A Retro Review: John G. Fidel's Accordance 25 Story

I used to be a reviewer for Bible Software. In December 2006, I wrote my first Accordance review published on the  Bible Software Review website (Rubén Gómez’s former site). I was a Windows PC user and had no experience at all with Macs. As a result, my first experience with Accordance was using the Mac emulator on a PC. It emulated Mac OS System 7, it believe. I had read and heard so many great things about Accordance I had to try if for myself.

Here is a screenshot on my old Dell Inspiron that I fired up the other day:

And here are my concluding remarks from my December 26, 2006 review

Here are a few of the areas that Accordance excels at:

1. Searching. All the windows in Accordance are search based in design. They are consistent from window to window, text-to-text and tool-to-tool, which makes things easy to use. While it took some effort to learn how to use the software, experiencing the enjoyment that so often is expressed by most users of this program has been the reward. The Accordance Blog here has a good article on the learning curve. I would agree that the learning curve is not steep, there is just a lot to learn.

2. Search Construction Boxes. For Windows users this would be comparable to a Graphical Search or Query. The search construction boxes are very simple yet powerful. There are some good examples of this feature on the Accordance Blog.

3. Atlas and Timelines. These modules are very interactive, fun to use, yet appropriate for Biblical studies. Windows users will miss out on some of the more advanced features of the maps. Even so, the module is very well done.

4. Design and efficiency. Every review I read discussed the superior design and efficiency in how Accordance integrates the Biblical texts with the tools. I found the program elegant and a joy to use.

5. Customer service and product development. A review of the forums and user websites will show that the company has a passionate and loyal customer base. This is well deserved. I also noted that many of the suggestions being made by users on the forums were implemented in the latest upgrade. Clearly the company has customer satisfaction in mind.

I switched to Mac in 2008 and received an e mail from Helen welcoming me “from the dark side.” My concluding remarks still remain true: Accordance remains a very elegant product to use.

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John G. Fidel is a CPA with Fidel, Perner & Michnovicz, LLC in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has also served as a lay leader in various capacities over the years at Calvary Chapel Albuquerque.

Although Accordance was only available on Macintosh computers when John wrote his review in 2006, it is now available not only for macOS but also Windows, Android, and iOS/iPadOS.