Logos resources

[Quickened]

Hey guys I am looking at moving up in the world of bible software.

One thing that I liked about using ESword was that the community had some free add ons in terms of commentaries and such. Does Logos have such a community that offers resources like that? I did note that the prices are kind of high but then again I typically buy used books off of amazon. Anyways I am looking at that Scholar's library potentially.

I have searched through some older threads here and people seem to be pretty happy with those but then again they were older threads. I remember briefly trying it on an older struggling computer and there were load issues. Since years have passed from those threads that I viewed would you say that things seem to load in a timely fashion?

I also read about potential discounts and was wondering if there were pricing discounts available (Pastor, student, etc).

My only real complaint by looking at the comparison chart is that even if you go the next step up you might lack something from a less expensive version. I am of the mind that if you are buying a better version it should include the things that were in the previous lesser version. Not the case here it seems. Ah well. I am not the boss.

I would love to hear more opinions from new users as well as long time users. All I can remember is reading D McFadden's post about using it from the 90s? (did i get that right?) That's a pretty good testimony for the software. I would like to see if newer users feel overwhelmed or if they pop on in and just plug away.

I love the idea behind word searching commentaries within "seconds". The amount of time to be saved seems astounding.

 

[jogri17]

All the modern commentaries would not be freely available, however there is a steep student discount, + regular deals (if you call and ask by phone). There is a community of Free development because there is a way to import .docx/.doc texts (formated or non) into Libronix.

I suggest, if commentarties are what you're into, go for Scholar's silver. If you do decide to buy, I can get you a slight discount, so hit me up.

 

[Quickened]

What makes you recommend Scholar's Silver over the other ones? Is that what you are currently using?

Also thank you for the offer I will be PMing you

 

[jogri17]

What makes you recommend Scholar's Silver over the other ones? Is that what you are currently using?

Because you specifically mentioned a desire for commentaries. My apologies, I meant to reccomend Platinum. That is the plan that gives you the best bang for your buck relative to Biblical Studies, original languages, and Modern commentaries.

If you do not care for modern CRITICAL commentaries, I'd suggest Silver than supplement it with some good slightly older (but still good) commentaries including : The Bible Speaks Today, select volumes in the Pillar series, Boice, Hendrickson/Kistemacker (sp?), Expositor's series, Cornerstone, the New Bible Comm., older volumes in modern series like Murray on Romans, etc.

 

[Jackie Kaulitz]

Recommendation: Bible Study and add Calvin 500 for $400

Standard discount: The normal discount for anybody that is available EVERYDAY is 15% off (whether you buy on the phone from a rep or use a coupon code online). No one should ever pay full price for Logos.

Which Base Package?: The Home package is useless because it doesn't offer any Greek/Hebrew at all (despite what the pictures show you). I purchased the Bible Study package and am VERY GLAD I did not go with a higher package. It has everything I wanted at an affordable price. The higher packages offer more stuff but when I looked closely at "the more" I found very little that would actually be useful for me (being a Reformed theology girl). Example: Compared to the highest package (Black): Logos Bible Software - Comparison Chart - Logos Bible Software I didn't need every Bible translation on earth (ESV, 2011 NIV, KJV, NASB, HSBC was all I need. Geneva Bible isn't available yet. NIV 1984 is available seperately.); only missing 4 interlinears which I didn't feel I needed; missing ~30 commentaries but I didn't feel these were key Reformed commentaries (Sad to not have Keil and Delitzsch; but Calvin & Boice, etc are available seperately); I don't need a ton of Bible history; only missing a few references; I didn't need someone else's Bible studies (could be wrong but I figured they aren't Reformed); missing some preaching & teaching but I wouldn't use; missing some theology but most I wouldn't read anyway (I would be passing on AW Pink & John Bunyan; but all my most important ones aren't here: Calvin, Van Til, etc); missing ALL ancient texts but I wouldnt use them; and a bunch more works I wouldn't use.

Instead I saved my money to buy individual group Reformed works: Calvin's 500 package (Coupon Code C5BLOG makes it ~$400 instead of $1000), etc. The cheapest way to buy Logos works go to the Products: Community Pricing and Products: Pre-Pub sections to buy them before Logos creates them. You have to wait a long time for Logos to create them but they are a fraction of the normal price.

Also, if you're going to buy it, run to Logos before 7/31 and create a login and "purchase for free" the "free book of the month" which is George Whitefield and enter the contest to win his Works. If you wait too long, it won't be free anymore! So create the login and "purchase it for $0". THEN if you haven't decided on the Logos Base Package, you can purchase that later next month. You don't need the Base Package before you get all the freebies.

I hope this helps!

 

[jogri17]

Instead I saved my money to buy individual group Reformed works: Calvin's 500 package (Coupon Code C5BLOG makes it ~$400 instead of $1000), etc. The cheapest way to buy Logos works go to the Products: Community Pricing and Products: Pre-Pub sections to buy them before Logos creates them. You have to wait a long time for Logos to create them but they are a fraction of the normal price.

If you think you may be becoming a student soon, wait. The student discounts really is amazing. Calvin 500 for example turns that 1000 dollar Calvin 500 package into less than 300 hundred for EVERYTHING. That is just one example. Also, remember that we ought not limit our reading to just Calvinistic authors, but just to the best ones. There is great stuff that is useful outside our narror list of authors. Luther's complete works is a must have in my opinion! (if not, just the one volume basic works!).

