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Using Commentaries Electronically


ian.kissell

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Not having support would not be a good thing but you would continue to own the resources, and be able to use them. Just when OS 10.9 Calico comes out it may no longer function properly, although it is program so well I think the OS updates break very little, in Accordance. Also depends on what happens if Accordance went under a company might buy up the rights and rename it, ie: Wordsearch Mac (yes i realize Wordsearch mac is sort of a real program already, but it;s just basically the windows version running in an xwind environment. I don't think anyone wants to consider that fate and unless you know something I don't I hope Accordance is on healthy ground.

 

-dan

 

 

The issue of resource preservation over time is a major issue that has been discussed at length elsewhere (maybe here, i don't know). I remember reading something linked from the Bibleworks site that talked about the inherent difficulties in all of this. The reality is, at some point, it will likely be unsupported. This is life in the digital world. Now, Accordance may last a millennia and over updates and upgrades, but at some point, it's bound to happen. If I can find the link to the great article I read before (I think from the Library of Congress), I'll post it here for those who are interested.

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The issue of resource preservation over time is a major issue that has been discussed at length elsewhere (maybe here, i don't know). I remember reading something linked from the Bibleworks site that talked about the inherent difficulties in all of this. The reality is, at some point, it will likely be unsupported. This is life in the digital world. Now, Accordance may last a millennia and over updates and upgrades, but at some point, it's bound to happen. If I can find the link to the great article I read before (I think from the Library of Congress), I'll post it here for those who are interested.

 

Here is the link from their products page to the Digital Ice Age article you are looking for. I personally do not agree with their concerns or philosophy regarding digital books.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/4201645

 

I am a bit uncomfortable discussing another software company on the Accordance forum.

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Here is the link from their products page to the Digital Ice Age article you are looking for. I personally do not agree with their concerns or philosophy regarding digital books.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/news/4201645

 

I know I am pretty heavily invested in Accordance, especially now that I work for the company, but I don't see any danger of them going under. This company has been here for 15 years and has shown consistent improvements and incredible commitment to the Mac platform. In the same period, music publishers have gone from cassettes, to CDs, [now] to electronic downloads (.mp3). Movies have changed formats from VHS, to DVD and now [either] BlueRay or electronic downloads. Seems like I keep buying the same content in different formats. I also keep wearing out the formats I have bought.

 

As far as books, even my softcover commentaries have worn out in the same period of time

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In all this time [15 years], I have never had to repurchase an electronic book from Accordance. Each resource just keeps working, though the platform has shown continued improvement. I am confident these resources will outlast me.

 

Nor have I although occasionally something gets duplicated if I upgrade. And yes orphan software can be worrisome... I have sheep shaver running because I like my New Oxford Biblical Reference Library. So you see old does not mean dead, it just means you must be a little creative to run it. I would never give up my New Interpreter's resources wither even though it means running xp (7 would work but why bother) in parallels. There are no guarantees in life but then as TJ said rats might eat the books.. There might be a fire. Too often Christians forget that in the end everything is destroyed. that being said i want to caveat that statement reminding all we are to steward the earth not destroy it, but that being said one day, probably sooner than later all we have will be gone, either lost to time, lost in God's recreation. What is important will last the ages as it always have, as for the rest, it is like the great scholar Aquinas, whose vision of God left him unable to write, all his great works he saw as straw.

 

-Dan

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  • 1 year later...

The article below is a few months old, but I figured that it's relevant to the even older thread above. ;)

 

How the Physical Form of a Bible Shapes Us

Will the digital Scriptures speed the decline of family spirituality once fostered by family Bibles?

Edited by Chuck Schneider
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Interesting little article you might find interesting.

 

http://www.roughtype...her_study_p.php

 

Thoughts?

 

The article is interesting. The device probably is important. My wife uses computers sparingly and is a voracious reader. About a year ago she asked for a Kindle and she loves it. Some books she still gets in print (and marks them up), but she has reading at least half of her books electronically. She uses it so much, I will probably have to get my own Kindle if I want to read on one. I did read one of her books on the Kindle, and it was pleasant.

 

Lengthy reading on the computer is not always easy, but I find that academic articles are fine on a computer. Reading on the iPad is more pleasant. For finding something quickly, the electronic text cannot be beat, especially as a module in the powerful Accordance program.

 

The article you cite is more scientific, yet it is interesting that while printed books "win," a substantial minority in all groups (undergrad, grad, faculty) prefer the e text. With time the numbers may change.

