Ken Hamel/Interview
Dari SABDA Labs
An Interview With Ken Hamel
Necessity caused Ken Hamel to create the Macintosh Computer version of the Online Bible.
In 1991, Ken, a born again Christian who also happened to be a Macintosh progammer, embarked on what has become a long-term commitment to create quality Bible software for Macintosh users.
"I was a Bible student and a Mac user," he says, "but I couldn't find anything that was usable for serious Bible study on the Macintosh. The only programs available that I felt were functional and offered the resources I needed were PC based. As it turns out, I wasn't the only Mac user looking for such a program. Since releasing the first version of Online Bible for the Macintosh, I've heard from literally thousands of grateful users. It's been a pleasure to help fill the need and with God's help, we're hoping to make a good program even better."
The Online Bible is a full-featured program designed for serious Bible students. Bible passages and notes can be displayed in any number of computer windows, limited only by memory.
Hamel took a full year, working evenings and weekends, to come out with the first release of Online Bible for the Macintosh. Since that time, he has refined and improved the software. A particularly noteworthy function is the Bible FKey which allows you to insert Bible passages directly into the document you're currently working on in any editor or word processor without switching applications.
The basic text used is the 1769 Authorized Version, known popularly as the King James Version. Strong's numbers have been embedded into the text, giving user access to the original Greek and Hebrew. This text along with the Online Bible application can be freely copied and shared with others. However, modern Bible texts such as the NIV and NASB are copyrighted and as such are not to be freely distributed.
"Online Bible distribution is based firmly on the principle of grace not greed," Hamel says "those who've worked on this project have done so with a desire to make God's Word more readily available to computer users in a form that will enhance study." With that in mind, users are granted permission to make and distribute floppy disk copies of the Online Bible application along with various older Bible texts and add-on modules providing no fee is charged for the service.
The Macintosh version, Hamel says, is similar in terms of content and features to the Windows version but offers a distinctly Macintosh experience. As for the content found on the Windows CD versus the Mac CD, it's about 90% the same. "I rely heavily on Larry (Pierce) and volunteers for material," he says. "There are people with a burden to see good Bible based material made available in this form and we do our best to facilitate that."
Larry Pierce, the creator of the original Online Bible, has a group of volunteers world wide who regularly provide translations, scanning, editing and research into additional Bible study documents, all of which are made available to both PC and Mac users.
"If people do something on the PC side, we clearly take advantage of it on the Mac side," Hamel said.
Since it's initial release, the Mac product has grown significantly in terms of program features and content. A new CD will be released later this year and will include an even wider selection of material than is currently available. In addition, the program is being updated as well. One new feature that will interest those who are visually impaired is the ability to have their Mac read to them.
Since it was first released in 1987 as a public domain DOS version of the Authorized Version of the Bible distributed on a handful of low density floppy disks, the Online Bible has become a comprehensive compendium of Bible versions in dozens of languages, including Greek and Hebrew, and hundreds of megabytes of data, which today is distributed as a CD-ROM to more than 10,000 registered Macintosh users and more than 60,000 registered Windows users.
"It's hard to say just how many people are using it because of the fact it can be freely distributed," Hamel said. "On a daily basis, I get E-mail from people I've never heard from before."
Ken Hamel invites comments and suggestions about potential improvements to the software. E-mail can be sent to support@onlinebibleusa.com.
This interview was written by Bob Rutter, a Guelph-based freelance writer.
- Cross Country Software
- 83 Mountford Drive
- Guelph, Ontario N1E 6E7
- 519-767-2266 519-767-2266
- support@online-bible.com
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