Rating: 
Summary: A disappointing offering. Missing too many features.
Review: In comparing this version with the much older MS-DOS based "Random House Webster's Electronic Dictionary and Thesaurus V1.20" I find this newer one to be a major disappointment. The most significant omission is the lack of a phonetic lookup. With the older versions, and with most spelling checkers, it is easy to find a word when the spelling is unknown, not with this one. I have had a terrible time finding words that I can find easily with the MS-DOS version. I also found that some of the definitions have been SHORTENDED from the old version in spite of this one shipping on a CD. A search for "national & parks & utah" misses Zion in the new version but finds it in the old one. This version also lacks Thesaurus functions.On the plus side, the audible pronunciations are quite a nice feature. The abbility to install the whole thing to the hard drive so the CD is not required is welcome. This also seems to be the only choice for an electronic unabridged dictionary.
Rating: 
Summary: RH Webster's Unabr. Dict. on CD, Ver. 2.0
Review: In response to complaints about this software, I wanted to comment on Version 2.0. I have successfully run this version on Win98, WinNT 4.0 and Win2000 but only after reading the README file which indicated that a printer driver must be installed in order for this software to run, regardless of whether a physical printer was available for the computer or not. Given that the physical, hardback dictionary (which I also have) is an excellent reference (and I have compared/contrasted dictionaries for years), I would like to have rated this with 5 stars. Instead, I rated it a 4 because of the shortcomings of the user interface (of Version 2.0; hopefully version 3.0 is better) and limited content of the software version (see CONS below). Here are the pros and cons of (the software-only) Version 2.0: Pros: 1. Supposedly contains all the contents of the physical, hardback version of the dictionary.
2. The interface automatically displays the first matching word as you type (e.g. type "supercali" and "su·per·cal·i·frag·i·lis·tic·ex·pi·al·i·do·cious" appears).
3. Includes audible pronunciations of each word.
4. Includes pictures. Cons: --remember! This refers to the old version (i.e. Ver. 2.0) 1. Few/limited options.
2. User interface is basic and old-looking since it is designed to also run on Windows 3.1 (the predecessor to Windows 95).
3. The introductory material and the maps included in the hardback version of the dictionary appear to have been excluded from this software version.
Rating:
Summary: RH Webster's Unabr. Dict. on CD, Ver. 2.0
Review: In response to complaints about this software, I wanted to comment on Version 2.0. I have successfully run this version on Win98, WinNT 4.0 and Win2000 but only after reading the README file which indicated that a printer driver must be installed in order for this software to run, regardless of whether a physical printer was available for the computer or not. Given that the physical, hardback dictionary (which I also have) is an excellent reference (and I have compared/contrasted dictionaries for years), I would like to have rated this with 5 stars. Instead, I rated it a 4 because of the shortcomings of the user interface (of Version 2.0; hopefully version 3.0 is better) and limited content of the software version (see CONS below). Here are the pros and cons of (the software-only) Version 2.0: Pros: 1. Supposedly contains all the contents of the physical, hardback version of the dictionary.
2. The interface automatically displays the first matching word as you type (e.g. type "supercali" and "su·per·cal·i·frag·i·lis·tic·ex·pi·al·i·do·cious" appears).
3. Includes audible pronunciations of each word.
4. Includes pictures. Cons: --remember! This refers to the old version (i.e. Ver. 2.0) 1. Few/limited options.
2. User interface is basic and old-looking since it is designed to also run on Windows 3.1 (the predecessor to Windows 95).
3. The introductory material and the maps included in the hardback version of the dictionary appear to have been excluded from this software version.
Rating: 
Summary: A great Dictionary
Review: Some people might scoff at Random House's flailing and unyielding motion to change their already-fine dictionary. They're wrong.
Rating:
Summary: Looking for etymologies on CD
Review: Sorry folks, this is a question, not a review. I have never seen a CD-dictionary with etymologies. Does the RH? I can't believe I'm the only person who wants one, so I'm hoping that others too will want to hear your answer. Thanx
Rating:
Summary: Good, but missing tables
Review: The CD is great especially for pronunciation. However it appears that tables are missing. For example, the word "calendar" lists different types of calendars--Julian, Gregorian, Chinese, Jewish, Muslim. When I look up Gregorian calendar, the definition refers me back to the "table" in the word calendar. However there is no table. I called Random House about the apparent error, and the technical area said I was correct, no table exists (in the CD version that is). Another example is the word "Bible". Most dictionaries list the books of the bible in table format. This one does not. Other than the missing tables, I find the CD good.
Rating:
Summary: Go with Oxford.
Review: The New Oxford American Dictionary is a much better choice.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent package. The CD to pronounce and book to learn
Review: The pronouncing CD is a great help to give confidence when using the words that are not commonly used. The hardback dictionary is a lot of knowledge for a very reasonable price.
Rating:
Summary: The Random House is no OED
Review: The Random House is a great dictionary. I personally prefer it to the Webster's 3rd New International. But it's not the only unabridged dictionary available on CD as some reviewers have written. The Oxford English Dictionary is available on CD, and it's on a whole different plane from either Random House or Merriam-Webster's.
Rating: 
Summary: Four star content, minus two for poor binding.
Review: This big, heavy, thick volume is quite a good choice for someone looking for a fairly recent (fully revised 1987, compared to the 1961 Webster's 3rd) unabridged dictionary. The "new words" section at the beginning is a nice feature, if not all that practical, covering lots of new technology terms up to the year 2001. Their choices are a bit haphazard - there's an entry for ACE inhibitors, but nothing for MAOI, SSRI, or proton-pump inhibitors. But the new words section is not the point; it's the rest of the text that matters. It covers just about every word from American English you'll ever need, plus a good number of geographical and biographical entries. So why the two star rating? When I received the book, the front cover binding was already torn and separating. I think Random House may have misstepped when they moved from oversize library cloth binding to 9 x 11 hardback. Maybe it was just a printer error, but I think the binding on this volume is just not enough to support the weight of 2,300 thick pages. In addition, the innermost print columns are too close to the inside binding, making 1/3 of the entries difficult to read. I commend Random House for making an unabridged dictionary available at this price point, but if the book can't hold its own weight, it isn't worth it. I'm exchanging mine for a copy of the New Oxford Dictionary of English (available at Amazon UK), which should cover just as many terms, plus international English, in a more manageable size. The New Oxford American Dictionary is a similar alternative for American English.
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