Logos Standard 5 to 6, portfolio to collectors initial impressions...

Well, I took the dive.  Actually tied cinderblocks to my ankles and jumped in, so to speak... My first impressions, mostly aesthetics, but that is, of course first impressions...

• wait, what? where's my courses???
• in the content? uhm, #justNOPE
• while I am here and looking at settings, I would have thought you could move something TO the sidebar. guess not.  So sad that I have so much wasted white space in the sidebar, and can't add something there that I would like to be static, from the content side, though I can choose from the plethora of lectionaries.
• ahhhh yesssss - scrolling content, instead of pages. yes [arm-pumping-motion]
• aughghgh scrolling content (no touchscreen support)
• which brings me to: no direct support/optional support for tablet PCs? Faithlife, you do realize this is the 21st century, right?
• I choose my portable PCs very carefully, and the main purpose for this expenditure is to be able to use full, unadulterated Logos (now 6) from the lectern/pulpit.

Yea, maybe this is menial kinds of things, and why mention them:  Don't get me wrong, I love my L6, have been a user for over a decade, when my "library" came on a huge stack of floppy disks. It's not like I am mean or vindictive, just making note of suggestions for a dot-release (especially since touch screen support has been a major request since Libronix4.

I know Faithlife has been going through some changes and a LOT has been happening lately, but my last point isn't about L6 directly.  As an IT manager and Technical Project Manager, this part of my brain is screaming:

"Who in their right mind would have planned a huge update release of resources - while not being a 'push', the majority of systems in the field have auto update turned on, effectively being a push - the night before a major release?"

Thanks for the "ear", Faithlife.  hope these things are taken seriously.

Brent Hoefling:

bump and another shout for a required suggestion, pullllllease...

can i/we pretty please with sugar on top, get courses back in the sidebar? 

We will be moving them to the sidebar in an upcoming release, not sure how soon though.

Brent Hoefling:

which brings me to: no direct support/optional support for tablet PCs? Faithlife, you do realize this is the 21st century, right?

• I choose my portable PCs very carefully, and the main purpose for this expenditure is to be able to use full, unadulterated Logos (now 6) from the lectern/pulpit.

Perhaps you should have done some more reading on the forums. If it is not clear by now, Logos has not intention of supporting the touch interface of Windows 8 & 10 in more than a rudimental fashion. I say this not with glee, but bitterness. I have been a big Windows fan for years, but the fact is primary program I use my computers for and Logos seems to be moving very heavily in the Apple direction. I also have to say I am unset at PC makers. This review of the new Yoga 3 sums up the problem well:

"One of the reasons we can’t tell if the problems reviewers are experiencing are fundamental issues with Broadwell, or caused by Lenovo’s bad system design, is because the history of PC laptops is basically the history of terrible design decisions writ large upon an unsuspecting but increasingly unhappy populace. Granted, we see this trend across other device categories as well, but it’s always been the most pronounced in laptops. Boutique manufacturers use CPUs and GPUs that their chassis either can’t cool or can’t cool without sounding like jet turbines. Manufacturers opt for lower-durability construction and weaker hardware in the name of shaving a scant millimeter off a measurement. In this case, Lenovo cuts battery capacity, tosses in a high resolution display with an insane power draw, tightens the screws on the CPU to compensate, and then wraps the display in flimsy construction that multiple websites call out as flawed.

Why?

Because laptop OEMs are gutless and sell on specs, not on experience. Because even when they build $1200 hardware, they infuse that price point with $300 thinking. Crank up the resolution, but use a panel with a bad color gamut. Slash the thickness, but gut the battery life. Charge four figures, but refuse to remove the spyware and shovelware that infest most OEM laptops like a bad case of fleas. Include a terrible webcam, because you can get away with saving 20 cents on the part. Improve the specs on individual parts, but don’t combine those improvements into superior products. "

I run Logos on two blazing fast PCs (one at home, one at work) I have personally built, but I don't have that option when it comes to mobile PCs. I am stuck with the bone head products like the Yoga 3. People try to blame the Windows OS, but I think more blame goes to the hardware manufactures.

Brent Hoefling:

Might be nice to have something official from them. 

I think they're waiting to see how Windows Touch APIs settle down, and how popular touch devices become. Windows 8 was such a disaster that I'm glad they didn't rush in.

Mark Barnes:

Brent Hoefling:

Might be nice to have something official from them. 

I think they're waiting to see how Windows Touch APIs settle down, and how popular touch devices become. Windows 8 was such a disaster that I'm glad they didn't rush in.

I guess, I never saw win8 as a disaster. Maybe L6 is a disaster, especially since we have had 2 sp's since it's release? just kidding.  but seriously, I can see having challenges when the Tablet PC situation was WinXP and you had to load a special version for the hardware to even get a pen/touch to work with XP and no standards in APIs to speak of.  but those days are so two decades ago, especially with metro (do they still call it that?).  I am not a RT user, so don't know of any disastrous ramifications therein. :)

Touch devices are, well huge, right?  how many android, ipad, and other "padd" devices are out there?  their popularity has become so inundated that folks like me have to specify.  I am a touch-PC user (as opposed to a device, like ipad or Samsung tabled, etc.. devices run apps/applets, not full application programs that have full functionality that run on desktop PC's), my programs are fully functional (perhaps even bloated) - the same program application of Logos 6 that runs on my desktop PC, runs on my tablet PC. :)

Paul C:

I all but begged for a forum to allow those who use the desktop software on touch interface to communicate possible workarounds. They have forums for many mobile apps... (Android,iPhone/iPad) Even a Windows store forum upon which to discuss the disastrous RT. If Faithlife is too busy to consider addressing some of the pen/touch issues, It would seem the least they could do is provide an arena so we can "work out our own salvation."

agreed.  at least we could get together for third party workarounds, etc.  like when I discovered that when I add a second touch screen through USB to by tablet PC, the software has a hotkey that conflicts with a key-combination in L5 (at the time) - others might benefit from my hours of troubleshooting and other forum discussions. :)