Encyclopedia Britannica Update
Comments
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It's working for me now.
This is my personal Faithlife account. On 1 March 2022, I started working for Faithlife, and have a new 'official' user account. Posts on this account shouldn't be taken as official Faithlife views!
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Danny Parker said:
I am curious if there is a distinguishing trait of the articles left out, very long articles, specific types of articles, copywrite issues with some of the articles, etc. Without asking you to be dogmatic, it would help to have a sense of what caused some of the articles to be eliminated. That would also set some type of expectation as well.
Another good question.
The short answer is that there are a number of articles that Britannica generally doesn't license out (which I think is around 3,000 of the 83k articles in the EB). As we discussed with them the confusion and disappointment our customers experienced after we shipped the first Britannica product, they graciously offered to let us pick a portion of the articles out of that exclusive bunch that would be important or relevant to our audience.
Senior Director, Content Products
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Ben Amundgaard said:
I'm glad everything looks fine on the site. We did all the testing we could here and everything was showing up as it should. I'm guessing it just took a while to push through to all the sites
My page now also sees the greyed out pre-order button with a $199.99 price.
Win 7, Chrome
Logos 7 Collectors Edition
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I noticed that it lists as being gathering interest. Does that mean it isn't being worked on???
-Dan
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Ben,
Thanks for the quick and thorough response. Satisfies me.
Danny
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I must say, it looks pretty good. Had its contents been that clear originally, I would've been in on it then. Instead, I'll redirect my funds to optionals like food and such.
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Ben,
Ben Amundgaard said:The new Encyclopedia Britannica collection PDP is now up. https://www.logos.com/product/55228/encyclopaedia-britannica-collection
Thanks for the update!
Thank you FL for the updated PDP for the EB!0 -
Ben Amundgaard said:Danny Parker said:
I am curious if there is a distinguishing trait of the articles left out, very long articles, specific types of articles, copywrite issues with some of the articles, etc. Without asking you to be dogmatic, it would help to have a sense of what caused some of the articles to be eliminated. That would also set some type of expectation as well.
Another good question.
The short answer is that there are a number of articles that Britannica generally doesn't license out (which I think is around 3,000 of the 83k articles in the EB). As we discussed with them the confusion and disappointment our customers experienced after we shipped the first Britannica product, they graciously offered to let us pick a portion of the articles out of that exclusive bunch that would be important or relevant to our audience.
That is really good to hear! Thanks for the update!
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Ben,
i have a question.
The new EBNE (Compton's shows that there will be 5,000+ media). According to L6's search results there is currently only about half that many. Is the newly advertised media count for Compton's to be accomplished in a future update?
i am running: Logos Bible Software 6.7 6.7.0.0036
and i allowed L6 to do all the current resource updates & index.After the above download & index, i ran the following searches for EBNE & EBNE Media
Which shows media totals to be:
Images = 2234
Audio = 27
Videos = 249
Total = 2510Edit:
EBNE version info: LLS:COMPTONSENCY 2015-10-12T16:46:08Z
EBNE Media version info: LLS:COMPTONSENCYMEDIA 2015-10-12T16:00:53Z0 -
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your question! Yes, additional media files will be added to Compton’s during a future update.
Thanks,
Francesca
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Dan Francis said:
I noticed that it lists as being gathering interest. Does that mean it isn't being worked on???
-Dan
Hi Dan,
Thanks for asking about this. The Encyclopaedia Britannica Collection is being worked on. [:)]
Thanks,
Francesca
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[Y]
Faithlife Connect + several Base Packages + Luther's Works, etc.
Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 260, Win 10 Pro, Intel Core i7-6500U, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel HD Graphics 520.
iPhone 11.0 -
If I can get it for $99 bucks I'll jump in; especially now that I have to be selective on my purchases now that payment plans have changed a little. Pretty please :-D
DAL
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any update?
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Ben Amundgaard said:
I just wanted to give a quick update on the progress of the Encyclopedia Britannica project.
Any news on it's release??? A candlemas present???
-Dan
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Dan Francis said:
Any news on it's release??? A candlemas present???
I'd love to have it by Feb. 2, alas, I think it will be a bit longer. We're still working on it, I'll let you know as soon as I have a firmish date.
