Encarta Encyclopedia Free Software __HOT__
Microsoft Encarta is a discontinued digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft from 1993 to 2009. Originally sold on CD-ROM or DVD, it was also available online via annual subscription, although later articles could also be viewed for free online with advertisements.[1] By 2008, the complete English version, Encarta Premium, consisted of more than 62,000 articles,[2] numerous photos and illustrations, music clips, videos, interactive content, timelines, maps, atlases and homework tools.
Encarta Encyclopedia Free Software
Microsoft announced in April 2009 that it would cease to sell Microsoft Student and all editions of Encarta Premium software products worldwide by June 2009, citing changes in the way people seek information, and in the traditional encyclopedia and reference material market, as the key reasons behind the termination.[4] Updates for Encarta were offered until October 2009.[4] Additionally, MSN Encarta web sites were discontinued around October 31, 2009, with the exception of Encarta Japan which was discontinued on December 31, 2009. Existing MSN Encarta Premium (part of MSN Premium) subscribers were refunded.[4]
Until 2005, Encarta came in three primary software editions: Standard, Deluxe, and Reference Library (called Reference Suite until Encarta 2002) (price and features in that order). Beginning with Encarta 2006, however, when Websters Multimedia took over its maintenance, Encarta became a feature of Microsoft Student. Although it was possible to purchase only the Encarta encyclopedia separately, Microsoft Student bundles together Encarta Premium with Microsoft Math (a graphing-calculator program) and Learning Essentials, an add-in which provides templates for Microsoft Office. In addition, the Deluxe and Reference Library editions were discontinued: absorbed into a new, more comprehensive Premium package. Encarta's user interface was shared with Microsoft Student, and was streamlined to reduce clutter with only a Search box which returned relevant results. However, it became no longer possible to simply browse all the encyclopedia articles alphabetically.
The dynamic maps were generated with the same engine that powered Microsoft MapPoint software. The map was a virtual globe that one could freely rotate and magnify to any location down to major streets for big cities. The globe had multiple surfaces displaying political boundaries, physical landmarks, historical maps and statistical information. One could selectively display statistical values on the globe surface or in a tabular form, different sized cities, various geological or man-made features and reference lines in a map.
Before the emergence of the World Wide Web for information browsing, Microsoft recognized the importance of having an engine that supported a multimedia markup language, full text search, and extensibility using software objects. The hypertext display, hyperlinking and search software was created by a team of CD-ROM Division developers in the late 1980s who designed it as a generalized engine for uses as diverse as interactive help, document management systems and as ambitious as a multimedia encyclopedia.
Microsoft plans to close its Encarta online encyclopedia, which competes in an arena dominated by communally-crafted free Internet reference source Wikipedia. googletag.cmd.push(function() googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1449240174198-2'); ); The US software colossus said that on October 31 it will turn off all its Encarta websites everywhere except in Japan, with that service to be terminated on the last day of December.
(c) 2009 AFP Citation:Microsoft closing Encarta online encyclopedia (2009, March 30)retrieved 31 March 2023from -03-microsoft-encarta-online-encyclopedia.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only. Explore further
I'm installing some software on a Windows 7 laptop that belongs to a 10 years old girl. Her parents don't have Internet yet. They asked me to install some encyclopedia for her that would work offline until they get Internet working.
Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia by Microsoft. There was a more complete version called Encarta Premium made in 2008. It had more than 62,000 articles [1] and many photographs and illustrations. There was also music clips, videos, maps and timelines with some activity games. It also included an atlas, and homework tools. It was available on the internet if you pay a yearly fee, or to buy on DVD-ROM, or CD-ROMs. Many articles could also be read online free of charge, a service which is paid for by advertisements.[2]
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia is a software designed for internet surfers in any relevant scholarly information search. Since 1993, it had been a helpful online encyclopedia for everyone. Its 2008 Encarta Premium, English version, contained more than 62,000 articles, numerous photos and videos. This is purchased via CD but some of the information is read free. However, it became just an online encyclopedia in 2009. Also, Microsoft had published the software in various languages such as Italian, Japanese, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch. These versions published in other languages might have lesser information compared to the complete version in English. The software showcases four sections with five or six subcategories for quicker access. For instance, if a user needs historical quotes then he navigates there. The other sections are history, timelines, historical maps, and so on. It has a tool bar on the top of the screen that aids users for convenient navigation. Users can access videos, Encarta homepage, and even the world atlas. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia has 1,800,000 location maps including more than 68,000 articles, 26,000 pictures and educational videos.
