Merriam-Webster's 11th Edition Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus

by Fogware Publishing

Product Features

• Dictionary: take charge of today's language with access to 225,000 definitions
• Thesaurus: zero in on the right word with over 340,000 synonyms and antonyms
• Easy Installation: installs quickly onto your hard drive for instant access anytime
• Audio pronunciations: including variant pronunciations by real voices
• 21 search options: more ways to search for the right word than any other dictionary

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009ZL50
• Item model number: 95797
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 11, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,653 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
  • #15 in Software > Education & Reference > Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

This edition of Merriam-Webster's best-selling CD-ROM dictionary contains thousands of new words and meanings from all areas of human endeavor including electronic technology, the sciences, and popular culture.

This completely revised language reference delivers accurate, up-to-date information while word processing, composing e-mail, designing spreadsheets, preparing presentations, browsing CDs, or surfing the Web.

Dictionary: Take charge of today's language with access to 225,000 definitions.

Thesaurus: Zero in on the right word with over 340,000 synonyms and antonyms.

Easy Installation: Installs quickly onto your hard drive for instant access anytimeÑ including from Microsoft Word.

Audio pronunciations: Including variant pronunciations by real voices.

21 search options: More ways to search for the right word than any other dictionary.

Go online: Link to a vast array of Web-based resources.

Product Description

America's #1-Selling Dictionary! The NEW 11th edition includes 225000 definitions 115000 audio pronunciations 340000 synonyms & related words 21 search options & a free 1-year subscription to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Web site!System Requirements:PC: Pentium or equivalent WIN 95 98 ME NT XP 2000 CD-ROM Drive 640x480 VGA (SVGA recommended) Mouse & Sound Card Speakers 4 MB RAM 75 MB Hard Disk Space MAC: 7.5 or higher Power Mac CD-ROM Drive (double speed or faster) SVGA monitor Mouse SpeakersFormat: WIN 98MENT2000XP/MAC 8.6-9.X (CLASSIC)X10.1 Genre: REFERENCE / LIFESTYLE Rating: NR UPC: 798694895797 Manufacturer No: 95797

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

63 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good word pronounciation, July 6, 2004

By 

M. H Shamp (Columbia Falls, MT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Merriam-Webster's 11th Edition Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus (CD-ROM)

I already owned the Microsoft Encarta World English Dictionary when I bought Merriam-Webster because I wanted the software to pronounce every word, and Encarta doesn't.

Merriam-Webster's main good point:
pronouces every single entry, including various forms of each word, such as "beauty", "beautiful" plus you can copy the whole disc into your computer, so you don't have to put in the CD every time you look stuff up. Can't do with Microsoft.

Other than that, it isn't a very good computer dictionary. It looks like somebody just scanned the information into the computer. The dictionary has limited space, that's why stuff is crammed in the there, but the computer should read with more paragraph separations which costs no more memory. There are few examples.

I also don't like the fact that you have to clear each entry before you can look up the next word, which I don't have to do with Microsoft's.

It is a usable dictionary and thesarus, and has plenty of entries. I think it is particular worth it for someone learning English as a foreign language.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very nice product; but doesn't integrate with browsers., July 16, 2004

By 

"ad1111" (PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Merriam-Webster's 11th Edition Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus (CD-ROM)

This is undoubtedly the best dictionary & thesaurus available today. The features that impressed me the most are:

1: You don't have to leave the CD in the drive to use the 'pronounciation' feature. You can optionally install the sound files on your hard disk. (Approx. 532 MB)

2: Multiple pronounciations invoked where appropriate.

3: Installs without a glitch and integrates with MS Word.

4: Has a lot of nice features like 'Spelling Help'.

I hope the 12th Edition will integrate with email browsers, not just with MS Word. Also, I would have preferred the thesaurus invoked automatically in an additional pane instead of switching between dictionary and thesaurus.

49 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Work Adequately on the Mac, Could be Improved, September 6, 2004

By 

Glenn R. Howes (Nashua, NH) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Merriam-Webster's 11th Edition Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus (CD-ROM)

I'm typing this on a Powerbook G4 running Mac OS X 10.3, according to the top utility, the Merriam-Webster application is taking between 7% and 12% of the CPU time while idling in the background. If every application I owned did this, I would be in trouble. Thankfully, most commercial applications are better written.

Not that I don't appreciate the product for what it does. It is incredibly useful for looking up words, solving crossword puzzles and the like. I know I use it frequently and think it a bargain.

However, as a Mac coder, I find its interface and performance well below professional standards. It is easily the ugliest application I use on a daily basis with its mixture of faux 3D elements and Mac native widgets, its garish color scheme, blocky icons and its tendency to suck down cycles as if its programmers had never heard of a Carbon Event.