APsit190

Hey Josh,
Get ready for a bit of a shocker...

I dunno if its now the Official User's manual or if its still the unofficial one, but hey its also downloadable from e-Sword.net. Rick has it up on his training page.  So, I guess its kinda now official. God's gotta be good, hey mate.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

Here is the new chat bar with the links suggested. You will probably have to press Ctrl+F5 to see the new chat bar, as your browser is caching the older version.

Very interesting indeed. The next one is Josh's hidden explosive device

Nah, Just kidding... no explosive devices

Seriously (as one can be after that) I'm thinking that you're really taking this website to places where it seems to have it similar to a "social" type website as well.

When I look at what you've done here and are doing here, and look at what was at eSU, I'm seeing a totally different feel here than what was back there.  The three things which gives this site a totally different feel as to what eSU had (although there may be some similarities) are:

• Connecting with one another (Adding of friends)
• (Now) IMing (instant messaging/chatting) with each other
• Personalized (About me) Profile page.

As far as I am aware, these features were either not there or not fully developed at eSU.

So, I think it'll be really interesting to see the extent to which you go on this site, and to what you make it.  It is exciting stuff.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

All,
Just a bit of an update on the Maori Bible for e-Sword that I'm working on.

The Info on the Maori Bible is 99% complete. There is just one more thing that I believe needs to be added, and that is the Name of the Books (all 66 of them) in Maori.

In my initial post I said, "... and in the space of about 3 weeks I've finished Deuteronomy and have only about three chapters of the Book of Joshua to do."

Well, the Book of Joshua is well and truly completed, and now I am about half way through 2Samuel. So about 9.5 books of the OT complete, and have actually completed 8,260 verses to date. Well, that is what my SQLite Manager tells me. So there's 22,842 verses to go. Looks a lot, doesn't it?!

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

How many of you own(ed) a wide margin loose leaf Bible where you could insert pages for for notes? Quite a number of years ago I had such a Bible, and I must admit they were really good. If ever I wore a Bible out "to the bone" that would have been it. The pity was when I did wear it out, I never replaced it.

I went around a couple of Christian bookstores here in Christchurch just to see if they were still around, and to my dismay they appear to be no longer available.

That said, when I first hit on e-Sword, the one thing that hit me is that it had a couple of note editors, the Study Note and Topic Note editors. If anything that Rick Meyers got right on adding a couple of little tools to e-Sword, they were it! And the wonderful thing about them, is here I had a "virtual" Wide Margin Loose Leaf with Note Pages Bible. This was a dream come true.

One of the things I use to do in my Bible readings and Bible Study was write notes in the margins (still do) underline and highlight verses of Scripture (still do), and take notes from the sermon the Pastor preached on.  Since hitting on e-Sword, I take notes in the margin (Study Note Editor), write notes on topics I see in Scripture (Topic Note Editor), and place my thoughts (meditations) in the Journal Note Editor.

If e-Sword didn't have all the extra resources and modules, such as Dictionaries, Commentaries and etc, yet this program would still be worth while having simply because I have a Wide Margin Loose Leaf Bible on my computer. What a way to go!

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

Good to hear. When you say "Download Manager"--what is that?

Hi Josh,
Usually when I download files (usually software) I use an independent standalone download manager. This is downloading (and in some cases uploading) files independent of a Web browser.

See Screenshot below:



The beaut thing about using an external Download Manager is that you can control your downloads. Moreover you can also do multiple downloads.

Some download mangers have, such as this one shown in the screenshot, have uploading and torrent capabilities.

I trust this is helpful to you.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

As far as I am aware there is no Scofield Reference Bible as such for e-Sword. The only thing that comes from Scofield is his reference notes in commentary format. This can be either downloaded from here or from e-Sword's Commentary page, or by using the built in downloader in e-Sword.

Other than those options, I'm sorry I can't help you.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

A friend emailed me these suggestions:

Yosemite Sam - Newbies
Wyatt Earp - regular members
Marshall Dillan - forum moderators
Annie Oakley - (for those wanting to express their feminine sides)
John Wayne - for the module builders among us wanting to express our independence
Dirty Harry - for those who think their eSword collections "are the most powerful in the world"

Haha, it cracked me up, so I thought I'd share it here.

