At ETS this year all 3 of the “big guns” in Bible software released major new updates.
Accordance released v. 8.1 just ahead of the conference and announced major new modules at the conference. Read a very helpful review here (which I noted earlier, including a chance to win a free copy). Check preview videos here.
Note added later (12/1): Accordance has now posted an official list and description of their updates on their site.
And here’s another posting, this time on the Accordance blog with more detail (12/2).
BibleWorks released v. 8 with many new features and modules (including, e.g., Wallace’s, Waltke-O’Connor’s, and Joüon-Muraoka’s grammars—all included in the base package, not modules you have to pay extra for).
Logos has now released the Mac version for which they floated a teaser a few weeks ago as due “before Christmas.” They tell me that was a “just in case” timeframe. The web page has not yet been updated to indicate that it is shipping. The final pressed copies have not yet arrived, but they manually duplicated enough DVDs to sell at the conference. I have a copy tucked in my laptop case to install and try out when I get home. (I didn’t pay much attention to their Windows info, but I think I heard they either have a new version out or that one is coming soon which promises to be much faster than the current version. My major complaint has always been the extremely sluggish behavior of the Windows version, even on a fairly fast machine with lots of RAM.)
(I’ve now posted a few observations of the Mac Logos after a few hours playing around with it. See the previous blog topic.)
For those who could not get to Boston, would you care to share what some of the major releases are for Accordance? (They typically don’t post it on their website until the staff have had a good break after SBL.)
Sorry, I should have done that before I posted (I wrote the post enroute home and I didn’t have access to the printed info with the list).
Original Language Modules
Accord Primary DVD 8.1
Graphics DVD (combines Atles, PhotoGuide, & Timeline)
The f. items are listed as “notable new modules”
BDB Complete [no longer the glosses only!] including Aramaic
Ugaritic Data Bank (transliterated)
Joüon/Muraoka, Grammar of Biblical Hebrew
Ben Sira (Hebrew, English, tagged Peshita)
Onkelos Glossary
Hebrew Inscriptions (includes 711 seals)
Qumran Sectarian MSS (DJD 37 & 40 added)
GNT Papyri (Comfort & Barrett, 2d ed.)
Coptic NTs (Sahidic & Boharic, etc)
MT-LXX Parallel (Tov, Polak) major revision w/ add. mtl.
Eusebius EH 1-5, Greek & English
LXX, rev. Rahlfs/Hanhart
LXX, Swete with txt. apparatus
Vulgate, tagged with glosses and Latin Dict.
English Modules: Grudem, BKC, Catholic Study Bible, ESVS, Expos. Dict/Bib Words, Experiencing God, Holman Illus. Bible Dict, Holman Book of Bib. Charts/Maps, Life Applic. Study Bible, Jewish Study Bible, JPS Torah Comm, New Scofield, Complete Gathered Gold.
Thanks! It looks like some great modules! They’ve been working hard and producing a lot for a small comany!
(Of course, it would be nice to have more – Moulton & Milligan, Moulton-Howard-Turner, BDF, Smyth, Migne, Lampe, Goettingen LXX, TDNT, TDOT, early midrashic literature, Kleines’ Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, Even-Shoshan’s Milon, Kaddari’s Dictionary, etc.!)
In your opinion, which is a better overall program: BibleWorks or Accordance?
My use of Accordance for many, many years probably prejudices me! BW is a very capable program, but I confess the interface seems bizarre to me. And to really harness its power you have to learn the command line–which I find also clumsy and unintuitive–something only a programmer (or Unix geek) could love. So I conclude for Accordance in terms of usability and interface. I’d guess that if you knew how to use all the capabilities of both, that they are perhaps nearly equal in ability for original language work, so the interface is really the major difference. There are numerous other differences, but a comment probably isn’t the place to write a comparative review! So I’d suggest you go buy one of the new MacBooks and put Accordance on it. It’s well worth the cost (of the Mac *and* Accordance!).