                               MS Encarta
                                 CD-ROM

                             by Tony Curro


    There are quite a few encyclopedias on the market. Most are
    multimedia. All are on CD and require Windows. Microsoft's entry is
    in a class by itself.

    Encarta contains articles, animations, sounds, illustrations, graphs
    and photographs as well as an atlas and  a dictionary. I have delved
    so deeply into Encarta, using hyper-link features of one subject
    talking you to another and another, that I discovered more
    information that I bargained for. While other encyclopedias were
    ported over from hard-bound copies (Grolier's, Compton's, etc.),
    Encarta, from the ground up, was designed on a computer to  run on a
    computer.

    Microsoft worked with many experts and specialists to create this
    product. The work shows in the high-quality photographs,
    illustrations, maps and sounds. A category browser lets you quickly
    go to a specific area of interest like: Life Science, Sports, Art,
    Literature, Social Science, Religion and Philosophy, History and
    more. Each is then divided further. For example, History will show
    US History, World History, etc.

    At the end of articles is a Bibliography reference. Clicking on this
    number will bring up the related materials.

    Encarta Features:

    * More than 21,000 articles in 94 categories.

    * More than seven hours of sound (6,500) pieces, including music,
    nature sounds, historical speeches and foreign languages, such as
    the national anthems of more than 170 countries, examples of 46
    languages, from American Navaho to Swahili and literature readings
    by authors such as T.S. Eliot and Alan Ginsberg.

    * Nearly 100 animations on many topics, including everything, from
    the destruction caused by an earthquake to the elegance of the waltz
    to a simple explanation of the quantum theory.

    * More than 800 color maps, including a world atlas and voice
    pronunciations of country names and more.

    * Dictionary comprised of 83,000 words and 40,000 thesaurus entries.
    * More than 7,000 photographs, charts and graphs.
    * More than 700 specially added computer-related articles and terms.
    
    * More than 100 historical maps featuring sound and animation to
    explain subjects like the Crusades and the American Civil War.

    There is also a TimeLine, which is 20-feet long. It covers from 15
    million B. C. to the present. Click on a date or event and explore
    the subject through hyper-link.

    There is a game called Mind Maze. It is an interactive
    knowledge/adventure game. You progress through the maze, and go to
    another room, by correctly answering questions posed in each room.
    There is animation and sound in most of the areas. It will put your
    knowledge to the test. An excellent learning tool for children, and
    a nice refresher for adults.

    Selecting Gallery from the main menu brings up a list of sights and
    sounds. From here you can choose the slide show. This will go
    through the list, and you will see and hear each subject as it
    appears. When browsing an article that contains more than one
    picture, or charts and tables, as you page down, the appropriate
    item will appear in accordance to the text.

    Information contained is very extensive and skillfully presented. I
    was looking at football. I received a complete explanation of the
    game. I saw the measurements of the field, hand signals the
    referee's use for infractions complete with yardage gained or lost.
    There was also an explanation of different types of formations with
    drawings to show you where the players play, etc. Anyone who does
    not know anything about football, and wants to know, will come away
    with a full understanding of the game. There are many other features
    like this that I have not touched on.

    See photos of all the Presidents; complete list of all the Popes;
    all players inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame; all World Boxing
    Champions and many other subjects. Do you know the complete
    breakdown of leadership in the Executive Brach of US Government? Who
    is under whom? You can view a complete hierarchy chart showing all
    the divisions. Even see Clinton-Gore victory celebration. That is
    how current Encarta is.

    In addition to all the mentioned features, you can use Wizard to aid
    you in finding your material. When you select Wizard you are
    prompted to enter search criteria. You can enter name, place, years
    and so forth. Wizard will quickly search for all matches for all
    criteria.

    I have been pleased with many of the reference works that I have
    either reviewed or used. However, none has enthralled me as much as
    Encarta. While it is nice to have several reference works, if you
    only want to buy one, then Microsoft Encarta is a MUST HAVE!!! You
    will not be disappointed.


                          Product Information

                           Microsoft Encarta
                                 CD-ROM

                          List Price -- $395.

                            Microsoft Corp.
                           One Microsoft Way
                           Redmond, WA 98052
                              206-882-8080
