Laridian Releases New Bible Reference Series for PocketBible

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="https://laridiansales.com/order/productpages/LBKNBRS01.asp?ref=apwzwtzws">https://laridiansales.com/order/productpages/LBKNBRS01.asp?ref=apwzwtzws</a><br /><br />Laridian has released the <i>"New Bible Reference Series"</i> for PocketBible, which is comprised of 4 volumes: <a href="https://laridiansales.com/order/productpages/LBKNBC001.asp?ref=apwzwtzws">New Bible Commentary</a>, <a href="https://laridiansales.com/order/productpages/LBKNBD001.asp?ref=apwzwtzws">New Bible Dictionary</a>, <a href="https://laridiansales.com/order/productpages/LBKNDT001.asp?ref=apwzwtzws">New Dictionary of Theology</a> and <a href="https://laridiansales.com/order/productpages/LBKNDBT01.asp?ref=apwzwtzws">New Dictionary of Bible Theology</a>.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/hansberry/2005/20050826-newbiblereference.gif" /><br /><br />You can buy the volumes separately in prices ranging from $14.99-$16.99, but if you buy all 4 at once for an introductory price of $49.99, you save 25%. Make sure you put these on a storage card or in a flash ROM file store though. All together, they weigh in at 13MB. 8O It does require PocketBible, which is sold separately. For current PocketBible owners, I noticed there is a slighly revised build in my download account this morning, so you might as well pick that up too if you buy this series.

[Craig Horlacher]

Do any of these references include maps of the Bible times?

I've got tons of Pocket Bible references and the new mp3 Bible but I'm still waiting for some maps! Am I the only one who wants thes? That's about the only thing I can't look up.

[d-roC]

Do any of these references include maps of the Bible times?

I've got tons of Pocket Bible references and the new mp3 Bible but I'm still waiting for some maps! Am I the only one who wants thes? That's about the only thing I can't look up.

In a word, nope. But this might be what you are looking for:
http://mobileministrymagazine.blogspot.com/2005/08/oohhh-aahhh-maps.html

[GadgetMan]

More reference books and still no new version of Pocket Bible program itself :cry:

It is hard to belive that the current Pocket Bible version 2 is over FIVE years old. Yes, there has been no new version with added/improved functionality (other than minor bug fixes and new book compatibility fixes) for that long. Laridian holds an absolute world record in this respect.

How do they expect us to manage all these books they keep throwing at us? The current GUI and controls worked well for a 2-3 book library, but now - with many users carrying around multiple Bibles and references - are so cumbersome that I do not use this program as much as I used to in the (ancient) past.

So wake up, Laridian! In the age when our Pocket PCs sport 600+ MHz CPUs, 64-128 MB of RAM and memory cards where storage counts in Gigabytes, surely we do not need to put up with an antiquitated software designed for the very first Pocket PC :roll:

Therefore, I will continue to NOT purchase any new books from Laridian (although there are several I would like, as well as their Bible making program) until significantly improved and updated Pocket Bible 3 comes out :(

Cheers,

[Craig Horlacher]

Gadgetman has a good point. The interface doesn't do a good job of handling the 36 books I've got. I wouldn't go so far as gadgetman...I still think PocketBible is a great product and use it as my Bible reference library. They have done a pretty good job of releasing updates - though it took them a while to come out with vga support.

So anyway, here's my wish list:
- Better book managment, let me organize them, sort them, etc
- notetaking like it has now but with highlighting also
- non-bold red text!!! (does anyone like this bold?)
- less wasted space between lines in books with blue letters for footnotes
- maps, zoomable, a Bible with hypertext links to locations would be cool
- Tabbed Bible viewing like tabs in FireFox (like in minimo .008)
- links from Bible chapters to mp3 Bible chapters with play/pause, stop, etc. buttons in PocketBible to make it easy to follow along
- interface reduction options like one toolbar of very useful buttons and complete full screen view
- can you make a toolbar button to do the 2003se screen rotate? That would be sweet

Thanks for your work Laridian!

