Logos for a layman

Tim Lewis
Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭
edited November 2024 in English Forum

I am just a layman who is interested in using the best tools available to study the Bible.  The only resource I really need from the Starter package is the KJV Bible (which is where I have done quite a bit of highlighting and note-taking from the app), and if everything else were cut out and just the core Bible study tools were included, I would be fine.  I find it strange that Biblia.com provides all the resources provided by default in the app for free, and the Core Engine provides all the functionality of the app for free, but there is no option for the desktop that provides both at the same time.  In fact, if I wanted to have access to the KJV Bible that I have access to from Biblia.com and the mobile app for free from Logos 6, it seems that I have to pay $10.  Why?  Is there no option to be able to highlight and take notes on the KJV Bible from the desktop?

I should mention that I've tried a few different methods to run Android apps on my Windows machine, but they're all pretty kludgy, and while that's better than nothing, it seems like it would be extremely simple to include in the Core Engine what is already included for free elsewhere.  After all, the KJV is in the public domain so it's not even like you would have to pay licensing fees to do that.  Why should I pay $10 for something that's in the public domain and is provided in your other services for free?

If I were able to get the features I get on my phone for free, I might be willing to pay to get the Propositional Outlines Dataset added (assuming I could figure out how to actually buy it, since there is no "Add to cart" button on the page for me).

Comments

  • Graham Criddle
    Graham Criddle MVP Posts: 33,282

    Tim Lewis said:

     In fact, if I wanted to have access to the KJV Bible that I have access to from Biblia.com and the mobile app for free from Logos 6, it seems that I have to pay $10.  Why?

    This is a licensing constraint - Faithlife are able to provide free online access to certain resources (which is why they are available on biblia and in the mobile apps - but you will see you can't download them into the mobile app) but not for resources which are downloaded to your device as they are in the desktop application.

    Tim Lewis said:

     Is there no option to be able to highlight and take notes on the KJV Bible from the desktop?

    Yes - but you will need to purchase the resource first.

    Tim Lewis said:

    it seems like it would be extremely simple to include in the Core Engine what is already included for free elsewhere.

    As above - its a licensing issue

    Tim Lewis said:

    If I were able to get the features I get on my phone for free, I might be willing to pay to get the Propositional Outlines Dataset added (assuming I could figure out how to actually buy it, since there is no "Add to cart" button on the page for me).

    These datasets are only available as part of base packages or crossgrades - not for individual purchase. The price shown is an "indication of value"

    For that dataset you need at least the Core Crossgrade or the Silver base package

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    This is a licensing constraint - Faithlife are able to provide free online access to certain resources (which is why they are available on biblia and in the mobile apps - but you will see you can't download them into the mobile app) but not for resources which are downloaded to your device as they are in the desktop application.

    It's not just licencing, it's also a business decision. The KJV is public domain in the US (although not in the UK). Logos have chosen to provide a few Bibles for free for download on desktop, but not the KJV.

    Tim Lewis said:

    Why should I pay $10 for something that's in the public domain and is provided in your other services for free?

    Why should you pay $10? If Logos isn't $10 better than other apps, use the other apps. If it is, then pay the $10.

    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!

  • Graham Criddle
    Graham Criddle MVP Posts: 33,282

    This is a licensing constraint - Faithlife are able to provide free online access to certain resources (which is why they are available on biblia and in the mobile apps - but you will see you can't download them into the mobile app) but not for resources which are downloaded to your device as they are in the desktop application.

    It's not just licencing, it's also a business decision. The KJV is public domain in the US (although not in the UK). Logos have chosen to provide a few Bibles for free for download on desktop, but not the KJV.

    Thanks Mark

    Appreciate the clarification

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

     This is a licensing constraint - Faithlife are able to provide free online access to certain resources (which is why they are available on biblia and in the mobile apps - but you will see you can't download them into the mobile app) but not for resources which are downloaded to your device as they are in the desktop application. 

    Actually, I can and have downloaded several resources to my device.

     Yes - but you will need to purchase the resource first. 

    That's kind of my point, I don't need to do that on the mobile device.

