ON-LINE THESAURESES: IS LOW-TECH BETTER?



Author: Franklin Sykes, M.U.D. slinger

Date: October November, 1992

Keywords: writing write thesaurus wordfinder plus

Text:
By , in the July 1992 issue of The  (Macintosh Users of Delaware
Newsletter)
Probably everyone got an ad from TigerSoftware offering them WordFinder
Plus. Like so many others, it looked like a good deal. After claiming
to offer ''a few examples of how [their thesaurus] outperforms any
other thesaurus,'' they listed three examples.
I decided to check how their results compared with using a good old
low-tech Roget's Thesaurus. WordFinder Plus found 32 synonyms for the
word ''exotic.'' Roget's came up with 132. ''Charming'' gave 110
synonyms in WordFinder Plus, 135 in Roget's. And ''business'' resulted
in 65 synonyms in Word-Finder Plus, 324 in Roget's.
Finally, you can get a copy of Roget's Thesaurus at a book store for
around $6.
Sure, the on-line thesaurus offers the ability to quickly insert the
word of choice into your document. However, for selection and price,
there's simply no contest for anyone who still remembers how to
inter-face with a hardcopy thesaurus.
(Editor's note: The latest TigerSoftware catalog offers WordFinder
Plus, bundled with an electronic version of Strunk & White's Elements
of Style, a paper back version of WordFinder, and CheckFree electronic
bill paying software, all for $29.90. A recent review of the electronic
version of Elements of Style describes it as a very poor substitute for
Strunk & White's classic book. At least two reviews of Check-Free
mention that, while it is convenient to use, a small percentage of
users have had problems with some bills not being payed on time. Also,
there are monthly charges for using CheckFree. I have seen it bundled
with a number of other applications.) 

Copyright © october november, 1992 by Franklin Sykes, M.U.D. slinger