French Logos 4

I am a missionary and presently in language training in France before going to work out in W.Africa. I have been using Logos for many years and gained so much from it. Since being in France I have been looking for options for French Bibles, Commentaries and Theology books. Since I am a missionary, a software version is the best (transportability)- my key reason I chose to invest in Logos.

There appears to be only two French bible software packages. The choice of books in each is similar - mainly old Mathew Henry type stuff which is still in english or at some point has been translated into french. Exploring Logos I found only the old Louis Segond bible sold (and a couple of other slightly more modern translations included in the expensive SESB collection). WHAT A SURPRISE! Such a market virtually untapped - France, Quebec, W.Africa some of the Iles!

Unfortunately, due to nessecity I have ended up paying for one of the aforementioned packages. The customer service was aweful, download links on their website didn't work properly, and the functionality of the program is super basic (I chose the more advanced program of the two!)[:'(]. Or maybe I have been spoilt too much by the amazing program features of Logos and the excellent customer service that my expectations have been lifted too high!

Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE[A], Logos, move into the French market, a french user interface would be fantastic, French bibles, commentaries and theology books even better!

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George Somsel

I am a missionary and presently in language training in France before going to work out in W.Africa. I have been using Logos for many years and gained so much from it. Since being in France I have been looking for options for French Bibles, Commentaries and Theology books. Since I am a missionary, a software version is the best (transportability)- my key reason I chose to invest in Logos.

There appears to be only two French bible software packages. The choice of books in each is similar - mainly old Mathew Henry type stuff which is still in english or at some point has been translated into french. Exploring Logos I found only the old Louis Segond bible sold (and a couple of other slightly more modern translations included in the expensive SESB collection). WHAT A SURPRISE! Such a market virtually untapped - France, Quebec, W.Africa some of the Iles!

Unfortunately, due to nessecity I have ended up paying for one of the aforementioned packages. The customer service was aweful, download links on their website didn't work properly, and the functionality of the program is super basic (I chose the more advanced program of the two!). Or maybe I have been spoilt too much by the amazing program features of Logos and the excellent customer service that my expectations have been lifted too high!

Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE, Logos, move into the French market, a french user interface would be fantastic, French bibles, commentaries and theology books even better!

As an alternative, you could teach them English so that they could enjoy the original KJV -- "if it was good enough for Moses ..." [;)]

Alain Maashe

I am a missionary and presently in language training in France before going to work out in W.Africa. I have been using Logos for many years and gained so much from it. Since being in France I have been looking for options for French Bibles, Commentaries and Theology books. Since I am a missionary, a software version is the best (transportability)- my key reason I chose to invest in Logos.

There appears to be only two French bible software packages. The choice of books in each is similar - mainly old Mathew Henry type stuff which is still in English or at some point has been translated into French. Exploring Logos I found only the old Louis Segond bible sold (and a couple of other slightly more modern translations included in the expensive SESB collection). WHAT A SURPRISE! Such a market virtually untapped - France, Quebec, W.Africa some of the Iles!

Unfortunately, due to nessecity I have ended up paying for one of the aforementioned packages. The customer service was aweful, download links on their website didn't work properly, and the functionality of the program is super basic (I chose the more advanced program of the two!). Or maybe I have been spoilt too much by the amazing program features of Logos and the excellent customer service that my expectations have been lifted too high!

Anyway, PLEASE PLEASE, Logos, move into the French market, a french user interface would be fantastic, French bibles, commentaries and theology books even better!

I agree

French resources and interface would be great tools.

I also wish more of the resources would be translated in French. However, I am afraid that it does not suit the publishers' and Logos' business model since it might not be that profitable and profitability is the operating word in business decisions. If we look at evangelical resources, in Western Europe, the few French speaking countries (France, part of Belgium and the Switzerland, Luxembourg ) there have very small/insignificant percentage of evangelicals which translates into a very small market that might not be worth the investment. While the number of evangelical is much greater in West Africa, I know that the overwhelming majority cannot afford Lagos' products unless thy are deeply discounted, which again goes against profitability.

Bible software in "non-profitable" languages might be better addressed in a long term by a non-profit that as it name indicates is not guided by the need to make a profit but by the need to make good resources available to those who need it and does not gets most of its revenue from sales, thus looking at this as a ministry instead of a business. This is not say that what Logos is doing is wrong but it is a business not a ministry and its limitations are obvious.

Alain

Bohuslav Wojnar

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113864#Comment_113864

As an alternative, you could teach them English so that they could enjoy the original KJV -- "if it was good enough for Moses ..."

Was the King James a relative of the King Og of Bashan? [:D]

Bohuslav Wojnar

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113939#Comment_113939

Yes, give us French Bibles and books but, please, give us Czech modern translations also [:)]

P.S. I just had to...

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113939#Comment_113939

As an alternative, you could teach them English so that they could enjoy the original KJV -- "if it was good enough for Moses ..."

Was the King James a relative of the King Og of Bashan?

He was the 4th cousin thrice removed of Og's great grandson (to the tenth power) on the distaff side.

Bohuslav Wojnar

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113946#Comment_113946

You messed up all my genealogy knowledge, George. But, having the Moses avatar some time ago, you should know better. [:)]

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113950#Comment_113950

You messed up all my genealogy knowledge, George. But, having the Moses avatar some time ago, you should know better.

Your knowledge of genealogy is probably superior to mine. I just made it up (obviously) thinking it might make the relationship sufficiently remote.

