Customer Reviews

The American Sign Language Dictionary

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

If you need an ASL reference or want to pick up some--buy this. This is a really well designed piece of software, and it's much better to see how to make the signs with video on your computer instead of flipping through a book and having to guess at some of the motions. Wholeheartedly recommended!

I absolutely love Martin L.A. Sternberg's mammoth ASL dictionary, and I refer to it quite often when studying. But if a picture is worth a thousand words, a real-life moving one is priceless! ASL dictionaries are good in a pinch, but there is nothing like seeing a real-life model "sign" the word you are looking for. This CD is awesome! There are over 2500 words that are categorized for easy reference. You can record your sessions for testing later.

This CD uses different models who not only sign, but utilize facial expressions as well. Dr. Sternberg has put together an outstanding resource that will greatly advance the signing skills of any ASL beginner. Highly recommended...5+stars!

This product has many problems:

1) It doesn't come with a manual, this makes using it and installing it a guessing game.

2) This was written for Win 3.1 (16-bit), so it's clunky in Win 95/98/Me (32-bit)

3) It requires that you DOWNGRADE your QuickTime to an old 16-bit version. This means you can no longer view QuickTime movies on the web!

4) The installer prompts you if you want to install the 16-bit or 32-bit version of QuickTime. Yet according to technical support, only the 16-bit version is compatible with this software. So why does the installer do that?!?

This program works great as a reference, but don't look to it as a Mavis Beacon-esque tutor to teach you Sign Language from the start, or have I just not found that section? The program is a little confusing to navigate. But after about 10 mins of exploring I think I found everything there is to do on the disk.

A lot of people are complaining about software issues with this CD-ROM. In order to see the video and everything properly (I'm running Win98) I had to Uninstall my current Quicktime (5.0 I think) ENTIRELY in Add/Remove Programs and THEN install the program and ITS version of QT (2.0). Then it worked and I was free to re-install 5.0. The two vers. of quicktime are not conflicting and are performing their own duties on their own (2.0 for ASL CD and 5.0 for movie watching, Netscape, etc) without any problems.

THIS CD ROM IS GREAT. I have told all my classmates how terrific this is, and 1/2 of them have ordered it and are happy they did. Along with a visual/video, it gives you the written description of signing as well as audio instructions and in some cases (where appropriate) has little light bulb helpers. Would recommend this for any age, anyone interested in learning ASL. You can test yourself on what you learn. Simple and fairly quick to download program on your PC. Terrific learning tool, worth the money, and of course great service from AMAZON.com.

Might just be me, but I find the software to be "dead" on my computer. I can access the dictionary, but the video does not come up at all. Perhaps my system is too new (Windows 98). I really want to learn to sign, but find this product to be tedious (and out of date??).

This software works great, I've never ever had a problem and I think its weird how so many have. The best part I beleive, besides the explainations and the videos, is how it memorizes every sign I look up, so I can then test myself later. This option comes in really handy. The question I have for whoever might be able to answer this is, Does the ability to download new signs every month work? As of right now, I would say that the software is old enough that it does not work, But maybe I am wrong, please let me know. Thanks.. I think someone or some company should come out with a new software just like this one, with more of todays technology, but they must have the option of memorizing every signed looked up for further testing, for I feel that is a really important quality in this product, and I use it over other dictionary softwares I own.

If you have a Macintosh, don't bother buying this product. I just got version 2.1 running on MacOS 9.0.4, and it is just awful. The engine for the product is a FIVE YEAR old version of Macromedia Director, and has serious problems running on current MacOS and QuickTime software. The video clips get shown in the main window before getting properly positioned in the video frame, which obscures text and buttons. The operation is so slow (even on a fast G4) that it would be effectively unusable even if it worked correctly. I'm returning my copy.

Michigan State University's "Personal Communicator" works much better, though the video clips are too small to see finger positions. For a great BOOK, try Lou Fant's "American Sign Language Phrase Book".

ASL onCD Rom has great videos of each sign which can be repeated as often as you need and at your own pace. The explanations are also written but do not always match the video. In order to see the sign you must type in the word. You are not able to type in a description of a sign and find out what it means. This is an important missing part. The fingerspelling section is good for beginners but not for those who need practice in speed.

I have a G4 with ample memory and storage space...

This software was slow and trying to make it work was painful. The images would merge with the text. The software was clearly written for WinTel machines. I'll rely on my human instructor for my ASL needs.