 

[Quickened]

Thank you Jackie for taking the time to type all of that out. I did grab Whitefield. Good timing as we near the end of the month and also by coincidence I am currently reading through His journals. This really makes me pleased!

Thank you again to Joseph! It's just a matter of figuring out which package is best. I am glad that they have a payment plan indeed.

Back to pondering!

 

[Jackie Kaulitz]

Happy to help. Brian, also remember to immediately check out the Community Pricing lists http://www.logos.com/products/search?Status=Community+Pricing&start=0&sort=progress&pageSize=60 and the Pre-Pub lists http://www.logos.com/products/search?Status=Pre-Pub&start=0&sort=progress&pageSize=60 on a regular basis because these expire. I check these weekly or bi-weekly. You can also buy these before you decide on your base package.

The Community Pricing lists are the cheapest way to get the books. After they expire (sort by "Progress") from the Community Pricing list, Logos moves them to the Pre-Pub lists and the price double-triples. Then once they expire from the Pre-Pub list, they move to normal price.

Example:
From the Community Pricing list, I got the Works of Isaac Watts (14 volumes) for only $45! Now it's available on the Pre-Pub list for $150. But once it expires off the Pre-Pub list, it will move to the normal price of $400.
From Community Pricing, I also got The Works of John Wycliffe (12 vols.) for only $25!!! Now it expired off Community Pricing and moved to Pre-Pub for $80. Normal price $242.

Currently on Community Pricing, the works that are about to drop off the list that might interest you are:
The Works of A. T. Pierson (42 vols.) for ~$50 but normally $770 (expires 8/3/12)
And coming up but no expiration date set yet (I think they set the dates weekly/bi-weekly) is:
The Complete Spurgeon Sermon Collection (63 vols.) for ~$75 but normally $2260 (gathering interest)

So the price for Spurgeon is ~$75. I bid $100 because IF I had bid only $75 and the books go for $80, I will kick myself for missing out on 63 volumes of Spurgeon for only $5!!! So if it's important to you, bid higher. Usually, you will end up only paying exactly the $75 but sometimes it goes $5-10 more than the $75.

On Pre-Pub List:
Baker Commentary on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms (6 vols.) expires tomorrow. $165. (I passed on this one personally. If I had been checking these lists earlier, I could have bought this set when it was on Community Pricing for around $50, but apparently I missed it. )
Theological Journal Library, vol. 14 expires tomorrow. (I also passed on this one. Not work the price for me)

A whole bunch of works expiring in early August, so check out the list.

Some works that might be of interest to you are:
The Whole Works of James Ussher (18 vols.) Community Pricing: $20 (I bid $50). http://www.logos.com/product/6832/the-whole-works-of-james-ussher
Matthew Poole's Commentary on the Holy Bible (3 vols.) Community Pricing: $30, normally $150. http://www.logos.com/product/8517/matthew-pooles-commentary-on-the-holy-bible
The Works of John Gill (21 vols.) Community Pricing: $40, normally $800. http://www.logos.com/product/8514/the-works-of-john-gill
The Works of Charles Hodge (29 vols.) Community Pricing: $90, normally $620. http://www.logos.com/product/16088/the-works-of-charles-hodge

If you prefer Poole's Commentaries in book format, Christianbook.com has them for ~$25 for all 3! But I love having them on Logos because you can highlight with 30+ different highlighter styles and colors and I can take them anywhere with me on my ipad, instead of hauling big heavy books around.

 

[Quickened]

I ended up getting the scholar's silver. For my purposes I think this has the things I need.

For anyone in this thread thinking about getting it you must! Watching the videos really doesn't do it justice. The magic happens when using it yourself. I've had the opportunity to share somethings topically lately so i got to really give it a basic test run. Happy with the results. Really glad I got the Whitefield Sermons as reading through his journals had my curiosity going when he would mention certain ones.

Jackie thanks for highlighting the community pricing. That's a pretty interesting way of doing things. Some things popped out and I have placed some bids. Do i need to check my bids regularly to see if they are ending or will I get any notifications if I wind up being under down the road? Some of these I wouldn't want to miss out on.

 

[Not_Ashamed_219]

Also if you are interested, go to learnlogos.com and checkout their webinars on the use of Logos. The webinars are only $5 a piece, in-depth and well worth it. Created by John Fallahee who used to work at Logos on educated the public on the use of Logos.

 

[Quickened]

Cool Joshua, Thanks for the tip!

 

[Jackie Kaulitz]

I ended up getting the scholar's silver. For my purposes I think this has the things I need.
Do i need to check my bids regularly to see if they are ending or will I get any notifications if I wind up being under down the road? Some of these I wouldn't want to miss out on.

Brian, glad to hear you loving Logos so much! I think it is amazing for so many things! Especially the multi-colored highlights! And the Greek/Hebrew!

No, you don't need to check once you've bid. Sometimes I'll go to my Account and see what I've already bid on (and scare myself with the total price for everything I bought on logos! haha...) and either up my bid or remove my bid (you can do this as long as it hasn't expired/dropped off the community pricing list). But once you place the bid, it stays until the item drops off the list. Then your bid is automatically secured and you win the item at that price. So if you go on vacation and don't check it in a month, all your bids will go through that month automatically.