 

Thanks for sharing!

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Originally, I would have been pretty squarely in the print camp. Long term that seemed a better solution than e-texts. In the last 6 months I have been slowly turning from that. The reason? Flat simple. I find myself reading more and longer with etexts. Also, it is a whole bunch easier to find any markup I make in an etext.

 

My biggest concern was the long term viability of whatever etext format I would be using versus the longevity of a printed book. In the long run though, portability and usability has won me over. My current purchasing focus is etext first and print only if necessary or critically important. If I deem something important enough to have the print version, I will probably get the etext of that title eventually too.

 

I am banking on Accordance being around for quite some time. It seems a fairly safe wager to me. :)

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My biggest concern was the long term viability of whatever etext format I would be using versus the longevity of a printed book. In the long run though, portability and usability has won me over.

 

My thoughts exactly. I prefer reading print books, but Accordance on a Mac or iOS device is simply more accessible. Even if one considers ebooks riskier, a "risky" format that is always available and faster to use (ie. less time flipping pages) offers more value to me than a "safer" format that I use less because it takes more time or is stuck on a shelf somewhere.

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...it is a whole bunch easier to find any markup I make in an etext.

 

 

Whenever I get done reading a print book it has a good number of sticky tabs extending from it. These tabs are marking things I will come back to and write about or add to my topical reference file for later use. What is your markup workflow in your e-reader; with Accordance, Kindle or whatever you may use?

 

Anyone feel free to comment.

 

Thanks!

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Let's not forget that this whole discussion began when computer monitors were considerable less readable than they are today. I saw an iPad 3 a couple of weeks ago. The quality of its display blew me away. It is ever-so-much-more readable than an average book. That's without considering its resizable fonts and backlighting or its ability to change the font color and page background to a user's preferences. I can use the same Accordance module on my iPhone, my iPad, and my Mac—eliminating the need for multiple copies of the same reference work so I have have one in my home and another in my office. When it comes to Bibles, I no longer need three different sizes of the same translation for different situations.

 

E-readers and e-texts are here to stay. The devices themselves seem to have a long life cycle—and can be solar powered if necessary. Texts can be archived and restored or downloaded again at will—and moved from device to device. It's akin to the transition from scrolls to books, easily as big a revolution as the invention of moveable type.

 

Nor are these gains limited to the "first" world. Developing countries have leapfrogged wired communications for cellular "smart phones." It's not unusual to see a man driving an oxcart in rural India, talking on his smart phone.

 

OK, I'll shut up. I am obviously a believer. ;-)

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To follow up on what some have already said here, is the text/book you are reading more reference or just simply reading material? Some commentaries are more practical and not as much exegetical. If so, the hard-text might be better suited. But if you're going to be comparing the commentary constantly and continually with the greek or hebrew, It's hard to beat having Accordance.

 

But even if all you're doing is reading, it looks good on the iOS app. I read through a book on my iPhone a while back and it worked fine (just imagine how much better it would have looked on an iPad). It would be better to have a forced book-marking option. But it was ok. Particularly, the scrolling option (instead of the flipping) option was quite useful.

 

I agree though, that there are times it's nice to have the paper copy. I highlight and take margin notes all the time in the books i read. Since one can only take notes in texts in Accordance (and not in tools and user tools), this limits its usefulness.

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I have a question, probably stupid but, it is my question: As one of those who has been burned by a Biblical Software company falling apart, my question is this: Is there a way to own our Titles and then move them where we need to go with the software.

I understand tagging issues in relation to particular software, to some extent.

However, I don't understand having to "re-buy" my titles every time a company fails or, Operating systems change radically.

 

I also do not understand why some companies get Titles that other companies cannot ( does not seem very Christian minded to me, seems like secular business and secular business only).

I am having to use some software that I literally hate, simply because of the resources not being available elsewhere and, I have resources in an old program, already purchased, that I cannot use in any Mac Program.

I hate duplicating resources so many times, I have spent a lot of money over the years and, sadly, the only "constant" I have is my "real book" library, which, in this day and age, is very slow-smile.

 

Is there an answer to these questions? Could there be a standard format so if a person changed Software, they could pay a fee and relocate their library?

How do we protect ourselves from losing our investments?

I know Accordance is not the norm and is very stable ( wish I had everything in Accordance), but over=all, is there some standard coming, is there some way to help get things changed, make all resources avail be to all etc?