Senior Director, Content Products
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Ben Amundgaard said:
I think it will be a bit longer. We're still working on it,
Just curious, How many of the 60 laid off workers were assigned to the production of Britannica?
Logos 7 Collectors Edition
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Ouch!
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I am not seeing A price of $199, which is not the original $100 bid a couple years ago.
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Gary Butner said:
I am not seeing A price of $199, which is not the original $100 bid a couple years ago.
Hi Gary,
Could you clarify your question for me. Do you mean you don't see the $99 pre-order on your account or that you don't see $99 on the product page? If it's the latter that's correct. The $99 pre-order was a one-time promotional offer for the first few days it was available.
Senior Director, Content Products
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Gary Butner said:
I am not seeing A price of $199, which is not the original $100 bid a couple years ago.
See here but different from what is being discussed https://www.logos.com/product/33266/encyclopedia-britannica
New product, more recent, what is being discussed https://www.logos.com/product/55228/encyclopaedia-britannica-collection
Dell, studio XPS 7100, Ram 8GB, 64 - bit Operating System, AMD Phenom(mt) IIX6 1055T Processor 2.80 GHZ
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Hi Ben any more news on the The Encyclopaedia Britannica Collection? .. cheers sorry if this is a hassle .. blessings John
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Hi John,
Thanks for checking in. No hassle at all!
I wish I had something to say other than that we are still working on it :S. I can say that it is being worked on ... it's not lost
Thanks,
Ben
Senior Director, Content Products
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Ben Amundgaard said:
No hassle at all!
I wish I had something to say other than that we are still working on it :S. I can say that it is being worked on ... it's not lost Come on Ben, you can't keep people happy with smileys! We do vividly remember last year's soap, we were greatly disappointed with what got delivered, and we were told that things would hopefully be rectified before the end the year. We are almost into April, and if all that you can say is that it is being worked on, I have really lost my confidence in this project. I will request a refund, because I find this more than annoying when you have already taken my $99 and keep coming up with these silly responses.
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What % of the Encylopedia Britannica has been completed and converted to Logos format?
What effort (number of days (months?) work) is required to complete the project?
What is the projected completion date based on the available resources and the amount of effort required to complete the project?
Are there other factors other than the amount of effort needed to complete the project and the amount of available resource that are causing the project end-date to be unknown?
Jim
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I think Logos made a (second) mistake not immediately refunding everyone's money when it became apparent that they were shipping the wrong project. People would be a lot less miffed if they didn't already have $100 invested in a project with no release date in sight.
My suggestion would be to ask for a refund and completely forget about the whole thing. Then when it does eventually come back some day, you can contact support and they'll re-institute your initial purchase price ($99 in my case).
I decided there was no point in losing any sleep about the (non) progress of the EBNE, and my life has been better for it. I've got enough to read.
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Given how much time has passed since the original "ship" date, I'm with Jim Snowden. It would be wonderful to get a more detailed update on the progress of this project beyond a simple "We're working on it." I think this would help set realistic expectations among those of us who have been waiting for the EB to be completed.
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Yes we need to keep the pressure on FL on this one.. This has been an epic disaster..
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I'm going to do all I can do today to give you any more specifics I can get. For the time being, let me just give a couple quick responses:
André Kamphuis said:Come on Ben, you can't keep people happy with smileys!
I certainly wasn't trying to pacify anyone. FWIW, I try to intersperse my comments with smileys or other emoticons as a replacement (however imperfect) for body language. There have been so many times that I've completely misread someone's comments as negative because I couldn't see the expression on their face or hear the tone in their voice. I'm trying to make sure that I don't come across that way.
Jim Snowden said:What % of the Encylopedia Britannica has been completed and converted to Logos format?
What effort (number of days (months?) work) is required to complete the project?
What is the projected completion date based on the available resources and the amount of effort required to complete the project?
Are there other factors other than the amount of effort needed to complete the project and the amount of available resource that are causing the project end-date to be unknown?
