NET WORTH >
Online knowledge from A to Z
Written by: Jasna Sýkorová

The world is full of foreign words - "foreign" as in unknown or untranslatable. Web dictionaries and encyclopedias bridge this familiarity gap, thus facilitating prompt and convenient understanding.

http://www.coto.je This site allows you to access three complete encyclopedias. Unregistered users can access all links, but complete definitions are available only following registration, which is free of charge for the first 25 entries. But if you choose this option, you must agree to receive e-mail advertisements. Subscriptions start at CZK 200 for 50 complete entries. The fee is deducted only in the event that you explicitly request the complete entry. The dictionaries are extensive and modern, and even contain the names of larger Czech firms over the last decade. Internet links are displayed, but they are less relevant than those from the browser. @@@@@

http://slovnik.seznam.cz This popular and easy-to-use translation dictionary operates with applications developed by Rewin, which also offers Polish and Romanian versions on its web site (www.winged2000.cz). For Russian words there is also a Cyrillic alphabet keyboard. The dictionary contains hundreds of thousands of words and phrasings, including those of a specialized nature. The competition - slovnik.atlas.cz - which uses the basic applications provided by the same firm, has supplemented its offer with other dictionaries from other providers. It thus makes it possible to compare resulting translations. @@@@

http://www.vseved.cz A free electronic encyclopedia. Neither the sources nor the number of entries are stated, but the database appears to be quite large. The search engine also recognizes the sought term in little captions under the entries. The operator, Netpoint, offers applications for searching not only on the site, but also via WAP and SMS mobile services for T-Mobile and Oskar. With Oskar, this encyclopedia is a part of the SIM Toolkit offer, and now allows searches for multiple-word phrases. @@@

http://www.najdi.to This is a service offered by the provider of the volny.cz connection. It offers two variants, a mini-dictionary with a small vocabulary, which the user can keep open while working in another window. Additionally, anyone can add it to their own web site - the operator has published part of the html code needed for access to the database. A large dictionary - the Millennium On-Line Multi-Field Dictionary - translates words in their general meanings, and then according to the various fields, such as law or military. @@@@

http://www.azdodomu.cz This multi-language dictionary by LangSoft is supplemented by the Cambridge Dictionary encyclopedic dictionary in English. Surprisingly, this dictionary is a part of a distinctive department store that offers home deliveries of groceries. The site's orientation is confusing, but it offers the unique option of comparing outputs in Czech and English. The LangSoft dictionary is also used by another operator - slovniky.centrum.cz - that has expanded it to include audio recordings of the pronunciations of some words. @@