#OED
8 messages in this thread
I have followed the various threads on this subject with interest, although
I must say that this is a strange topic for this forum. I would like to
contribute the fact that there was a Washington Post review of OED#2 on
3/25/89. This stated that OED#2 had been converted to electronic form
(with software from IBM and the U of Waterloo Canada, and with the help of
100 typists in Florida and Pennsylvania working for 18 months), and that it
was expected to be made available (?who knows what this means?) in
electronic form in the mid-1990's. The article also said that the update
cost $17M, and that the OUP was expecting (hoping?) to sell 10k copies at
$2.5k/each. This sounds like the paper version will barely cover costs, so
they might be looking to electronic versions for the real profits. I would
get in line right now for a CD version at say $100-200. I would be equally
interested in CD versions of some of the other great dictionaries (Nathan
Bailey, Samuel Johnson, the Century) but this may be asking too much.
Lars: The OED#1 was offered for $890.00 on this Forum (I have the download
but would have to look it up). Why would the #2 be so much more expensive?
–Bill
The $2500 price I mentioned is for the multivolume paper copy of the
updated version, the $890 price is for a CD copy of the original.
Thanks Lars. I am off a few days and will try to call OUP and get a price
on the new version CD.–Bill
It isn't; it's 895 and available June 25.
Mike. Must have lost the thread. I left message about the amount, this must
be directed to another party.–Bill
Lars – interesting numbers. I expect the $17 million cost must have a fairly
large computer (hardware & software) component. If I recall correctly, a fair
bit of that was donated, so I wonder if the $17 million was a true cost to
OUP, or the "value" of the systems change/conversion.
Anyway, the $2,500 paper version price sounds "right" to me, based on the
pricing OUP have used previously. But I still think the CD-ROM version should
be priced much more aggressively – and that it could be profitable with such
pricing.
>> strange topic for this forum
Seems a reasonable one to me; we're all users/potential users of CD-ROM
products here … or did I miss something in the mission statement for the
forum?
Ric
Lars, Even accepting your numbers on the cost of updating the OED, one
should still look at that cost as the stake in a poker game. Once you push
it into the pot, its no longer yours. I wonder why the producers of lots
of the CD's think the market is so limited. What comes to mind is the
Thomas Register which is a set of catalogs listing most of the
manufacturers in the U.S.. This comes in a set of 23 volumes of large
books, about 12" x 9" x 2.5", and take up 6' to 8' of shelf space. They
come in 3 big boxes via UPS and must cost quite an amount to print and
ship. The cost of the set is $225 and they are very handy for a curious
engineer, but not a necessity. No one I know, including my local library
updates more than once every 3-5 years since a lot of the info doesn't
change much. The same catalogs are available from Thomas on CD for $1500.
It would appear that once the mastering charges are spent ( and most of the
original info is probably in electronic form for the printing anyway) that
the cost of the CD version would be less than the postage on some 150 lbs
of books, let alone the printing costs. I think there are a lot of
information junkies like myself who would love to have a lot of the
packages such as patents, catalogs, trademarks etc. at a price of 100-200
per program. It appears that the CDROM is about to take off due to lower
prices and some cheaper software. dave