2024 is SwordSearcher's 30th Anniversary! 😁

Brandon Staggs

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
5,669
(This is a copy of this blog post.)

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” –Philippians 4:19

In 1994, I started a simple programming project for Bible searching. I had no idea at the time that I would still be working on this tool 30 years later!

When I released SwordSearcher 9.1 a few weeks ago, I didn’t realize I was releasing the 30th anniversary edition of the software, and it only occurred to me this morning.

It’s highly unusual for small projects to last this long, and I wanted to thank all of you who continue to use and support SwordSearcher, who made this possible. Throughout my career as a Bible software programmer and publisher I have seen a dozen alternatives come and go. It pleases me greatly that SwordSearcher is still here and is still found to be useful and interesting to so many people.

Over the last decade we have seen a trend towards “software as a service,” with most large software suites requiring annual subscriptions rather than offering perpetual licenses. While this method of selling software makes sense for many programs, I am happy to say that I have not had to resort to this revenue method for SwordSearcher. You can still make a single, one-time purchase of SwordSearcher to use it indefinitely, and choose whether to continue to support the project by purchasing upgrades when they become available.

The reason this works is because you are supporting a small family-run company, not a large corporation with huge overhead. And it works because many users of SwordSearcher continue to support it by purchasing upgrades, so thank you!

The response to the recent release of SwordSearcher 9.1 has been overwhelmingly positive. Many of you have written kind and encouraging messages to me over the last two weeks, and while time doesn’t permit me to write detailed responses to each of those messages, please know that I genuinely appreciate them. They are genuinely helpful!

So once again, thank you for using SwordSearcher!

By the way, if you’re curious about the history of SwordSearcher, I have an article about it right here.
 
By the way, astute observers will note that I called 2015 the 20th anniversary of SwordSearcher. The minor discrepancy is explained by the fact that the first version, 1.0, was actually called "Bible Assistant." The Bible Assistant help file named SwordSearcher as the upcoming release, which was announced and beta tested in 1994, but made available in 1995. This time when I was thinking about how long I have been developing this software I decided just to go with 2024 as the 30th anniversary. I hope nobody minds too much!
 
Wow, this is fantastic! SwordSearcher is in its prime 🥰... Congratulations 🎊... I know that I have been tremendously blessed over the years as have been folks who I purchased copies of the software for. Our God has greatly blessed this program for the use of building up the saints in their most holy faith. Thank you Brandon, though we know all glory, honour and praise belong to the Lord God, our heavenly Father and our Saviour, Jesus Christ! May He continue to take this work ever onward and upward. God bless.
 
Amen, Praise the LORD for your work Sir....
I do not think that you understand the FULL extend of "what" you created !!!
By SwordSearcher, I understood the mysteries of the Scripture.
This is my fastest growth since 2008, than ever before.
BE BLESSED SIR ! ! !
Thank you So much.
 
You should sell them leftovers "floppy" as a souvenir for us !!!!!
I would get one for sure ! ! ! 😁
The only original floppies I have left are a single copy and that one stays with me. 😉 Those floppies were all hand-copied (no production service was used for those) and I only have the SwordSearcher 2.0 for DOS ones. For a while I shipped SwordSearcher 3 (SwordSearcher95) on floppies but the stack got too big and I was able to switch to burning CD-ROMs instead. Sadly I don't have any copies of 3.0 on floppies left.

The demand for the actual physical discs has really dropped. For version 9.1 I decided to stop having the "retail packaging" produced to save time and money. I still have the DVD-ROM available, just not in a shrink-wrapped retail package any more. Most computers these days don't even have DVD drives.
 
The only original floppies I have left are a single copy and that one stays with me. 😉 Those floppies were all hand-copied (no production service was used for those) and I only have the SwordSearcher 2.0 for DOS ones. For a while I shipped SwordSearcher 3 (SwordSearcher95) on floppies but the stack got too big and I was able to switch to burning CD-ROMs instead. Sadly I don't have any copies of 3.0 on floppies left.

The demand for the actual physical discs has really dropped. For version 9.1 I decided to stop having the "retail packaging" produced to save time and money. I still have the DVD-ROM available, just not in a shrink-wrapped retail package any more. Most computers these days don't even have DVD drives.
Wellllllll..... I tried.
Thank you Sir.
 
The only original floppies I have left are a single copy and that one stays with me. 😉 Those floppies were all hand-copied (no production service was used for those) and I only have the SwordSearcher 2.0 for DOS ones. For a while I shipped SwordSearcher 3 (SwordSearcher95) on floppies but the stack got too big and I was able to switch to burning CD-ROMs instead. Sadly I don't have any copies of 3.0 on floppies left.

The demand for the actual physical discs has really dropped. For version 9.1 I decided to stop having the "retail packaging" produced to save time and money. I still have the DVD-ROM available, just not in a shrink-wrapped retail package any more. Most computers these days don't even have DVD drives.
3-1/2 Inch Diskettes or 5-1/4 Inch Diskettes? I remember the days of the TRS-80, my first computer - We used Tape Cassette Drives to load and save software... :)
 
3-1/2 Inch Diskettes or 5-1/4 Inch Diskettes? I remember the days of the TRS-80, my first computer - We used Tape Cassette Drives to load and save software... :)
I got my start on a Commodore 64 with a 1541 disk drive (5.25" floppies), but by 1994 when I was shipping SwordSearcher on floppy disks, the 3.5" form factor was all I used. SwordSearcher was never shipped on 5.25" disks.
 
The only original floppies I have left are a single copy and that one stays with me. 😉 Those floppies were all hand-copied (no production service was used for those) and I only have the SwordSearcher 2.0 for DOS ones. For a while I shipped SwordSearcher 3 (SwordSearcher95) on floppies but the stack got too big and I was able to switch to burning CD-ROMs instead. Sadly I don't have any copies of 3.0 on floppies left.

The demand for the actual physical discs has really dropped. For version 9.1 I decided to stop having the "retail packaging" produced to save time and money. I still have the DVD-ROM available, just not in a shrink-wrapped retail package any more. Most computers these days don't even have DVD drives.
My first copy of SwordSearcher was on a floppy - probably for DOS as that was my favorite OS back then. I didn't have much respect for Windows. I picked it up at a computer club meeting. Best software I ever got! I remember how excited I was to try it out!
 
Yeah, I enjoyed the days of DOS... to me the difference between DOS and Windows is like having to drive an automatic car after mastering driving a stick shift vehicle... one you drive while the other presents no such joy or challenge 😏
 
I got my start on a Commodore 64 with a 1541 disk drive (5.25" floppies), but by 1994 when I was shipping SwordSearcher on floppy disks, the 3.5" form factor was all I used. SwordSearcher was never shipped on 5.25" disks.
Commodore 64 and big 'ol floppies. That was the days. And congrats on the anniversary. I have only been around for 3 versions counting this one, but it has brought so much into my life and study and growth. Thank you for your commitment. I just bought the upgrade last Friday I think it was. I still haven't had the chance to kick the tires.
 
Syntax
echo [<message>]
echo [on | off]
Glad I can remember those days. More glad SwordSearcher came to me as a CD, then as online download 22 years ago.
Nowadays trying to make up lost time. Having it on my pc instead of Using it. {Repent} Now I am really trying to learn. If I had a 49" monitor like some folks, would it help? Ha!
Yes it is worth bragging on too.
 
Back
Top