Upgrade to L6 or wait for L7

Because Logos 6 came out so quickly after L5 I've been planning to skip L6 altogether and wait for L7 to launch before I upgrade. (I did use the free upgrade option) As far as I've understood Logos has not yet released a launch date for L7, but there are signs it won't be too long (last ever 15% sale this winter etc.) Is this correct?

With one more 10% sale currently going on I've been considering whether I should just upgrade now. Does anyone have experience with this, and how it affected pricing, for example going directly from L4 to L6. Has skipping one version actually been cheaper than if you were to buy L4, then L5, then L6?

Any advice from any of you, knowledgeable people, about upgrading or waiting would be appreciated

Thanks,

Johan

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Comments

Francis

Johan, I cannot speak too confidently on the matter because I have not skipped versions. I know that even so, it was still pricey to upgrade but I cannot say how much worse it might have been otherwise. I hope you will hear from folks who have had this experience. I can, however, suggest that you speak to Todd Cullop in sales about this. He is very good with listening to what it is you want to do and helping you figure out the best way to do it.

Graham Criddle

I don't know about skipping from L4 to L6 but often contents of base packages change with major releases.

So things that you may be interested in in a Logos 6 base package may not be included in a Logos 7 one.

From what you say you are using the Logos 6 core engine. For me the question would be whether there are resources / functions of sufficient value to you in Logos 6 configurations to warrant a paid upgrade

Johan L

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831582#Comment_831582

Thank you Francis for your tip about Todd Cullop. I may contact him in the future.

Thank you Graham. I mainly have the resources I want when it comes to resource the changed content in L5 and 6 from 4 has not been as good IMO. The changes have also been to big, making it impossible for me, (and probably many others) to stay on the levels I used to be at, or even upgrade. Now it's mainly the updated functions I'm after. I will probably go for one of the cross-grade options.

If anyone has something to add, any advice is greatly appreciated.

Johan

Sean

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831583#Comment_831583

The only other thing I would suggest is to look not just at the generic L6 packages (Silver Gold etc.) but also at the denominational base packages. Some of them have really good stuff in them. I went with L6 Reformed Gold (and I'm not Reformed) because it had one set of works I'd waited years to go on sale at a decent discount. It had a ton of other good & useful titles at such at good price I couldn't pass it up. It all depends on what your interests are (e.g., Reformed packages are really strong in systematic theology), but they're worth a look.

JT (alabama24)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831583#Comment_831583

The changes have also been to big, making it impossible for me, (and probably many others) to stay on the levels I used to be at, or even upgrade.

There is a psychological barrier, which I can understand, but which you should be aware of. This barrier is completely artificial, but it is a strong one to overcome... and some blame lays with FL.

The idea that you need to "stay at a level" is completely artificial. It means nothing and is simply marketing nomenclature. I wish that the names of the packages would change from big release to big release to avoid this discussion, but they don't and it comes up every time! [:s]

Now it's mainly the updated functions I'm after. I will probably go for one of the cross-grade options.

If that is your goal, I don't know why you have waited... or know what would be better for you. I guess the heart of your question is "will it be cheaper for me to buy a full cross grade of L7, or to buy and L6 one and put an L7 one on top?" The problem is that we won't know until after L7 is released.

I mainly have the resources I want when it comes to resource the changed content in L5 and 6 from 4 has not been as good IMO.

I don't fully follow that, but my thoughts on base packages: When you purchase a new base package, of course you are looking for some "big ticket" items which you plan to regularly utilize. One of the benefits of having a large library, however, is serendipitously discovering things you didn't know. The SINGLE reason I am a fan of Logos, is the integrated search library. Most of the features which come with cross grades are icing to me... They are nice and I am glad to have them, but I want more books. [:)]

Johan L

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831591#Comment_831591

The only other thing I would suggest is to look not just at the generic L6 packages (Silver Gold etc.) but also at the denominational base packages. Some of them have really good stuff in them.

Thanks for your input Sean, I've mainly looked into the packages from my own background. There are so many to look into though...:-)

Thank you for your words as well Alabama24. I too remember the excitement when diving into L4 and discovering a lot of useful goodies. Some items I did not use as much as i thought I would, but more common are the gems I've discovered. I bought Platinum for L4, the best deal Logos has ever had IMO (maybe apart from an IVP package I don't remember the name of.) When L5 came out going for platinum was never really an option for me. I went for a Silver/Crossgrade course. This did of course not make the value my resources less. But owning one of the top packages you know you own some of the best Bible software available, having to not follow along changes the perceived value of what you own. This is of course, as you write, psychological, but still it made me reconsider. After upgrading I found that I hardly used the new books that came with L5 and then of course L6 came a little less than two years later, while there had previously been 3 year release schedules. (There is another side of this too: a 20% poorer exchange rate of the currency of my wage vs USD, a different job, less sermons.)

