Two noted users of BibleWorks, Jim Darlack and Michael Hanel, have started a new blog. Its stated purpose is to “create a central location for user-created databases and highlight different ways of using BibleWorks.”

I think it’s a great idea, though I still would very much like to see an “official” BibleWorks blog too! My only beef is that the current white text against a black background is very hard on my eyes. But perhaps it’s only me…

As indicated in the FAQ section, Bible Software Review is now accepting donations and paid advertisements.

It was suggested to me that this would be a nice feature to have. So, If you want to show your appreciation for the service BSR is trying to offer, there is a new PayPal Donate button on the main page. This is my first experience with PayPal, so I hope everything works okay. Let me know if you find any problems with it — even if you don’t donate I have also decided to provide space for Bible software companies to publicize their products and/or services. If you want to advertise with us, please fill this contact form.

Finally, you may have noticed some affiliate program banners. This is another way you can help BSR at no extra cost. If you click on any of the banners and decide you want to buy a given product, the company in question will pay us a small commission based on the amount of your purchase.

As you can see, there are a number of practical things you can do to support the site now. Future enhacements to the website, new content, more regular updates, and a few other things are dependent on this kind of financial support. So please help as you are able. Thank you very much indeed!

Logos has made available a free BibleWidget for users of Mac OS X Tiger. It is based on the KJV, and can be used for simple text searches, by entering (or cutting and pasting) the book followed by the chapter and then the verse number (no ranges).

If you want to try it, here’s what you have to do: download it, unzip it, drop the widget inside your user’s Library/Widgets folder, and you’re ready to go!

I came across some useful tutorial videos for French users of the Online Bible (La Bible Online). There are currently only three, but more are under way.

Sean Boisen’s excellent New Testament Hyper-Concordance (see original blog entry here) has been updated to version 1.2.

This is how he explains some of the enhacements:

• The new release uses the English Standard Version text, thanks to the generosity of the folks at Crossway Bibles. In my opinion, this is the best contemporary English translation for study purposes, and i’m really happy to be able to offer it here.
• I’ve added tabbed navigation to make it easier to find terms of interest, and cleaned up the displays.
• There’s a new feature that displays terms according to their frequency: you can turn it off if you like, but i find it helpful in navigating a long list of terms.

Note that the old version, based on the RSV, can still be found here, but it is not longer being actively developed.