mirror of https://gitlab.com/openlp/website.git
83 lines
3.3 KiB
ReStructuredText
83 lines
3.3 KiB
ReStructuredText
.. title: Commercial Presentation Applications
|
||
.. slug: 2008/03/06/commercial-presentation-applications
|
||
.. date: 2008-03-06 08:03:47 UTC
|
||
.. tags:
|
||
.. description:
|
||
|
||
So, we've been developing openlp.org for a few years now, but to be
|
||
honest, I've never looked at the commercial offerings. I know about
|
||
them, and I know that most people seem to hear of them first, but I've
|
||
never actually installed them and tried them out.
|
||
|
||
So last night I installed 4 applications:
|
||
|
||
- EasyWorship
|
||
- SongShow Plus
|
||
- SongPro
|
||
- Sunday Plus
|
||
|
||
I basically just installed everything, and then opened each program and
|
||
tried to figure out how to use it without looking in a manual.
|
||
|
||
Installation
|
||
|
||
Apart from SongShow Plus, the applications installed in apretty straight
|
||
forward manner. SongShow Plus, however, was a nightmare. It has a whole
|
||
bunch of "components" which you can choose to install, only each and
|
||
every component is an installer in and of itself. This means, that with
|
||
a default install (pre-selected components), you install 26 components,
|
||
and you have to click buttons on each installer a minimum of 3 times...
|
||
that's a minimum of 78 clicks! It took about 15 minutes to install
|
||
SongShow Plus, thanks to all their installers. I was not impressed with
|
||
SongShow Plus after that.
|
||
|
||
First Impressions EasyWorship
|
||
|
||
If you wanted to say that openlp.org copied someone's interface, it
|
||
would be EasyWorship's. Of all the applications, EasyWorship's interface
|
||
is the most like openlp.org's. For me it was simple and easy to see what
|
||
to do and how to do it. EasyWorship is also written in Delphi, like
|
||
openlp.org, but it uses the archaic Borland Database Engine.
|
||
|
||
SongShow Plus
|
||
|
||
SongShow Plus has a very flashy interface, with a silver look and little
|
||
effects here and there. However, as my wife pointed out, all the icons
|
||
look the same. It's interface is somewhat similar to openlp.org and
|
||
EasyWorship, but not quite as intuitive.
|
||
|
||
SongPro
|
||
|
||
Eyesore. That was my first impression of SongPro. It doesn't look good.
|
||
The backgrounds of the text boxes are turquoise or yelow, and I couldn't
|
||
initially figure out how to put together an order of service. The
|
||
buttons are all too big, there's too much whitespace around certain
|
||
elements, and it really looks like it was hastily put together with no
|
||
regard for how it looks.
|
||
|
||
Sunday Plus
|
||
|
||
Bizarre, just plain bizarre. When you open Sunday Plus, it shows you a
|
||
small window in the middle of your screen that looks more like a
|
||
calculator than anything else. From there I was absolutely baffled as to
|
||
what to do. How do you set up an order of service? How do you
|
||
add/edit/delete songs? I couldn't figure out how to use Sunday Plus
|
||
after 5 minutes, so I just decided to leave it.
|
||
|
||
Some Thoughts
|
||
|
||
Features are not king. If you application doesn't look good, and isn't
|
||
easy enough to figure out how to use, then people will not be impressed
|
||
with it. From what I've read in forums on the Internet, a lot of people
|
||
like EasyWorship because of it's smart, not too simple but not too
|
||
complicated, and easy to use interface.
|
||
|
||
I think it's important to have a decent set of features, but it's more
|
||
important that your interface looks good (but not flashy) and that your
|
||
program is easy to use, without having to read the manual.
|
||
|
||
Comments
|
||
|
||
If you think I'm right or wrong or missing something or overlooking
|
||
something, please leave a comment.
|