software posts

The New York Times has replaced its limited "Editor's Choice" iPad app with a new version that provides the newspaper's full content, pending the user's (free) registration. The app will be free for users until "early 2011."

Unlike Editor's Choice, the new version (simply called NYTimes for iPad) includes articles from every section of the publication. You can navigate each via a pop-up list. Select any one to read the related articles.

You'll notice that a banner pops up prompting you to register. The process is as simple as entering a username and a password, and will push you out of the app and into Safari to finish the process. Once complete, you must click a ink in a confirmation email. The next time you launch the app, the banners will be gone.

I spent a short amount of time testing it this morning, and found it to hang up quite a bit when selecting an article to read from the grid. Other than that, it was what I expected. The UI will be familiar to anyone who used the Editor's Choice app.

Whiel access to the full content will be free for 2010, that will change next year when the paper's new paywall will go up. Those who pay or subscribe to the paper will enjoy full access, while others will have limited access. The website paywall is intended to allow infrequent visitors free reading access to the Times' content.

It was reported that Steve Jobs himself disliked the initial NYT iPad app because the content was limited. Now that that problem has been eliminated, and rumors of App Store subscriptions circulate, we'll see what's to come of the Times on the iPad.

Accordance, long regarded as the premier Bible study software for the Mac, has a new version 9 that's now available for download.

At first glance, it may look at a lot like version 8, but that's because most of the changes have gone on under the hood. Don't let that fool you into thinking this isn't a big update, though, because it is, and there's more coming.

Four primary new features will appeal to almost all users:

"Workspace Zones" are a new way of grouping tools. Put Bibles in one zone, dictionaries in another, or put related tools for a project together so that you can access them all at once. These also seem to work better side-by-side than what I was able to do previously. Maybe there was a way before, but if so, it's much, much easier now.

Learning a language is more than just translating words; you also have to understand syntax, grammar, idioms, and so forth. This won't make you a Greek or Hebrew scholar by itself, but it's a good reminder for those who have been out of seminary for a while and need a refresher, or a good aid to those just trying to learn.

"Easy Install" is OakTree's way of saying "you won't have to wait around for discs to arrive in the mail anymore." Most of their resources are now available for immediate download. Good riddance to media through the mail. Keeping track of installation disks and unlock codes is a hassle that no one will miss. If you haven't already created a user account on Accordance's website, now is the time to do it. You may need to contact support to get your past order history added to your account, but once all the pieces are in place, this is going to be a huge boon for everyone involved.

I've definitely saved the best for last: Search All. My biggest gripe about Accordance 8 (which was the first version that I used) was that, when I searched for something, I didn't get the feeling that I was getting results from all of the different books that are part of my Accordance library. That was one of the biggest advantages that Logos had over Accordance. Search All eliminates that. Not only that, but it's fast, and I mean really fast. It's fast enough that you'll wonder how it was that fast. OK, I'll admit that wasn't particularly eloquent, but you get the point.

So, those are some of the details, but how does Accordance 9 feel? Read on.

FormEntry Touch, a recent release from WidgetPress (makers of ModelBaker), makes setting up form-based systems on iPads and iPhones easier than ever. The universal app is static, in that it requires no coding; it reads forms from the application you build with FormEntry for Mac and runs on the FormEntry Server. Put it all together, and it looks like a pretty great setup for rapidly creating form-based applications that interact with a central database.

There are a lot of possibilities for something like this, across a variety of applications. You could build a menu and ordering system for a restaurant [or a wine list –Ed.], and let iDevice-toting customers place their orders at any time (or provide every table with an iPad, if you could justify the cost).

Teachers and professors could easily build quizzes and tests with the available array of form field types (we're looking at you, ACU). It has a signature field form type which allows people to use the touch screen to sign submissions, so it has legal applications as well. It even handles photo uploads, which adds myriad possibilities for inventory, real estate, and insurance applications.

FormEntry for Mac starts (for a single developer) at US$39, FormEntry Server at $79, and FormEntry Touch is a free download from the App Store. For a base price of $118, you could start rapidly developing applications and remote databases. Academic pricing drops it to $19 and $39 for FormEntry and FormEntry Server. For larger business applications, you can also get a Private Label version for $4,999 and white-label the whole setup. I'm curious to know if anyone has tried FormEntry out, and what they think. If you have, share your experience in the comments!