Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

Reading through this thread seems there may not be any significant improvements made to the app but there are a couple of things that should be taken into account in this app or in katana.

1. It is not finger friendly at all due to the use of drop down arrow and the way you scroll from there. It takes me over a minute to find a passage and when I am in Church by the time I find the passage the pastor has moved in. When I try to select a book I struggle and struggle and struggle to be able to scroll. What happens is I press outside the scroll bar time and time and time again. Same with the chapters and verse. Kinetic scrolling is of course the way to go.

This would be much less of a problem if point 2 below was better addressed.

2. The search needs to be significantly improved so it is easy to find verses. Not sure what app my wife uses on her blackberry but when she types in a verse e.g. Matt 7:7 or Matthew 7:7 it will take her straight there. On Rapier it would give a list of results none of which would be the actual verse you searched.

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

Yep; both are being taken into account in designing Katana. There are a number of usability gaps which helped it to make sense to port Rapier and see what things work and don't work. Rapier presented a really solid foundation, we're just looking to sharpen the edge a good bit.

Concerning the question about modern translations with Rapier/Katana (and pretty much any computer system): I'd refer you to this piece that explains why things are the way they are:
http://mobileministrymagazine.com/20...ile-bible.html

In short, unless the publisher opens up, its hard to make things available.

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

I installed this a couple of weeks ago (when I last posted) and I don't really have anything to add. I have a couple of Bible modules working fine. The search function is a bit cumbersome, and the scrolling leaves a bit to be desired, but it does exactly what it says on the tin. It works fine, and meets my needs adequately. If a sparklier version comes along with Katana, that will be great, but thanks go to all the Rapier people for the 'port' which is certainly usable. :)

One item I'd personally love to have as an add-on, when people get bored with all the work they're already doing (:D) would be the lectionary. In fact, if someone could create a lectionary flat file - or even better an add-on to the calendar! - so I could check next week's readings, look them up (in rapier/katana) and make scribbles (in xournal and saved as pdf...) my sermon creation would be greatly enhanced. Well, it would be easier anyway. Not sure anything could help my sermons. :p

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

Not sure if lectionaries have been retrofitted for digital consumption as easily as Bibles have. But its worth asking a few folks if this has been done. Its most probably not something left to the free software/open source movement to do easily I'm sure. And there are different lectionaries and sacramentals depending on one's denomination. If the effort has already been started here, then maybe Katana - and free software/open source in general - could prove to be quite beneficial to those parts of the Body.

I'll poke a few folks and see if there anything that could be found.

EDIT/ADD: to any of you with lectionaries near your fingers, would you mind sharing the publisher's name (either PM or here directly). It would be those persons to speak to for this.

To the developers: we've talked about making some closed-source modules, can any of you PM me a basic schema (or two) that you were thinking about for this. I'll include a high-level talk of this to those persons that I reach out so that they understand the cost/benefit for them in doing this.

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

There's a sort of general, global ecumenical three year lectionary, I think. the Methodist church in the UK switched to it about 10 years ago. This one? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revised_Common_Lectionary

Actually, it's here: so a linkie to that page would probably provide what's needed as long as one were online. http://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/
*Bookmarks page*

I used to have it on my palm device in a general ministry package. It didn't integrate to the Bible, but did keep notes for the week attached.

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

There are quite a lot of bible apps for your Ipod touch like the Holy Bible by Paul Avery, Touch Bible, Logos, Acro Bible.

The versions you listed are not free and you would need to pay for them. You also need to buy them if they become available for the N900.

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

Thanks for the preview, but would it be possible for each verse to be on a new paragraph with the verse number on the left, this would make it easier to read and find the relevant verse.

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

Below are screen shots taken from Bible Applications( Logos Bible and Holy Bible by Paul Avery) I have used to show navigation layout for that I find easy to use.

A long press on any part of the interface should be able to launch the navigation menu

The layout pattern can be integrated into Katana to make it easy to use and navigation

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

is really so many believers here? :?

Re: Bible App for Maemo 5 Device(s)
 

This UI works ok for portrait, but requires too many clicks around the screen for landscape use IMO * use.

For example, the title bar at the top takes too much space to do what is essentially a menu that should simply accept search queries as well as direct scripture references. In the application shot shown, the slider is probably a bit much.

The library at the bottom makes sense, but is too also taking up space where it doesn't need to. The bottom bar, since this is consistent in Maemo 5 should probably contextually change to showing icons/avatars of the resources contained versus being a second box on the top. With the left-most icon serving as a "back/cancel."

I'm a fan of the book/chapter/verse selection screen from my Bible+ days, and it makes sense from a stylus-use standpoint. If used, I'd recommend something of a mixed mode approach, where typing on either one of the book/chapter/verse screens narrows down the items presented - making it much easier to do finger/stylus navigation.

The last shot of the text looks about what I've thought as well. Nothing but the text, and anything additional to come from either tapping on the title bar (opens a search/go-to panel) or doing a gesture-based action within the reading area to bring up more advanced commands.