     These datasets are only available as part of base packages or crossgrades - not for individual purchase. The price shown is an "indication of value" 

    Actually, there is no price shown, and I'm not paying hundreds of dollars for these features.  I'm just a layman wanting to use the tools provided on his mobile device on his desktop.  All those resources and tools are provided on different Faithlife products that are available from the desktop, but they are available in one place (which is what is needed to make them actually useful).

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    Logos have chosen to provide a few Bibles for free for download on desktop, but not the KJV. 

    No, actually, there are no Bibles provided for free download on the desktop.  The closest thing is the Faithlife Study Bible notes, but that's just the notes, not the actual Bible text.  Of all things to provide for free download, I would think the KJV would be the most obvious because (I believe) it's the most popular translation available in the public domain.

     Why should you pay $10? If Logos isn't $10 better than other apps, use the other apps. If it is, then pay the $10. 

    It's not that simple.  I use Logos because it's the only way to highlight and take notes on individual words.  Furthermore, even if some other service offered similar highlighting and note-taking capabilities, Logos already has all the notes and highlights I've entered from the phone (which are actually quite extensive) with no way to export them, so switching would be a ton of work.

    Ultimately, the fact of the matter is that it would cost them nothing to include the KJV in the desktop application, so charging $10 for it makes no sense.  If they wanted to make $10 off of people downloading the Core Engine, why not charge for the download and include the KJV and maybe a few other resources along with it instead of offering it as a free download with (essentially) no resources and charging for the resources?  The point is that it would seem that the purpose of the Core Engine's availability is to give people the ability to try the Logos product out and see if it meets their needs before investing hundreds of dollars in the full suite.  Furthermore, it seems that there should be an option for layman like me who don't need access to a whole library of commentaries that is either very cheap or free, since not many laymen are going to be spending hundreds of dollars on Bible software to take notes.  However, the Core Engine has utterly failed at achieving these things because there is no way to see what any of the features can do even in a limited sense without a Bible text to try them out on.

  • James McAdams
    James McAdams Member Posts: 763 ✭✭✭

    You can get a few thousand resources for free here, including the Lexham English Bible.

    This bundle is particularly worthwhile.

    I appreciate that you're frustrated at not being able to get your preferred resource for free on your preferred format, but I think Logos is more than generous with their freebies.

  • Jan Krohn
    Jan Krohn Member Posts: 3,887 ✭✭✭

    The KJV was free in the past, but no longer is. It might be possible to still make use of the old download. I've never tried- no guarantee...

    Here you can get the Nelson ebible sampler for Logos 3:

    https://wiki.logos.com/free_logos_books

    Try the following: uninstall Logos 6, install the sampler, update Logos 3 back to Logos 6. Hopefully it will transfer the Logos 3 license.

    The Lexham English Bible is also free, but you need to get the license from Faithlife.com, not logos.com.

  • Erwin Stull, Sr.
    Erwin Stull, Sr. Member Posts: 2,793 ✭✭✭

    Look at it another way. It's true that the KJV is in public domain and free to download for many of us, but that public domain status is for the Bible only, with no special integration features. You can even get a free KJV in paper or leather in many cases, but you will not get the premium leather, fancy case, or initials/name engraved on it.

    $10 is really not that much considering what spending that $10 will allow you to do more efficiently. Even if you have to save up for a few months or give up a few coffees, I'm sure it will be worth it. I consider myself a layman also, as I am not a pastor, teacher, or minister in any official capacity, but each of us do have a ministry that involves study and spreading the Word in some way. Logos has made my study, understanding, and spreading the Word easier, and it is well worth the investment at any level. And, of course, we all have a covering (layman or not), as we can't just go out spreading the Word and teaching, without knowing if we are doing it right.

    All this to say that a $10 investment for this is not much at all, considering it's purpose, and I encourage you to spend the $10 and call it a day (figure of speech),

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    You can get a few thousand resources for free here, including the Lexham English Bible.