Jim
This resource is unlike almost anything else we've ever built. As such, it has presented a number of challenges that we couldn't have anticipated. We are very wary of giving a new date because we've already made the mistake of giving an incorrect date. Because of these two factors, I really don't have the information at hand to answer these questions with any information that would be helpful.
Greg F said:I think Logos made a (second) mistake not immediately refunding everyone's money when it became apparent that they were shipping the wrong project. People would be a lot less miffed if they didn't already have $100 invested in a project with no release date in sight.
My suggestion would be to ask for a refund and completely forget about the whole thing. Then when it does eventually come back some day, you can contact support and they'll re-institute your initial purchase price ($99 in my case).
I decided there was no point in losing any sleep about the (non) progress of the EBNE, and my life has been better for it. I've got enough to read.
Anyone is more than welcome to return the product at any time for a full refund.
Paul Yeager said:I think this would help set realistic expectations among those of us who have been waiting for the EB to be completed.
We are really trying to avoid further (third and fourth?) mistakes by rushing this project forward and shipping another sub par version. We are also trying to avoid giving another potential completion date given that our initial estimate was off.
Travis Walter said:. This has been an epic disaster.
You're right. And we really want to learn from it. As I said, this product is unlike almost anything we've done before and has presented a number of new challenges. We made some major mistakes and we are trying to learn all we can so that don't repeat them in this particular instance and so that we make fewer mistakes on future projects.
Senior Director, Content Products
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Thanks for the update, Ben. The quality of the final product is most important!
http://www.TrinityExamined.com
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Thanks, Ben.
Looking forward to the updated product.
[:)]
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Hi to All at Logos USA:
I have been dealing with Logos for approx 20 odd years the staff I know are the best in the field the owners are VERY good people
I have nothing but high praise for them. So could I suggest a little more grace with Encylopedia Britannica issues I have no doubt they are doing the best they can. Yes it has taken more time but as a organization they are always generous.
Also thinking back when the mistake was made they did not try to hide from the facts rather they did have other options and I for one think the Encylopedia Britannica will add to Logos Software in many many ways so I am prepared to wait .
Blessings everyone .... John
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I, for one, don't care how long it takes. Get it done right this time.
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Matt Hamrick said:
I, for one, don't care how long it takes. Get it done right this time.
I agree that getting it right should be a huge priority.
Using adventure and community to challenge young people to continually say "yes" to God
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Is the re-release of the EBNE in any way tied to the current pre-order of the EBNE? What I am asking is whether we (Who pre-ordered over a year ago) will get the product before the current pre-order has finished gathering interest, or whether we will have to wait until the new release has gathered enough interest to merit being published? In that regard I am confused as to why it is needing to go through a pre-order process again since it has already been pre-ordered and paid for? Maybe this has already been answered, forgive me if I am behind on this topic.
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Michael Farrar said:
Is the re-release of the EBNE in any way tied to the current pre-order of the EBNE? What I am asking is whether we (Who pre-ordered over a year ago) will get the product before the current pre-order has finished gathering interest, or whether we will have to wait until the new release has gathered enough interest to merit being published? In that regard I am confused as to why it is needing to go through a pre-order process again since it has already been pre-ordered and paid for? Maybe this has already been answered, forgive me if I am behind on this topic.
Why it appears to not be under development but only gathering interest I can not answer, but it is actively under development. We who have ordered it and been waiting will not be getting it any quicker than anyone who orders it today. It could be a month off or several (I would bet the reality is somewhere in between since if it was only 4 weeks off I would guess they would well know it is close).
-Dan
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Michael Farrar said:
Is the re-release of the EBNE in any way tied to the current pre-order of the EBNE? What I am asking is whether we (Who pre-ordered over a year ago) will get the product before the current pre-order has finished gathering interest, or whether we will have to wait until the new release has gathered enough interest to merit being published? In that regard I am confused as to why it is needing to go through a pre-order process again since it has already been pre-ordered and paid for? Maybe this has already been answered, forgive me if I am behind on this topic.
Hi Michael,
It is indeed in active development. We put the product back up on pre-pub to give people an opportunity to pre-order the product.
