Two years ago when Houghton Mifflin released a CD-ROM version of its popular American Heritage Dictionary, the CD-ROM wasn’t Mac compatible. MacCentral took notice and so did its readers, sending comments to the prestigious publisher of books, textbooks, and reference guides. We’re happy to report that Houghton Mifflin is supporting the Mac — well, somewhat — with its new downloadable eReference, which combines the American Heritage Dictionary with Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus.
The guide sports the ability to look up words while you’re on Web pages and in Microsoft Office documents by highlighting them and clicking on the “A-Z” toolbar icon. You can also get real voice pronunciations and color images. The company plans to make available a Spanish Dictionary version for purchase and download as well. What’s really missing, however, is Mac OS X support. It’s on the way, however: Houghton Mifflin informed MacCentral than an updated OS X-compatible version of eReference will be available soon.
System requirements call for Mac OS 9.0 to Mac OS 9.2.2 with 64MB RAM and 40MB free HD space. The Houghton Mifflin eReference is available for US$30 and can be purchased and downloaded through education.com, CyberRead.com, and DedicatedTeacher.com. Houghton Mifflin anticipates the eReference’s future availability from other software resellers as well.