Bohuslav Wojnar

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113954#Comment_113954

[Y] good job. Sorry if my comment did not come as joke. I tried hard. But to make jokes in English... how you can make it work? [:(] Czech jokes go so easily [H]

Alain Maashe

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113954#Comment_113954

Is it really necessary to hijack someone's thread and thus trivialize something that is important and much needed?

Bohuslav Wojnar

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113957#Comment_113957

Sorry Alain. I stand corrected. I am all for the French modern Bibles being available in Logos and also the interface. We have already Spanish and Swedish one available.

Sorry again.

George Somsel

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113955#Comment_113955

good job. Sorry if my comment did not come as joke. I tried hard. But to make jokes in English... how you can make it work? Czech jokes go so easily

You need to be born speaking the language. I learned it in utero. [:S]

Rosie Perera

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/113890#Comment_113890

If we look at evangelical resources, in Western Europe, the few French speaking countries (France, part of Belgium and the Switzerland, Luxembourg ) there have very small/insignificant percentage of evangelicals which translates into a very small market that might not be worth the investment. While the number of evangelical is much greater in West Africa, I know that the overwhelming majority cannot afford Lagos' products unless thy are deeply discounted, which again goes against profitability.

Logos has begun expanding its market beyond just evangelicals by making a wider range of theological resources available (Catholic, more liberal Protestant). Even so, I agree that in Western Europe, Christianity has diminished significantly to the point of being not a very big market.

Bible software in "non-profitable" languages might be better addressed in a long term by a non-profit that as it name indicates is not guided by the need to make a profit but by the need to make good resources available to those who need it and does not gets most of its revenue from sales, thus looking at this as a ministry instead of a business. This is not say that what Logos is doing is wrong but it is a business not a ministry and its limitations are obvious.

I have a dream that someday Logos would start a charitable Foundation (the Logos Foundation) into which they would put a certain percentage of their profits and also let users in wealthier nations make donations to it, in order to be able to provide Logos software and resources to people in poorer countries. At the moment it is still not practical because computer hardware and Internet availability and speeds are not what they would need to be in most of these places in order to be able to run Logos. But just think of being able to have Logos available for seminary students and pastors in Africa! Most of them speak passable English as a second language, but having a few key resources in French, Swahili, etc., would be important in a collection made for such users.

HJ. van der Wal

(and a couple of other slightly more modern translations included in the expensive SESB collection).

I hope Logos and the German Bible Society can agree on making the modern translation included in SESB available as individual downloads. The SESB is a great collection, but the price is too high if you only need one or two of the texts that are included in it.

I remember seeing a suggestion in another thread that Logos should try to make available at least one modern translation in every major language. There are still a lot of major languages (from Polish to Bahasa Indonesia) in which no translation is available in Logos. I would rather see that Logos would invest in accomplishing this goal than that they would try to move into the French market. This is not to say of course that I wouldn't be delighted if Logos ever published a collection for the French market or teamed up with a French partner like they did with the German Bible Society!!! My personal dream is that Logos will publish all theology books written in Dutch, but I don't think that is very realistic.

I think the potential market for Logos in Europe is limited to academic/professional users or lay users who are willing to pay for serious Bible study in the original languages. This may not be a very big market, but I do think it's a significant market. (By the way isn't the Czech Republic the most secularized country in Europe? And yet there exist Cezch Logos users!) One thing that hinders me from introducing other people to Logos is the fact you can only pay by credit card. Logos is sometimes giving away books for free, but that doesn't help you if you do not own a credit card (e.g.: http://community.logos.com/forums/t/14675.aspx). I don't know how the situation in America is, but I do not think there are many European students who own a credit card.

P.S. Jonty, j'espère que le Seigneur vous donnera Sa benediction!

Bohuslav Wojnar

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/114424#Comment_114424

Thank you Hendrik-Jan for your comments. You are right with the need of Bible in every European and many other languages of the world. There is not the same need of the Theological and language resources since most people using Logos speaks English anyway. They can use English resources. In Czech that is the only way how to get to most great Christian modern resources. However Bible is different. You need it in your language for devotion, for preaching etc.

I am not sure with what you say about the credit card problem. In our country students can have a special product in most of the banks as far as cards are concerned. What other way of payment would you suggest?

HJ. van der Wal

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/115018#Comment_115018

What other way of payment would you suggest?

To be honest, I wouldn't know of a better and safer way of payment than paying by credit card. I'll admit that I mentioned it mainly to vent my frustration about how difficult it is to get people interested in Logos. In the past month I talked to four students of theology about Bible study software (two students were from my alma mater and two were from another major Dutch university). None of them had ever heard about Logos or SESB, although they could name a number of other programs (both academic and freeware). This didn't really surprise me since most universities that I know of, recommend B...W... as THE software program for biblical exegesis and research and don't mention any alternative software to their students (apart maybe from Accor....). [My apologies if I'm talking too much about my personal frustration].

Now that I'm already digressing: I want to thank you for the overview of Czech Bibles you once posted in the newsgroups. It helped me decide which Bible to buy when I was in Prague last year!!! Now if I could only find the time to learn Czech.....

Kevin Becker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/115271#Comment_115271

In the US we can purchase gift cards the function like credit cards. Typically there is a fee for purchase services from Visa or Mastercard. This service might be available in your country, it's worth looking into to give options to students who don't have a credit card.

Cedric Delalande

I think it's time to vote for that feature here :

http://logos.uservoice.com/forums/42823-logos-bible-software-4/suggestions/757338-add-a-french-interface-resources?ref=title

fgh

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/222632#Comment_222632

Those of you who want a French (or any other) interface should read Help translate Logos 5 into another language!