Review of:
OnLine Bible
Deluxe Edition, V 7.03 
by William L. Klutz, Jr.

 A single CD in a plastic case is all I received. Information on the CD face was essentially as follows: OnLine Bible, CD ROM Deluxe Edition, V 7.03; for MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, 95, & NT; 15 English Bibles plus Spanish, French, German. Dutch, Russian, & 40 others; King James text includes Strong's numbers with Greek & Hebrew words defined; Over 5000 Topics; Colour Maps; Bible Stories; 644,000 Cross References; Commentaries from Matthew Henry, the 1599 Geneva Bible Notes, A.T. Robertson, John Gill & 5 others; Most material is free to be shared. Some Bible texts are copyrighted; C 1997, Timnathserah, Inc.; Published by Larry Pierce, 11 Holmwood St., Winterbourne, Ontario N0B 2V0; Made in Canada; ISBN 1-896755-04- 6; to install run SETUP. (Additional information for Larry Pierce: Tel: (519) 664-2266 (noon to 5.00 p.m. EST); Fax: (519) 664-1444; E-Mail: 76614.1275@compuserve.com). 

 Before doing SETUP, I thought I would go to the Internet to see if there was anything I could find about the product since it was new to me. The search proved to be interesting and informative. The site at ONLINEBIBLE was shown as being constructed and appeared to be dedicating itself to the OnLine Bible and its related help programs. Looking elsewhere I found the following: "The OnLine Bible is the most versatile and the bible offering the most translations, platforms, and FREE add-ons on the web site [listed 9]." and "This is a tremendous asset to any serious student of the Bible. This is not shareware but a fully functioning and amazing piece of software - not to be missed!" Looking great so far. 

 One other location listed apparent "packages" available for the various operating platforms - DOS, Windows, Macintosh, and supplemental helps under each. I noted that some helps were not available in all packages. Don't know if this is intentional or just what the site had listed. Each package, however, indicated a requirement for a basic OnLine Bible Program before any of the supplemental help programs could be used. 

 With this information in hand, I figured I was ready for the SETUP phase of the review. So, I loaded the CD, executed SETUP, picked English (from 7 listed) as the language I wanted, identified a directory, and started the Install. About 5 seconds into the install, a window appeared with various pieces of info - printer config; last minute features added to version 7.0/13 (13 adds) and adds in each revision of 7 (7.01/8, 7.02/7, 7.02a/5, 7.03/3); recommended 386DX & 4 MB as minimum system; install instructions for the various operating platforms; noted problems; FAQs; and a Hall Of Shame - individuals publishing OnLine Bible copyrighted material for profit. It also indicated the 10 pages should be printed for reference. 

 A few of the things I noted while reading online were: Seemed to be critical that letter size (8« x 11) or A4 (standard metric) be selected for the printer; "Calendar for ancient history calculations created. Handles any date from 4713 BC to 2099 AD."; "Run CHKDSK of SCANDISK on all drives before you install this program." (Should have told me that when I initiated SETUP. Started to back out but the program told me install was complete. I knew better. Finally got out, SCANDISKed, then start the install process over.) 

 After finishing my reading, I "continued" and instantly was told the install was complete. Backed out to see what had been done to the system and noted a new icon labeled "setup.del" on my screen. (Just leave it alone for now, I thought.) Start, Programs, OnLine Bible and the following appeared: "You are free to give copies of the OnLine Bible to your friends GRATIS. You may charge a nominal fee for doing so. The OnLine Bible material is not SHAREWARE and may not be distributed by shareware dealers without our written permission. You may upload versions to bulletin boards. You SHALL NOT distribute or upload the NIV, NAS, or other modern copyrighted versions. Consult the Internet site for latest material and information." 

 When I clicked "OK" a series of 7-10 windows (estimated), lasting about 5 seconds each, started to automatically go by. Just caught glimpses of the information which (I think) addressed a nominal fee ($5-20) to unlock some versions and make them available for use, where to send the funds, etc. (Note: I could not duplicate the process when I restarted the program.) 

 The main window has 9 pull down selections, with 3-11 listings under each, and an additional 9-12 single function selections (some appear to be duplicates), using the Function Keys. Without looking at the extensive online manual I had little trouble doing what I wanted to do. One feature that appeared to be helpful was that within the main window a separate "mini" window (without pull downs) would generally open for whatever task you were trying to accomplish. Helpful if you are trying to do reference work on a particular passage or word. 
 
 

My general impressions

1. There is somewhat of a learning curve at the beginning. The more you use the features, however, the easier the program will be to use and the more features you will want to use, perhaps simultaneously.

 

 

2. As with any program there appear to be some negatives. The "Select Version" process left me scratching my head. Initially there were about 8 versions selected (high-lighted). I wasn't sure whether those were the versions available or what. When I tried to change versions I fumbled for a while. Finally, I used only one mini-window, deselected all versions, then selected the version I wanted, said "OK", and generally got it. If I selected another version, the original version remained high-lighted and the new version didn't load until I deselected the previous version. (Same comment for setting the Default Note Set.) 
3. The "Read Me" selection in the select Default Version area didn't work (nothing happened when selected). Not very comforting since "Read Me" generally flags some information to make life easier (keeps you out of some trouble). 
4. Have seen it from FREE to $60 (street price about $35-40). Look for it at most shops which carry a reasonable selection of "religious" materials. Don't know how you tell the illegal copies (mentioned earlier). Would guess they wouldn't be FREE!

 

 

5. The CD is required, unless you use "Copy Files To Disk" (under "Utilities") or you download the program(s) from the Internet. Isn't that why you bought the Big Gig drive? With the price of drives coming down, you need to load it up so you can buy another drive of equal capacity at one half the price you paid for the first drive.

Ordering information in US or Canada

 A "General Education" requires a little knowledge about a lot of things. The review afforded the opportunity to divest from broad management and computing consulting, odd jobs, general recreation, etc., to add another piece of knowledge to the "Mental Database." You can contact me by e-mail at: if you have questions or I can be of additional help.