Jewish World Review March 8, 2005 / 27 Adar I 5765
Encyclopedias Better On-Line or On Disc?
By Mark Kellner
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
"Just what are the 'ides of March,'" Jean, my wife, asked me. I didn't have
a ready answer.
Apart from the line in "The Tragedy of Julius Caesar" by Shakespeare
"Beware the ides of March," the Soothsayer says in Act 1, Scene 2 I knew
nothing of ides, per se, and thereby hangs a tale.
The answer, I said, would lie in an encyclopedia, and at my desk I had two:
the 2005 edition of the Encyclopedia (stet) Britannica 2005 Ultimate
Reference Suite DVD, and the Microsoft Encarta 2005 Reference Library
Premium CD set (a DVD version is also available). Britannica is, of course,
one of the oldest encyclopedia names going, dating back to 1798. A.J.
Jacobs, an editor of Esquire magazine, made it his goal to become "The
Know-It-All," as his 2004 book boasted, by reading every page of the print
version.
On disc, however, the Britannica isn't as exciting as Mr. Jacobs found in
print. There are illustrations, but not as many as I would expect. Encarta,
by contrast, offers a whole range of Kennedy pictures, even at the
"contents" section of its rather extensive listing for the 35th President.
Both Encarta and Britannica use a search interface box to find articles.
Opening them in Encarta (which is a Windows-only program) brings the article
to a full screen; if a given section of an article relates to your inquiry,
it opens there and is highlighted for easy viewing. On the Britannica side
the opening window is smaller (but can be enlarged) and key words are in
boldface type. (Britannica, it should be noted, runs on both Windows and
Macintosh systems.)
Britannica's "search" for Kennedy information yielded more links, 205, than
Encarta's, but a lot of these are peripheral to Mr. Kennedy's life (such as
links to authors Brendan Gill and Don DeLillo, or to Janio da Silva Quadros,
a seven-month president of Brazil in 1961). The links in Encarta were more
direct and relevant overall and there were more multimedia items in the
Encarta section.
I found the Encarta interface easier to use, because, frankly, it's more
Web-like than the Britannica one. There are "live" links in articles in both
products that lead to other articles. But the Encarta links seemed more
natural to follow, in that they led to truly relevant items.
Both products feature dictionaries (Britannica has the Merriam-Webster) and
atlases, to round out your reference capabilities. Register each product and
you can get access to online articles and other content, although the online
version of Britannica, a $70-per-year subscription, is free for only 90
days.
Pricing for the two items is lower than their list prices: Britannica's
Ultimate DVD, $70 list, sells for $39.99 after a $20 rebate; Encarta, which
lists for $60, either as a DVD or five CD-ROMs, is $24.99 after rebates and
discounts.
Given these factors, I'm inclined to endorse Encarta for Windows users. It's
less expensive, has very good information, and is easier to use and deal
with. On the Mac side, Britannica is probably the best choice because it is
somewhat more up-to-date than the only other commercial application,
MacKiev's World Book 2004.
However, there's an open question as to whether or not we really need a
commercial encyclopedia on a disc, anyway. Britannica offers a subscription
service, as noted; there's Wikipedia (stet) a free Web site that can be
edited by users (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page), but which also
contains some useful information. And, if you need a dictionary, there's
http://www.dictionary.com or the Merriam-Webster itself at
http://www.m-w.com. In short, there's plenty of online reference material
available, much of it for free.
Even with these free tools, though, I'm glad I have Encarta 2005 at hand.
It's a good reference tool that's worth your examination.
Find this column useful? Why not sign-up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.
The music's so bright, I gotta wear shades Free software worth something
Verizon phone plays video
MAC'S mini Marvel...
Year of the Accessory?
End of line for Microsoft?
New Year's resolutions, belated
Sidekick II a star, other items for new year
Virtual service calls available
Small biz gets tech hookup to fed deals
Jingle Bells, or ring tones, etc.
