The computer and the Internet are part of our everyday life;  so is the Bible. Many Christians have a computer at home and are interested in studying this"Holy Book" by themselves, not only at their church, but also at home. There are many people who are interested in the Bible from the literary and documentary point of view. All these people want to purchase a Biblical software or Bible software.
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This software is a group of computer applications meant to view and study biblical texts and concepts. Bible software resemble e-book readers because they offer books in a digital format, and may be used to show a great variety of inspirational books and bibles and can be used on your personal computer. Any way, a big part of the biblical software only focuses on finding certain words, phrases,  chapters from the Bible, giving translation in different languages, comparing texts and topics,  original texts together with the tools for study: references, dictionaries, studies, comments, maps, charts that may help them understand the Bible, either from the theological, historical or philosophical point of view.

There are different kinds of Bible software, with different degrees of complexity, according to what the user wants. Their price is also different according to the number of tools and studies or material offered.Because the users belong to different social categories and have different purposes, the Bible software offers something for everybody. Some people need it for devotional reading and personal study, others belong to the Church and want to be helped to make a beautiful speech as part of a sermon, some just out of curiosity. The basic biblical software is designed for the mobile phone and focuses on searching a word or a phrase from the Bible and translating it into different languages. The more expensive and more complex software offers many tools for interpretation: Gospel narratives, syntactical searches of original texts, etc.and can be installed on your personal computer. The first use of computers for searching parts of texts from the Bible seems to have happened in the 1980s. People realized that it was much easier to search a word on the computer than to look it up a very thick book.

The earliest forms of the Bible software was only a searching engine.The offer became more and more diverse and complex and now we can even read the Bible in the original language and text, in Greek or Hebrew. Of course, this meant a great opportunity for linguists, researchers in the field of Theology, History or Linguistics. And the offers are improving from one day to another, because people are very interested in this topic. The Bible was reviewed and restructured so as to be accessible to simple people or children who do not understand a very sophisticated and bushy language. For this category of readers the Publishing Houses prepared an animated presentation of the  Bible, similar to cartoons, but containing facts from the Holy Book. In this way they approached children gently and in an appropriate manner for their age and made them love the study of the Bible. The children found it easier to make representations and understand the facts if they were presented in a pleasant way.

Here are some Bible softwares according to their compatibility with some of the most important computer operating systems for those who are interested. Windows compatible:Bible explorer, Bible works, iLumina(animated Bible), LOGOS Bible software, eBible library, Pradis, PC Study Bible, QuickVerse, SESB, SwordSearcher, WORDSearch. Free software: The Sword Project, Alkitab Bible Study, Bible Desktop, BPBible, Bible Analyzer, Bible Database, Bible explorer, Bible PRO, e-Sword, Interlinear Scripture Analyzer,Online Bible, SwordBible, Theophilos, The Word. MAC OSX compatible: Accordance, iLumina, LOGOS Bible Software, MacSword, Online Bible, QuickVerse, WORD search 8 for Mac. Linux/Unix compatible: Bible Analyzer, Bible Time, BPBible, Xiphos. Mobile platforms: PalmOS(Bible Reader for Palm), Laridian, My Bible, Olive Tree Bible Software, Bible Reader, Palm Bible Plus, QuickVerse. Windows CE compatible: Olive Tree Bible Software  Bible Reader, Laridian Pocket Bible, Pocket E-Sword,QuickVerse. Android compatible:CadreBible, Answord, Android Scriptures, VirtueBible. iPhone and iPod compatible: Olive Tree Bible Software-Bible Reader, iBibleSpace, Laridian, Kavapoint.com-Bible verses, Youversion App. Java compatible: Alkitab Bible Study, BibleDesktop, Go Bible. Online tools: BiblePro online version, Bible.LOGOS.com, The Bible Tool, Blue Letter Bible, Christian Classics Etheral library, Crosswalk Bible, e-Sword Live, Gospel Communications' Bible Gateway, Bible Forge, NEXTbible, YouVersion.

After listing the best known Bible software programs I want to plead for the advantages of the software in comparison with the printed version of the book. First of all it's the hyperlink-digital texts usually let you know when you can get more information about a certain word or phrase in the text which is indicated by the use of another color and underlined. You are one click away from supplementary explanation about that specific item. You can look up the dictionary definition, Bible explanation or reference, commentary or map or picture and then return to the previous page without missing anything, but being, on the contrary, more informed. The second important advantage of the software is speed. In a century when everything seems to be moving with the speed of light around us it is important to save time and use the best time managing ways in our research or study. I mean it takes a lot less time to look up a phrase or expression on the computer, than to spend a few hours searching it in books.

Nevertheless this is not an excuse to exclude the actual reading from the Bible; I think we should find the best combination of the two methods: read first, then try to find an interpretation with the help of the software. The third and last very important advantage is comprehensiveness. Sometimes we read parts of the Bible but do not catch all the meanings and hints either because we are not prepared enough or because we only look for the simple meaning, the apparent one. But it is known that the Bible has deep meanings that go beyond the surface of the book. At that point the Bible software comes to our help and provides all the necessary information about a certain topic we read. In conclusion use the software wise, together with the book.

