I currently have Platinum. Is the jump to Portfolio worth the money ($2600)?
It's been discussed before. Depends on your interests, list out your definite wishes, possible wishes and definite nos and see if buying individually is better. It will give you opportunities to read stuff you probably would have missed.
How could I have ever got through life without the illuminating words of "Dr" Morey for example[:S]
Warning you will still get personalised emails asking you to upgrade to portfolio even though you have it. I just have
Sorry can't be more help.
Thanks, John. They keep tempting me--those pesky emails, etc.
I know been there bought the t shirt
So tempting to spread over what is now 18 months.
As I said please look closely at what interests you. More jewish, dead sea scrolls, languages etc. Also the offers will still be there xmas etc. Also ask sales if you get any discounts for what you have got if you have purchased any of the items listed recently
All the best
John
I'm in your shoes. I've probably spent $1,500 - $,2000 on resources beyond Platinum, and I believe I'm much happier with picking the items that I specifically want / need. It's a lot more work, to be sure, but I use the resources I've picked with regularity. Not sure that would be true with the additional resources in Portfolio.
In case it matters, my needs are driven by the following: a) I'm a seminary student at Southern Seminary (thus lots of Greek and theological resources - Hebrew next spring); b) I'm a sometime teaching elder at our fellowship.
Donnie
I went through the same process, and eventually concluded that the value just wasn't there for me. Although there are some things in Portfolio that I'd love to have, there is also quite a lot that isn't of value to me, so will wait for a sale for the resources I want rather than buying a huge number of resources that I am unlikely to need or use. I think you have to take a long hard look at what you'll be getting, make a list of those that you want, work out whether they come to more than the upgrade, then assess whether it is a good use of the money before clicking the "buy" button. There is a stewardship issue here as well, and we have to remember that there are other calls on our money apart from books (and I am aware of the Erasmus quote on that front :-))
To be honest with you, other than Tanak (9Vols.), Liddell & Scott Lexicon and HALOT I really don't see a real good reason to dish out $2600 to upgrade to Portfolio, though I would get a deeper discount since I own the OT and NT College Press Commentaries (all 40 volumes not just the 35 offered in Portfolio). Plus, I own resources that are no longer part of Portfolio (BECNT, First Hebrew Primer, etc.) Even then with the theoretical discount I've calculated I'd only be paying around 100 per month, but still, I don't see myself spending that money now, especially with MY economy.
I'm not in full time ministry anymore, just part time and Sundays only, so for now it'd be a bad move for me to pay 100 a month for 18 months, since I'm not making enough money nor have a book budget to say I have the money to spare on that. I'm blessed to be working 3 jobs now to make ends meet, so it's kind of difficult, but for some reason, it actually gets tempting to get Portfolio and I don't know why.
Anyway, if you can afford it and you will use most of the new content, yeah go for it, if not I'd recommend using that money and spend it on specific resources you actually need and will use like others have suggested.
Blessings!
DAL
Thanks to all of you. Everytime I consider the upgrade I come to the same conclusion: it's not for me.
Although there are some things in Portfolio that I'd love to have, there is also quite a lot that isn't of value to me, so will wait for a sale for the resources I want rather than buying a huge number of resources that I am unlikely to need or use. I think you have to take a long hard look at what you'll be getting, make a list of those that you want, work out whether they come to more than the upgrade, then assess whether it is a good use of the money before clicking the "buy" button.
Thankful for wish list(s) on the Logos web site. Currently, my wish list for "Portfolio Upgrade" resources is hundreds less than upgrade discount => http://www.logos.com/upgrade
Thankful for 2011 Christmas repeat of 2010 Master Library Builder collection that included a number of Portfolio resources.
Keep Smiling [:)]
My cut/paste post to the upgrade blog post to portfolio: http://blog.logos.com/2012/07/get-portfolio-at-its-lowest-monthly-price/
I have been a longtime Logos user. I began with version 1.x and a stack of floppy discs. What that means is that my collection(s) have grown over the years and these kinds of upgrades are never easy. What I have begun to do is to really heavily consider collections/bundles whenever I am looking at an individual resource to add to my library.Yes, they are expensive. Yes there are "too many" books. But what I have learned is that the payment plan is only one way to help with expenses - especially for a minister on a limited budget. but you can also check your local state tax experts and verify that these kinds of "books and journals" are directly related to your ministry and might be tax deductible (at least for many, and for now - the world is changing). As for there being too many books that might get in the way of searching, I thought that as well and have learned that there really is no such thing as too many, and that there are built in ways that Logos can help with that challenge, especially as Logos continues to mature and address challenges like this for those of us with many thousands of resources. The couple things that come to mind are searching after making collections. And then I also personally recommend the Morris Proctor Seminars, or the Academic series (available at Logos) to help strengthen and mature our searching techniques. Then finally a couple points to also consider for an investment like this (not to mention the resources that one would really desire/need within the bundle): 1.) the fact that for a minimal fee, your library license can be transferred in a Last Will and Testament. I have this in my will, and cannot exaggerate he excitement I have knowing the legacy I am leaving. 2.) as mentioned, I have been doing this for years and knowing that Logos essentially guarantees that access to the purchased resources will always be available, no matter what upgrades happen - is a consideration that not all Bible Software places can make. While I cannot make the decision for you the individual Logos user to upgrade, I do have to say that at least for me, it was worth it, even though I already owned many of the resources (believe me when I say many, I do not mean to say just a few, but rather a very significant number). I have discovered that I am not afraid of other paradigms or schools of thought in what resources I own and read. As a simple example, I have and have read and studied several versions of the Quran. This comparative study helps to understand that paradigm, the people and context. And though I am “Protestant”, you will also find a plethora of “Catholic” resources in my library as well. Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.
a) I'm a seminary student at Southern Seminary (thus lots of Greek and theological resources - Hebrew next spring); b) I'm a sometime teaching elder at our fellowship.
I attend Boyce and took Greek last year. I am taking Hebrew this year with Dr. Betts and 18 hours. I own Port and use it regularly, sure there are some resources I probably don't use but it is nice to know they are there if needed. I teach the young adults at the church I attend. I tend to buy theological, preaching, and church history resources to add to my library. I have spent a ton to get the library I own.
Matt
I have portfolio. Even though I haven't had it for long (a few months), I have made use of a number of the resources that only come in that package versus the others.
In doing the math with the Academic Discount, if I had gotten Platinum and tried to upgrade to Portfolio (outside of a special upgrade deal), the upgrade would have cost just as much as if I had bought Portfolio from the start.
Because I haven't had the package for long, it's easy to say I haven't made use of a large majority of it. However, with a long term investment like this, it's not easy to define a purchase as bad stewardship or not. Over years of having it, I might end up making use of most of it, or I may not. I simply don't know. All I know now is that I tried to get the best deal that I could as well as prepare for a life in ministry and maybe academia. Should I have thought of the long term over the short term in this case? I don't know that either.
Ultimately, I made the decision to get Portfolio, and I'm happy with it. Some of those resources that only come standard in Portfolio, that I mentioned I've made use of earlier, were used in papers and such. As a young seminary student who was even less familiar then than I am now with what resources are good to quote and such, it was also good to get a number of different resources that I wasn't familiar with but could become more acquainted with in buying the package. I now have a wide range of commentaries from homiletical to critical and in between. Because I've examined them somewhat, I now know more of what those words really mean and could probably judge a resource I've never encountered before better than others in this regard. (I use commentaries as an example.) So I regard that as a plus as well.
Just a few things to consider there.
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