Switching from Logos to Accordance?

[techmate]

I'm highly considering switching here. Im a new mac user who used logos on windows when I had windows. Now I dont want to wait any longer for logos for mac. Any switchers here? What was your experience of coming from logos to accordance or even from bible works to accordance. I have been on the accordance site for over an hour now trying to figure out what to do. This is going to break me I think. If there is anything you can add about this please post or you can email me at techmate (at) mac.com

 

BTW: Is there any tutorial cds available? Looks like a lot to learn.

[Joel Brown]

I'm highly considering switching here. Im a new mac user who used logos on windows when I had windows. Now I dont want to wait any longer for logos for mac. Any switchers here? What was your experience of coming from logos to accordance or even from bible works to accordance. I have been on the accordance site for over an hour now trying to figure out what to do. This is going to break me I think. If there is anything you can add about this please post or you can email me at techmate (at) mac.com

 

BTW: Is there any tutorial cds available? Looks like a lot to learn.

 

Personally I have not used Logos extensively, but there are a few topics elsewhere on the forum that may give you some insight into others who have made the switch, or at least considered it (or use both concurrently, still):

 

Accordance vs. Logos

 

Accordance and the Competition

 

Logos System X

 

Keep in mind some of these topics are a bit older (the last one was started almost 2 years ago!), but can give you some insight. Hopefully other forum browsers who have done a switch from Logos or Bibleworks to Accordance can help chime in too.

 

Regarding the tutorial CDs, there is an official training DVD available here. In addition to that, there is an in-program tutorial to help get you started, in addition to these forums and the Accordance Blog. Finally, there are quite frequently training seminars held in various locations around the country to help our users use Accordance more effectively. As with any powerful program, it takes some time to fully get acquainted with all of its features, but hopefully between all of those resources it shouldn't be too long nor too painful of a process.

[Brent Lawrence]

I have switched from a PC to Mac thanks to the announcement from Logos and thanks to the delay in bringing their product to market, I have switched from Logos to Accordance. From about a year ago, Accordance has been my primary Bible software. I have utilized LDLS only a handful of times within Parallels, but Accordance is it for me. It is totally different than Logos and in my opinion much better and certainly more powerful. I like the flexibility of the User Tools (Logos charges for putting your own works into the LDLS format) and the resources provided by Accordance are excellent. Accordance may not have as many modules or resources, but they also have some that Logos will never get their hands on like EBC, NIDOTE, etc. Accordance doesn't try to compete with the number of "volumes" of Logos and they don't need to.

 

I found there was a learning curve in coming from what I knew on the Windows side, but with a little time, I began to find that Accordance was more powerful. I would suggest getting the training DVD; it was very helpful.

 

Hope this helps.

[techmate]

Great! Thanks two both of you for taking the time to post this. Im going to read everything I can here and the links to get a better idea of things. Im going to do some more research and then decide whether or not to buy. I think if I do, it will be the scholar core package. Seems to be more of what Im looking for.

Thanks again

[jarcher]

techmate,

 

I switched to Accordance from Bibleworks from Logos. Each move got better :-). Overall, I'm glad I made the move. I'd be lying if I didn't say that there are some things I miss but at the end of the day I believe Accordance is a much better package. Here are some random observations:

 

- Accordance is centered around the text of Scripture and seems to be developed with the idea that research should flow in and out of Scripture. This is a significant difference from Logos which is resource centered (although this has gotten better). I have found that my work moves nearly seamlessly between the text and secondary sources (and much faster).

 

- Accordance has a good library of resources. I love Bibleworks but it is nearly entirely text-centered. Logos has lots of resources but I didn't care for it for exegetical work. Accordance is a good middle-ground between a library package and a package that is intended for exegesis.

 

- The support from Oaktree is extremely good, as is the support on this user forum.

 

- Accordance is FAST. I nearly never wait for my searches and the hotkeys and other key options make this even faster. Add Quicksilver support and you'll really be movin' (see the thread on this - Joe Weaks rocks).

 

- Accordance has some great exegesis features that are very useful, such as the syntax feature, the diagram module (also in both BW and Logos) and the graphs. Original language searches are easy and powerful. My understanding is that Logos for the Mac will be based on v.2 of their software, not v.3 which has better graphing features. With a few exceptions nearly all of your required original language resources are available in Accordance.

 

- The Accordance map and timeline features are worth gold.

 

- Application updates are often, and inexpensive (less than $40 I think). They always include new features and those features are usually a result of users' requests.

 

- Finally, the notes, tabbed windows, reference lists, and highlights have become another helpful resource for me.

 

On the negative side...

 

- There will be a learning curve (as Brent mentioned). He's right, try the training DVD.

 

- You'll probably spend more.

 

- The 'User Tool' feature is only marginally functional (at least in my opinion).

 

- The module update method isn't quite there yet. It is much better with AccUpdater but still needs some work. It works for many modules but most modules still require you to purchase a CD with the updated resource (usually $10).

 

Finally, I'd highly recommend chatting with someone at Oaktree (probably Helen) before you purchase. They can often help you determine what will be the right package for your needs and help you get the most bang for your buck. Hope this is helpful..

 

Peace,

 

Jeremy

[techmate]

Thanks Jeremy. Im going to read up some more right now. The more Im reading from people Im getting the same impression as you stated, that Accordance seems to be in the middle ground between logos and bible works.