When I graduated High School, one of the first gifts I got was a Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. That old thing was as big and heavy as a small Volkswagen. I never carried it anywhere. It graced my desk for 4 straight years through college. But as big and awkward as old Webster was, nothing in the world was more useful during term paper time. Well times have changed a little. Computers have made typewriters obsolete. And this thing called the Internet has affected EVERYONE. And despite the fact that spell check saves my butt every day, there's just no better way to increase your vocabulary than big, heavy, clunky Webster.

That is until Krzysztof Kowalczyk sent me an email asking if I would try a freeware dictionary he developed. It didn't take long for me to become very dependant on Noah, a complete dictionary I can carry with me on my Palm.

Setup and use of Noah couldn't be simpler. The only thing to keep in mind is that Noah itself is the "viewer" and the dictionary itself is its own separate database. As you can see from the description, you can choose a dictionary based on how much space you're willing to sacrifice on your Palm. Obviously the smaller the dictionary you choose, the less comprehensive it is. Kudows to Krzysztof for allowing users to decide which dictionary they need or want. I wanted to install the Full version, but at 5140K, I just didn't have the space available. While I have heard that there are 4 versions from Mini to Full, I could only track down Small and Full versions. The Mini supposedly weighs in at 1125K. And they just go up and up from there. My Small version took up 1329K (almost 1.5MB) of my already pretty full 8MB Palm. For those of you with 2MB machines, the Mini version itself will take up more than half your available memory.

But don't let that stop you from at least taking a serious look at Noah. While 1125K is substantial, Noah packs itself with an AMAZING compression rate that is effectively greater than 40%. The point being that there are A LOT of terms in even the Mini version.

After you get over the size, you'll be amazed by Noah's ease of use. You can even install more than one of the databases and select which one to use at any given time. If you've got the RAM to spare, more power to you. Open Noah and tap the "F" button in the upper right corner. You're brought to the main "Find" screen. Start typing a word and Noah automatically sorts through its database in search of probable selections for you. Highlight your choice and tap. Here is the nicely laid out definition screen. Listing the word in bold, parts of speech (noun, verb, adj.) and of course its definintion. Noah also uses the word in at least 1 sentence, AND lists some alternate words. So Noah is even an effective Thesaurus. I like Noah so much that I DID sacrifice enough RAM for the Small version so I could take it with me everywhere.And since I'm "Challenged" in the spelling department, I find myself referring to Noah all the time. Handspring owners with the 8MB module would have plenty of room to take the Full version with them. If I owned a Visor, I'd run out and buy the module just for Noah.

By the way, I did get to work with the Full version at home on a Palm Emulator on my PC. Memory isn't as much of an issue there. I was amazed at how comprehensive the Full version is. It could very definately replace old Webster for good. And it wouldn't be as bad if I dropped it on my foot.