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Posts Tagged ‘News on encarta encyclopedia’

I was browsing through the Inquirer website today and was surprised about the news that Microsoft is shutting down its Encarta business. This was confirmed when I visited the Encarta’s FAQ page. Some people believed that the reason is that it lost in the competition, primarily against Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that offers updated contents since users are allowed to create, revise and refine entries.

Here are some excerpts from Encarta:

On October 31, 2009, MSN® Encarta® Web sites worldwide will be discontinued, with the exception of Encarta Japan, which will be discontinued on December 31, 2009. Additionally, Microsoft will cease to sell Microsoft Student and Encarta Premium software products worldwide by June 2009

Why are these Encarta Web sites and software products being discontinued?

Encarta has been a popular product around the world for many years. However, the category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed. People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past. As part of Microsoft’s goal to deliver the most effective and engaging resources for today’s consumer, it has made the decision to exit the Encarta business.

Microsoft’s vision is that everyone around the world needs to have access to quality education, and we believe that we can use what we’ve learned and assets we’ve accrued with offerings like Encarta to develop future technology solutions. In doing so, we feel strongly that we are making the right investments that will help make our vision a reality.

I was saddened by this news because Encarta significantly helped during my school years. But then, I understand Microsoft’s decision. I myself do not visit or browse Encarta anymore. My younger friends and relatives who are still in elementary and high school prefer the internet for free research, rather than using books or a CD-based encyclopedia.

Here are some of the encyclopedias that I used before.

Encyclopedia Books
These are the traditional encyclopedias usually sold by house-to-house salesmen. I remember years back how proud my mom was when she bought our own set.  Some of these are still available on eBay and Amazon books section.

World Book Encyclopedia

Encyclopedia Britannica

Childcraft (I consider this as encyclopedia for kids)

CD/DVD
This was my primary source of research works when I was in high school and I used the copy-paste-edit process then.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encarta Encyclopedia

Online Encyclopedia

Wikipedia – Today’s Encyclopedia. Need I say more?