[crimsonsky]

If you buy using the code in the Laridian newsletter, the cost of the set is only $37.49 - less than $10/book, which is a great bargain. (I bought mine yesterday!)

I didn't realise Pocket Bible was as old as it is, but yeah, it needs to be updated. On the Palm side, MyBible got a fantastic upgrade with version 4.0, so here's hoping a newer Pocket PC version is in the works.

Myself, I'd just be satisfied to be able to highlight passages in colour.

[Skoobouy]

Caution: soap box. Hope this doesn't land the thread into the "hall of shame".

Laridian's Bible reader software is a ton better than OliveTree's--which, no matter how many times OT updates it, remains glitchy, slow, and lacking in basic features like full-screen and effective highlighting.

But Laridian remains in my dog-house until they publish a decent Catholic Bible. I don't care if it's NAB, Jerusalem, RSV-CE, or heck, even an RSV with deutero-canonical/apocryphals tacked to the back. But no, they say--you should just be satisfied with the NRSV, they say. Never mind the thousands of politically-correct 'paraphrases' you have to filter through in that version.

It would be irritating enough if the conspicuous absence of a widely-used Catholic Bible in Laridian's library were due simply to market forces. What gets my goat is that there is is a market for it to which they've been pretty deaf ever since they've opened shop. At least OliveTree has tried to answer that call.

I'll go ahead and let it be known--I think the only reason for this is that Laridian has no interest in meeting the Catholic market on their own terms. Of course, this is entirely within their rights; after all, nobody expects Paulist Press (a Catholic company) to publish a set of the complete works of Luther anytime soon. I only wish--selfishly, I'm afraid--that I could use Laridian's Bible Reader with a widely recognized 'Catholic' Bible.

[GadgetMan]

Skoobouy,

I could not agree more with you. I personally would love to see the New Jerusalem Bible (with all the book introductions and footnotes) available from Laridian. I even asked them for it years ago, but obviously my request was ignored.

I think it is a shame that they do not want to publish a Catholic Bible. I think this is a result of agenda they decided to follow. Of course it is their choice, but still a shame. What are they afraid of?

I agree that OliveTree's reader is the worst of all Bible readers on the market (I just hate the rudimentary and ugly GUI), but at least they made NAB (incl. introductions and commentaries) available. I am thankful that they had the will do to so.

In summary, Laridian sucks on two fronts: FIVE years with no new version (I do not count minor bug fixes, I am talking about a new version with new and improved features), and no Catholic Bible.

Shame!

[Deslock]

I see posts here about Bible software now and then. Is there anything like this available for us Pastafarians (http://www.venganza.org/)?

Remember to ask yourself, WWTFSMD? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster)

[crimsonsky]

Skoobouy,

I could not agree more with you. I personally would love to see the New Jerusalem Bible (with all the book introductions and footnotes) available from Laridian. I even asked them for it years ago, but obviously my request was ignored.

I think it is a shame that they do not want to publish a Catholic Bible. I think this is a result of agenda they decided to follow. Of course it is their choice, but still a shame. What are they afraid of?

I agree that OliveTree's reader is the worst of all Bible readers on the market (I just hate the rudimentary and ugly GUI), but at least they made NAB (incl. introductions and commentaries) available. I am thankful that they had the will do to so.

In summary, Laridian sucks on two fronts: FIVE years with no new version (I do not count minor bug fixes, I am talking about a new version with new and improved features), and no Catholic Bible.

Shame!

Have you looked at Pocket E-Sword? It's a fantastic program with tons of free modules available, including, I believe, Catholic Bibles. In fact, I also use Pocket e-Sword as well as Laridian because Laridian doesn't offer any Spanish language Bibles (or any foreign language for that matter) and since I'm heavily involved in the Hispanic ministry of my church and speak Spanish myself, I needed a Spanish Bible.

Most of the stuff Pocke e-Sword offers is public domain, but it's a great collection of classic commentaries, lexicons and dictionaries, and they do offer some material that you have to purchase. I use both - Laridian for the modern commentaries and dictionaries, but e-Sword is in a lot of ways a much better program - you can highlite, comment, view parallel versions, etc. And it's free (donations accepted, though).

