WORDsearch 11 Product Evaluation Posted

I published tonight what I imagine will be the last iteration of my WORDsearch Bible Study software product evaluation page. It’s a more detailed assessment of the various aspects of the program than I’d probably intended to write, especially given my limited use of it these days, but it’s out there. I still get a fairly steady stream of hits on the site for the WORDsearch page, so I felt somewhat duty-bound to update it. But I’d be surprised if I upgraded when version 12 comes out, so this is probably the end of the line for me as a critic of that produ...

WORDsearch 11: New Features, Part 3 (NoteStacks)

The final element of my evaluation of Lifeway’s version 11 release of their WORDsearch electronic Bible Study platform concerns the only really new feature introduced in this version, which is a brand new knowledge management tool known in various contexts as NoteStack, NoteStacks, Note Stacks, and Card Stacks. This tool seems similar to the Sermons & Illustrations tool that appeared in the prior version, but is geared more toward topically or logically organizing content from library resources. More fundamentally, this is a vastly improved mechanism...

WORDsearch 11: New Features, Part 2 (Look & Feel)

The WORDsearch website identifies “Look & Feel” as a new feature, so I will address it as a whole, though the “feature” aspect is really just the new, tabbed user interface as a means of program presentation. The first thing I noticed upon initial start-up is how grey the interface is now. Anyone who uses the 2013/365 versions of Microsoft Office will find this look familiar. I expect it to be a fad that will pass as soon as Apple releases some new gizmo interface using bright, polished colors. It’s not important either way, and I suppose the overwhe...

WORDsearch 11: New Features, Part 1

Having addressed the installation and setup of the WORDsearch 11 upgrade last week, I have been evaluating the new release, with a particular interest in identifying and assessing what has changed in the upgrade. The WORDsearch website identifies the following features as new: New! New Look & Feel New! LESSONmaker Integration New! Cloud Backup/Restore New! Second Monitor Support New! NoteStack Window New! Customizable Toolbar New! Topic Explorer and Cross-Reference Explorer Speedup New! "Open Book" button on the Toolbar The New INFO Panel S...

WORDsearch 11, initial thoughts: Setup

I purchased and installed the new WS11 upgrade last week. I hadn’t been sure I’d actually do it, but after attending a free training session to get some exposure to the new StackNotes feature, I was impressed enough with the potential of the tool to lay out the $40 upgrade fee and give the new version a try. I downloaded the installer to a network share and ran it on my Windows 10 laptop, but the installer failed with a non-descriptive error, so I copied the installer file to my local desktop, and it ran through to successful completion. However, the ins...

Rumblings From a Deep Slumber

Rumblings from out of a deep slumber at MaybeToday.org, as I turn the lights back on to note some activity… WORDsearch LifeWay this week released WORDsearch 11, which is the first major version release in almost four years. I haven’t run the new version yet, and very well may not, at least for the foreseeable future, as the marketing approach being taken ($50 for an engine-only upgrade, discounted to $40 through September) seems hard to reconcile against new product descriptions that identify a few nice-sounding but hardly game-changing improvements to w...