Filed under: Software, Education
Logos for Mac worth the wait for Bible students
I have been waiting for Logos for Mac, the Bible research application suite, for over a year. I take that back: I have been waiting for Logos for the Mac for over five years, when I first switched to Mac after a brief and unfortunate experience in the Windows world.
Before we go any further I must stop to address the fear which has already gripped many Mac users. Let me say this clearly: this is no hastily slapped together Mac "port" of a Windows application. In fact 15 seconds into the introductory video, they proudly announce: "What we've done for the Mac is rebuild it from the ground up."
You can tell.
Logos for Mac looks and feels like a native Mac application. How native? If you can copy a passage from Logos to Microsoft Word for Mac, it automatically creates a footnote in APA, BibTex, Chicago, Harvard, MLA, Refer-BiblX, RIS, SBL, or Turabian format (whichever you choose in the preferences). As someone who has no love for footnoting, this may be my favorite feature of any piece of software ever.
There are also Mac-specific support videos to help you learn to use the software and native Mac "Help" available in the application itself.
The Mac version does not support all of the Windows features, although they say they "plan to add many of these features in upcoming versions." You can see a list of some of those features on a chart of features covered at Camp Logos, a two-day training seminar for Logos users. The same page also makes it clear that they have been thinking about Mac users for these seminars, and in fact usually have someone there who is a Mac user to help if needed.
Don't let the fact that they offer a seminar to learn how to use the software scare you. The website describes it as "Easy enough for a novice, powerful enough for a scholar, now on a Mac!" The videos mentioned above are highly recommended, as this is a powerful piece of software. It is often said that most users only use 20% of any application's features. I've used Microsoft Word and iWork's Pages application for years and have no doubt that I could benefit from a couple days instruction from someone who really knew the applications inside and out.
The challenge for Logos is that their customer base covers a very wide range of potential users: from casual users who want to do some personal Bible study to pastors preparing sermons to academics using it for detailed and in-depth study. Casual users who watch the videos should learn enough to feel comfortable using the application.
There five different versions available. They all use the same core application, the only difference is which books are included. For that reason they are referred to as "libraries":
- Bible Study Library ($259.95) (See what's included in Bible Study library)
- Leader's Library ($309.95) (See what's included in Leader's library)
- Scholar's Library ($629.95) ( See what's included in Scholar's library)
- Scholar's Library: Silver ($999.95) (See what's included in Silver library)
- Scholar's Library: Gold ($1,379.95) (See what's included in Gold library)
The list of available resources is pretty amazing. The "Gold" version includes "700 titles worth more than $11,700.00" if you purchased the print versions (not to mention finding space to store them all!). That's less than 12% of the total price of the "dead tree" versions. Even the "Bible Study Library" boasts and impressive collection of approximately 150 titles.
It is important to note that once these Library items are purchased, you own them; only the application itself will have to be updated in the future (as opposed to, for example, some very well known photo-manipulation software which costs several hundred dollars even for an upgrade). These library items are investments which you should have for the rest of your computer-using life.
If you have both Windows and Mac computers, you can install the software on both computers (up to two personally owned computers), and the Mac version even includes an installer for Windows. This can also come in handy if you have setup Boot Camp. If you have previously purchased library items from a Windows version of the Logos software, you can also use those on your Mac as well. See the FAQ for more details. There is also a Mac disclaimer page you should read if you are switching over from the Windows version. I would recommend getting in touch with Mac customer support (email and phone numbers are provided on the previously mentioned page).
Mac users have been second-class citizens in the Biblical software world. I have tried some of the other well known "names" and found their Mac versions to be fairly unsatisfactory, and their Mac technical support to be difficult to access or non-existent. (One company required that all support requests be sent through a web form which didn't even list the Mac version of their software.) Logos has taken their time to come into the Mac world as a company which has tried to understand how Mac users think and work. No, the software doesn't have a 1:1 feature parity with the Windows version yet, but it seems clear that the Mac community is important to folks at Logos and they have invested a lot to bring something worthwhile to the Mac world.