There' also Thomas Nelsons eBible for PDA (in both Palm and Pocket PC versions). However, I'm not sure they offer Catholic Bibles (easy enough to check on their site - www.ebibleforpda.com).

Don

[GadgetMan]

Have you looked at Pocket E-Sword?

I am very familiar with Pocket E-Sword (http://www.e-sword.net/pocketpc/index.html). It is indeed a fantastic program that offers much better mutliple book management than antiquitated Pocket Bible. For that reason I have been using it as my primary Bible program for a long while now.

Unfortunately, the only Catholic Bible they offer is several centuries old (Douay-Rheims Bible). Nothing modern so far...

One thing that puzzles me about Laridian: They have offered New Living Translation Bible for a long while now. That means that they got into agreement with the publisher. Why then did they decide not to offer the Catholic version of New Living Translation :?:

Cheers,

[MacPPC]

Those who like PocketBible but find that Laridian doesn't offer their favorite Bible version, commentary, or other reference work should check out the Bookbuilder package. It allows a user to create Bibles, reference works, and devotionals that are functionally identical to those that Laridian publishes. It will require some work to prepare the material, but the possibilities are endless. There's even a pro package for those who want to commercially publish their work.

[danlmosher]

:) I love e-sword &amp; pocket esword!!! Many of you seem to know more about this than I so please help me if you can. Have you heard of STEP libraries? Is there a STEP_reader for Ppc's ? There are a lot of really good books I would love read w/my ppc.
Thanks for any help or comments.

[crimsonsky]

Have you looked at Pocket E-Sword?

I am very familiar with Pocket E-Sword (http://www.e-sword.net/pocketpc/index.html). It is indeed a fantastic program that offers much better mutliple book management than antiquitated Pocket Bible. For that reason I have been using it as my primary Bible program for a long while now.

Unfortunately, the only Catholic Bible they offer is several centuries old (Douay-Rheims Bible). Nothing modern so far...

One thing that puzzles me about Laridian: They have offered New Living Translation Bible for a long while now. That means that they got into agreement with the publisher. Why then did they decide not to offer the Catholic version of New Living Translation :?:

Cheers,

Laridian is as close-mouthed as Apple (and yes, I use a Mac!) about their plans for new stuff. When MyBible 4.0 came out for the Palm, it literally came "out of nowhere." And the improvements in the program were astounding.

I shouldn't be surprised if Laridian is working on an update to Pocket Bible and turn around and drop it on us out of the blue, as it were, one day.

They are, however, open to suggestions (although they probably won't make a sound about whether they'll include it in a new version or not) and perhaps it would behoove Catholics to ask them to provide a modern Catholic version in their lineup. I think I'll ask them for a Spanish language Bible as well.

Don

[pivaska]

There is a step lib in Pocket E-sword. Right now it is on the PC version.

[martin_ayton]

While we're on the subject of what Laridian ought to do, it ought to sort out the missing entries in the Strong's Hebrew Concordance. If you have one, check out the gap between #834 and #843. If you want a real example of this, go to Psalm 1:1 and try pulling up the Hebrew for 'blessed' (#835).

I raised this with Laridian months ago, shortly after I bought the concordance. They said they were aware of the problem and were following it up. So far, I have not seen an update. Neither have I seen a notice against the concordance warning people before they buy it that it has some missing entries.

Come on Laridian - you can (and you should) do better than this.

[martin_ayton]

And now... they have done better. Given that I posted the rant, I thought I'd better post a reply to state that Laridian have now put up an update to the Strong's Concordance which fixes the gaps. It took them a while, but I understand that that was due to copyright issues and therefore out of their direct control. Kudos to Laridian to sticking with it until the problem was fixed.

Oh, and since you've probably read through the thread to get to this - Laridian now have a Catholic Bible and a Spanish Bible in their library.

[patrickwest]

Skoobouy,
I personally would love to see the New Jerusalem Bible (with all the book introductions and footnotes) available from Laridian.


It has been sometime since the quoted post so I'm wondering if there is anyone making PocketPC usable version of the NJB?

Patrick