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Encarta Reference Suite 2000
by By Herb Goldstein— Sarasota Personal Computer Users Group, Inc. http://www.spcug.org/ , admin@spcug.org - June 16, 2000 at 11:59:15:
I am often asked my advice on software appropriate for a school child. Regardless of grade or school, my answer is immediate and the same—a good encyclopedia! Nothing comes in more handy and more frequently than an encyclopedia, and Microsoft’s Encarta is as good as it gets. Neither should we limit our recommendation to school age children. Adults can equally benefit from this most ubiquitous of reference materials. Encyclopedias are the handiest and often the best source of reference for just about anything you need information on.In my early days, I remember the encyclopedia sales people going door-to-door and selling one volume at a time. It was too expensive for most folks to buy the whole set at once. If you were lucky and with spare cash allowing, you eventually had a bookshelf full of many volumes from A to Z. Today, the entire bookcase worth (and then some) can fit on one or two CDs that you can slip into your shirt pocket. Furthermore, they provide features you would not even dream of way back when, like full multimedia animation, sound, color, and lots more.
The title of the software tells you that you are getting more than an encyclopedia alone, and indeed you do. The Encarta Reference Suite contains not only a magnificent encyclopedia; it also includes a world atlas, English dictionary, thesaurus and book of quotations. Here’s what you can look forward to.
1 Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2000—It is the first choice among encyclopedias in every magazine review we’ve seen. It includes more than 42,000 authoritative articles, 10,000 new historical archive articles, almost 25,000 photos, more than 3,500 audio clips and more than 40 million words.
A new dynamic timeline brings world historical events into perspective that relates to the major events of their period. Archives provide fascinating first-hand accounts of many of them. References are made to relevant grade-level curriculums. You can keep up-to-date with regular update downloads from Microsoft’s Web site.
2 Encarta Interactive World Atlas 2000- Maps, maps, and more maps of just about anyplace and everyplace in the world. Many different dynamic map styles including a dynamic multimedia map with images, videos, and fascinating facts that spring to life when selected from the map. Includes information on geographic phenomena like deserts and glaciers.
3 Encarta World English Dictionary- The most up-to-date English dictionary published for world-wide use. Includes more than 400,000 authoritative references, 60,000+ audio pronunciations, 1,000+ usage notes. Also includes Original Roget’s Thesaurus of English Words and Phrases, Encarta Book of Quotations, Encarta Manual of Style and Usage, and the Microsoft Press Computer and Internet Dictionary.
5 Report Writer Gathers info from the above resources and assists in creating a report while automatically citing each source and creating an accurate bibliography.
The total package includes 5 CD’s. The installation is quick and painless, and you will need to run the appropriate CD (you will be prompted) to access the various modules. This ultimate in reference suites lists for about $70. It makes the ideal gift you will want to give to anyone, especially yourself.
www.microsoft.com
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