I dunno!

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

But to answer your question specifically, I don't know of any way to convert Logos resources to any other format. Their resources are in a format called "Libronix"--that's about all I know.

Hi Josh,
Well there is a way... but its a very, very long way of doing it, and it can be quite tedious. Ummm, Its called copy and paste.

Now that was very naughty of me suggesting something like that  

I've heard the same "closed format" rumors but when I asked Rick today, he had no objection to me posting this module so people could add their own sermon illustrations.

Hi Josh,
Thanks for clarifying that. I've learned something new today.

It just goes to show that things really does change at times, and that it pays to keep one's finger on the pulse as to what happens. What you shared is a good case in point.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

Let me add, only the filename: illustrations.illx is recognized. You cannot select files within e-Sword.

Hi Josh,
Just to add, its important to note that this file cannot not be distributed despite having one's own illustrations on it. The actual file is copyright, and all rights are reserved on it.

Sorry to be the one that has to tell you this.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

A magazine about esword would not be trademark or copyright infringement anymore than a magazine about Microsoft Windows would be. Or a blog about Photoshop. Or a magazine about Macintosh. Or a blog about Photoshop. You cant control what books or magazines others write about your product (or real estate or service, etc) unless the content is libelous, malicious, intended to harass, confusion on the content's origin (ex: trademark), etc.

Logos was just one out of a million examples i could use. It doesn't matter if they are concerned or not, they cannot legally stop it anymore than Microsoft can stop a magazine about Windows.

All,
This is a populist type view, but in many ways its inaccurate. Reviews in magazines and etc,, and technical books such as tutorials and etc for educational purposes are normally sort of exempt, but some form of protocol of ethical standard is agreed on. This said, third party magazines and periodicals dedicated to a specific software is totally another question, and here I believe some form of agreement and permission to have such a thing need to be given. I tend to think this has everything to do with being considerate  to the owner of the work. I'm not an expert in this field by any stretch of the imagination and I'm really venturing in uncharted waters.

As a matter of respect, and that of honouring and esteeming a brother above myself (Php 2:3, 29b), that as a matter of coarse I will be asking  for "permission" from Rick Meyers.

With respect to Jonathon Blake, I do not regard what he has written on this topic as being restrictive, but as valid to help to ensure what anyone wishing to do in relation to e-Sword is both legal and ethical.

There is a case in point which actually confirms what Jonathon actually speaks about. The author of the MEd (Module Editor) had also written another program which could do something about pass wording e-Sword Modules. After receiving a letter from Rick Meyers warning him that this program was breaching e-Sword's copyright, this person had to take this program down from his website. This was in the days of e-Sword 6x or 7x.

So, Jonathon does know what he is talking about, and as much as you may not like what he has written and you may not agree, it is worthwhile noting it.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

All,
Before I do anything about this magazine idea is to email Rick about it and get his thoughts on it. My reason is that I want his involvement as an article writer. After all he is the author of the program.

Moreover, this magazine will be an unofficial e-Sword magazine. That is all it can be, and nothing more! All the articles in it, both informative and instructive, will come from the end user. Hints, tips, and tricks will come from the end user as to what they discovered in their usage of e-Sword.

As for the name of the magazine, I haven't even thought of one, and the fact is I don't know what to name it.

Don't get me wrong, fact is I would like to see an official e-Sword publication, and I would really love to be involved in something like that. Beats doing an unofficial one.

I am strongly biased toward e-Sword and it is the only Bible software I use. I really love this program because of its simplicity and ease of use, and the end user support it has. And this end-user support comes in more ways than one. I haven't seen that kind of support, and the extent to which it goes with any other Bible software. I actually stumbled on e-Sword as a result of simply looking for a freeware Bible program. Of all the other ones I've found and tried, the only thing they had with it was a King James Bible and Matthew Henry's Commentary... any extras you had to pay for.

My adventure with e-Sword began in 2005. Before that I've tried Theophilus, some Bible program that came on a freeware CD,  and a few others. They were pretty gutless and cut-down versions of the premium Bible program. But e-Sword was totally different. You got the real thing, fully functional with a heap of added resources and modules from Rick Meyers' Website for zip. You couldn't ask for anything more than that.