    Actually, that's even more frustrating.  They are giving away 62 (which is much less than "a few thousand", by the way) resources that would normally cost money, but one resource that costs them nothing they are charging $10 for.  I appreciate that they are indeed generous with their freebies, but that doesn't excuse their doing it in a way that is obviously going to result in people being frustrated.

  • Roy
    Roy Member Posts: 965 ✭✭

    Tim,

    First let me say that I share a number of your frustrations. I also fealt (notice the past tense) the same concerning at least the KJV.

    I too am a user of the free desktop engine (actually right now I have the LOGOS Colud for a year). I use that to read the books used in the Berean School of the Bible program (Those books are the main reason I use LOGOS).

    Second, you are incorrect to say that there are no free bibles fot the desktop. The Lexham English Bible IS free. Not just the study bible notes, but the whole bible. That resource has all of the tagging included in it.

    Third, You can make your own KJV bible by using the Personal Books feature in LOGOS. This would allow you to apply the notes you want to make to a single word possible. The personal books are also searchable.

    What you will not get is the added value that LOGOS has put into their electronic version of the  KJV (or any of their books for that matter). In the case of a public domain work, it is that added value you are paying for. Features as simple as turning on or off strong's numbers don't just show up. Those features have to be built in. It cost money for someone to do that, and those workers deserve to be paid for their work.

    Even a simple, do nothing but read the text type book (with no added value), has to be input into electronic form, proofread, have text conversion errors corrected, and tagged for just the book/chapter/verse numbers to function (unless you want an electronic bible that you can't look up a verse by its' reference (then all you are truly doing is reading text).

    Consider 1 Timothy 5:18:  For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

    As I stated at the start, I do share some of your frustrations, but I have also come to realize just how difficult it is to make your own Bible and get even just the Book/Chapter/Verse references to work. I have made my own KJV and other bibles for LOGOS (and other Bible Study software systems).

    It's work, and MY time is well worth spending the 10 dollars. I bet you would find your time to be of the same value.

    Respectfully

    Roy

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    Look at it another way. It's true that the KJV is in public domain and free to download for many of us, but that public domain status is for the Bible only, with no special integration features. You can even get a free KJV in paper or leather in many cases, but you will not get the premium leather, fancy case, or initials/name engraved on it.

    $10 is really not that much considering what spending that $10 will allow you to do more efficiently. Even if you have to save up for a few months or give up a few coffees, I'm sure it will be worth it. I consider myself a layman also, as I am not a pastor, teacher, or minister in any official capacity, but each of us do have a ministry that involves study and spreading the Word in some way. Logos has made my study, understanding, and spreading the Word easier, and it is well worth the investment at any level. And, of course, we all have a covering (layman or not), as we can't just go out spreading the Word and teaching, without knowing if we are doing it right.

    All this to say that a $10 investment for this is not much at all, considering it's purpose, and I encourage you to spend the $10 and call it a day (figure of speech), 

    The point is that I have certain resources in my library on my mobile device.  Those resources aren't available in my library on other devices.  I thought my library was supposed to sync between devices.  They clearly can do it, because they have in the past.  Furthermore, they clearly can do it today because they do it on other products today.  It would literally cost them nothing to include the KJV as a free resource.  In fact, why not make one of the obscure resources they are currently offering for free right now cost $10 and make the KJV free?

    P.S. I don't waste my money on coffee either.

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    Roy said:

    Tim,

    First let me say that I share a number of your frustrations. I also fealt (notice the past tense) the same concerning at least the KJV.

    I too am a user of the free desktop engine (actually right now I have the LOGOS Colud for a year). I use that to read the books used in the Berean School of the Bible program (Those books are the main reason I use LOGOS).

    Second, you are incorrect to say that there are no free bibles fot the desktop. The Lexham English Bible IS free. Not just the study bible notes, but the whole bible. That resource has all of the tagging included in it.

    Third, You can make your own KJV bible by using the Personal Books feature in LOGOS. This would allow you to apply the notes you want to make to a single word possible. The personal books are also searchable.

    What you will not get is the added value that LOGOS has put into their electronic version of the  KJV (or any of their books for that matter). In the case of a public domain work, it is that added value you are paying for. Features as simple as turning on or off strong's numbers don't just show up. Those features have to be built in. It cost money for someone to do that, and those workers deserve to be paid for their work.

