How soon to final Mac Beta?

Ok, here' my issue. Let's see what the guru's say. I have a Mac, and I also have parallels on the Mac. I run Logos in Parallels for the functionality, yet it bogs down the whole machine. I also use the Mac L4, but obviously not at the same time due to bogging issues. Should I wait for the Mac to be fully up and functional? I also have issues with the Mac L4 and all the glitches people speak of. I am a pastor and my church will buy me a new powerful Windows laptop.....it's decision time! How long should I wait? Anybody have any inside info as to projected Beta time in Mac?

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

David Mitchell

Anybody have any inside info as to projected Beta time in Mac?

No one has any inside info on this (certainly, if anyone did, it would be me). Here are a couple of relevant bits from the FAQ:

[quote]

4) When will Logos 4 Mac become a beta and/or a be fully released?

The short answer is: "As soon as possible!".

For a longer discussion of this question, including a response from Logos CEO Bob Pritchett, check out this forum thread:

http://community.logos.com/forums/p/6104/47393.aspx#47393

Also useful is this blog post:

http://blog.logos.com/archives/2010/03/whats_up_on_the_mac.html

As of 2010-03-24, these are the most official responses to this question that we've got. One from the CEO; the other posted on the corporate blog.

The release of our 1.0 product for Mac taught us to be rather shy about saying anything about release dates: in 2005, we announced (based on the estimates of those who were working on it) that we would have a Mac product in about a year. Four years later, we actually shipped it.

My own guesses as to when we might reach beta can vary pretty wildly from one day to the next, and I wouldn't want to get your hopes up (or down) by sharing them with you when tomorrow, my guess may have changed by a month or two (furthermore, if I do share my guess, and we don't hit it, there are many users who would call me out as a liar).

As regards your decision to get a new notebook computer, I give the advice I give everyone who uses alpha or beta software: don't depend on it for your day-to-day activities.

If the performance of the Windows product under Parallels is acceptable to you, you really like the Mac, and you're willing to wait for a full Mac product, then stick with that. If not, then get that Windows computer.

Chris Hulshof

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/126615#Comment_126615

Mark,

I was in a similar boat as you (except I was buying the new laptop myself). I had just recently switched over to Mac when we purchased a Mac mini as the family computer. I started down the road of L4 on a PC but the laptop I had just purchased died. I like the Mac mini so well that I waited for the MBP refresh and purchased an i7 MBP instead of another PC. I was hesitant to do this because L4 Mac is still Alpha but I noticed and read in the forums on a more frequently basis that guys who were using the Alpha for the regular sermon prep and found it workable and useable. Some of the features I used in the Windows version aren't there yet but for the most part the major ones are so I figured I'd give it a go. So far, (knock on wood) I am glad I made the jump and I too have found the Alpha to be useable and workable. Perhaps you could ask in here how many are using the L4 Alpha exclusively for their sermon prep and that might give you a better idea?

Chris

John Graves

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/126992#Comment_126992

I was using fusion and win xp to run l4 on a macbook, along with the alpha some. I finally gave up and bought a new desktop with Win 7 and love it. I had forgotten how many hoops I had to jump through just to use L4 on my macbook.

The alpha seems to be going pretty slowly on the usability side for me. I can't even get it run anymore all I get is a spinning beachball. I don't have time to go through all of the logging and testing, I want software to use not test. So I went with windows based computer and love it. Of course Logos is the main program I use on a day to day basis. Others who need their macs for other programs will have a different experience I am sure.

J.R. Miller

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/126992#Comment_126992

Perhaps you could ask in here how many are using the L4 Alpha exclusively for their sermon prep and that might give you a better idea?

I use Mac Alpha for my weekly sermon preparation. I do miss some of the features on thee L4win side, but am adjusting my workflow for now to stick with the l4mac.

I also use L4mac for several reasons.

1. The "sit and wait for it to get done" mentality does not suit me. I want to work at making this better at a faster pace.

2. The "sit back and complain" mentality does not work either because it does not produce any good fruit in my life and does not help make progress.

3. Alpha testing helps me to learn the program better. As new features are added I try them out and I learn to use them one at a time. I also helped Beta test L4win back in October '09, so I know how things "should" work and that gives a good basis for reporting things to the developers.

4. I can test and report. The more bugs I find and report, the faster L4mac progresses. The developers need us (the users) to find bugs on our systems that don't who up on theirs. Plus, every bug I report helps another user down the road have a better experience, so I see Alpha testing as helping others :-)

5. On the selfish side, I want a better Mac product and the only way to get it is to go through the pain of Alpha testing, give my feedback and allow the developers to work their magic.

That is my story.

Blessings

Alan Macgregor

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/126992#Comment_126992

Perhaps you could ask in here how many are using the L4 Alpha exclusively for their sermon prep and that might give you a better idea?

Mark

I use only Logos 4 Mac for sermon preparation and have done so for a number of weeks. (I can't remember when I last ran Logos for Mac 1.2.2.) From my point-of-view, producing 2 sermons every week, it performs well. Occasionally, there are little glitches but the are easily resolved or worked around. In addition, there is a wonderful bunch in the Mac forum, including the developers, who give advice and tips.

