The cost of computers is falling and the cost of consumer software toppled long ago. The cost of books, however, is on the rise, so if you’re in the market for an encyclopedia, it makes sense to investigate computer versions. These electronic reference works offer benefits that you couldn’t store in a warehouse full of print books, and you don’t even need to purchase them on CD-ROM.
The first benefit is current information. Most software companies involved in encyclopedia publishing have set up Web sites so consumers can access new and updated entries for a nominal fee if they purchase a CD set or if they subscribe on-line.
Even if you don’t subscribe, the more updated multimedia encyclopedias are Internet-ready and have links to related Web sites.
Then there’s the copying bonus. You can cut and paste text from any multimedia encyclopedia right into your word processor. Just try doing that with a book!
Another plus is convenience. Computer encyclopedias store everything on a few CDs or on a single DVD, which saves shelf space.
The true bonus with multimedia encyclopedias is the mixture of media they provide. Like print versions, computerized encyclopedias have photographs and text, but they also include audio files of music and speeches, movie clips and animated diagrams.
TEST METHODS
We selected a small but eclectic list of subjects, then compared the entries to get a feel for which products have been updated, which ones specialize in certain areas, and who their target market may be. We also compared each package’s interface for ease of use.
This year’s set of topics includes Sammy Sosa, Kosovo, James Cook, and Leo Tolstoy. As extra credit topics, I selected Hillary Rodham Clinton and Darth Vader.
The following is a quick summary of how the multimedia encyclopedias stacked up:
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA CD 2000:
This year’s version of Encyclopedia Britannica should be a first-class reference set for people who want to write something with more depth than a high school history report. Last year’s Britannica CD had the best entries on the traditional topics of academia: math, science, history, etc., but not surprisingly, proved a bit weak on entertainment topics.
Britannica CD 2000 is not ready for review, so there is no way to see how its entries stack up against the other packages.
Britannica Deluxe Online, on the other hand, is up and running. This on-line reference features a clean and professional-looking interface with powerful search tools and the same enormous base of entries.
COMPTON’S 99 ENCYCLOPEDIA (DELUXE EDITION)
Compton’s is a dramatically improved reference: Last year, it had the ugliest interface and the most shallow articles. This year’s version still has a bare-bones interface, but the entries have been beefed up and there are lots of links. Compton’s has several references to Sammy Sosa and its coverage of Kosovo is even more impressive. Along with the standard Kosovo entry, it has a link to an up-to-date article titled “Conflict in Kosovo” which describes the recent problems. The Kosovo conflict also was linked to a time line for people searching out important events of 1999.
On the more traditional side, Compton’s has the best entry under James Cook, the British sea captain who discovered Hawaii. Other references mention that Cook had remarkable success in protecting his crew from scurvy, a disease that used to plague sailors, but only Compton’s said he did this by feeding them them sauerkraut juice.
Many entries, such as the ones on Hillary Rodham Clinton, read more like newspaper articles than encyclopedia entries. That pleasant innovation made me feel as though I was reading about the latest events rather than historic milestones.
Compton’s Encyclopedia Online is not as impressive as some of its competition, however: It seems to offer nothing more than the content of the CD-ROM. It is a free service for America Online subscribers, who can access it by typing “comptons” as a keyword.
ENCARTA
It is probably just jealousy because I am not a Microsoft gazillionaire, but I really wanted to dislike Encarta as I dropped the DVD in my computer and booted it up. The program came on with a few randomly selected topics of the day, one of which was “A Bridge Too Far,” which I clicked on.
There was a small entry about the movie and included in that entry was a list of its stars – including a link to an entry about Sean Connery. Like any other raised-on-James Bond male, I clicked on the Connery link.
That’s when the trouble began. From Connery, you could tap into Encarta’s extensive movie listings and look up “From Russia With Love,” “Goldfinger,” and dozens of other Connery movies. Thanks to its grand use of multimedia, its attractive interface, and its huge assortment of Web links, Encarta is actually entertaining.
It has the best looking and most thorough interface of all of the encyclopedias considered. The Deluxe version has 42,000 entries, 2,450 sidebars, 170 video clips and animations, 17,000 photographs and illustrations, 2,500 sound files, and 19,000 web links.
Encarta also has a nice article and multiple links for Sammy Sosa. It has an incredible entry on Leo Tolstoy that is broken into three parts and includes links to an audio file of a woman reading from Anna Karenina and lots of quotes from “War and Peace.”
