It’s nice when you wake up and get an unexpected surprise. Today I had a twofold surprise. First, I woke up this morning and was checking Google Reader and was going through all of the blogs I follow. There’s nothing unusual about that, except for the fact that Logos mentioned me in their latest blog entry. Last week, I posted an article on Trailblazin Ministries that gave an overview of Logos Bible Software 4. So, in their blog post, they were talking about all of the different users who had made videos talking about the software, and I was one of the few mentioned. That was really nice to see given the fact that I put it up on the site and only publicized it through a single tweet on Twitter.
The bonus to this is that the desktop app pulls in the Logos blog and displays it on the home page. So, I get the extra blessing of seeing my name displayed in my Bible software’s home page. How cool is that?! I don’t know, I’m a geek like that, but it just made me feel good. More than anything, I’m just glad that people appreciated the video and found it worth talking about.
The second surprise when my in-laws, who are in town for Thanksgiving, unexpectedly gave me a few dollars to have as spending money. That was a pleasant gift, the kind that gives you warm fuzzies. Now to figure out what to spend it on, LOL. I’m thinking about buying more books for Logos. I’ve got my eye on the MacArthur & McGee eBible packages so that I can import the unlocked books into Logos 4, but I’ll think it over.
Anyway, both of those were nice surprises and I thank God for them. A nice way to round out all the thankfulness that I expressed this past week. Thanks God.
Tonight I decided to try something new with my studies. For the longest time, I’ve been using the note files to take notes for my studies, which is basically the stripped down equivalent of a word processor. Since upgrading to Logos 4, I’ve found it to be a little bit limiting in the way I take notes. So, looking for a better solution, tonight I thought I’d give Microsoft OneNote a try now that I’m trying out the Office 2010 beta.
Given that I’m using two monitors for my study (at least at home) this is pretty feasible. I just move the OneNote window to the second monitor (in the same position that I previously had my Logos 4 notes file), and take notes like I normally would. The primary advantage to taking notes this way is that it’s super easy for me to organize & rearrange my notes, plus my outlines are formatting properly. The only real drawbacks are that my Scriptures aren’t hyperlinked automatically & they’re not searchable from within Logos.
I’ll continue to give this a try and see how it goes. The real challenge will be when I start studying without the aide of the second monitor and I’m back to having a more confined workspace.
Anyway, I’m going to continue working with this and see if I can refine the process a bit for better note taking. The one advantage I’m already seeing is the ease in moving between OneNote, Word & PowerPoint. Who knows, OneNote may be the way for me to go permanently.
Just a quick note on a Sunday night before I head to bed.
I’m really enjoying the latest version of Logos Bible Software. The latest version is version 4 and it’s a great application. It’s made my studying enjoyable and given me that extra boost to want to study the Bible. One of the cool things about it is the accompanying iPhone/iPod Touch app that they released in conjunction with the desktop software. It allows you to access your library (and I have a pretty large library) on the mobile device without having to repurchase books.
The iPhone app is really nice and it made me drink the Kool-Aid. I said I would never buy an iPod or Apple product, but seeing what the Logos app was capable of and basically doing what I had always hoped a Bible software company would do (i.e. not making me repurchase books I already own in digital format), I couldn’t resist. So basically, I bought an iPod Touch (8GB) just so that I could use this app. I’m still not abandoning my Zune just yet though as a music player.
What’s more, I even bought an 18.5” LCD monitor ($99 @ BestBuy) for my desk to expand my workspace now that Logos 4 has the ability to “float” a window & move it to a second monitor. This has really helped to increase my productivity and efficiency in studying. Having the real estate from two monitors really improves my workspace and makes it that much easier to study.
It’s getting late, so that’s all for now. Look for a video review soon (hopefully, if I can swing it) on the Trailblazin Ministries website.
It’s nice when you wake up and get an unexpected surprise. Today I had a twofold surprise. First, I woke up this morning and was checking Google Reader and was going through all of the blogs I follow. There’s nothing unusual about that, except for the fact that Logos mentioned me in their latest blog entry. Last week, I posted an article on Trailblazin Ministries that gave an overview of Logos Bible Software 4. So, in their blog post, they were talking about all of the different users who had made videos talking about the software, and I was one of the few mentioned. That was really nice to see given the fact that I put it up on the site and only publicized it through a single tweet on Twitter.