For more than 200 years, Encyclopedia Britannica was believed to be the most authoritative encyclopedia in the world. However, sales began to plummet when Microsoft started bundling Encarta with its software products. Britannica offered digital versions of its encyclopedia, but priced them high to encourage consumers to purchase its nicely bound volumes. The plan failed. Sales have continued to spiral downward after Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia, gained popularity. Which of the following statements sums up this scenario most clearly?
The lumbering 4.3GB Ultimate Reference Suite took an hour to install via two DVDs (3.7GB for the full CD install) on our Windows XP test machine, hogging far more disk space than Microsoft Encarta 2006's unobtrusive 950MB. The monstrous Britannica software makes the free, Web-based Wikipedia attractive by comparison. We were happy that Britannica 2006 didn't ask to monitor our usage, as Microsoft Encarta does. Like Encarta, Britannica makes more intrusive registration questions, such as marital status and number of children, optional.
With installation complete, Britannica 2006 confused us by prompting to install the encyclopedia again. It also failed to update QuickTime to version 6.5.2; we had to install it manually to get videos to work. You may also need to turn off antivirus software (Trend Micro's PC-cillin Internet Security 2005) and firewalls in order to access Britannica resources and updates online--a manual process that can get annoying. If you don't want to burden your hard drive with this beast, you can subscribe to the Encyclopedia Britannica 2006 Web site (with fewer features than the software) for $69.95 to $79.95 yearly or $11.95 per month. Luckily, it took us only 10 minutes to install Languages of the World and another painless several minutes to set up the Before You Know It flash-card program.
Microsoft announced in March 2009 that it would cease to sell Microsoft Student and all editions of Encarta Premium software products worldwide by June 2009, citing changes in the way people seek information and in the traditional encyclopedia and reference material market as the key reasons behind the termination.[3] Updates for Encarta were offered until October 2009.[3] Additionally, MSN Encarta web sites were discontinued around October 31, 2009, with the exception of Encarta Japan which was discontinued on December 31, 2009. Existing MSN Encarta Premium (part of MSN Premium) subscribers will be refunded.[3] Encarta's closing is widely attributed to competition from online encyclopedia leader Wikipedia.[16][17][18]
For years, Encarta came in three primary software editions: Basic, Premium, and Reference Library (price and features in that order.) Beginning with Encarta 2006, however, when Websters Multimedia took over its maintenance, Encarta became a feature of Microsoft Student as the premier Microsoft educational software program. Although it is possible to purchase only the Encarta encyclopedia separately, Microsoft Student bundles together Encarta Premium with Microsoft Math (a graphing calculator program) and Learning Essentials, which provides templates for Microsoft Office. In addition, the Reference Library was discontinued, absorbed into a newer, more comprehensive Premium package. Encarta's user interface is shared with Microsoft Student, and has been streamlined to reduce clutter with only a Search box which returns relevant results; however it is no longer possible to simply browse all the encyclopedia articles alphabetically.
The dynamic maps are generated with the same engine that powered Microsoft MapPoint software. The map is a virtual globe that one can freely rotate and magnify to any location down to major streets for big cities. The globe has multiple surfaces displaying political boundaries, physical landmarks, historical maps and statistical information. One can selectively display statistical values on the globe surface or in a tabular form, different sized cities, various geological or man-made features and reference lines in a map. 041b061a72