Inherent problems with Logos 5 for Mac?

Bill Moore

As someone looking to transition from Windows to Mac (not counting the iPad, the last time I used an Apple computer was teaching basic programming on Apple IIe's in something like 1985), it seems that there are a lot of issues that Mac users are having with Logos. Perhaps I'm just noticing it because of my recent interest in Macs.

Is this something new, or are there some inherent difficulties between Logos software and OS X?

(Oh . . . and please don't turn this into a Mac vs. Windows thread. Let's leave silly talk to the marketing folks at Apple and Microsoft.  )

JT (alabama24)

There used to be significant parity issues between the platforms, but these have largely disappeared. There are some "mac only issues," but there are "pc only issues" as well. Generally, the "mac only issues" seem to be more frequent… but I don't know if I would let that stop you from getting a Mac. One option, fwiw, would be to run windows on your mac through "boot camp" if you found the mac version lacking.

Mike McKnelly

I have a two and a half-year-old 27 inch iMac and I've been running logos on it ever since I bought it. This is my first Mac and I was a long time PC user. I'm running OS X Mountain lion and have run both versions three and four of logos on this computer and I've had no significant problems at all with logos software. only minor glitches here and there and logos support was very helpful in working those out. my computer specs are a quad core i5 processor, a one terabyte hard drive, one gig video card, and eight gigs of RAM.

Alan Macgregor

Bill

I "jumped ship", after 16 years as a PC user, in October 2009. This was just before Logos moved to Logos 4. I'm still using the same iMac (with some extra RAM) and upgrade to OSX from 110.6 (Snow Leopard) to 10.8 (Mountain Lion). I added the MBA 2 years ago.

My observations:

From a Mac-users perspective Logos 5 is a quantum improvement from Logos 4. It is inherent stable. Yes, there are some minor irritants but they are gradually being ironed out. Personally, I could turn off upgrades tomorrow and I could still use Logos 5 for both sermon preparation and bible study (iMac) and academic work (esoteric searches on MBA). Logos 5 does it now without histrionics.

As for the Mac … it just works.

Switch to Mac; you won't go back.

Every blessing

Alan

PS my computer specs are listed below.

Otto S. Carroll

I have a 4-1/2 year old Macbook Pro with 8 GB Ram and a 500 GB SSD. I'm not having any issue with Logos 5 - it's running great. 

You will not regret your move to Mac.

Paul-C

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/529846#Comment_529846

I've used both Logos 4 and Logos 5 on a mid-2009 MBP and currently a mid-2013 MBA, and have been pleased with the performance of both versions of Logos on both machines.  Granted, both machines were fairly high-spec (8GB RAM and SSD), but I was spared the painful experiences some seemed to have, especially with Logos 4 on the Mac. The very occasional spinning pizza and crash is the worst I've experienced, and this happened more under Logos 4 than 5.

Like all the Apple apologists here [:D] I don't think you'll look back if you make the leap...

Jack Caviness

Bill Moore said:

it seems that there are a lot of issues that Mac users are having with Logos.

Personally, I believe these users to be a very vocal minority. My previous machine was a 2006 (or thereabouts) Mac Pro, and my current machine is a 2013 27" iMac with an i7 processor. 

My only problems with Logos 5 have been some random freezes which cannot be reliably reproduced. (Should note here that I tend to quickly jump into every beta cycle.) These freezes have become progressively less frequent as L5 continues to be improved. I post a freeze report every time it happens because Logos developers have not been able to reproduce the problem. My hope is that the logs from these random occurrences will contain something useful in tracking down the cause(s) of these irritations. Said all that to say this, My posting of a bug report every time I have a freeze makes it appear that my installation has more problems that it actually does.

GS

Bill,

I just moved from a PC to a Mac when my i7 Toshiba died ... I just couldn't do Windows 8. The move was smooth and I've been very impressed with the MacBook Pro. With respect to Logos 5, it works and I don't see any significant difference between the Windows and OSX experience. Overall, my impression of Logos 5 is that it's a useful resource but it remains a pig of a program with respect to performance and responsiveness ... that was true on a PC and it remains true for Mac. Even with a SSD Logos is incredibly sluggish compared to native OSX apps but no more so than on Windows. Overall, I wouldn't consider Logos issues a significant factor to weigh in making your choice. From my perspective it comes down to Windows 8 vs. OSX.

Paul-C

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/529972#Comment_529972

Gregg Shelton said:

...From my perspective it comes down to Windows 8 vs. OSX.

I think that's a fair summation.

Bill, think about what else you want from your computer as it doesn't appear that the performance of Logos 5 between the two platforms of itself is enough to make your decision for you.

Bill Moore

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/529982#Comment_529982

Paul-C said:

Gregg Shelton said:

...From my perspective it comes down to Windows 8 vs. OSX.

I think that's a fair summation.

Bill, think about what else you want from your computer as it doesn't appear that the performance of Logos 5 between the two platforms of itself is enough to make your decision for you.

