The number and variety of word-processing utilities keep growing at an alarming rate. There are spelling checkers, grammar checkers, dictionaries with definitions, and thesaurus dictionaries. To this expanding list, we must now add a new type of desk accessory from Microlytics: Inside Information, a hierarchical dictionary.
Close Relations
Fundamentally, Inside Information is a list of words, similar to a dictionary or a thesaurus. The words are not organized alphabetically, however, but by categories. At the root level are seven basic categories — for example, Nature, Arts & Entertainment, and Language. Each category branches into several layers of sublevels with multiple categories at each level. At the end of each pathway is a list of related words, usually accompanied by (very) brief definitions. For example, you can find the term aftershock via the following path: Nature, Earth, Weather & Natural Phenomena, Disasters & Phenomena, aftershock. The accompanying definition reads “smaller tremor following main shock of earthquake,” You can also find some words through more than one path — for example, you can reach aftershock through Nature, Earth, Geology, Processes, aftershock.
Inside Information provides a choice of three views o f the hierarchy: an outline view (in which you can expand and collapse headings), a tree view, and (my preference) a graphic view. The latter two display scrollable lists of categories for each level The same features are available from all views, so which you use is basically a matter of preference.
If you want to find the pathway to or a definition of a particular word, you can type it in the Find box and request a search. You can then click on any word in the definition to continue with another search. For example, after locating aftershock, you can continue by clicking on the word tremor. This approach can sometimes lead to unexpected — and intriguing — results. As it turns out, tremor is listed not only as a mild form of earthquake but also as a human medical problem.
Inside Information is especially helpful in exploring for words within a subject when you don’t know exactly what you want to find. For example, suppose you were writing a report about people who make films. By locating this path, you would get a surprisingly detailed list of filmmaking jobs, from the familiar (screenwriter, director) to the less familiar (key grip, gaffer) to the virtually unknown (Foley artist, inbetweenters). This is distinctly different from a thesaurus, because the listed words, although related, are not synonyms.
To help you navigate through these listings, the program has a Last Word pop-up menu that returns you to any recently selected word. It can also create permanent “bookmarks” that remember any specified path.
Beyond all this. Inside Information contains a hidden gem: its Reverse Dictionary. Just type art approximate definition of any word you wish to find, and Inside Information displays a list of all the words that match the definition. This is the solution for all those times when the word you are looking for is on the tip of your tongue but refuses to come out.
Unfortunately, the Reverse Dictionary gem is more of a diamond in the rough than a polished jewel. For example, when I typed “small earthquake,” I found aftershock but not tremor. This was because it listed tremor as a “mild” earthquake rather than a small one. Similarly, when I typed the phrase “wind storm,” it located six matches but it missed obvious words such as cyclone and tornado, even though those words were in its database. On another occasion, when looking for Caesarean section, I typed a definition that included the word surgery. Inside Information found no matches. When I changed surgery to surgical, however, it correctly found the match. In short, the Reverse Dictionary works well only if you can second-guess how Inside Information’s definition is phrased.
Inside Information also suffers from the limited size of its database. Although it requires five 800K disks to hold all its files, the word listings at the end of a path are often disappointingly brief. In many cases, definitions are not provided at all. The program cries out to be expanded and placed on a CD-ROM disc.
The Bottom Line
In its current form. I wouldn't use Inside Information often enough to justify its purchase. But that could change if Microlytics overcame the program’s limitations. Although exploring its database can be interesting, Inside Information's practical value remains elusive. It has potential, but potential is another word for unfulfilled promise.
Landau, Ted. (January 1991). Inside Information. MacUser. (pg. 78).
Stephen Glazier
Applications
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4 / 
2015-08-14 / 
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inside.zip
Emulating this? It could probably run under: 
Basilisk II
