Yesterday I released a new version of SwordSearcher. Version 6.2.

A significant new program feature is StudyClick. There are also several new books and commentaries as usual. A complete revision history is here.

Let’s get this out of the way: I am not an early adopter. For example, I only recently (this year) bought a Vectrex, meaning I gave the technology a good 30 years to mature before buying in. And until yesterday, I avoided owning a tablet device.

Notice I said device, not “tablet computer” or “tablet PC.” That’s because most of these devices, while technically computers, are not suitable for most of the things people (and by people, I mean me; YMMV) use computers to do. I’ve experimented with these things before; taking one off a friend’s hand for a few minutes; and have always been unimpressed.  Not because I didn’t like them, but because for $500+ they weren’t worth it. My estimation of tablets to date has been “meh.”

Because: they are toys. Their usefulness is limited to doing things toys do. Yes, Apple iPad users, I think your tablet is a toy, too.

And that’s okay. There is nothing wrong with buying, owning, and using (playing with) toys. But let’s not be pretentious about them (*cough* Apple *cough*). And when it comes to toys, I don’t feel the need to get the first ones, especially when they cost too much.

Yesterday I opened a Kindle Fire. Tablets are ready for prime time.

This thing is great. And I figured out why: it’s not pretentious. The Fire doesn’t pretend to be something it’s not. It doesn’t bother to tell you what kind of processor its running, though you can find out if you care. It doesn’t have a camera because there is no reason to put a piece of junk light sensor on a tablet when we all know you already have a piece of junk light sensor on your cell phone. It doesn’t have a GPS because your tablet doesn’t need one. It doesn’t have 3G because you really don’t need it since you can download your books and a movie or two and you will probably have access to free WiFi where you are anyway. It only has 8 GB of on-device storage because that is enough and more costs more. It has a rubberized back because this isn’t a device made to be beholden; this is a utilitarian device made to be, well, utilized.

The people who made the Fire know I am not going to try to use this to do work, so they didn’t waste time and hardware putting things in there to make me think it might be useful for work. Instead, they made a solid device with which I can read books, browse some websites, check (but not really much else, unless you like to torture yourself with a non-keyboard) email, check facebook, listen to music, etc. And it does all these things well, while being the perfect size.

I’m not going to give an in-depth review because there are already a thousand reviews out there. But I will say this: The Kindle Fire is “worth it.” They got it right. It’s $200 and while it’s not an iPad, the fact that it is not an iPad is a good thing for me. If I wanted an iPad I would have bought one already. I didn’t, and I’m glad I waited for the Fire.

PS: thanks to my wife for not objecting to wrapping an empty box so I could use the Fire she got me as a gift.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Seems so much easier just to throw a few lines of text up on Facebook.

So you ask, “can you post some new pictures of your Commodore 64?” Sure I can!

Several years ago I took a perfectly good “breadbin” C64 and painted it red. Then I drilled some holes in it and added some mods — a reset switch and a JiffyDOS switch (though you can’t see those here). Yesterday I felt like taking some pictures, so here they are:

Alexander Scourby is as-yet unmatched in his skillful narration of the King James Bible. The best MP3 set available is from AMG Publishers.  If you don’t have it, get it — it’s only $12.

The new SwordSearcher 6.1 supports integrating Alexander Scourby’s Bible narration right into the software. I made a video demonstrating this.

The Scourby recordings are quite old, so the quality isn’t exactly “digital master.” But they are still very easy to listen to. The AMG CD set (containing MP3 files) is the best quality you’re going to find. There is a more recently “re-mastered” MP3 set of the recordings, but the remastering is ham-fisted and clunky, so I don’t recommend anything other than the AMG CD set.  And again, it’s cheap!

But if you’re looking for an alternative to Scourby, Max McLean did an excellent job reading the Bible too. And you can integrate that into SwordSearcher as well!

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Today I released version 6.1 of my Bible software, SwordSearcher.

New to this version is tight integration of audio Bibles. You can import your MP3 Bible so that it’s playable in the Bible panel (with scrolling text), and if you’re using the excellent AMG Publisher’s Scourby Narration, you’ll have verse-level playback (not just chapter-based), individual verse highlighting during playback, and you can also play verse lists. More info on audio Bible support here.

Also, as usual, there are a bunch of new library resources, including the often-requested Bullinger Companion Bible Notes and Appendixes.

Perhaps the most important library update, however, is the newly Expanded Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. A lot of work went into this “completion” of the TSK. Check out the link for details.

More information on the new version is available here and here.