Salvation at Hand(held)

5:50 PM -- This morning we were fortunate enough to receive a stone tablet -- I mean, a press release -- telling us about an intriguing piece of hardware called The Original GoBible.

No, GoBible isn't the rallying cry of some Midwestern high school football team. It's a handheld audio device containing the Old and New Testaments in electronic form.

GoBible has all the earmarks of a groovy Enterprise 2.0 device. It comes with a special "Bible-in-a-Year" program that organizes passages into 12- to 15-minute daily segments and navigates the user through the entire Bible in 365 days.

It's also interactive. As a fan of any search technology, my heart leapt when I heard about GoBible's "Topic Index," which lists roughly 30 circumstances and emotions, including sadness, joy, fear, and repentance, for which users can select from a list of pertinent verses.

The GoBible makers are clear about appropriate use of their wares. Being plugged into the Word doesnt mean you can turn into one of the iPod-toting zombies I have to fight my way past on the subway every day. No, GoBible's creators are at pains to emphasize that their device is a supplement to regular Bible reading (as opposed to taking its place!).Maybe this is just the gift for the devout techie in your life -- or maybe you yourself are struggling for some quality scripture time. But it makes me wonder what's next -- an RFID-enabled Talmud? Or maybe some sort of virtual Veda?

— James Rogers, Senior Editor, Byte and Switch