Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition

The Oxford English Dictionary is one of the best-known reference works in the world, described (unfavourably) by one linguist as a ‘national institution’.

The 1989 Second Editon of the dictionary contains half a million words and is the most complete collection of English words around.

The disc edition contains all of those, plus all the various updates that have been issued since it was originally released, along with millions of source quotations and pronunciation information.

The installer looked old-fashioned and took a long time to get going, although once it did, progress was rapid.

It is not the friendliest program, either: when we tried to start the program with the second ('Data') disc still in the drive from the installation, it told us to switch to the first disc.

That is no big deal, but when we inserted the first disc the program started installing itself all over again.

Once it started, the program was easy to use. It does not look great, but it is readable and works well, and the font size and colour scheme can be changed in the options. It looks very similar to the OED’s website, which contains the same information.

The site is closed unless you have a subscription, but in most parts of the country it is possible to get access using your library card number.

This process varies by local authority: check your local library website or ask the staff there for details of how to access the OED online.

Having the reference work on your computer is very handy, but the OED website is always a couple of clicks away, making the disc version far less attractive.

The £200 price of the disc edition puts it out of the reach of most home users, but it's not really designed for them.

For schools it represents a better investment and as a language reference work the Oxford English Dictionary Second Edition is unsurpassed.