 

Thanks

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Rusty:

 

This has of course been discussed over the years. A common format was promoted 15 years ago, but never took off because the existing companies already had complex proprietary formats to which they were committed. The option of users importing the formats of other software has also been reviewed, but the publishers among others would object to the loss of revenue entailed. The best option is for publishers to agree to crossgrades: lower prices with lower royalties for users who retain the same content on another software platform. Sadly, only a few publishers are willing to allow this, and I encourage users to request this from publishers with whom they have contact.

 

May I point out that if you buy a new edition of a print book, you pay full price again. If your book is lost, stolen, or destroyed, you pay full price to replace it. Thus print copies may not last for ever, either. However, it is true that they are not dependent on software or hardware compatibility, and are easier to sell or give away.

 

The entire print publishing industry is struggling to deal with the revolution caused by electronic publishing. All of us want to stay in business in order to continue to serve our customers the best we can, but the future of the industry is evolving and uncertain.

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Dear Helen: Thanks for filling in the blanks.

Not what I wanted to hear of course-smile- But thank you for the info.

 

I guess the other part I really don't understand is from a marketing perspective: I don't understand why Publishers don't make their texts available to all the software companies, this, to me, would often give them an opportunity for a wider customer base.

I "think" what happens is some companies get exclusive rights, at least for some period of time and, I suppose there are good resins for it that are way above my pay grade.

 

The difficulty for the consumer is that we have to invest in different platforms in order to get the resources we need.

With books, we may shop at different stores, but we don't have to but the store nor invest in it heavily.

 

As you say, it's a field that is changing rapidly, even more so after the iPhone /IPad , EReader explosion.

However, to some extent it does seem like the Biblical world of this is more territorial than other books/platforms.

 

At any rate, thanks for the info.

 

Blessings.

Edited by Fr. Rusty
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Publishers often do not have etexts for older works. If a company invests huge amounts in creating an etext, they may be justified in requesting exclusive rights to it for a period. However, we certainly do not require exclusive rights for ever on any materials we license from publishers.

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Understood ( I think Accordance is a bit less secular in thinking than some, understand it is a business, but you folks to seem to set a different standard than some I have experienced- thats a compliment by the way-smile)

 

Back to the thread: I have a fairly large Library, takes up one entire room.

To move it takes many, many boxes and either a large box truck or a lot of room in a semi if I were moving across state.

The cost to move a physical library is high.

Yet, the same library takes up a small about of space on a computer, has no real physical weight, goes with you anywhere, and, most importantly, is searchable in many, many different ways, not to mention the ability to copy and paste, list references, show though slideshows , other screens etc. when teaching.

One just has a great deal more control and flexibility with digital than one does with hard copy books.

Thus, digital and the software to use it is really less expensive over time than hardcopy in many more ways than just the initial cost, it is more flexible and allows one many more opportunities to use their library in creative ways while allowing the ability to have good workflow at times and in places one would not have with physical books.

 

I still use my physical books and don't believe I will ever part with my Reference materials and older books.

Yet, most of my actual work and research/study is done with Software.

Still love to sit back with a good book as well though.

 

Hope that helps, just remember, the more physical books you own, the harder and more expensive it is to house them, move them and, if you have enough, keeping a room conditioned to care for them becomes an issue as well.

 

Blessings all.

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I never used my physical library as consistently and extensively as I do my digital library. With a full-time job, and a family, the idea of digging deeper into the Bible frequently got a lower priority. That has completely changed for me with Accordance. I quickly check or read up on relevant materials from much of my library throughout each week as I work my way through a daily Bible study schedule.

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Initially I had a hard time with the idea of primarily using digital commentaries. And in some rare cases, I do prefer reading from dead trees if it means consuming text at length.

 

But in this last year (and in part with the help of owning an iPad), my bias has changed greatly. The more I use digital commentaries (or digital texts in general and used in particular in Accordance), the more I realize the benefit and power this approach offers my workflow and study method.

 

I believe it is just a matter of habit and shifting to digital is the way I would counsel anyone to go. Unless there is a physical reason not to, such as the inability to read off a backlit screen. Otherwise, having the portability and search-ability at all times is priceless!

 

Using paper commentaries (which I still do as many of my books are not out in digital format) offers me no benefits over digital, while digital offers me everything paper can give and much more. In fact (for me personally) using both every week has only clarified the benefit of digital.

Edited by Mark Nigro
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