Go for the Mac. I moved to Mac at the end of October and I have never looked back. [:D]

Every blessing

Alan

Stephen Ashton

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/126992#Comment_126992

Perhaps you could ask in here how many are using the L4 Alpha exclusively for their sermon prep and that might give you a better idea?

I prepare comments on three Bible readings every day and a new Bible talk every fortnight in addition to my own personal Bible study. I purchased a Logos 4 base package when the Mac development was at A12 and I completely stopped using my old Bible software at about A15.

Occasionally we will want a feature that isn't yet implemented, but I believe that for the vast majority of users A19 is absolutely fine for the day-to-day study we do.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/127021#Comment_127021

Ok, here' my issue. Let's see what the guru's say. I have a Mac, and I also have parallels on the Mac. I run Logos in Parallels for the functionality, yet it bogs down the whole machine. ...

Upgrading desktop computer processor, doubling memory, and better graphics improved responsiveness for both Mac Alpha and PC Beta virtual machine.

Observation: non-Apple laptops have more screen size and resolution options - know a friend who returned a powerful Windows laptop since screen uncomfortable to read. Suggest handling various laptops before purchase - personally like LED backlighting for screen and keyboard.

An Apple Mac Book Pro can be a powerful Windows 7 laptop using Bootcamp: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3986

The alpha seems to be going pretty slowly on the usability side for me. I can't even get it run anymore all I get is a spinning beachball. ...

Observation: spinning beach ball can happen frequently when Mac lacks Free Memory. Apple's Activity Monitor can show memory usage:

Screen shot shows 131.2 MB for Page Outs - Spinning Beach Ball displays while memory pages are written out to disk => slow.

On Windows, Task Manager shows physical memory usage - if Windows paging, cursor with hour glass appears.

Observation: Logos 4 Mac Alpha and PC Beta both appreciate abundant physical memory - suggest 4 GB or more.

Bottom line: concur with Joe Miller about desire for improving cross platform Logos - facilitate study of God's Word.

Keep Smiling [:)]

Philana Crouch

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/127031#Comment_127031

Same here, I very rarely, really if ever use Logos 3 (Logos 1.2.2 Mac) at all. I have it on my computer as a back up. But right now I've just been using Logos 4. It works very well, especially since we have visual markup. I have even found some creative ways to use the various programs in iLife with some of our new features in Logos 4. So even if we have to wait a little for parity with the PC, we will have some things that only the Mac can do!

Stick with using the Mac its worth it! Besides, its fun watching it develop. Every two weeks we get a nice Logos present with a new feature or two added!!

Blessings,

Philana

Jason Saling

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/127146#Comment_127146

Besides optimization for speed, the main reason I have not started using Mac Alpha for every day use is because the commentaries always open up in random places when I click on them. When this is fixed, I imagine that I will then be using the new version every day.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/127157#Comment_127157

Besides optimization for speed, the main reason I have not started using Mac Alpha for every day use is because the commentaries always open up in random places when I click on them. When this is fixed, I imagine that I will then be using the new version every day.

Possibility: name layout(s) with commentaries open and arranged as desired, including link set(s) to bible text. Layouts can be named, updated, and opened. Also Logos synch's layouts with their servers.

While Logos for Mac 1.2.2 still installed, currently using Logos 4 Mac Alpha (preferred) or PC Beta - enjoying more Mac Alpha features with each new release.

Keep Smiling [:)]

Donovan R. Palmer

Ok, here' my issue. Let's see what the guru's say. I have a Mac, and I also have parallels on the Mac. I run Logos in Parallels for the functionality, yet it bogs down the whole machine. I also use the Mac L4, but obviously not at the same time due to bogging issues. Should I wait for the Mac to be fully up and functional? I also have issues with the Mac L4 and all the glitches people speak of. I am a pastor and my church will buy me a new powerful Windows laptop.....it's decision time! How long should I wait? Anybody have any inside info as to projected Beta time in Mac?

Hi - I think part of the answer rests in how happy you are going to be using Windows 7? I was a Windows user of over 15 years and got so fed up with all the well known issues with Windows that I switched to Mac. In doing so, I conceded I was happy to put up with some compromises while I wait for Logos 4 Mac to be ready for prime time. I even invested in another Bible programme for Mac to supplement my needs. So as you can tell, I was willing to go great lengths to get off of Windows as a primary OS.

Now, that said, I am using a fairly new MBP with Fusion running XP Pro and have found Logos 4 to give me satisfactory performance. Due to time constraints (and current downloading limitations), I don't even bother running L4 Mac. I doubt I will until L4 Mac gets past the Alpha stage or my time/downloading constraints change. As long as virtualization software continues to be so good, I can live with what I have.

One question to ask is whether or not you are running the latest version of Parallels and have used the tweaks that have been posted on this forum? If you haven't, you may find the windows version will meet your requirements until L4 Mac matures.

C Devin Chaulk

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/127090#Comment_127090

I use L4M every day for sermon prep and personal Bible study. Additionally, I am a seminary student (Moody Theological Seminary), and I use it for all my assignments. It has been at least a couple of months since I have needed to use the Libronix software. I anxiously await each week's updates, as there are still features not yet implemented. That being said, I am happy with the progress.

As a side note, I have been a Mac user for 3 years, and I will NEVER go back to a Windows operating system.

C Devin