Logos is the way to go for desktop bible software. I have also been using it for years on Windows and Mac computers. Again user friendly, intuitive, lots of books. Tom Ascol’s review of Logos for Mac is here.)

finally Laridian has released (been approved by the Apple Store) PocketBible for iPhone. I cannot adequately express how happy this makes me. I messed with it for a good long while last night and I can report to you that it is very nicely done. functionality is fairly intuitive. All of the Bibles and books that I had previously purchased were easy to access and download. (I did have some trouble because the Laridian servers were getting hit pretty hard yesterday, but I succeeded in downloading everything to the phone).

I feel like my old friends are back in my shirt pocket where they belong.

anyway, the price is free for the software and some free (noncopyrighted) books. Give it a go. See if you don’t like it.

Laridian press release with link:

PocketBible has been approved for sale on the App Store. Depending on where you live, it might be available already. Search the App Store for PocketBible or try this link.

Of course, PocketBible for the iPhone will work with all of your PocketBible books and Bibles. And here’s the best news — it’s FREE!

Yes, you can download and install PocketBible for no cost on the App Store!

Naturally, you can add additional books and Bibles to your PocketBible library and use them with PocketBible for iPhone. Simply select the Order Form link above. Once you’ve made your purchase, launch PocketBible on your iPhone or iPod touch and select the Menu button, then “Add / Remove Books”. Enter your customer ID (or email address) and password to download books directly into PocketBible!

PocketBible for iPhone requires OS 3, so if you’ve not yet updated your iPhone or iPod Touch to this latest version of the operating system, you may want to do that soon.

twitter

I took up twittering this weekend. @bkingr, if anybody is interested. I just now found out from vitamin z that John Piper twitters too.

check out his last four tweets.

Liar, lunatic, or LORD. Yes. And let your jaw drop at his wildly over-the-top claim: Before Abraham was, I AM (John 8:58).
about 1 hour ago from HootSuite

God is glorified not only by His glory’s being seen, but by its being rejoiced in (Edwards). Joy in Christ is no caboose.
about 13 hours ago from HootSuite

“Don’t pursue joy, pursue obedience” is like saying, “Don’t pursue apples, pursue fruit.”
about 18 hours ago from HootSuite

That every nail sinks in wood by God’s decree has never made me doubt the value of hammers. Or preaching (Acts 13:48)
4:05 AM Jun 22nd from HootSuite

iPhone 3.0 OS update

I have spent an evening with the updated operating system for my first generation iPhone. I must say that I really like it and I wonder why they couldn’t have done some of these things from the get go.

I can’t tell you how many times in the last year and a half I have turned the phone sideways on email trying to get slightly larger font to read and the bigger key board. Now that it is here, what can you say except: ahhhhhhh! finally.

cut and paste seems to work pretty well. that ought to help with the mobile blogging, but not much of that going on anyway, so not that big a thing. I hear that the twitterers among us are very excited about it though. Maybe now that it is possible, I will find it more useful than I think, but there have been very few times that I have wanted to be able to copy text on my phone.

I love stock charts and I am glad there is more information available on the built in stocks application. again, though, this is something that should have been available a long time ago.

I still want to upgrade to the 3G S for the better camera, increased storage, and video. But that will have to wait for funds to aggregate. In the meantime, this OS upgrade is very much appreciated.

iPhone OS 3.0

today is the day for the OS update release. This is the page for download.

Nothing yet.