I just received my iPhone 3G S, and I could not be more excited. How strange buying a new cell phone has become in the last two years.
Even after reading the first two parts of this series (Part I, Part II), the question from the budget conscious person may be, “Why not a different program – QuickVerse or even SWORD – that is a lot cheaper?” That is a good question, but one Accordance can easily answer in one word: flexibility.
With Father’s Day next week, ads are happily hawking a new phone for Dad as a great gift idea. Of course, many of them are anything but great, much less good gifting material. But whether you are shopping for dear old dad or for your dear old self, the Samsung Alias 2 feature phone offers a few unique tricks up its sleeve that make it worth considering. Situated comfortably below $100, it proves a budget phone does not have to be bland.
In the first part of our Accordance review, I looked at Accordance from the perspective of a user looking to do basic Bible study. Here at OFB Labs we found that it passed that test with flying colors and recommended the $99 Introductory Library package as an excellent choice. But, what if you are a pastor, scholar or other in-depth student of Scripture looking for something a bit more powerful? Is Accordance right for you as well?
It always seems like one needs Internet access when it is least available. That’s why many of us have bought iPhones and Blackberries in recent times. But, that still doesn’t solve the problem if one has a couple of computers and needs them to be connected – right here and right now, wherever the here may be. Or, for that matter, not just computers, but an iPod touch, a Nintendo DS or any other sort of Wi-Fi enabled device. If only every place was a Wi-Fi hotspot! With the MiFi, “here” finally is a hotspot.
Bible software is a funny category of software. It is the type of software that for many users is not exactly an obvious purchase. The Bible – even in modern translations – can be easily read online for free. Why would someone buy a program like Accordance in a world where the same content can be had for free? Is it worth paying for a Bible program if all one wants to do is participate in a Bible study or do a little personal Scripture meditation?
“He was crucified,” the Apostle’s Creed declares. As the Church has confessed these three words pointing back to a day that seemed anything but “good” two millennia ago, we recall the most unjust, horrid execution of all time.
“A poem should not mean, but be.” So said one of the great poets of the twentieth century, Archibald MacLeish. Meaning is important – direction and description are crucially important to life, but few people are motivated by “meaning” alone. The cliché about actions speaking louder than words gets at the heart of it. Luke seemed to know that quite well and he applied that lesson in the Book of Acts. As we begin the Lenten season today, it seems an appropriate time to meditate on the growth of the Early Church.
Anyone who spends years of his or her life writing for public consumption, particularly when that writing is commentary, faces two distinct truths. First, you will get things wrong. Second, you will get things right. When a story from the back catalog beckons as being proven more and more right, it just must be pulled out again. The Sirius XM merger was a bad idea, I said in February 2007, and as the combined company allegedly teeters on bankruptcy, my point is being proven.
The record at Open for Business is already clear on my positions concerning Election 2008. I did not support President Obama’s run for the presidency. But, on this Inauguration Day the matter of what might have been must be set aside for what is. And, what is – admittedly – is pretty spectacular.