    Even a simple, do nothing but read the text type book (with no added value), has to be input into electronic form, proofread, have text conversion errors corrected, and tagged for just the book/chapter/verse numbers to function (unless you want an electronic bible that you can't look up a verse by its' reference (then all you are truly doing is reading text).

    Consider 1 Timothy 5:18:  For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.

    As I stated at the start, I do share some of your frustrations, but I have also come to realize just how difficult it is to make your own Bible and get even just the Book/Chapter/Verse references to work. I have made my own KJV and other bibles for LOGOS (and other Bible Study software systems).

    It's work, and MY time is well worth spending the 10 dollars. I bet you would find your time to be of the same value.

    Respectfully

    Roy

    I understand and appreciate that it cost money for them to integrate the features they have into KJV Bible.  However, it's already in my library, and I've made extensive notes and highlights in it.  I'm just asking that my library be synced across my devices.

  • James McAdams
    James McAdams Member Posts: 763 ✭✭✭

    Tim Lewis said:

    You can get a few thousand resources for free here, including the Lexham English Bible.

    They are giving away 62 (which is much less than "a few thousand", by the way) 

    The Pegasus bundles are huge - you'll get well over 62 resources from them! You might not be interested in the content, of course, but that's the bulk of whatI was referring to in my post - I've not looked at the numbers, though, in fairness - just said that off the top of my head.

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    The Pegasus bundles are huge - you'll get well over 62 resources from them! You might not be interested in the content, of course, but that's the bulk of what I was referring to in my post - I've not looked at the numbers, though, in fairness - just said that off the top of my head.

    Ah, I see.  It just seems like it would be much more logical to charge for obscure resources like the Pegasus bundles and give away the KJV than the other way around.

    And even if they don't want to do that, it seems like they should at least keep my library in sync.  Are they going to make me pay $10 to get the Pegasus bundle on my phone?  I doubt they would, but then again, that's exactly what I would have said about getting the KJV on the desktop.

  • Matthew
    Matthew Member Posts: 941 ✭✭

    Tim Lewis said:

    The point is that I have certain resources in my library on my mobile device.  Those resources aren't available in my library on other devices.  I thought my library was supposed to sync between devices.

    Everyone has free access to certain books on mobile devices as long as they are online. The kjv is one of them. However, they are not part of your library unless you have purchased them (even if you "purchase" them for free, as can be done with the Lexham English Bible). Resources that have not been purchased cannot be downloaded on mobile devices for offline access and are not available at all on the desktop. Of course, resources that have been purchased (and thus are actually part of your library) can be downloaded on mobile and are also available on the desktop. Hope this helps clarify! 

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    Matthew said:

    Resources that have not been purchased cannot be downloaded on mobile devices for offline access and are not available at all on the desktop. Of course, resources that have been purchased (and thus are actually part of your library) can be downloaded on mobile and are also available on the desktop.

    I have the KJV Bible downloaded on my phone (I can access it, make highlights, create notes, etc. without internet access), though I don't recall purchasing it.  And yet, I am being told that I have to pay $10 for it to get it on the desktop (and yes, I am signed in with the same account both on my phone, on the web, and in the desktop application). To be clear, I can see notes and highlights I've made, but it won't let me navigate to the location it is connected to because it says I don't have access to that resource (I'm not in front of that computer at the moment, so that's not an exact quote, but it's something like that).

  • Jan Krohn
    Jan Krohn Member Posts: 3,887 ✭✭✭

    Tim Lewis said:

    Ah, I see.  It just seems like it would be much more logical to charge for obscure resources like the Pegasus bundles and give away the KJV than the other way around.

    Actually it's Perseus not Pegasus. The Perseus bundle has almost no tagging, therefore it was very inexpensive to produce. It serves as a target for tagging in many places though.

    The KJV on the other hand has extensive tagging on each and every single word. I assume that's the main reason why it's no longer free.

