I imagine that many members of this group already have a copy of the
CSCD Tipitaka. If not, it is well worth getting. If you're serious
about studying the scriptures in the orginal Pali, the CD is
invaluable.

• One can find any passage from a reference to the Roman script
edition or from a Sutta's name (if one knows the correct name).

• One can view the Pali texts in a number of different scripts: Roman,
Devanagari, Myanmar, Thai, Khmer, Sinhalese, or Mongolian. Pali has
not script of its own as it was a spoken language and the texts were
not written down until some centuries after the passing of the Buddha.
Some of the oldest inscriptions are those of Asoka, which are in the
Brahmi Script: See this site on the Edicts of Emperor Asoka:
http://www.worldpolicy.org/globalrights/religion/Asoka-edicts.html

• One can look up any word and see how it is used in different
contexts

• There is an online Pali/English dictionary to look up words that are
unfamiliar.

• One can cross-reference to the Commentary and subcommentary to
clarify difficult passages.

• One can save passages as a Rich Text File for importing into any
word-processor or DTP software if you want to quote a passage in a
Dhamma article.

• The help menu includes a basic Pali course by Lily de Silva, which
will introduce a beginner to Pali grammar with simple sentences and
exercises.

• The help menu also gives an overview of the Six Buddhist Councils
and a list of the books on the CD.

To obtain a free copy of the CSCD Tipitaka contact the Vipassana
Research Institute:

http://www.vri.dhamma.org/publications/tpmain.html

If you need any help with using the Tipitaka or related problems with
using Pali fonts, typing Pali, preparing Buddhist publications, etc.,
visit my MSN Group - Free Buddhist Publications:
http://groups.msn.com/FreeBuddhistPublications/messages.msnw