This past week I saw the same question from a friend in my inbox and from a seminary classmate in the ELCA Clergy Group on Facebook. The question was around what Bible software did folks use and why? I actually haven't been all that keen on desktop Bible study software, as I do like books and I often want to have my Bible with me in other parts of the building for leading classes and Bible studies. The times I've wanted access to the NRSV or The Message or other texts on my desktop, I've just used http://bible.oremus.org/ or www.biblestudytools.com to get to them.
Years ago, however, I decided that I'd like to have a Bible to carry with me. I knew I wouldn't be any good at carrying even a slim-and-trim bible in my jacket pocket, as much of the time I don't wear a jacket. I suppose it could have fit in the cargo pocket of my pants (or shorts), but I really didn't want yet another thing to carry around. In those days, I was using a Palm IIIc as my personal organizer. I came across a program called Olive Tree Bible Reader which was free, although the NRSV cost $12 or so. I decided that this was reasonable and installed the app (although in those days we didn't call them apps) onto my Palm Pilot and downloaded the files necessary to use the NRSV Bible. Life was good.
A few years later, I upgraded to a Palm Tungsten E. I re-installed Olive Tree Bible Reader onto this and worried about whether I'd have to pay for the NRSV again or not. Turns out, once I signed into my Olive Tree account, the files were automatically downloaded and I had access to them again. This was also true when I cracked the screen on my Tungsten E and got a second model of that device. A year or two later, I got an iPod Touch and found that the Olive Tree Bible Reader app was available for that device as well. I installed the app to that and still had the NRSV! Most recently, I installed the app on my Droid X and once I logged into my account, the NRSV was there!
A couple of weeks ago, Olive Tree announced that they were coming out with a Windows 7 version of their software, in addition to the Mac version that they already had. I downloaded the PC version of the software, which does also run on Windows Vista, and once I had logged in, true to form, my NRSV and other purchased books were accessible.
Bible Reader also supports note taking and syncing via Evernote, another fine cross-platform and web application. I haven't used it much but, in theory, I could make notes on my PC and access them via my Droid X. I usually reserve the split screen for Greek, but it's nice to know that I could put notes there from my PC if I wanted to!
The other new resource available via Olive Tree is the Lutheran Study Bible from Augsburg Fortress. You can buy just the notes, if you already own the NRSV text, or you can buy it with the NRSV text. Visit www.olivetree.com and type Lutheran Study Bible into the search field. To download the app or program for iOS, Android, Mac or PC (it did used to be available for Blackberry and Palm as well), visit www.olivetree.com and click on your device.
Years ago, however, I decided that I'd like to have a Bible to carry with me. I knew I wouldn't be any good at carrying even a slim-and-trim bible in my jacket pocket, as much of the time I don't wear a jacket. I suppose it could have fit in the cargo pocket of my pants (or shorts), but I really didn't want yet another thing to carry around. In those days, I was using a Palm IIIc as my personal organizer. I came across a program called Olive Tree Bible Reader which was free, although the NRSV cost $12 or so. I decided that this was reasonable and installed the app (although in those days we didn't call them apps) onto my Palm Pilot and downloaded the files necessary to use the NRSV Bible. Life was good.
A few years later, I upgraded to a Palm Tungsten E. I re-installed Olive Tree Bible Reader onto this and worried about whether I'd have to pay for the NRSV again or not. Turns out, once I signed into my Olive Tree account, the files were automatically downloaded and I had access to them again. This was also true when I cracked the screen on my Tungsten E and got a second model of that device. A year or two later, I got an iPod Touch and found that the Olive Tree Bible Reader app was available for that device as well. I installed the app to that and still had the NRSV! Most recently, I installed the app on my Droid X and once I logged into my account, the NRSV was there!
A couple of weeks ago, Olive Tree announced that they were coming out with a Windows 7 version of their software, in addition to the Mac version that they already had. I downloaded the PC version of the software, which does also run on Windows Vista, and once I had logged in, true to form, my NRSV and other purchased books were accessible.
Bible Reader also supports note taking and syncing via Evernote, another fine cross-platform and web application. I haven't used it much but, in theory, I could make notes on my PC and access them via my Droid X. I usually reserve the split screen for Greek, but it's nice to know that I could put notes there from my PC if I wanted to!
The other new resource available via Olive Tree is the Lutheran Study Bible from Augsburg Fortress. You can buy just the notes, if you already own the NRSV text, or you can buy it with the NRSV text. Visit www.olivetree.com and type Lutheran Study Bible into the search field. To download the app or program for iOS, Android, Mac or PC (it did used to be available for Blackberry and Palm as well), visit www.olivetree.com and click on your device.
Do you have a favorite Bible software or tip for Bible Reader?