    Tim Lewis said:

    And even if they don't want to do that, it seems like they should at least keep my library in sync.  Are they going to make me pay $10 to get the Pegasus bundle on my phone?  I doubt they would, but then again, that's exactly what I would have said about getting the KJV on the desktop.

    About 95% of all resources that you purchase (for $0 or at cost) is available both on mobile and desktop without additional cost. It says on each product details page whether you can download it to mobile as well.

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    Jan Krohn said:

    About 95% of all resources that you purchase (for $0 or at cost) is available both on mobile and desktop without additional cost.

    So basically, all of them except the KJV.  Nice.

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,308

    Jan Krohn said:

    Tim Lewis said:

    Ah, I see.  It just seems like it would be much more logical to charge for obscure resources like the Pegasus bundles and give away the KJV than the other way around.

    Actually it's Perseus not Pegasus. The Perseus bundle has almost no tagging, therefore it was very inexpensive to produce.

    To be a bit more precise: almost no Faithlife-produced tagging (e.g. links to works cited). The Perseus resources come with a pre-built tagging, including morph-tagging for Greek language resources which may show all theoretically possible forms (e.g. for a neutrum gender substantive, the forms would list the nominative and the accusative case as possible forms, since they always look the same) - as opposed to the tagging Faithlife produces for such texts, where in-house scholars decide manually.

    Note that Perseus and the other large bundles of free books are directed at people (lay men or no) who are interested in historical documents - users should make an informed decision whether they want those books or not, before downloading GB of books that they only get annoyed over. The free Lexham Bundle, on the other hand, contains current top-of-the-line resources that are a real gift of Faithlife to the users and may be all someone needs to perform in-depth bible study. It contains the LEB. If someone likes another bible best, they should be willing to spend the - usually small - amount to add that to their library.  

    Jan Krohn said:

    About 95% of all resources that you purchase (for $0 or at cost) is available both on mobile and desktop without additional cost. It says on each product details page whether you can download it to mobile as well.

    The small percentage (agree: it's < 5%) of resources that are not available on mobile are not licensed for that by the publisher - there's no scheme "pay more/again to get this book on another platform" which is one of the great benefits of having them in the Logos universe.

     

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile

  • James McAdams
    James McAdams Member Posts: 763 ✭✭✭

    Jan Krohn said:

    Actually it's Perseus not Pegasus.

    Oops! My bad [:$]

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    NB.Mick said:

    If someone likes another bible best, they should be willing to spend the - usually small - amount to add that to their library.

    But the KJV is already in my library.  I have it downloaded on my phone, and have made extensive notes and highlights in it.  I'm not sure how this is not considered "in my library".  And since it is in my library, it seems I should also have access to it from the desktop.

    To say the least, it makes me unwilling to add things to my library from my phone in the future since it seems that those things aren't available on the desktop.

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Tim Lewis said:

    Jan Krohn said:

    About 95% of all resources that you purchase (for $0 or at cost) is available both on mobile and desktop without additional cost.

    So basically, all of them except the KJV.  Nice.

    You have never 'purchased' the KJV from Logos. You have been granted access to the KJV whilst using the mobile app. There's a difference. If you had have purchased it (for $10 or $0, or whatever), then it would be yours on the desktop.

    Tim Lewis said:

    Furthermore, it seems that there should be an option for layman like me who don't need access to a whole library of commentaries that is either very cheap or free, since not many laymen are going to be spending hundreds of dollars on Bible software to take notes.

    You'd be surprised how many 'lay users' are willing to pay a little money to help the study the Bible better. They consider that great task to be worth the expense.

    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!

  • Stephen Terlizzi
    Stephen Terlizzi Member Posts: 204 ✭✭

    Tim Lewis said:

    And since it is in my library, it seems I should also have access to it from the desktop.

    Tim,

    I don't understand why Faithlife owes us free resources on the desktop if they choose to offer a version on the mobile device. 

    If you walk into an ice cream shop and taste a spoonful of ice cream, does the shop owe you a full cone? If you watch a preview of a movie in a movie theatre, does the movie theatre owe you a ticket to the movie? If an author reads from a chapter in his book at the bookstore, does the bookstore owe you a copy of the book? Obviously not. The same with Faithlife...if they chose to offer the KJV Bible in the less-powered Mobile application, it does not entitle us to have the same version in the higher-powered desktop application.

