Help Me Decide
I’ve used Macintosh computers now going on over 10 years. I love everything about them and, if the Lord grants my wish, I will never go back to using a PC again. With all of that being said, I need help from you other Mac users out there.
While in seminary, I purchased Bibleworks (yes, I still use version 5). It’s been quite useful and reliable, but, as you can imagine, it’s quite a pain to run it via Virtual PC on my Mac. Between the two programs, I’m taking up quite a bit of space and Virtual PC, just like a real PC, often crashes. I’ve long been thinking about switching to Accordance. To be honest, I have no real reason why I haven’t switched other than the cost. Yes, Bibleworks is old, but it is paid for!
Please tell me, is Accordance worth the switch? I’ve only heard good things about it aside from some isolated comments that it’s not as easy to navigate as they might have you believe. What do you think? Should I take the plunge?
- Visit the Accordance official site to learn more
Brent,
I’ve checked into both, as well. Being a Mac user (is there any other option?) I’ve only heard great things about Accordance. One thing I’ve noticed, however, is that you need to purchase additional modules with the program to get additional Bible versions, etc. That can get expensive. It would be great if Accordance offered more with their best package w/o having to spend additional money for other modules.
Hi there,
Im on the same boat - I run BW in Virtual PC. And its a pain sometimes because windows runs slowly. But if I had an Intel based mac I would purchase Parallels desktop and run it sweetly on the mac.
Have you an Intel based mac? Worth looking into.
No, I don’t have the Intel-based Mac, I’m still running a G4 Powerbook at the office as my primary study computer so running the parrallels is not an option at this point. Wade, that’s a good point about the additional modules for Accordance. I know that if you buy the “Scholars” edition that it come with one free Bible unlock code, but that still leaves a lot of features left out.
Im on a G4 also. But having gotten used to Bibleworks, Im waiting until I upgrade to a new mac and then I’ll get parallels - I’ve used it and it works well.
I made the switch to Accordance from Bibleworks 4 (married into it! you can imagine my face when I saw that box on her bookshelf!) when I moved to a Mac and did not like the sluggishness of VirtualPC. For the most part I have enjoyed it. It has served me well and was easy to learn to navigate.
One nice feature I can’t live without is the Quicksilver actions for Accordance that you can get from Joe Weeks. This enables you to insert text (and other features from Accordance) into any text document, etc without having to cut and paste and switch back and forth. Love it!
One thing to consider is the new Logos for mac coming out sometime. That may be the way to go if you are going to switch.
For me the Biblical languages module + the ESV and NASB is golden. I find that’s all I use and rarely go to the other stuff (books, etc.) Though I am not a power user and I still like the feel of paper.
What have you used most in Bibleworks Brent?
I know that some people say it’s cheating, but I use the original language parsing quite a bit and the advanced search functions the most in Bibleworks, so based on what you’re saying, the Biblical languages module with the ESV/NASB might be just what I need.
Brent, I’ve just got to say thanks for raising this important issue for your readers. I think you’ll agree with me that when the ESV is shackled by Virtual PC, it’s hard to maintain the doctrine of perspicuity with a straight face.
Accordance is insanely great! I don’t use it myself, but Bono tells me that it super charges the digital lifestyle for Christians.
That reminds me, congratulations to you people on winning the Super Bowl. That was big.
I used Accordance on Macs for a long while but swapped to a PC when I entered the ministry (at that time compatibility was very expensive). After a little hiatus I’m back using a 24″ iMac with Parallels Desktop running Windows XP Pro. I favour Libronix bible software (from Logos, Inc) over every other package I’ve ever seen or used.
I would recommend that you spend the money you’d fork out on addins for Accordance on upgrading to a new Intel-based iMac and spend $70 on Parallels Desktop. You can then continue using your Mac and continue using the software you’ve paid for and are familiar with. I recommend Libronix but you may be better off sticking with what you’ve got.
The new Intel-based iMacs are fabulous, and with Parallels you can cut and paste between PC and Mac applications as though they’re one and the same OS.
Logos is finally planning to release a Mac version this spring. You probably ought to wait and see what that looks like before making a decision.
I use Logos on a PC right now. If I had my dream world, I would get a Mac and Logos would let me switch over for free. I agree with Dorsey, Logos is the way to go!
Dorsey and Chris, why Logos?
When I was on my PC, I had Logos. I liked it, and when Logos switches over, I’ll get it. Mainly I’ll do it because I’m familiar with it, it’s been nice, and quite frankly, it’ll be cheaper to go that route since I already shelled out big bucks for the PC version.
I don’t know much about Accordance, since I’ve really only used Logos.
Brent,
Accordance is far and away the best Bible software on the market. Although a little pricy, the usability, functionality, aesthetics, long term development, helps and capability to generate tables, concordances, graphs and a few other options under the “details” button are unmatched by any available software.
Email or call me if you want to talk more about it. I’m supposed to be cleaning the kitchen for company later tonight.
For now, check out these links.