There is now a new section available for reviewing shareware Bible programs. The first review I have posted deals with a little known gem: Workman’s Study Bible.
If you feel comfortable using a command line and keeping your fingers on the keyboard most of the time, appreciate a minimalist approach to user interfaces, and like a really powerful search engine, you will love this program.
While attending ETS — that is, the 60th Annual Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society held last week in Providence, Rhode Island –, Rod Decker got hold of the Logos for Mac DVD (Scholar’s Gold edition). He’s shared his experience after playing around with it for a couple of hours. It is not a review as such, but it is an interesting read coming from a seasoned Mac and Accordance user.
Michael Hanel is posting a series of articles on the (unofficial) BibleWorks Blog about some of the new features available in BW8, which is going to ship in mid-to-late December. Under the general title of Things to Love in BibleWorks 8, Michael, who has been beta-testing the new release, offers some insights on what has been updated or added to version 8. These are the first, second, third, fourth , fifth, sixth, and seventh installments in the series. More will follow in the coming days, so if you want to be in the loop, you may want to check it out.
I have just posted a new review of Bible Analyzer 3.5, a great freeware application for Windows and Linux users. It is a program I enjoy using, and it has great potential. I hope Tim Morton continues to improve it.
If you like it, please consider ordering the CD-ROM at the dirt-cheap price of $18 + $3 shipping.
BibleWorks announces the release of version 8 of its biblical exegesis and research software (see full press release).
Some of the new program features include comprehensive analysis tabs in the Analysis Window, phrase matching tool and related verses tool, new formatting for exporting text, cross-reference window, an alternate set of Greek NT diagrams, external resources manager and English Bible text-to-speech. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Check out this page for a more complete list of new features and databases, or this one for a full list of the newly added content. You may also want to download this PDF brochure to learn more about BibleWorks 8.
Jerry Foster has updated his Bible software reviews with the addition of three more programs, PocketBible for Windows, PC Study Bible, and BibleSpeak. I think you will find them interesting.
World of Apple carries a very extensive review of Accordance 8. Its author, Dee Dee Warren, does a very thorough job, and if you leave a comment you can win a free Library 8 Introductory Level package (priced at $99), which isn’t bad at all.
It’s good to see other people writing comprehensive reviews. Now, who said my reviews were long…? 
Mark Vitalis Hoffman (more commonly known online as MGVH), has posted an analysis of the mapping resources found in the new QuickVerse 2009. The review focuses particularly on the new integration between QV’s maps and Google Maps. I recommend you check it out.
I have always said that Bible software is not an end in itself. What really matters is what you do with it. So I am always on the look out for examples of practical applications. Today I found a nice one here. When I first read Rodney J. Decker’s question over at the Accordance Forums, little did I know what he was up to. Now I know, and I like it. It is always good to see people using Bible programs to carry on daily tasks, but also to do research and apply them to things that may not be immediately obvious.
P.S. The title of this entry was inspired by Gordon Fee’s To What End Exegesis?, which happens to be on the shelf in front of my desk.
The Windows and Mac versions of ScriptureDirect have been updated. According to the developer of the program,
The main new features are the ability to use the scroll wheel and to resize the window (new for Windows). The resizing function should make it easier for users to use other software next to SD or to browse other translations on the internet and compare them to the Greek/English transliteral translation that we provide.
The update can be downloaded from within the program itself (orange globe icon located on the start screen).