Microsoft Encarta Reference Library DVD 2002 [OLD VERSION]

I purchased three and this was the only one that loaded without lag times. It has nice interface and very easy to locate separate Libraries for quick references.It has a lot of information without having to go on line. Most Encarta's are to time consuming for adults with a busy schedule.Easy to use and quick look up's at your finger tips!

I have been buying Encarta almost every year since 1995. I've followed it from a clunky Windows-unfriendly program to what it is today - the best reference software available for your family!This is the third year that they've had it available on DVD and it's definitely the way to go! No swapping disks! And for the first time, they have an option to copy the whole thing your hard drive, so you can run it without the DVD in the drive (you can listen to a music CD while looking things up, for example). Today's new computers have HUGE hard drives, so take advantage of this feature if you can!Every year, Encarta seems to get better. One of the improvements this year is that the updates you download from the internet are available more often than once a month. Previously, you had to wait til the 10th of the month to download the previous month's update. Now there are many updates available each month - at least every week there is something new you can download!The way that Encarta accesses the web is seamless. You hardly know where Encarta ends and the internet begins. The "web center" is a browser and the Encarta folks frequently update the llinks so your research on a certain subject is supplemented by great internet content.For the past couple of years, Encarta has included the Encarta Afrikana, which has also won awards! This encyclopedia which focuses on African-American culture, including the rich heritage of music.The multimedia features are growing by leaps and bounds too. In addition to the sound clips and video clips there are many "interactivities" that tend to cause you to spend more time at the computer than you'd planned - but hey, it's educational!I really enjoy the Dynamic Timelines. You can really see how all of history fits together. You can browse the timeline, then click on something that interests you, and more info pops up.And of course Encarta has World Maps section - you can "grab" and spin the globe and zoom out and zoom in on your favorite location. The maps feature alone is worth the cost of the program. It's truly interactive.For teachers, and students writing papers, Encarta will make your job easier. There are curriculum guides, report organizers, research helpers and much more.It truly is a program for the whole family. You can literally sit down with your computer and Encarta and 3 hours later, you're still clicking and learning!Oh, and Encarta has a subscription fee...to get the new Encarta as soon as it's released to the public. It's worth it to me!My only complaint about Encarta 2002 is that the Dictionary part doesn't seem as good as in years past. In last year's Encarta, you could click on the word and it would pronounce it for you. This year, you just get a pronunciation guide - hardly the same!.. Also, I miss the "Bookshelf" features they used to have - the extensive quotes dictionary. I haven't been able to find that on Encarta 2002. But the dictionary is my ONLY complaint about this wonderful program!Buy this software for your family today - you'll all enjoy learning...

I first bought Encyclopedia Britannica's 2002 DVD, but I soon exchanged it for Encarta's 2002 DVD. And I made the right decision.While Britannica's interface makes it difficult for you to search for information, Encarta presents everything in an easy-to-understand format. Want a complete list of every available article? Encarta's got it. Want a complete list of all available images? Encarta's got that, too. In fact, you can choose to display EVERYTHING, if you wish. Articles, images, sounds, videos, maps, etc. This makes it extremely easy to just browse through the contents of the encyclopedia.But maybe you want to search for something specific. Well, just type in the word or words, and click "Go." Encarta makes searching for information easy. You can choose to search the entire encyclopedia, or limit your search to specific categories.Encarta also allows you to install the entire program on your hard drive, thus eliminating the need to use the DVD. (Britannica's 2002 DVD does NOT allow this.) This not only saves time, but for those of us with only one DVD/CD drive, it allows us to pop in and listen to a music CD while researching articles in Encarta.I appreciate Encarta for its ease of use, but the scope of articles contained within this encyclopedia is also to be complimented. And if you use this encyclopedia while connected to Internet, the program integrates almost seamlessly into web content. For example, visit an article on a specific city, and if you're online, you'll also get current weather conditions in that city, as well as the current news related to that city.And the world atlas? Amazing. You have MANY options when using the world atlas. View the world by day or night, using satellite images. View the world in terms of its population, its religions, its temperatures, etc., etc. Zoom out, zoom in. To be honest, it's just fun spinning the globe. But you don't just get an atlas of the earth. No. You can also view the moon. Spin a globe of the moon, zoom in on specific areas, click on article links. The world atlas included within Encarta is great.My only complaint about Encarta is that you have to be running the encyclopedia before you can use the dictionary/thesaurus. And the dictionary/thesaurus window is not resizable. But this is a minor complaint and can be easily overlooked.In my opinion, you get your money's worth when you buy Encarta's 2002 DVD. I've yet to experience any bugs in this program, and the multimedia contents are plentiful and useful. Give it a shot. If you don't like it, Microsoft offers you a 30-day money back guarantee.