The main question for me has been: "Is it worth around 99$ a year to have all the functionality Logos has to offer." And for the last couple of years the answer has been no. (This is off course not including L Now which increases the price, but also the value of "all Logos has to offer.")

Thank your again for taking the time to write such a lengthy response, you made me want to look over my collection again and hunt for goodies :-)

A lot of useful replies, but still no words about experiences with direct L4-L6 upgrades and pricing and no speculation about L7 :-)

Johan

Mark

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831582#Comment_831582

So things that you may be interested in in a Logos 6 base package may not be included in a Logos 7 one

Just want to make sure I understood this. Do you mean that it is possible for things to be included in Logos 6 that will not be offered in Logos 7? If so, I have never heard that before and would wonder why you would think that.

If you mean that resources in L6 gold would not be the same as resources in L7 gold, then I agree. If you think that databases in L7 gold would be different than L6 gold, but all data bases in L6 gold would be maintained in L7 gold, II would agree with that as well.

Graham Criddle

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831599#Comment_831599

Just want to make sure I understood this. Do you mean that it is possible for things to be included in Logos 6 that will not be offered in Logos 7? If so, I have never heard that before and would wonder why you would think that.

I was referring to the fact that the resources included in different base packages can change from release to release - https://community.logos.com/forums/t/58990.aspx has a discussion of this in the Logos 5 timescale

If you mean that resources in L6 gold would not be the same as resources in L7 gold, then I agree

That is effectively what I was referring to - sorry for any confusion

Mark

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831601#Comment_831601

Thanks Graham, just wanted to make sure it was clear to others

Ken McGuire

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831599#Comment_831599

So things that you may be interested in in a Logos 6 base package may not be included in a Logos 7 one

Just want to make sure I understood this. Do you mean that it is possible for things to be included in Logos 6 that will not be offered in Logos 7? If so, I have never heard that before and would wonder why you would think that.

If you mean that resources in L6 gold would not be the same as resources in L7 gold, then I agree. If you think that databases in L7 gold would be different than L6 gold, but all data bases in L6 gold would be maintained in L7 gold, II would agree with that as well.

True databases, yes, you are right. However because of being a relatively long time user, I have a few Bible morphologies that are no longer in base packages that I got in base packages.

But to the Original poster. I was very low on funds when Logos 5 came out. I did the free engine upgrade for a while. Take a look at the core crossgrade to see if you can swing it, and what all features it would add. In many cases, it will be worth it.

George Somsel

There is really no reason to not upgrade. You keep whatever you already have even though you don't buy a single thing and generally get better performance. If you want certain functions which are available in L6 which were not in your previous version, you can purchase the crossgrade (or not if you don't wish to). I wouldn't worry about base packages — as has been stated, they change from version to version. I RARELY ever purchase any base package but buy a la carte since there is too much fluff in the base packages (Allis-Chalmers [yes, I know Allis-Chalmers was a tractor manufacturer, and I mean Oswald Chambers] or Wiersby), but I'm more interested in academic works. So, go ahead and update since the only thing it will cost you (unless you choose otherwise) is the time involved.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831598#Comment_831598

A lot of useful replies, but still no words about experiences with direct L4-L6 upgrades and pricing and no speculation about L7 :-)

L4 to L6 will be moot when L7 comes out, as that will answer the question of whether you (still) need Logos Now to get the features that are currently available, or whether you can get them via a crossgrade. If the latter, you will also get some/all of the L6 features you don't have (being on L5). If you want to speculate on cost remember that you cannot get individual features but have to choose between "Core/Essential" and higher crossgrades. That mix for L6 may change between now and L7, so you may have to pay an extra $200+ for a specific L6 feature that is no longer "essential". Then there are currency exchange rates for people outside the US...

This table will show what new features you can get "free" with the Logos 6 Core engine (i.e. not available in L4/L5), and those that require an L6 base package or crossgrade. Remember that you can't get the paid features with Logos Now.