Thanks for all the input.

I think you're right, Gregg and Paul. As I said in another thread, having an iPhone and iPad has altered my previous view of Apple products. I really like iOS, and from what I've seen of OS X, I will like that, too. The one hangup was reading about the recent Mac problems with Logos. I really hope Logos can become a snappier program. I have no doubt that the programmers are trying.

On my four-year-old ThinkPad, working in Logos sometimes reminds me of when I had a dial up connection for the internet. I realize that an SSD will help with that, but reading Gregg's "even with a SSD Logos is incredibly sluggish compared to native OSX apps but no more so than on Windows" doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy all over.

Bill Moore

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/529963#Comment_529963

Paul-C said:

I've used both Logos 4 and Logos 5 on a mid-2009 MBP and currently a mid-2013 MBA, and have been pleased with the performance of both versions of Logos on both machines.  Granted, both machines were fairly high-spec (8GB RAM and SSD), but I was spared the painful experiences some seemed to have, especially with Logos 4 on the Mac. The very occasional spinning pizza and crash is the worst I've experienced, and this happened more under Logos 4 than 5.

Like all the Apple apologists here I don't think you'll look back if you make the leap...

Paul--I appreciated your pre-edited OT sharing your move from Windows to OS X that showed up in my email inbox! My experience with Windows echoes yours. Good information. Thanks. I don't see my not making the switch.

Paul-C

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530097#Comment_530097

Thanks Bill. I wrote that then edited it to honour your request not to turn this into a Mac vs. Windows debate! [:)]

Bill Moore

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530106#Comment_530106

Right--I understand and appreciate that. Seemingly innocent points raised elicit more and after a while an unintentional debate is underway.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

Bill Moore said:

Is this something new, or are there some inherent difficulties between Logos software and OS X?

Thread started on 11 Jul 2011 => OS X Lion, Open CL and Logos 4 offers some inherent insights with many replies by Logos development.

Thread started on 13 Sep 2103 => 64 Bit and Grand Central Dispatch includes a Logos developer reply.

alabama24 said:

There used to be significant parity issues between the platforms, but these have largely disappeared.

Wiki has => http://wiki.logos.com/Mac_and_PC_User_Interface_Differences#Feature_Parity

Keep Smiling [:)]

Bill Moore

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530445#Comment_530445

I ordered a refurbished retina MBP 15" (mid-2012; 8GB RAM/256 GB SSD) before they went out of stock. $1599, $600 off the price when they were released, made it somewhat affordable.

Thanks for all the input. I guess I'm about to find out for myself.

Martin Diers

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530574#Comment_530574

You should be in good shape with that system. The key to not pulling your hair out while running Logos is the SSD. Logos is slow because it is heavily I/O bound.

The developers have made some progress. 5 in better than 4, but Logos still has a very long way to go before anyone would describe it as fast.

Josh

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530581#Comment_530581

I have an iMac and L5 is working great. However, I bought an iMac because of all the other benefits. I can't even remember what anti-virus software looks like. [:)]

Paul-C

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530574#Comment_530574

Bill Moore said:

I ordered a refurbished retina MBP 15" (mid-2012; 8GB RAM/256 GB SSD) before they went out of stock. $1599, $600 off the price when they were released, made it somewhat affordable.

Thanks for all the input. I guess I'm about to find out for myself.

Nice choice - I'm sure you're going to be very happy with it.

Welcome to the dark side. [:D]

Donovan R. Palmer

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530574#Comment_530574

Bill, Logos 5 (Mac) is twice the program that Logos 4 was. Logos 4 was so bad at one point, I considered running it on my Mac under Windows again. So things have improved and we are mostly into minor irritants and issues. 

For example, this morning I noticed a bad UI formatting issue that has crept in... no deal killer, just a bit rough and sloppy looking. Also my install of L5 tends to ask me if it can send error reports on a frequent basis. I think this is because L5 does not always close cleanly with the crummy internet I have. (I bet the internet is better in Bellingham! :P )  It's not all minor and platform specific as well... such as the tagging issue that myself and others suffered on here earlier this year... I wound up losing a bunch of work on tags. 

So it is still the only piece of software on my Macbook that I have a list of bug fixes I am looking forward to, but no deal breakers like L4 was and I think it is gradually getting better.  If you look at the release notes, there are generally twice as many Mac bugs fixed over the windows counterpart. I don't want to read too much into that, but it is interesting to note.

If you are power user and OCD about perfection (and some Mac owners are), it will probably grind your carrots. However, it does not bug me so much as long as it works and I don't lose data.  The resources in Logos are invaluable to me and having them in electronic format is the only way I will get to use them where I work. As long as things continue to trend upward, you will be most likely happy.

Bill Moore

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/530616#Comment_530616

Thanks, Donovan, for the insight. I should receive the Mac tomorrow (I can't believe I said I'm receiving a Mac--not me! [:O] ), so I'll get started on all the fun setup and transferring of files and such. I doubt it will be a painless couple of days.