Swift Software, a relatively new name in the CPC world, have very quickly made their mark. First release was the admirable Pandora (reviewed in AA47), a compiled version of Basic designed to allow non-machine Code experts to write commercial quality programs. (Version 1.01, with substantial improvements, is already out - see Amscene).
Now we have Keyword, a "word finder". It's a doddle to use: insert and type RUN"DISC. Keyword is now installed as an RSX. accessed by typing "|KW". The dictionary is on side B, so you have to have the disk in your drive whenever you wish to use the program.
This is a nuisance if you're looking for a word while you are using your word processor. It's no problem, of course, if you have Protext on ROM.
Keyword claims to have over 10,000 synonyms and antonyms and nearly 1,000 main subject headings, and you can well believe it.
But, in truth, that's not a great deal, though it sounds a lot. Trenton's tatty old Penguin paperback thesaurus contains vastly more than 10,000 entries, and my new hardback Collins revision of Roget's standard work has many more again (except that some swine, knave, varlet, vagabond, wretch, rascal, rogue, rapscallion or criminal has nicked it!).
Suppose, having already used the word "believe" in a previous paragraph, I wanted to use it again but preferred to avoid the repetition. I tap "|KW", enter "believe" and press Return twice. Up comes... nothing! There are no entries for believe. Other categories where Keyword proves useless include amaze, bland, condemn, diagnose, emend, feature, grill, hip...
Perhaps this is unfair, since it took me three or four goes to find a word that produced nothing. But, on the other hand, these are not particularly rare or unusual words, and it doesn't speak very highly for the data file if that's the best it can do.
For this you're asked to stump up £29.95, considerably more than the price of a damn good hardback thesaurus.
It seems such a great deal of money to pay for something so weak.
1st October 1989