Normally I would devote more time to explaining how the application works, but the introductory video does a much better job of this than I could. (Note that the demo videos are all done in Quicktime, and download links for Desktop and iPhone versions are available.) I have only begun using the software in the past week or so, and already have used it more than another Bible software program that I have owned (and upgraded!) for several years. As bonus to those of you who have read this far, don't miss the free Bible verse Dashboard widget which is also available from Logos.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 7)
bob said 9:08AM on 8-27-2009
Now if only we had a purpose for a series of falsified books, it might be worth spending $1000.
Reply
pskennedySOS said 10:56AM on 8-27-2009
don't get me wrong...
I love Brother's Grimm and Andersen's complete works. I grew up on that stuff. And I can't wait for the movie!!!
I also grew up the son of a man who got his Master's and Ph.D. in biblical studies. He knew his stuff. I know it's easy to poke jabs on the net against the "weak-minded" who believe in the Bible, but some friendly advice: you're setting yourself up to look foolish by casually discrediting books that have been meticulously passed on by oral historians (who could cite the entire Bible by memory) and written historians who dedicated their entire lives to ensuring its authenticity.
No matter what the Da Vinci Code says...
Mac users know better than that ;)
damien said 11:56AM on 8-27-2009
Very well spoken... for an ignorant fool. You obviously have no idea nor even bothered to learn about how the Bible has been transmitted throughout the ages. Please educate yourself before making stupid comments like this one.
http://www.carm.org/christianity/bible/can-we-trust-new-testament-historical-document
http://www.carm.org/christianity/bible
Dave said 12:14PM on 8-27-2009
@damien
Thank you for posting this. I was considering posting something similar but you've done a great job with those links.
Rand said 12:56PM on 8-27-2009
Man, seriously why be such an ugly hater on someones beliefs? This was about a piece of software that is of interest to anyone who shares the same beliefs.
I get sick of all the ugly preaching to, but without those annoying Christians, we would be missing thousands of schools, universities, hospitals, not to mention all the actual good work done by them. Sure there are really ugly minded christians out there, but didnt you just prove there are ugly non christians out there as well?
I am not a believer, but Im sure Jesus would have been an awesome person to meet, whether or not you believe he is man, a prophet or God.
damien said 1:23PM on 8-27-2009
@Dave
:o) Thanks... i usually don't respond to comments like that but i'm just sick of ignorant people who really have no place making comments like that. People like are the worst because they follow whatever people say and run with it instead of being intelligent enough to find out for themselves the truth.
damien
thereisnogodmorons said 10:38AM on 8-27-2009
Welp, the religious organisations sure now how to draw in the suckers.
The thing I liked about this piece of journalism is having to wade through 6 paragraphs of crapola to find out it's a god bothering bible app.
If I had written about a pro choice atheistic application on a mainstream blog but failed to mention that fact until the final paragraph the christians would be in uproar.
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Mike said 11:22AM on 8-27-2009
Other than the title of the post which has the word bible?
Grant said 1:08PM on 8-27-2009
The first sentence says it's a Bible research application, genius.
ben said 1:21PM on 8-27-2009
the original blog posting didn't actually mention the bible until it's seventh paragraph. what you read is an edited version. the article was edited between the time i made my comment and the time it was approved.
Greg said 9:25AM on 8-27-2009
Bob, Spiceweasel and Paul:
Congratulations on successfully coming out as childish, puerile and arrogant. Here is a simple article, detailing a new program for our OS of choice. For lots of people that will be interesting. If it isn't for you, then move along. Mocking the religion, God and the Bible is infantile at all times, but in this context it borders on the pathetic.
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Teo said 9:59AM on 8-27-2009
"Mocking the religion, God and the Bible is infantile at all times, but in this context it borders on the pathetic."
