On the Continued Interest in Pradis
The fact that almost five years later this blog entry on Pradis is one of the most frequently read ones, and that people still make comments on it, makes you wonder it it really was a good move to discontinue the product. It is true that Zondervan’s titles can be found in other software packages, but despite what many seem to believe nowadays, content is not king.
I think that it’s more so that people (especially pastors it seems) are averse to change & seem to avoid it at all costs. Just the other day I got a message from a customer asking if I could send them a copy of WORDsearch 5, after our tech support had already helped them install & get the latest version up & running. Instead of trying to figure out the new software & access all the new stuff that was available, he’d rather run a version we no longer support (and that’s 4 versions old).
Yes, that could very well be one of the reasons. What’s interesting, though, is that Pradis wasn’t particularly easy to figure out at first. Nevertheless, I think it was a good piece of software.
More likely that the availability of remaindered Pradis software at low prices causes people to research it. I bought two P6 packages a couple of years ago for an attractive price. I also bought an Accordance/Zondervan package. Good deal too. I still use both, but Zondervan’s abandonment was poorly orchestrated and left some people bitter.
I used the Pradis software to put the bible scriptures on the the projector at church. When we got a Windows 7 that same program won’t work any more. We dont do bible studies or teaching lessons on it, just use it for reading for our seniors because they are anywhere to 90 and need the extra help. If there is nothing I can do about it working any more, is there any other similar program. I was able to make a soft yellow background with brown font color and it was easy to see an easy on the eyes. Thank you.
Pradis 5 does fun on Windows 7. I’ve recently reinstalled it. It’s main advantage is the Zondervan encyclopaedias and language aids which were not available elsewhere. If you want to display the Bible text, e-sword allows a choice of background and font/size but shows the menus at the top. You can cut and paste into a word processor and do whatever you want
I am able to run Pradis 6 on Windows 8 without issue. The reason I keep Pradis loaded is that the cost of replacing my resources in another format is cost prohibitive. I have Logos 5, but cannot afford the prices they are demanding to get the same content I’ve already purchased. I may ultimately get a few of the big ones (NIVAC, NIDOTTE, NIDNTT) but the remaining resources will reside in Pradis until it will not work anymore. I realize that Zondervan provided a discount when they first dropped Pradis, but even that cost was very high. I paid full price for nearly every Zondervan resource at a time when I had the funds…unfortunately things are tighter now that I have 4 kids.