Logos 4 via a Web Browser: Yet Another Beta

If you visit http://library.logos.com on your mobile web browser (via a phone) you'll get access to our beta mobile web access.

Visit http://library.logos.com/?beta=true and you can access your library via a desktop browser. And this should look a lot more like the software.

This is "very beta", and there are lots of known issues, but we're interested in hearing your thoughts on what it is, and what it should become.

Thanks!

-- Bob

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Comments

DominicM

love the simplicity (desktop version) think you are headed in right direction

Todd Phillips

I do like it. Especially the window management. It shows me how many resources are still unavailable on the mobile side of things, though. I went looking for a one-volume whole bible commentary, and the only one I could find was JFB.

I tried a bible search and it was fast, but the results were from the HCSB, which is not in my top bibles, and Luther's Works was one of the collections available for the bible search. I guess there's much work to be done.

Keep up the good work!

Terry Poperszky

If you visit http://library.logos.com on your mobile web browser (via a phone) you'll get access to our beta mobile web access.

Visit http://library.logos.com/?beta=true and you can access your library via a desktop browser. And this should look a lot more like the software.

This is "very beta", and there are lots of known issues, but we're interested in hearing your thoughts on what it is, and what it should become.

Thanks!

-- Bob

Bob, this is the way it is supposed to be! Love the concept, can't wait to see the implementation. Now all we need to do is add Google Gears for offline access.

Brian Huddleston

I like the windows management too...it's great to be able to move tabs around within a browser. Very impressive for being "very beta." Search results were returned very quickly.

John Fugh, Jr.

Looks great. I tried in Firefox 3.5.7 and it did not work. It works in Internet Explorer.

Also, this is not our complete library - it seems to be the same library released to iPhone, right?

Blessings-

John

Todd Phillips

I tried in Firefox 3.5.7 and it did not work.

It's working in my 3.5.7 FF.

Jacob Hantla

Very cool.

My thoughts for the web version is that it would be that it would be accessed in any one of three scenarios and should have those aims in mind:

Public Web Portal: When away from home (like at a library or office computer), this is a perfect solution to being able to access Logos. Many times these portals will not be top of the line computers and sometimes are constrained to running older-generation web browsers because IT hasn't gotten around to updating them. So keep in mind old computers and mildly limited browser capabilities.
Quick Access: If I'm writing an email and want to look something up real quick I often bypass the Logos4 app and just open my web browser to a quick-loading Bible. This will likely be many people's primary use for this; and therefore speed and quick navigation to a basic Bible should be kept in mind.
Old-computers/Terminal-like Netbooks: On older/slower computers at home that can't handle Logos4 (or where we can't afford all the hard-drive space), I could see the web-interface becoming a primary means to accessing my digital library. For example, my netbook handles Logos4 well, but start up time is slow, indexing is brutal, and running reports is painful and often temporarily hangs the computer. If the library.logos.com for pc becomes relatively full featured for basic use (Reports, note taking, highlighting, syncs to my desktop stuff, & more books available) I could see it being my primarily Logos on a netbook.

I'm excited to beta-test it. Let us know when you actually want us to start submitting bug-reports (or provide a known issues list so we can provide you with unknown issues).

Thanks for always striving to make our library more useful and therefore more valuable to us.

Seems to work within Google chrome.

Bryan Smith

I tried in Firefox 3.5.7 and it did not work.

What didn't work for you? It appears to be working ok for me in FF 3.5.7.

Also, this is not our complete library - it seems to be the same library released to iPhone, right?

Correct. Library.logos.com (both mobile and standard versions) and the iphone share the same resource permissions. As we work with publishers you will see resources become available in all 3 places.

Ron Barry

Did a bible search which brought up several verses, clicked on the verse link and it opens a file dialogue box with options to "Find" "Save" or "Cancel". I know it's beta - but for now - clicking a link to a verse within a search doesn't open a bible to the verse selected.
Selecting a verse link within a resource (i.e. Yale Dictionary) opened a bible to the referenced verse.

Peter Venable

When I do a Bible search, it comes up with a list of hits as expected (all from the NLT, by the way), but when I click on the link for a search hit it fails to open the selected passage. Instead it tries to download a file with a name like LLS$1.0.171. I'm using Firefox 3.5.7.

Ron Barry

Anyone try accessing via a Kindle? How does it appear?

Kevin Becker

Looks awesome! Love how the interface mimics the L4 software.

Jacob Hantla

When I do a Bible search, it comes up with a list of hits as expected (all from the NLT, by the way), but when I click on the link for a search hit it fails to open the selected passage. Instead it tries to download a file with a name like LLS$1.0.171. I'm using Firefox 3.5.7.

I do not have that behavior in chrome. I have it open that verse in my preferred Bible (ESV) in another panel like Logos4 does.

I love the approach of "emulating"/mimicking Logos4

Blair Laird

If you visit http://library.logos.com on your mobile web browser (via a phone) you'll get access to our beta mobile web access.