Our society is evolving every day, but the best example of a speedy evolution is IT&C and the internet. The Internet offers a huge opportunity to find information from every field and also to communicate with people all over the world, crossing borders and reducing space. However the Internet does not belong to a person or an institution, so nobody can control everything that happens on the Internet, every site appeared and accessed by millions of users. And the truth is that there are a lot of unproper websites, especially for children and teenagers who are more vulnerable than grown-ups. That is why parents thought of a way of forbidding their children access to these kinds of websites: pornographic, radical, terrorist websites. This is what parental control software is about.
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But parental control software is not used exclusively for the Internet. This software provides parents with automated tools while using different devices and services: e.g. it may alert a parent that his/her child's device is leaving school, it may help the parent establish the maximum speed of their child's car, or it may control the content of the websites visited. Parental controls are  optional features that may be included in digital television services, computer and video games, mobile phones and computer software. The parents have four tools that help them control their children and their actions: content filters, usage control, usage management tools and monitoring. Let's take them one at a time. Content filters are the first option of the parents when it comes to limiting their children's access to the internet unwanted and improper content. There are also some television stations that introduced a new technology to allow the parents to limit the access to some content.

This kind of parental control software applies to a wide range of topics from explicit songs and pictures to objectionable movies or magazines that can be bought online, thus you don't need to prove that you are an adult. The usage controls constrain a child to use a device during a specific time and for certain purposes. They are more and more sophisticated and can make the computer or tv turn off during a specific time of the day(for example when the child is supposed to be studying). Big companies approve of the parents' attitude and e.g. Ford has introduced a new software that limits the volume of the music that can be heard in the car. The monitoring devices include webcams that allow to see what your child is doing at home, even if you are at work and GPS technology that helps you locate your child.

There are several techniques that allow parents to control their children's access to certain internet websites and even block this access: add-on parental control software may monitor API in order to monitor the computer applications and interfere and block access when the child e.g. uses a word from the database of forbidden words when browsing or chatting. All these kinds of software usually provide means of blocking access by means of a user and password, in order to make the difference between parent and child and to prevent the child's attempt to break the interdiction. Some other parental control software may include a proxy server, that is the proxy server is the first to receive the requests for web content and not the web server intended. Proxy servers scan the content of the requested website and compare it with a data base of banned words or URLs and act accordingly: they either allow or deny access to that specific URL. However this method is easily bypassed, as the child can reconfigure his computer not to use the proxy, but to access Internet directly, thus avoiding banning.  

Computer Usage Management method is very different from the one presented above. That is this method teaches parents how to encourage their children to access educational sites by rewarding them with increasing gaming time. Teenagers like to be up-to-date with all kinds of gadgets and the latest versions of mobile phones. This is another problem,  because parents used to monitor only the computer at home.

But now the mobile phones have Internet access, so the parents needed a parental control software for them, too. Verizon was the first to come and help them in November 2007 as it offered content filters in June 2009 Apple Computer provided a built in mechanism on iPhone and iPhone Touch that blocked the children's access to certain websites and prevented them from downloading improper applications, according to the age of the user. Another step forward in parental web controls in the mobile phone area was made also in June 2009 when Surfbalance Kids browser for iPhone appeared on the market as a safe mobile web browser. But children will be children and they have always wanted to be free and get rid of their parents' restrictions and supervision. That is why many of them try tricking these parental control softwares to enable them with unlimited access to the internet. For example if the software that monitors their web activity is located within the computer they can reboot it from another media or use another operating system. So the parents should configure the BIOS on their computer not to allow booting from removable media and always require authentication.

Other methods are to use alternative protocols such as FTP or HTTPS, to make the search in a different language,  to use a proxy server or a circumventor. As a strong reaction to the successful attempts of bypassing filters and parental control software, many software companies are trying hard to bring new and better software that can help parents and children as well.There are a lot of companies that offer parental control software with different functionalities built-in. The most famous are Net Nanny, Ez Parental Control and Sental Parental Controls.

I recently found a paid application on App Store, which will train you to pass an interview, and get hired as a programmer. At a first glance you might find this quite good, but think again, once the interview is over, you are hired as a programmer. If you can't pass a programming interview on your own, how will you actually program anything? On October 16, 2009, Daniel Wong released the latest version of "A+ Programming Interview Puzzles", a useful application that will help you prepare for a programming interview. You can currently find this application on App Store under the Business category, available for purchase for $1.99 price tag. This application was developed for the third generation operating system for iPhone mobile platform. It can work on iPod touch and on iPhone.
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The "A+ Programming Interview Puzzles" provides you with answers to over 50 possible questions you might get during the interview. Basically, this application will prepare you enough for passing the interview. However, from that point further you are on your own. All the questions are divided within the basic core categories of programming, algorithms category, strings category, binary trees category, linked lists category, and array category. However, you should already know all these information. Let's face only the ones who have a MBA within computer science should aspire to a programming job. Otherwise, the market will the overflowed with bad quality applications.

The "A+ Programming Interview Puzzles" will offer you at every question the proper answer as well. Also, the question data base will be constantly upgraded. The same developer added on App Store a couple of similar applications like "Interview Brain Puzzles", which also sports more than 50 questions with answers regarding the technical interview questions. Even more, beside the interview programming questions, or the technical interview questions, you can also find an application which will help you with the behavior questions, the "Interview Pro".

This application will certainly be useful for anyone that needs some practice before going to an interview. You will get answers to normal questions, but also to strange questions such as "Why are manhole covers round?" and many other more. All the above applications are developed with a single purpose, to help you get your desired job. Whether these applications will deliver as promised is yet to be seen; however there is more to an interview than only right answers, there is attitude and self confidence. Therefore, the necessity of these applications is strictly subjective, depending on each individual.