Steve Maling

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831714#Comment_831714

Perhaps only marginally off topic - back in L5, or was it L4, one could choose a Greek text for the Burton-Goodspeed Harmony of the Synoptic Gospels and have the alignments show what does and doesn't appear in each Synoptic Gospel, as well as differences in sequence. That capability didn't come across into L6. If you have an older L.X you can see what I mean in the English Throckmorton Gospel Parallels - NRSV (a Nelson title which, apparently, is no longer available in Logos).

Bottom line - you may want to soak up drive space by keeping your older version of Logos when/if you cross grade to the newest and greatest (to date). I didn't, and I really miss a Greek synopsis that aligns more closely than, say, Aland's.

Dave Hooton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831749#Comment_831749

That capability didn't come across into L6. If you have an older L.X you can see what I mean in the English Throckmorton Gospel Parallels - NRSV

Resource capability is (generally) not dependent on the version of Logos/Libronix. The English Throckmorton I have comes from the Libronix days of 2002 and still works in L6. I can't comment on the lineage of Burton-Goodspeed as it is in the latest Logos 4 format, dated Oct 2014. Note that there are other Gospel Harmonies you can display in a Greek text (or English text) in L6.

Bottom line - you may want to soak up drive space by keeping your older version of Logos when/if you cross grade to the newest and greatest

Practically, you mean Logos 3/Libronix, which is 32-bit, as that may run on a modern 64 bit computer (Logos 4/5/6 will automatically update old resources). And of course you would need the Libronix (or older) version of Burton-Goodspeed, if that allows a choice of Greek text.

MJ. Smith

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831749#Comment_831749

Perhaps only marginally off topic - back in L5, or was it L4, one could choose a Greek text for the Burton-Goodspeed Harmony of the Synoptic Gospels and have the alignments show what does and doesn't appear in each Synoptic Gospel, as well as differences in sequence.

I don't recall that feature as Text Comparison marked the differences ... but this is what the Parallel Gospel Reader gives us:

compared to what the resource itself gives

Steve Maling

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831765#Comment_831765

Thank you, Dave and MJ,

Dave, obviously I had forgotten the 32-bit issue. It is the older version of Burton-Goodspeed that I let go. Yes, I use Throckmorton frequently in spite of the fact it is English only. My copy was included in a $30 Nelson package purchased off the shelf of a Christian bookstore.

MJ, my point is that study of Gospel relationships is enhanced greatly by the layout of Throckmorton in English and Aland in Greek. BUT, the Aland Synopsis in Logos is "incomplete" in that it does not align parallels (literally, "align", with parallels on the same lines and absence of direct parallels left blank). My memory (now somewhat less than of old) is that the "old" Burton-Goodspeed did have this feature. In short, "Text Comparison" is "only" half a loaf.

Small Heath

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831813#Comment_831813

There are so many options, Logos Now, Crossgrades, Upgrades of every size and flavor. I upgraded from Libronix to Core L 5. I had a mix of resources, but it wasn't very good for in depth bible study. I talked with a sales rep and did a step by step upgrade that saved a little money by letting him handle the sequence. It included the Crossgrades and L 5 Starter. After a while, I tried the L 5 Gold 30 day free trial, which I eventually purchased. At that point I began to understand the differences between features and resources. I also began to understand the Logos pricing structure. After I figured out what features and resources I wanted and what I could afford, I looked at what upgrades, packages, collections, bundles, sales, etc. were available and discussed those with a sales rep. I would usually do a one step upgrade (starter to bronze) and include one or two special offers to stay within my budget. If you are going after resources, I have found that upgrades are the best value as long as the resources in that upgrade are really something you want. Sometimes an upgrade will include a complete commentary that is cheaper than the commentary purchased separately. But only if you really want that commentary. When L 6 came out, I did the Crossgrade because that's what I could afford. I've made several upgrades since then to pick up resources, many of the upgrades don't match my denomination. I ignore the name and look at the resources that it contains. I've never been tempted by L Now because I barely use the features in L 6. I try to go through as many of the free courses as time allows, but I've given up on becoming a Logos guru.

If there are features in L 6 that you want, then go with a Crossgrade. If there are resources you want, go with an upgrade or a combination of the 2. If not, then wait for L 7.

If there are new resources in L 7, I'll go with an upgrade. If not, I'll go the Crossgrade route. Establish a relationship with a good sales rep and discuss your options with them.

Dale

Johan L

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/831824#Comment_831824

This is some time back, but thank you all for your help in making the best decision. For future reference: From what I can see from what other people has written about their prices it turned out to be a cheaper to wait and then upgrade than going the steps would have been. Not very much, but enough to justify waiting late in a cycle or if you're not excited about LYs improvements over LX. This may however change in the future.