Visit http://library.logos.com/?beta=true and you can access your library via a desktop browser. And this should look a lot more like the software.

This is "very beta", and there are lots of known issues, but we're interested in hearing your thoughts on what it is, and what it should become.

Thanks!

-- Bob

THAT IS AMAZING !

Blair Laird

If you visit http://library.logos.com on your mobile web browser (via a phone) you'll get access to our beta mobile web access.

Visit http://library.logos.com/?beta=true and you can access your library via a desktop browser. And this should look a lot more like the software.

This is "very beta", and there are lots of known issues, but we're interested in hearing your thoughts on what it is, and what it should become.

Thanks!

-- Bob

The homepage button does not seem to work on any of the browsers I am using. Mozilla, Opera, Ie, and flock

Bryan Smith

The homepage button does not seem to work

There is no home page yet

It's just a placeholder for now.

SteveF

access your library via a desktop browser.

I do not have one of the "special" phones, but (even with slow codes) this is very interesting!

Thanks so much for the look (and tryout).

Blair Laird

Thanks.. When I click my library tab, my library stays open even if I click off. It also does not continue to load my books unless I keep scrolling down. If I dont scroll down it just stays there and does not load more books.

Blair Laird

The homepage button does not seem to work

There is no home page yet

It's just a placeholder for now.

Ok, so how long does it take to load my library ? I am missing my theology bundle collection and my apologetics collection. I typed in Norman Geisler and nothing showed up .

Bryan Smith

Thanks.. When I click my library tab, my library stays open even if I click off.

It's just a toggle button for now. You'll have to click the tab again to close it (or open one of the resources).

It also does not continue to load my books unless I keep scrolling down. If I dont scroll down it just stays there and does not load more books.

That's the correct behavior. If we try to load your entire library at once it will take a long time to load & you'll waste bandwidth downloading tons of cover images. Typing into the filter list still filters your entire library, not just what's loaded.

Anthony Etienne

Looks like a possible Linux solution, or better characterized as a OS agnostic Logos 4 browser based solution. [;)]

Russ Quinn

Pretty awesome!

Note to self: take web based alternative off of what Logos should do with $1-10 million list.

Tim Lord

Over time, web access to one's library should become more and more like what we have in the desktop version (as far as featuires and capabilities go). A good analogy to the Logos 4 situation is the Outlook e-mail client for Exchange server access (such as in large companies). Exchange server e-mail users who traveled clamored for a more portable solution for access to e-mail, especially for those situations where they did not have access to their desktop Outlook client. To respond to that, Microsoft came out with web access to Exchange e-mail via their "OWA" (Outlook Web Access) solution. It was crude at first, you could not access your Outlook Calendar, for example. But over the years, Microsoft improved the richness of OWA to the point today where most OWA users are very happy with it, and many Exchange server e-mail users exclusively use OWA for access to their Exchange e-mail. I think Logos is heading in the right direction to do this. I can think of people right now who don't need anything more than web browser access to Logos resources, for whom a desktop Logos client is cumbersome to install, configure, backup, etc., and just one more thing to have to deal with when buying a new computer or dealing with downloads and licenses, etc. At the same time, many of us rely heavily on our Logos 4 desktop client, and we see web access as supplemental, not primary. For those of us like that, we want to see the desktop client and other solutions, such as web access, remain as parallel solutions, and not a case where one day web access replaces desktop client access.

NetworkGeek

I just hope the desktop client never goes away. As good as OWA is, for power email users who wish to control their own operating environment, it can't do what the desktop client does. Tim explained beautifully the dual-roles of web/desktop versions, I hope Logos never sees one version doing the job of both types of users.

Bryan Smith

For those of you who use the mobile version of Library, you will need to visit

http://library.logos.com?beta=false

In order to access the mobile version of the site again, otherwise you will probably get an unhelpful error.

Ward Walker

Wow...this is really cool.

I'd tried to use the cell version on my work PC, but wasn't enamored with that experience...this one shows a lot more promise. I hope it continues; I'd plan to use it while on trips.

Hopefully if I use it from a hotel (public use) PC it won't leave my account data behind. Logos for netbooks ;-)

TCBlack

Wow! This is great so far for being very beta. I truly can't wait to see what develops here. This may solve my dilema. I've been wanting a notebook for the rare times when I want or need to be portable but I don't want to fork over the money to buy a powerful notebook for L4. This might just be an answer enabling "study light" on a cheap notebook with any power study happening on my desktop.

Assuming: Notes, highlighting, etc will sync with it in the future.

Michael Birney

Worked in firefox for me, but is totally non-functional in chrome.

On my blackberry when I try to sign in, it signs me in but takes me to logos.com, not library.logos.com. When I go back to library.logos.com I am not signed in, and the whole process repeats itself.

Edit: missed the "?beta=false" that goes at the end of library.logos.com. When I did that it worked fine on my blackberry.

Edit 2: Chrome is somewhat functional, at first I could not open a book, then I could, but often I had to click the book 4 or 5 times to finally get it to open, it is not this way at all in firefox.

