Quick Reference Software
By Eric Griffith
July 2001

• Introduction • Round 1: Compatibility • Round 2: Offline vs. online abilities • Round 3: Overall look and feel • Download Deathmatch Winner

Atomica
Babylon

The Web is the biggest storage warehouse of knowledge and information ever collected by mankind. But it's such a mess. Just try to find what you're looking for without a struggle. Go ahead. We'll wait.

Searching with search engines is only half the battle. What about the times when you just need a quick definition of a word you've run across? Or you suddenly must know the top exports of Sumatra. Looking for a new word to use instead of verisimilitude? Or want to translate "toilet" into French or German?

Reference materials with those answers--the dictionary, translators, currency exchangers, encyclopedia, thesaurus, etc.--are easily had on the Web, if you're willing to search around. Stop all that surfing around. Answer-delivery software products can put all that information plus other relevant info on your desktop with a single click.

THE DEATHMATCH

There are only a few programs that can deliver the instantaneous access to reference material you need. This deathmatch put the titans, the free Atomica and adware version of Babylon, into the ring for a head-to-head battle. In the course of three rounds we'll answer: