The Oxford English Dictionary should not be the authority on the English Language and is becoming obselete.?

Question

What do you think of these statements?
Do you still find the OED to be a useful tool?
Personally, I always keep a version by my side while reading and find it to be a valuable reference tool but I agree with the former of these statements.

Answer 1

The Oxford English Dictionary is an old friend of mine and a constant help in times of linguistic confusion. I look to it for authoritative statement as to the correct way to speak and write English, along with my other friend, Fowler's Dictionary of English Usage. But then I speak UK English, which may itself be doomed to obsolescence the way things are going!

Answer 2

All dictionarys tend to lag changes in language use and definitions. Still you need an authority, and the OED is about as close to that as we have.