Senior Director, Content Products
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John Nagle said:
Hi to All at Logos USA:
I have been dealing with Logos for approx 20 odd years the staff I know are the best in the field the owners are VERY good people
I have nothing but high praise for them. So could I suggest a little more grace with Encylopedia Britannica issues I have no doubt they are doing the best they can. Yes it has taken more time but as a organization they are always generous.
Also thinking back when the mistake was made they did not try to hide from the facts rather they did have other options and I for one think the Encylopedia Britannica will add to Logos Software in many many ways so I am prepared to wait .
Blessings everyone .... John
Right. I actually feel a bit bad about getting two Encyclopedia sets for just $99 that will be integrated into Logos and I'll get to keep for the rest of my life without taking up any shelf space. It's an incredible deal I don't mind waiting for.
Even though the process has not gone smoothly, I'm also glad that Faithlife has taken on this different sort of project and that they are learning a lot from it. In my mind, that can only increase the chances that they will have other diverse offerings in the future. Anything that enables them to fine tune their resource production process is bound to strengthen the software overall.
I've already forgotten about the money spent. [:P] So it will be a super nice bonus once it actually arrives.
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Well said But would love some update (yes I do understand how difficult this request can be ) But always thought Encyclopedia Britannica would be a great idea and I can remember when
Bob was over here in NZ all those years ago when the idea was first thought of as I am sure it will lead to other great "books" that will add to the general knowledge of all Logos users and this could lead to the public to "pick up" Logos and maybe introduce them to Christ
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Could we get a May update? [:)]
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Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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In early October 2015, we were told this project would get high priority and put on the fast track. Over seven months later, we've heard diddly-squat about it. I know, I know. As soon as they have something to share, we'll be the first to know.
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I don't really want to sound cynical but I too find it highly surprising that it is their highest priority, since it has taken this long and still not done.
-dan
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I think that the thing that is most upsetting, is the perceived dishonesty about priorities.
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I have been somewhat cynical about their priorities as well, however I realize that the work of this updated version is quite different than even the first time around. The first time around we were given around 19,000 articles (correct me if I am wrong), and now they are putting in another 80,000 articles. If the first one took almost a year (less than a year if you count it from the actual production time) then one would expect this one to take even longer since there is more than three times the amount of articles included in the Compton's.
I would like to know how many articles they have finished so far... That would at least give us something tangible to get excited about. The lack of information being given to us gives us the impression it is in limbo... still gathering interest.
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I've been living in Cambodia for 4 years. Cynicism has therefore become my middle name. [:O]
However, the Bible tells me to contain my tongue. So I'm not gonna ask whether work on the EBNE can commence next month after the Great Books have been released... [:#]
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I'm certainly don't want to be discouraging. However, the lack of communication should be added to the list of things to clean up in this case. Communication is something that my church struggles with so I understand. That said l, my church isn't a big business with dozens of employees. Everytime someone posts to this forum, which is where I was directed to by someone in Logos, I get a notification. It would take a few minutes to at least respond with a "hey guys, we haven't forgotten you, still working on it." This is making me wonder if Logos as a company is stable. I certainly hope so as we have thousands of dollars invested in the product...
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Jan Krohn said:
I'm not gonna ask whether work on the EBNE can commence next month after the Great Books have been released...
That's precisely where the tension lies with me... Completing new 60 volume projects BEFORE the supposed *Highest-Priority* projects are completed. IMO, if it were top priority, then no big projects should be released before it is finished, but what do I know
Logos 10 | Dell Inspiron 7373 | Windows 11 Pro 64, i7, 16GB, SSD | iPhone 13 Pro Max
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While I don't like the delay and lack of information I think we can glean some information from what we do know and can make some reasonable guesses:
- FL got more than it expected with EBNE
- It is likely costing FL a lot more to produce this resource than they expected
- They have other customers and other projects
- They must maintain revenue and can't stop producing other resources until this one is finished.
- This one might require extra steps that take development and testing. Simply adding more developers won't make that process faster or they'd do it.
- Giving something top priority does not mean giving something sole priority.
I can wait. If FL abandons this project (highly unlikely) they will refund our money. If they continue to go ahead, I will own something I am glad to have for what will seem like a bargain price once this is released.
FL does not offer regular updates on other pre-pubs. Ben has done more with this one than any other I can remember.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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