OK, Its when a bloke like Rick goes that extent for ya on the smell of an oily rag (not having much in his back pocket, and basically broke), you really gotta give it to him. My contributions to e-Sword has never been monetary as I don't have it, but to copy what Rick has done, and that is to give it to people without asking for a dime. It costs me a few hundred Dollars a year to do the CDs and give them away. I had some people wanting to give money to me, but I said no to them.

So, coming back to this magazine thingy (idea). This is really something I can do (not having a clue as to how to do it) as a contribution to the the e-Sword community. Blokes like Josh, Jonathon, Larry, and countless others who give their time to a bloke who they hardly or don't know have to be complete loons or that they believe that God is in this. My thinking is, they, like me, believe God is in this. Why else commit time and resources into just a mere Bible program (of which there are hundreds of others) and a person if God isn't in it... You gotta be crazy. And its the same thing with this magazine idea.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

Hi Jonathon,
Thanks a big heap for your input and thoughts. You certainly have given me a great deal of thought.

First off, I don't want this to be a one man thing. My preference is that it should be a team thing. The vision I have for the magazine is that its to be informative and instructive, so things like reviews, helps (tips), news (what's happening on the e-Sword scene) and different articles about e-Sword in relation to how its being used in the wider community, e.g., Bible Colleges, seminaries, and etc.

I'd like to have a bunch of regular and guest writers (contributors) to the magazine who would write on e-Sword.  News from Rick Meyers and eStudySource would be great to be added into the magazine. Stuff like on whats happening on the resource/module development side.

There are many aspects to e-Sword itself which in many ways makes the program pretty unique. These would make very interesting articles to put in the magazine that would further enhance the user's experience with the program. Articles as to the reason(s) why people use e-Sword. So testimonial type articles would make interesting reading.

Another interesting type article that could be added, can that of a technical nature. Stuff on what makes e-Sword work. Things like, "under the hood" type articles which could give a user an appreciation of what actually takes place to make the program do what you want it to do. And here, people like you can add your geeky things.

The scope for this magazine can be as wide or as narrow as one may wish it to be, and to where the reader will enjoy it.

In conclusion, my reason for wanting to do something crazy as this, is because e-Sword is a very popular Bible study tool. I think that for a very basic piece Bible software, which has very little in the way of bells and whistles, that has a very large user population, and one which seems to be continually growing, that a magazine of this nature is needed.

BTW, if you want to do it, and I help you or if you want to help me... either way, I would dearly love to work with you. And if anyone else wants to jump on the bandwagon, you're more than welcome.

Oh yeah, the magazine is gonna be gratis (free).

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

All,
On and off for some time I've been about starting up an e-Sword User e-magazine, as in a pdf file. I don't know if its a good idea or not, and I'm interested in your thoughts about it.

Things this magazine will do is run the latest news about e-Sword, and what is happening on the e-Sword frontier.

Things I'd like to include are Resource/Module news, as in whats hot, and whats not, whats in, whats out sort of thing.
I'd like to have the Module/Resource of the month, Book reviews, and a few other things in it.

I dunno if this should be free, but if its to be paid for by subscription, I think the some of the money could go into this site and to Rick Meyer's ministry.. So if its to be paid for, what should the price of the Magazine be??? I was thinking about NZ$3.00 a month, and about NZ$24 a year, or something like that.

Ok, lets see your thoughts about it, and also lets see what you would like in it too.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).

P.S. I've never done anything like this before, so its a bit scary for me.

Well, its great, and what do you expect when you present something that shows stability and reliability, and and make it user friendly. So all I can say to that is, "ENJOY!"

Perhaps one other thing, is that I love, its where not only this is a place to upload and download stuff; its a place where one can meet and sort of make friends.  I also think with the way that e-Sword is, it is unparallelled when it comes to support. There is no other Bible Software that I'm aware of that enjoys the support which e-Sword has, and where end-users can receive that level of support and help which is given by this kind of community.

The many things an e-Sword user can do on this site, like blog, I.M. each other, download and/or upload stuff, meet people, have fun seeing people drooling at the mouth with what they can get their dirty little paws on and getting blessed with what has been given to them. Its like being in a candy factory.

So, Its all gotta be good, mate.

Blessings,
Stephen (Php 1:21).