Smithsonian's Hand-Held Tour Guide an iPAQ
iMAC G5, Emachines is runner-up
Three 'cult' items: two good, one bad
Charity finds a United 'E-Way'
NetObjects Fusion A Useful Web Site Builder
eMachines Model Offers Performance
Second thoughts
Adobe updates its easy photo fix
Recording radio
Myths die hard, even for insiders
A TV Board For Your PC
Raising the 'dead' and the dusty
Promise of VoIP not yet total
When ideas and policy collide at work
Why not take the easy way out?
One to buy, one to skip
In Israel, high tech goes on the road
Right out of the box, little Sony camera impresses
Useful little things
Epson printer does far more than just print
Does Gmail hit the spot?
Independence Day Thoughts on computing
Still more about online e-mail
Your vacation e-mail options
Mr. Reagan's Computing Legacy
Following your heart
Power Mac G5: A powerful tool
Opera: This browser sings
Motion's new tablet a step up
Fuji's S20PRO is for you maybe
Last week's small revolution
More small wonders bring delight, challenge
Livin' large, livin' cordless
Small wonders: Gadgets good and bad
The right tool for the right job
Office 2004 for Mac is coming
Good Computer Info? It's In Print
'Office' suite good for price
The Delightful Deja Vu of the iPod Mini
Another check creation option
Blocking pop-up ads
Apple's super-cool iBOOK G4
MSN, the AOL alternative?
It's Konfabu-lous (and other Mac joys)
The world on my wrist, courtesy MSN
Treo 600 is great business tool
How to make good computer choices this year
The year behind, the one ahead
Last minute gifts, and other thoughts
Something special in the air, again
Veterans Admin plans computer revolution
More holiday gifts
Holiday Shopping Ideas (One of a Series)
Now, Mr. Gates Joins War on Spam
Stopping "Phishers" From Scamming You
Staying safe online
Franklin Covey Brings Order to Outlook
Upgrades: Should you do it?
Time to dump Ma Bell?
Palm T3 widens users' options
Electronic reading
Lessons from a hurricane
Can the PC and phone really merge?
The case of the curious keyboard
The season ahead
New keyboard adds flair to motion tablet
Upgrade path smoothes a bit
Dreamweaver, make me a web
Experiments in upgrading
A tale of two headsets
A declaration of Mac-dependence
Fuji's Fine FinePix S602Zoom
In search of good Mac apps
Little gadgets make computing easier
Adobe Acrobat 6.0 scores
Toshiba's Twisting Tablet PC
HP printer a steady worker
iTunes store, Mailblocks are cool online services
Palm's objects of D-Zire
Gateway's Tablet a winner
Outlook 2003 beta: A promising program
Tungsten's handy "Dubya"
Lexmark's winning all-in-one
Wireless ways
Long distance tech support does trick
Tablet Planner software a hit
Up and down the road with Joyride
Clarion's "AutoPC" is no "Joyride"
Apple's Keynote is PowerPoint for less
Moving adventures
Traveling companions
HP's Compaq Tablet PC a winner
The war on spam continues
Browser for Mac users has good start
New Adobe software organizes photos
Techno-war
The year the PC grew up
PC meets philately: one hit, one miss
Digital Nikon camera a winner, at a price
Honey, they shrunk the COMDEX
Last-minute ideas
Microsoft's Tablet PC has promise, problems
Upgrade with a plan
Palm's New Tungsten PDA Shows Its Mettle
Nobody asked me, but ...
Love, in Quicktime
T-Mobile's sidekick a good partner
Put on a (happy, unwrinkled, tanned, whatever) face
Apple software upgrade very useful
I came, I saw, iPod
How's that? A tech critic reflects, briefly
Satellite radio gets favorable reception
HP's desktop printing marve
Mac satisfaction --- and some really good software
Off to college ... with eMachines
Have PC, must travel
After Shot manages your digital camera images
X200: Mobile worker's fantasy
Beware: Consumers face a fee for printing own checks