Encarta Online is very similar to Encarta CD and Microsoft is offering free access to Encarta Online to consumers who purchase Encarta products.
YEAR 2000 GROLIER MULTIMEDIA ENCYCLOPEDIA
It’s funny how things change when taken in context. In a straight review, Year 2000 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia would receive very good scores. It has an adequate interface that will help users find information, a good library of multimedia that includes 177 video clips and animations and an atlas that includes 1,200 maps. In short, this is an excellent reference.
When compared to other multimedia encyclopedias, however, Grolier loses some of its luster. It has the nicest coverage of Sosa’s big year: Its Sosa entry even captured some of the excitement of the back-and-forth race between Sosa and what’s his name from the St. Louis Cardinals.
Grolier coverage of Kosovo also was up to date, and it has good entries on all of the other topics. With the exception of the Sosa entry, none of the Grolier entries compares well against Encarta and lacks the updated feel of Compton’s.
The bottom line on Year 2000 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia is that it is a fine reference, though not as good as some of its competition.
Grolier Online, on the other hand, feels downright archaic. It has a lot of resources and makes an excellent reference area, but its stripped-to-the-bone interface makes it feel more like a word search tool than a robust on-line site.
WORLD BOOK MILLENIUM 2000 PREMIER REFERENCE LIBRARY
Like Britannica CD, World Book Millenium 2000 Premier Reference Library (World Book) has a stronger academic component than other multimedia references. Unlike Britannica CD, however, World Book is not the reference for people wanting to write reports with more information than you would find in a high school term paper. That is because World Book was designed with younger audiences in mind: It is marketed to users aged 10-and-up and it is well designed for that audience.
Interface is exceptionally easy, the verbiage in some of the tougher entries is watered down, and the studying and report generation tools are impressive. World Book has a Timeline Wizard function that would be especially useful for young users.
When it comes to this year’s list of topics, World Book gets mixed grades. It has skimpy coverage of Sammy Sosa, a disappointing entry on Leo Tolstoy and no mention of Darth Vader. On the positive side, it has a well-balanced look at Hillary Rodham Clinton, an impressive entry on Kosovo and its entry on James Cook covers both his navigational and scientific achievements.
While World Book is not my favorite reference overall, it would be my first choice for families with students in elementary or junior high school.
World Book soon will offer an exceptional on-line site as a free service for people who purchase its software. I found this site to have a clean and useable interface that offered multiple ways to access information. The site is very much like the software – easy to use, clean, and somewhat oriented to kids.
AT A GLANCE TABLE
Britannica CD Deluxe Edition
Publisher: Encyclopedia Britannica
Platform: Windows
Price: $79.95
Britannica Online: $5.00/month
On-line Service: (www.eb.com) 3.0
Compton’s 2000 Encyclopedia (Deluxe Edition) Publisher:Mindscape
Platform: Windows 95
Price: $29.95
Overall: 3.0
Interface: 1.5
Text content: 3.0
Multimedia content: 2.0
(AOL Keyword: Comptons)
On-line Service: (http://comptonsv3) 2.0
Encarta Reference Suite 2000
Publisher: Microsoft
Platform: Windows 95/98
Price: $99.00/$35 rebate (Reference Suite), $69.00/$30 rebate (Encyclopedia Deluxe), Encarta Online $49.95/year (free through December 31, 2000 if you purchase either of the above
Encarta products)
Overall: 3.5
Interface: 3.5
Text content: 3.5
Multimedia content: 3.5
On-line Service: (http://encarta.msn.com) 3.0
Year 2000 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia Publisher: Grolier Interactive
Platform: Windows 95
Price: $59.99 (Comes with $20 rebate.)
Online Service $59.99/year subscription rate
Overall: 2.5
Interface: 2.5
Text content: 2.5
Multimedia content: 2.0
On-line Service: NA (www.gi.grolier.com)
World Book Millenium 2000 Premier Reference Library Platform:Windows 95/98 (Macintosh version to follow soon)
Price: $39.95/ $29.95 after rebate (Standard Edition), $59.95/ $39.95 after rebate (Deluxe Edition), $89.95/ $39.95 after rebate (Premier Reference Library)
Overall: 3.0
Interface: 3.5
Text content: 3.0
Multimedia content: 2.5
On-line service: (under construction) 3.0
