RE: OED, CD-ROMS, Hard drives, etc.

[Peter Evans peterev@xxxxxxxx]

>. . a super, virtual CD-ROM-based (e.g., carried on the hard disk)
>reference system . . .

That makes interesting and thought-provoking reading. Thank you. Just a
couple of comments, since you asked for them:

>the OED has to be first in the virtual CD-ROM lineup

I find this very surprising. With the version of the software that I have,
the program normally moves along the alphabet from C: towards J:, looking
at anything resembling a CD-ROM drive till it finds one with the OED in it.
 However, with the addition of the line "SET oed=j:" in AUTOEXEC, it will
jump straight to J: (or wherever. You've got your setup working now; but
should you want an upgrade, OUP will supply it free.

You mention the prices of the CD-ROMs themselves. The OED can be cheaper
than the price you quote, and I've heard rumors from several directions
that Britannica can cost as little as $99. (I'd love to know the name of a
dealer.) SoftKey's Infopedia contains the same encyclopedia as does
Encarta, and costs less.

I've never used Britannica on disc, but wonder when Encarta, Grolier, etc.
would be more helpful. If you're a completist, you'll also want the CD-ROM
version of the splendid big *Columbia Encyclopedia*; this is part of a
package with a rather unenticing title; can't remember exactly but
something like "My World". There's also a cheapo two-disc thing called
*Mon Encyclopedie* (plus diacritic); this has irritating software but also
lots of *mistakes*.
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Peter Evans