BibleWorks, Logos, Accordance on your mobile device

The question was recently asked again on one of the Bible software forums whether the Bible software application could be run on a mobile device like a smartphone or such. Short answer: No, you can't really run one of these programs on your WindowsMobile or smartphone as far as I know.
BUT... if you really need it and are willing to put up with a little inconvenience and have good eyes... You can see from the screenshot below that I do indeed have BibleWorks7 on my WindowsMobile device. (In my case, it is a Dell Axim x51v with true VGA display.)

Here is what you need to do:

1. Go to www.LogMeIn.com or go here directly for the free version.
2. Download/install the program on your home PC or Mac. Set up account, access codes... (It is indeed free and secure.)
3. Now, on your WindowsMobile device or smartphone, you need to get on the web, go to the LogMeIn site, and logon.
4. You will get a display showing which computers are online and on which you have set up the LogMeIn software and provided access. Click on your home computer, supply the access code, and you will now see your home computer screen on your mobile device. You will have complete control over your home computer, but due to screen resolution/sizes, you will probably have to move around the screen quite a bit.
   

Okay, note a couple things:

• You don't really have the software on your mobile device. You are simply running your home computer's installation. Hence >>>
  
• You do have to leave your home computer running and LogMeIn enabled...
• It really is quite fast. The only real issue is viewing and moving around the screen, not the speed. (If you want to make it easier, reduce the resolution on your home computer display.)
• I use this program regularly, but my main use is to control computers for other members of my family. I'm the computer guy in the extended family, and when they have problems... well, it's just a lot easier taking over their computer and fixing things than trying to provide instructions over the phone.
  
• I have had absolutely no problems with security or with spam using this program.
  

Give it a try...

BibleWorks and Logos on Android (sort of...)

I'm still trying to catch up on stuff from SBL last November, but here's a quick note I can post. 

In the past I have used Logmein for remote access to the various family computers I maintain. Even the basic free account lets me take over a computer and run programs on it. It works great and is secure. I will continue to use it for such maintenance tasks. Note that this can work the other way around, and what a program like this allows me to do is run programs that are on my home system from any other computer. As long as I have my home system on and Logmein enabled, I can remotely connect to my home system and use my installed programs like BibleWorks or Logos. I've also used it to grab files I've forgotten on my home computer when I'm at school. (I now use SugarSync to keep my systems all in sync via the cloud. It's a wonderful thing.) It's a little slow to use Logmein this way, but it works. What this also means is that I can use the web browser on my smartphone and see BibleWorks on my phone. I say "see," because without the use of a mouse on my phone, I really can't do too much. Logmein does have an Android app ($29), but I just don't use it that much, especially on my phone, to buy it.

I was pleased, therefore, to discover Splashtop Remote Desktop when it showed up as the free app of the day on the Amazon Appstore. (It's now $1.99.) As you can see in the photo above, that's BibleWorks running on my Droid X. It's the same sort of deal where you install the app and then also install the software on your computer and establish a secure password connection. Again, keep in mind that the home system also has to be on and have Splashtop enabled. The nice thing about Splashtop is that it is designed for touch screens. It uses all sorts of single and double finger gestures to scroll, expand the screen, emulate left/right mouse clicks, etc. It works quite well, even on my phone.(The only issue I had is that Splashtop could only see the primary monitor in my dual monitor setup, so I had to move BibleWorks over.) Below, you can see how the Droid X is duplicating my computer monitor. I suspect that this would look much better on a tablet rather than a smartphone. BTW, Splashtop is available for WinXP or better, Android (2.2 Froyo or better), iPhone, iPad, and Mac OS.

I do have other Bible apps on my Droid--OliveTree, CadreBible, YouVersion, Logos. (Check here for my evaluations though I need to update them all. It's coming...) None of these Android versions have the power of a dedicated Bible software program. With Splashtop, however, I can access the power of the full program. (The Logos Android app is slowly gaining capabilities, but it still has a long way to go.) I'm not anticipating BibleWorks to release an Android version, but if you really, really want BW or the full Logos (or Accordance for you Mac users!) program on your phone or tablet, this is a way to do it.

Great, FREE (or great value) resources...

Somewhat off topic in this posting, but there are a bunch of fine resources that may help you as you look for tools to present your biblical insights. Did I mention that they are FREE or quite good values?

• Don't have PowerPoint but wanting to do presentations, maybe even collaboratively? Check out this post linking to thirteen free online presentation apps.
  
