The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Microsoft Encarta 2005 Ash Nallawalla ash@melbpc.org.au

Although we have two high school-age students in our family, we have not kept up with Microsoft Encarta every year — the previous edition in our home is 1999. Not surprisingly, I thought it was about time to look at the latest edition. This is Encarta 2005 Premium Suite DVD, although the MSN Web site calls it the Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2005. A CD-ROM version is also available. In the review, it is referred to as Encarta.

Encarta is a multimedia encyclopaedia that will appeal to students aged 7 or above (my estimate of the upper range is around 16 years). Although it is on a DVD, it cannot possibly provide the detail that one may seek in any given area. It covers a wide range of subjects at an introductory level. Do not expect it to provide all the information for a high school project. There are links to online resources, so you still have the Internet and more traditional sources (known as printed books) to supplement this information.
 

The content appears to have been finalised in early 2004. That is not unreasonable for a product that was released at the end of last year, as there would have been a considerable amount of effort to bring it all together. Material that was published after the DVD was built is available over the Internet, but for a subscription fee. The multimedia content includes both video and audio clips.

Navigation is very easy. A rotating "visual browser" displays all the available articles or content for the selected topic. This can get annoying after seeing it a couple of times, as you have to wait for the icons to go past you before you realise that your desired item is not available. The Find menu is very fast and is a better way to search for everything. You can also install an Encarta Search Bar on the taskbar at the bottom of the computer screen.
 

Children's Encarta

Encarta is bundled with Children's Encarta. I was pleased to see Australian/British English spellings, something we did not see not too long ago in American software. The text is large and easy to read because the sentences are not too long and use age-appropriate language.

3-D Virtual Tours

Seven so-called virtual tours feature architectural wonders of the ancient world, such as the Acropolis,
Persepolis, the Colosseum, and so on. They are mainly photo-realistic, 360-degree views of the monuments, such as you can take with an Ipix system.

Animations

Many concepts, such as electric motors and combustion engines are better understood with the aid of a narrated animation. The Multimedia link shows all the animations available on the DVD, and there were more than I could count. The narration explains what is being displayed at a given time.
 

Dictionary

The dictionary is more accurately described as three tools in one - a dictionary, thesaurus and a translator (English, to and from: German, French, and Spanish). This illustrates that Encarta is a lot more than a pure encyclopaedia.

Installation

Encarta will operate on Windows 98 and later versions through Windows XP. You can install most of the content on your hard disk or run it from the DVD.

Encarta can be installed on a network, such as in a school, but each workstation that uses it needs to have its own licence.
 

Availability

All versions of Encarta are sold at all the usual retail software outlets. Their RRP ranges from $39.95 for the Children's version to $129.95 for the Premium Suite. The pricing of Microsoft product these days is quite reasonable and the Encarta range is good value for money. For more information, see http://au.encarta.msn.com.

Reprinted from the March 2005 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia

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