[November 08, 2009]

New program rethinks Bible for digital age: Glo makes use of technological advances

Nov 07, 2009 (The Blade - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- After years of transforming the Bible for the digital age, Nelson Saba and the team at Immersion Digital reached a point where they had to put a name on their concept.

"We didn't want a name that would explain what the software is because most likely you would associate it with the wrong thing," Mr. Saba said in an interview.

People have their own definitions of such popular computer words as "multimedia," "digital," and "software," he said, and those words and definitions don't really capture the heart of what they've created.

So the Immersion team and its publishing partner, Zondervan, came up with the name Glo, a "nonword" that implies light and illumination and "a lamp unto my feet," he said.

They describe their product as "The Bible for the Digital World." "We kind of took the route of YouTube and Google today. What does Google mean? Well Google is Google. We tried to think of a word that doesn't mean much of anything, and over time we want that word to mean us. Glo is Glo." Some key features separate Glo from other Bibles that take a paper version and simply turn it into pixels.

One is the unique interface that allows the user to search and study the Bible through a single or any combination of five "lenses" -- the Bible text (in the New International Version), a timeline, an atlas, topical points, and media.

Each lens adds a level of filtering until they come up with the specific results.

As an example of how these lenses can be used, Mr. Saba said they can be combined to search for such a specific target as Jesus' words spoken in Jerusalem during Passion week and recorded in the Gospel of John.

The multimedia components include 7,500 encyclopedia articles, 3.5 hours of high-definition video, 2,400 high-resolution photos, 700 pieces of artwork, 500 virtual tours with 360-degree views, and nearly 150 maps.

Glo's atlas is reminiscent of the popular Google Earth program in which the user sees the world from space and then zooms into a specific location. Adding the time line lens will filter the atlas' view so the user can look at ancient or modern Jerusalem, for example.

Clicking on a specific place or landmark such as Jerusalem's Dome of the Rock will bring up a 360-degree tour when available.

"We're not just digititizing the Bible. We are creating a product with layers of functionality that will make Glo relevant and engaging to a generation that has grown up in the digital world," Mr. Saba said.

He said Glo's market demographic is broad.

"It pretty much goes from 25 all the way to 55," he said. "The way we define our product is that it's a busters' product for the buster generation but it is a boomer-friendly product." Boomers "consume technology at surprisingly very, very high levels," he said.

Glo also includes a feature called MyGlo that lets the user add his or her own notes about verses or photos, sort of like writing in the margins of a paper Bible.

Plans for Glo updates will let the user store the MyGlo notes "in the cloud," Mr. Saba said, referring to an internet site, where they will be replicated across all of the owners' digital platforms -- from a laptop to a desktop to a smart phone, for example.

And another update will allow the person to post his or her notes, along with the Glo verse or artwork, on a personal blog.

The program requires some serious computing power -- Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7; 1 to 2 gigabytes of RAM depending on the operating system; a dual core processor, video graphics card, and 18 gigabytes of hard-drive space.

"We pushed the envelope in terms of innovation, and there's always a tradeoff," Mr. Saba said.

But he said it will run on most computers sold within the last three years, and worked fine when tested on new low-end laptops and desktops that sell in the $400 range.

Glo is now available only for PCs but an Apple version is due out soon. The list price is $79.99, but is being discounted for between $50 and $60 at many retail outlets.

More information is available online at bibleglo.com.

- David Yonke To see more of The Blade, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.toledoblade.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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