• I have posted before about resources for video or screencasting. Here is a post linking to 12 Screencasting Tools For Creating Video Tutorials. Some are free and some commercial. (Strangely, they neglect to mention TechSmith's Camtasia Studio which is a commercial program but quite nice.)
• Here is a link to a FREE PDF download of Journalism 2.0: How to Survive and Thrive: A digital literacy guide for the information age by Mark Briggs. 132 pages that covers the basics for writing online including perspectives on tools and resources, how to report and blog, using audio, podcasting, digital photos, video, and more. It's an easy to read reference.
• I have found Microsoft's FREE (at least for now in beta) FolderShare to be a very useful program. I've mentioned the FREE LogMeIn program before as a good way to work with other computers across the Internet (including using a PDA to run Logos or BibleWorks off your home computer), but FolderShare works a bit differently. It synchronizes your files across the Internet. I use it between home and school. I work on a file at school on my own system, but it is automatically synchronized on the FolderShare system. When I go to work on that file at home, it is automatically synched with the Internet version, so I always have a single up-to-date file. Where this can also help is that you can grant permission to others you specify to see designated files/folders, so it becomes a way of sharing pics and such. It takes a little bit of setup, but if you are using Logos or BibleWorks on two different systems, it provides a way for you to keep your programs in synch at both locations.
• If you are a student and able to provide verification of student status (including having an .edu email), Microsoft's The Ultimate Steal is an incredible value. For $59.95, you can purchase Microsoft Ultimate Office 2007 which includes Access™ 2007, Accounting Express 2007, Excel® 2007, InfoPath® 2007, Groove 2007, OneNote® 2007, Outlook® 2007 with Business Contact Manager, PowerPoint® 2007, Publisher 2007, and Word 2007. The offer expires April 30, 2008. This is entirely legitimate and quite a deal.
  (My wife who is finishing a DMin at Drew was able to get one. Do make sure you are a student. If they check on you, and you aren't a verified student, you will have to pay the $679 retail price. BTW, my link to the page is an affiliate link, and if you buy, I get $1! Thanks!)
• Big finish with the best for last: Again, if you are a student and can provide verification, you are eligible to take advantage of Microsoft's DreamSpark promotion. You can get, for FREE, Visual Studio 2008 or Windows Server Standard 2003 or xna Game Studio 2.0 or Expression Studio. These are professional developer and designer tools, so they might be more than you want to learn how to use, but if you have a web site, getting the Expression Studio might be quite valuable to you. There are a limited number of universities in the USA, UK, Canada, and 8 other countries directly connected to the program for now, but you are able to get the programs by following the directions and going through JourneyEd. (BTW, Expression Studio downloads as an ISO file. What's that? It's a format you need to burn to a CD as an image file. How to do that? Either use the FREE ISORecorder utility that adds right-click functionality in Windows Explorer or get the FREE CDBurnerXP program or the FREE BurnAwareFree Edition program.)

So, that's the truth, and it is FREE!

Biblical Language Tools on a PDA

There are a number of resources for doing biblical work on a PDA.

• e-Sword (for Windows) also has a nice Pocket e-Sword version. The program is free, and you can buy such Bible versions as HCSB, Message, NASB, NKJV, and NLT, but you can also get such free versions as ASV, CEV, ESV, Good News, KJV, and more. You can also get a Greek NT, the LXX (free!), and the Vulgate as well as many other language versions. There are also commentaries and dictionaries to buy or for free.
• In addition to Pocket e-Sword, I also use OliveTree BibleReader software on my Windows Mobile device. (A Dell Axim x51v, now sadly no longer in production.) The software is free, and it is available for a wide variety of devices including WinMobile, Palm, and phones. There is a wide selection of Bibles in original, English, and over 80 foreign languages. OliveTree has been very good about updating the software, and I started using it, because for a long time they were the only one to offer the NRSV. They do have free Greek NTs, but I bought and like the GRAMCORD Lite Greek NT. I also bought the Hebrew Masoretic text, and both the Greek and Hebrew are well implemented. BibleReader has become a platform for an incredible number of Bible study tools: dictionaries, handbooks, lexicons, commentaries, atlases, and other books. Be sure to check out the discounts for buying collections.
• Laridian and their PocketBible3 is another major player in this market and offers software and Bibles for a similarly wide variety of portable platforms. I have not used it, but it is similar to OliveTree in its kind of offerings.
• In a post on the BibleWorks Forum, I suggest another way of getting Bible software on a PDA. I really like using LogMeIn for a number of reasons (especially for remote control to troubleshoot problems on computers for others in my extended family), but it actually does allow me to run BibleWorks or Logos right on my PDA.
• The post mentioned in the previous bullet also generated a link to the free PocketScholar for Windows Mobile devices. (There is also an inexpensive "MiniFlash for PalmOS Devices.") It is basically a Greek/Hebrew vocabulary building program, but it works well.