    Faithlife does offer a free English (Lexham English Bible) bible and a free Greek (SBL Greek:New Testament) NT in the desktop version to allow people to get started using Logos. They are entitled to charge for the value that they add to the Bible through tagging, etc. Believe me, I am the first to question some of their pricing and bundling decisions, but they do have a right to charge for their work.

    IMHO.

    Agape,

    Steve

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,308

    Tim Lewis said:

    NB.Mick said:

    If someone likes another bible best, they should be willing to spend the - usually small - amount to add that to their library.

    But the KJV is already in my library.  I have it downloaded on my phone, and have made extensive notes and highlights in it.  I'm not sure how this is not considered "in my library".  And since it is in my library, it seems I should also have access to it from the desktop.

    To say the least, it makes me unwilling to add things to my library from my phone in the future since it seems that those things aren't available on the desktop.

    Look at what Mark wrote. The KJV and - depending on the application and potentially the platform - a number of other resources, in total about fifty of them, are made available to you on the mobile platform: free of charge, as a trial, so you can evaluate how the app works. (I wonder if there was a change, since I seem to recall they used to be only available "over the net", not downloadable to the mobile platforms.) 

    This is a special thing which only applies to the trial use of those resources. License rights of the publishers (and business decisions of Faithlife) prevent those to be considered your property or even a cross-platform-usage license you'd have for that. I'm quite sure some info window informed about that. This is a special, mobile-only trial license.

    It has no bearing whatsoever on what happens when you buy a resource either on the phone or on the desktop - for free or otherwise.     

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile

  • JohnB
    JohnB Member Posts: 1,085 ✭✭

    Tim,

    You'd be surprised how many 'lay users' are willing to pay a little money to help the study the Bible better.

    Tim, you would be surprised just how many persons on this forum are laymen.

    I decided to spend more time with the bible after retirement from teaching & government service on a very modest pension and have been a Logos user for over three years now and have invested part of my savings in Logos books during that time. I don't regret it for one minute.
    My wife has begun taking a bible class in church and although had to be encouraged (she calls it nagging) into using Logos, has found it has made a fantastic difference to her teaching. It is well worth the holiday(s) that we could have taken instead ... 

  • scooter
    scooter Member Posts: 259 ✭✭

    Hey, Tim:  I am a layman.  I study using Logos resources:  my topic, my way, my speed, my level of complexity.  Customize, then test-drive.  Logos has a 30 day money back guarantee.  I have used it and they indeed honor it.

    Cash: people give me such for birthday + Christmas.  I spend it here, then I spend time learning.

    Perhaps consider spending a bit to feed yourself.

  • Michael
    Michael Member Posts: 311 ✭✭✭

    I'm chiming in as another layperson who has found Logos immensely useful and certainly worth the price of admission.  The usefulness of having a resource with Logos tagging is not just marketing hype as I've found in my own experience.  I've owned books in Kindle and OliveTree over the years and repurchased them in Logos.  It's not just for the sake of having books and resources in one program.  There's just more you can do with them in Logos than you can in other programs and that makes it worth the price IMO.  Now granted sometimes the price difference is very significant so I sometimes have to wait for a good sale, talk to a salesperson for a discount, or simply decide it's not worth it for me at this time.  The $10 they charge for some Bibles is worth it to me even if they're available in the public domain.  The Logos tagging just makes the them much more useful.

    Features I use in Logos as a layperson

    • Visual filters.  Immensely useful.
    • Notes and highlights.  Offline access.  Custom highlight palettes.  Big feature as other programs like OliveTree and the YouVersion Bible app offer much less functionality here.
    • Excellent mobile AND desktop app.  Especially for Windows/Android.  OliveTree's desktop app is nowhere near as functional for desktop.  The Logos mobile app has improved to the point where I really like it as my main mobile app as well.  Accordance doesn't offer an Android app at all.
    • Easy way to manage and customize reading plans
    • Easy way to manage and customize prayer lists

    These are just a few of the reasons I consider Logos a useful and powerful tool even for a layperson.  

