Review of Logos in Logos

Bruce Dunning

I had to smile today when I was going through my library to tag resources and came across a review of Logos 2.1d. in the journal Faith and Mission (Volume 17) in the fall of 1999. Since it made me smile, I thought I would share it.

[quote] 

The Logos 2.1d Library System:
Scholar’s Edition

Edward D. Gravely

Ph.D. Student in Biblical Studies
Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Wake Forest, North Carolina 27587

Logos 2. Id, according to their own documentation, is designed “to create a library system that is easy for the novice to use readily, yet powerful enough to meet the needs of the most advanced researcher.”  While it does not quite live up to this lofty goal, it does prove to be a useful and powerful study tool. The various aspects of the software will be described below, and it will be graded based upon ease of use, clarity of written instructions, ease of installation, aesthetics, and overall appraisal.


(1999). Faith and Mission, 17(1), 7.

[quote]

Grades
Now let us proceed to the task of grading the software. First, for ease of use, I give it a “C.” The novice computer user will find its multilevel search and language functions quite baffling at first. It is not an impossible program to master, but be prepared to spend some time with it. Second, for clarity of written instruction, I give it a “B.” The instructions were quite clear, but I cannot give an “A” to any manual which does not contain an index. Third, for ease of installation, Logos gets an “A.” I installed and removed it several times, under several different conditions, without any problems at all. Well done! Fourth, aesthetics was difficult to grade. The program itself is aesthetically fine, but the idea of reading books on a computer screen is somewhat lost on me. I spent about an hour trying to read Edward’s Religious Affections on my monitor and quit without having accomplished much (except obtaining a splitting headache). The Logos interface was well done (as well as any others I have seen), but I still have to give it a “B.” Finally, my overall appraisal is a “B.” It is a good program at a fair price.

(1999). Faith and Mission, 17(1), 7.

Has anyone else seen a review of Logos within a Logos resource?

RyanB

Bruce Dunning said:

The program itself is aesthetically fine, but the idea of reading books on a computer screen is somewhat lost on me. I spent about an hour trying to read Edward’s Religious Affections on my monitor and quit without having accomplished much (except obtaining a splitting headache).

With Kindle devices, smartphones, tablets and so much more, my oh my how far we've come in 20 years [:D].