I tried in Firefox 3.5.7 and it did not work.

It's working in my 3.5.7 FF.

Matthew Godwin

Just fantastic - thanks!

Steve M.

Wow, I am very impressed with this. I was shocked how smoothly it does what it does - the library list and tab behavior. It also scrolls very smoothly through resources, downloading only what it needs (much more smoothly, in fact, than my regular L4 install which, despite contacting support, still crashes every time I try to use it!).

I use the mobile version fairly frequently on a smartphone, and I see this desktop web version also being very useful, especially if some of the guides are implemented and the word study functionality is carried over from the mobile version (can't find a way to lookup a Greek word yet). I like it for the same reason I like gmail - I can access the same (quality) functionality from anywhere without the needing to take my own computer everywhere or have fairly advanced hardware.

You may already be aware of these, but here are a couple of problems/limitations I noticed:

In Google Chrome, when I do a Bible search and click on the link to open the resulting references, it tries to download a file (like "LLS$1.0.1026") instead of opening the resource. It works fine in IE.

Also, I notice that there is currently no way to view full footnotes when the note is longer than will fit in the tooltip. For instance, viewing the NET Bible on the mobile version gives the full notes at the bottom of the page, but on the beta desktop web version there is no "bottom of the page" (since it just scrolls later in the surface text).

Again, I'm very impressed both with this app and with the general pace at which Logos is developing helpful new tools on the desktop, mobile, and web fronts. Thanks!

Timothy J. Minter

I like this. Being an attorney, it reminds me very much of Lexis-Nexis or Westlaw, both of which I rely on very heavily.

J.R. Miller

very nice!

Friedrich

great to see the text comparison!

4 panes are enough for now. Nice to have this option. Sry if I missed it, but notes/syncing--will that feature be in the works?

Curious: what is the drive behind this innovation? Just that you can? Is it an outgrowth of mobile device accessibility work? Worried we won't have our laptop but need to work on Logos? Making it easier for missionaries who can't download a lot, but who can read via the internet?

Wow, very nice work!

It also works well with the Chinese Bible. Thanks!!

Bryan Smith

notes/syncing--will that feature be in the works?

Some of the basic settings like resource positions are already syncing from L4 to the web. Syncing in the other direction is implemented, but disabled until some of the code stabilizes a bit. Notes: we'll probably add it eventually, but there are more important things we have to get done first.

Curious: what is the drive behind this innovation?

Bob can probably answer this a lot better than I, but I think there are a few big use cases. L4 is fairly resource intensive, and doesn't run well on older machines and low power machines like netbooks. This will provide a light weight solution for accessing your library. It's also a quick & easy way to access your library while you're not home.

Amy Leung

Wow, thanks a lot!!! I can now access L4 on my office computer! Thanks for making things available! [:D]

I have a couple little requests though. At the moment the Hebrew text of BHS is very cramped with overlapping lines on both IE and Firefox it is very hard to read (there're many squares for Hebrew in Chrome so I'm not using Chrome but that's alright). I wonder if we could have less crowding of the lines for the Hebrew text? Also if the panels could be synced to each other as we scroll it would be awesome!

I'd like to thank you all again, your work is a blessing to many people! [:)]

Bryan Smith

At the moment the Hebrew text of BHS is very cramped with overlapping lines on both IE and Firefox it is very hard to read

Thanks for pointing that out, Amy. I should be able to address it in the next update.

Icarus38376

Must have "Daily Bible Reading" schedule implemented (and in sync with base computer). I find that when I am on the road, I would like to have a web based application that at least tells me where I am in my reading. I can always open a paper bible, but I seem to always loose track of my reading fo r the day. This seems like an obvious place to place it.

Ray Timmermans

Bob,

I will probably use this version more than Logos 4...MUCH FASTER and the vertical scroll bar actually works with Google Chrome...but the resources appear limited.

Friedrich

Bob,

I will probably use this version more than Logos 4...MUCH FASTER and the vertical scroll bar actually works with Google Chrome...but the resources appear limited.

by vertical scroll, do you mean your synaptics touch pad won't work in L4? If so, there is a Windows update for that, and mine has been working for a week or two now.

Michael Birney

I've kind of ignored library.logos.com for awhile, it was fine but didn't really wow me, and not all that necessary for me (I thought). Today, just reading the last few posts, I surfed on over and .... WOW!

Not all the guides or tools are there yet, but the passage guide worked great for me, the columns worked well, and I did some word studies also.

If this is where L4 in the cloud is headed I'm all in.

Bryan Smith

Sorry if this disappoints anyone, but library.logos.com was a bit of a back-burner experiment. We plan to leave the site up for the foreseeable future, but we are no longer actively developing it.

We made the decision to go with a simpler interface for web access to resources, and http://biblia.com/ is partially the result of that decision. All of the same resources (plus a few more) are available on Biblia. Some of the features of library.logos.com have also been carried over, and we'll continue adding features that are useful on the web.