Hey, tell that to the thousands upon thousands of people that lived in the middle east around the years of the crusades.
They had to die because christianity is a bag of lies and because who ever led the religious bunch of retards at that time, told his soldiers of "god" to slay every non christian until they could reclaim the "holy city".
Religion is one of the worst things that have happened to earth, and it has repressed the people with lies for 2000 years now.
Way to go.
mcg said 10:13AM on 8-27-2009
Ahh, the tired old "Crusades" argument. Is that how you want to roll? Cool with me. If we're gonna keep score by the number of lives lost due in the various perverse attempts to advance a particular religious ideology, that's fine. But it would only be fair to measure it against the anti-religion campaigns in Stalinist Russia, a regime fully committed to the eradication of religion.
Ryan Trevisol said 10:24AM on 8-27-2009
Not to mention that those who participated in the crusades had no backing from the God of the Bible.
Just because someone's perverted attempt at Christianity (which, by the way, Acts 20:29 said would happen) resulted in atrocities doesn't mean you toss out the book that they weren't following.
Don't get me wrong, the churches who sanctioned the crusades are culpable, even to this day. But again, no reason to blame the bible. Jesus said "Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword" (Matt 26:52), not "Put it away, Peter, save it for defending Jerusalem."
spiceweasel said 12:19PM on 8-27-2009
i wasn't mocking religion. and i know very well how the bible has been compiled. and the good thing about freedom of speech is that i can express my view.
punkassjim said 6:22PM on 8-27-2009
@spiceweasel:
By "freedom of speech," I assume you're alluding to the first amendment of the United States Constitution, which also protects free exercise of religion. Notably absent from the first amendment is any language that contributes to (or detracts from) your Douchebag Quotient when your free speech manifests itself as an ad hominem attack on someone simply because they've written about a topic you don't like. So, good on you. You've a right to be this much of a dolt, and no one can take that away from you.
For the record, I may not agree with a word you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it. But man oh man, it's really a worthless endeavor to unleash all your anti-religious vitriol on people who didn't do anything wrong.
@Teo:
You want to share your feelings about the Crusades and all the repression and horribleness that's been done in the name of "God" throughout the years? OK, fine, but please note that in doing so, you have "preached" to me more than the author of this post has. Man, I actually dislike religion more than nearly anything else…but, among the things that I despise more, it's those who dump their anger on the wrong people.
ak said 3:58PM on 8-28-2009
Actually, many of us think that people who believe in fairy tales are infantile and pathetic, but hey - it takes all kinds, right? Why don't you go study your bible some more before throwing names at people.
Jared said 9:24AM on 8-27-2009
That is awesome, looks really great. I don't agree with everyone else here as they obviously have no idea about history. Your right though, us Christian Mac users have been without any biblical software. So it's good to finally see someone do something about that. I am also impressed to see the review on TUAW. Keep up the good work TJ.
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Joseph said 2:52AM on 8-28-2009
logos for mac has been out for atleast 6 months.
Accordance is actually really nice too.
http://www.accordancebible.com/about/index.php
Some of the missing features from the PC version are a real bummer, like linking your clicks.
However, one of the great things is how easy it is to migrate your books over. We had a couple pastors that were there on the win95 version of logos and had some books they purchased that dont exist anymore. Mac OS X crossgrade disc allowed us to transfer it all over for like $50. Well played logos.
Bob R said 7:00PM on 8-28-2009
Sorry to say, you're wrong (but only from not finding it! Try the amazing Accordance, available only for the Mac (but adding a Windows version soon, I think) . I've been using it for years. It seems to be better integrated than my friends Logos on Windows, but I have not tested either the Windows or mac Versions, myself.
The bottom line: Logos is a distinguished product, and so is Accordance. They are both expensive (compared to another commenter's "free" (and there is truth to that!) but both provide an incredible integration to other texts, pictures, maps, etc. inside they're own software, and some integration (Logos seems ahead, in this regard) to the rest of the software one might want to quote into.