    I purchased a base package almost a year ago and have greatly enjoyed using Logos as a tool to enhance my Bible Study and to organize my thoughts, notes, and library into a single program.  At least as much as possible.  I still use OneNote for some of my notes because it's a much more robust program for that than Logos.

    In prior years, I used OliveTree since it was much "cheaper" in terms of up front cost.  OT was definitely useful when I got it 5 years ago.  I purchased several study Bibles in the program and used it often.  I liked that it was optimized for mobile devices.  As I did more and more reading, I realized that while study Bible notes were useful, I wanted more depth than what they offered.  I had to make a decision to continue to invest into OT or go with Logos.  I went with Logos last year because they had a booth at a conference I attended and offered a very good discount for attendees.  Better than the normal 15%.  So I decided to make the jump and I'm glad I did.

    I hope some of this was useful.  If not please ignore my longwinded post.

  • JAL
    JAL Member Posts: 625 ✭✭

    Tim Lewis said:

    I'm just asking that my library be synced across my devices.

    Who's paying for the infrastructure that allows you to sync? Spend $10.00.

    "The Christian mind is the prerequisite of Christian thinking. And Christian thinking is the prerequisite of Christian action." - Harry Blamires, 1963

  • Tim Lewis
    Tim Lewis Member Posts: 29 ✭✭

    JAL said:

    Who's paying for the infrastructure that allows you to sync?

    That's kind of the whole point of the freemium business model.  The entry level is free to get people in the door.  Then it costs significant amounts of money to do anything more than the entry level.  For example, a mobile app that costs more than $5 is generally considered pretty expensive, so many apps will offer a limited version for free, and then charge for features that go beyond those limited capabilities.  Generally, the developer can end up making more money through that strategy than they would have by charging $5 or more for the app initially.  The ultimate result is that the people who pay for the premium features are paying for those features and the ones that are offered for free, and people that use just the free version get services that would have otherwise cost them significant amounts of money.

    In the case of Logos, they offer their Core Engine and their mobile app for free, and make up for that with the money they make off the resources they sell.  So you ask who's paying for the infrastructure that allows me to sync?  The guy paying $10,000 for the Collector's Edition, or maybe more accurately, the guy installing the Core Engine for free and then buying all the other resources from the Collector's Edition individually.  In either case, in my opinion, the KJV Bible should have been part of the "free" portion of the freemium.  Obviously, the people at Faithlife disagree.  That is their right, and I don't begrudge them of that.  Ultimately, I have gone ahead and paid the $10 to get the KJV resource, though I still disagree with their approach to the pricing.

  • Mark Barnes
    Mark Barnes Member Posts: 15,432 ✭✭✭

    Tim Lewis said:

    In the case of Logos, they offer their Core Engine and their mobile app for free, and make up for that with the money they make off the resources they sell.  So you ask who's paying for the infrastructure that allows me to sync?  The guy paying $10,000 for the Collector's Edition, or maybe more accurately, the guy installing the Core Engine for free and then buying all the other resources from the Collector's Edition individually.  In either case, in my opinion, the KJV Bible should have been part of the "free" portion of the freemium.  Obviously, the people at Faithlife disagree.  That is their right, and I don't begrudge them of that.  Ultimately, I have gone ahead and paid the $10 to get the KJV resource, though I still disagree with their approach to the pricing.

    That's fair enough. I trust Logos will enrich your study.

    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!

  • GaoLu
    GaoLu Member Posts: 3,549 ✭✭✭

    Tim Lewis said:

    In the case of Logos, they offer their Core Engine and their mobile app for free, and make up for that with the money they make off the resources they sell.  So you ask who's paying for the infrastructure that allows me to sync?  The guy paying $10,000 for the Collector's Edition, or maybe more accurately, the guy installing the Core Engine for free and then buying all the other resources from the Collector's Edition individually.

