Very useful, with features that are rarely mentioned

I had an old version of this software (2.0, I think), which requires Mac OS 9 or classic. This new version runs in native OS X. I agree with other reviewers: the interface is ugly, but it does the job. I love the audio capability. English is not my first language so I find the pronunciation feature indispensable (don't forget to install it; it's not included in the "easy" install option). Another great feature is the "Defining text contains" search. You can find a word by entering the words that are in the definition. What is the word that denotes the noise a duck makes? You can easily find that, of course, ducks "quack," not to mention that you will also find all kinds of ducks -- the blue-winged teal, the bufflehead, the eider -- and all sorts of duck relatives and even duck dishes. You can also find words that rhyme with duck: cluck, guck and many more. Other ways of searching include: usage paragraph contains, forms a crossword, homophones, cryptograms and more. Frankly, I don't understand why these features are not prominently used to market the dictionary. They are the reason for using a dictionary in a computer, and they make the $20 a joke. I would pay so much more for it.

Why a dictionary?

In the era of online education, chatrooms, Websites and the Internet, something old has become new again--spelling and grammar. The ability to express oneself clearly, fluently and conherently have become more important, as people use the written language to communicate.

If you want to do it right, get the hardcover, heavy book. The print is bigger, it has illustrations, historical and cultural derivations of words and it makes your work space look smart. It will be utilized by everyone in the house, and it sets a good tone for kids and grandkids alike, about good spelling and grammar.

In for a penny, in for a pound: get the paperback version also, to use on the go and get the thesaurus too.

One of the two best dictionaries for business writers

Be careful when you choose a dictionary: small paperbacks generally aren't complete enough for business writers, and many hardback dictionaries are out of date or badly edited-even many that carry the name Webster's, which isn't a trademark. Fortunately, several reliable hardback "desk" dictionaries are available. This is the most widely used of them. It's on the short list of recommended resources in my book The McGraw-Hill 36-Hour Course in Business Writing and Communication.