    There is some truth to that, and I don't mind at all that some of the money I spend goes to help more new folks climb aboard and get more bang for their buck with features they maybe haven't really paid for.  Truth is, I kind of wish Faithlife would give away the KJV too.  But that is their choice.  

    Something else, I might have missed it if anyone already mentioned it above, but my KJV is not only thoroughly tagged, but also has a complete elaborate built in Greek, Hebrew Interlinear. Not only that, but it's all linked up with any lexicons and dictionaries you might have now or in the future and also links up verse by verse with any other Bibles you have open.  You can rearrange it to read verse by verse or  paragraph by paragraph...and so much more!  You can turn verse numbers and foot notes on and off.  And there is still much more, but just give some of that a try and then come back here for more. All that is probably worth every bit of $10.  Please let us know what you think after you give it a test drive.  

  • JAL
    JAL Member Posts: 625 ✭✭

    Gao Lu said:

    KJV is not only thoroughly tagged, but also has a complete elaborate built in Greek, Hebrew Interlinear

    The interlinear functionality is a separate dataset.

    "The Christian mind is the prerequisite of Christian thinking. And Christian thinking is the prerequisite of Christian action." - Harry Blamires, 1963

  • GaoLu
    GaoLu Member Posts: 3,549 ✭✭✭
  • JAL said:

    Gao Lu said:

    KJV is not only thoroughly tagged, but also has a complete elaborate built in Greek, Hebrew Interlinear

    The interlinear functionality is a separate dataset.

    Noticed Starter Base Packages include interlinear resources for AV 1873 and KJV 1900 Bibles.

    As a layman, am Thankful for interlinear tagging that can be used in visual filters so can "see" range of Greek verbal expression in English Bibles:

    The 1769 Authorized Version does not have interlinear tagging.

    Logos wiki has => https://wiki.logos.com/Extended_Tips_for_Highlighting_and_Visual_Filters#Examples_of_visual_filters that includes option for visual filters to be freely shared.  Caveat: visual filters are not available for mobile.

    Searching Logos for Authorized Version found two resource bundles:

    Preacher's Essential Library is $ 39.99 for 20 Resources => https://www.logos.com/product/8586/preachers-essential-bible-study-library

    AMG Bible Essentials is $ 99.99 => https://www.logos.com/product/9438/amg-bible-essentials that includes discussion lexicons.

    Keep Smiling [:)]

  • Dan Francis
    Dan Francis Member Posts: 5,336 ✭✭✭

    " rel="nofollow">Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :) said:

    AMG Bible Essentials is $ 99.99 => https://www.logos.com/product/9438/amg-bible-essentials that includes discussion lexicons.

    Please note this package is an older one and will currently not work on mobile platform... it is labeled mac windows only. Logos has a handful of titles that they have yet been able to get mobile rights for.

    -Dan

  • JAL
    JAL Member Posts: 625 ✭✭

    Please note this package is an older one and will currently not work on mobile platform... it is labeled mac windows only. Logos has a handful of titles that they have yet been able to get mobile rights for.

    AMG Bible Essentials

    by 16 authors

    5 publishers |1992–2003

    This is a case broad brush labeling. Certain titles included in the package are not available on the mobile apps thus the webpage indicates no mobile access. There are several standard resources included in the package that are available on mobile as access rights are negotiated separately with each publisher.

    "The Christian mind is the prerequisite of Christian thinking. And Christian thinking is the prerequisite of Christian action." - Harry Blamires, 1963

  • Rustamania
    Rustamania Member Posts: 60 ✭✭

    I haven't read this entire thread, but I think I know what you are getting at.  I'm a little different. I have a base package with a few thousand books.  I read morning and evening on my mobile device and did some highlighting and note taking.  I went over to the desktop to copy out some of those notes/highlights and  the resource is unavailable.  Looking at notes/highlights isn't the best on mobile so it was a little frustrating that I couldn't really use my notes.  I could just buy the resource, so it isn't a big deal, but honestly, if it doesn't show on my desktop, I don't really want it on my mobile.  

    This same idea is my concern for a subscription model.  I don't want to take a bunch of notes and highlights and then they decide to pull the book from the subscription.  Otherwise, I would be game to it