Encyclopedia Britannica 2002 Deluxe Edition

by Pearson Software

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005JGOD
• Item model number: 085229784X
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 24, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,259 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From Children's Software Revue® -- "Subscribe Now!"

No comparison to its competitors, this three-CD encyclopedia has significant strengths and weaknesses. Its best asset is its database of more than 86,000 articles, substantially more than Encarta 2002. But since a picture is worth a thousand words, Britannica's 5,274 images can't compete with Encarta's 19,000+. Similarly, Britannica has far fewer videos, audio clips and maps than Encarta or World Book. The program is fairly easy to use, although disc swapping is necessary. Additional features include free quarterly updates for one year, 56 "interactivities" (primarily animations), the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and a world atlas. The "visual tours" of a handful of selected topics (ecosystems, human anatomy, etc.) are very nice, but we wished for many more of these themed explorations. Copyright © 2001 Children's Software Revue

Amazon.com Review

Famously large in size and comprehensiveness, Britannica is probably the world's most famous encyclopedia, in print since the mid-18th century. The 2002 CD version is just as comprehensive, and includes all 32 volumes found in print, as well as a dictionary and world atlas. It has the advantage, however, of fitting into a much smaller binding.

The core of the software is as one would expect: Britannica's vast storehouse of knowledge and information, with entries on practically everything in existence. The articles and entries themselves are authoritative and interesting, each littered with hyperlinks to other related topics of interest, and include articles by people as renowned and diverse as Einstein, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Harry Houdini. Layered on top of this impressive core are related multimedia clips, both audio and visual, including panoramas and tours.

Britannica is designed like a Web site, with a home page that's always easily accessible. From this, three main ways of accessing this treasure house of information are offered--Search, A-Z Britannica, or Knowledge Navigator. These are housed within the same pop-up window with tabs at the top, so users can search once and click between all three of these search results. Britannica has also indexed thousands of quality Web sites that are returned as part of each search, which adds a whole new depth of exploration.

Britannica software also shines with regard to helping you organize your own research. You can take a note about a particular item, delegate your personal bookmarks, or collate and layout your collections in an attractive, publishable format.

In addition to the vast repository of knowledge, Britannica's software also includes the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary (10th edition), a world atlas with statistics and facts, and, a particular favorite of this reviewer, a visually pleasing Timelines feature. Chart the developments in a particular area dating back to 100,000 B.C. You can display each development alongside the others if you wish, or display a single topic, from art to architecture to medicine.

This is fascinating software, is rendered well using Java, and, unlike other CD encyclopedia offerings, has more substance than style. Although a little bit difficult to navigate at first, it's both easy and pleasurable once understood. Researchers, quiz fans, students, or people who simply enjoy reading and learning will find this software a joy. --Alison Jardine

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If you already have an older version of Britannica, keep it!, December 25, 2001

By 

Simon Lenarcic (Slovenia, Europe) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia Britannica 2002 Deluxe Edition (Software)

Britannica CD 2002 (Deluxe & Standard Edition) is a real disappointment for the advanced user of Britannica CD 98. Let's see why:

1) Find tool has its own window. Therefore you have to make more clicks to choose an article and read it than in the case of Britannica CD 98. Thousands of additional clicks mean A LOT OF EXTRA TIME!

2) It is said that Britannica CD 2002 has more than 80.000 articles. It seems a lot more than 72.000 articles comprised in Britannica CD 98. But the truth is that most of the so called new articles are actually parts of formerly more comprehensive articles!
Example: Britannica CD 98 has 1 article named Slovenia with many sections (chapters), while Britannica CD 2002 has the contents of this article divided into 10 (ten!) articles! Similar story is repeated in the cases of all other states and many other articles (like apterygote, for example).

This is a very easy way to increase the overall number of the articles, isn't it? But it does not seem fair to me.

3) Many corrections that were sent to Britannica's editorial stuff in the previous years haven't been taken into consideration. Mistakes from Britannica CD 98 are published in Britannica CD 2002, too (e.g. wrong spelling Pisarro instead of Pissarro in the two of the articles.)

Therefore my advice is: if you already have an older version of Britannica (in my case it is Britannica CD 98), keep it! It is not worth buying a new one.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars informative in words but not multimedia, August 27, 2001

By 

Charles Yiu (canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia Britannica 2002 Deluxe Edition (Software)

It is not easy to make a choice between Britannica and Encarta, but I finally buy this one.First of all, this is the encyclopedia I usually use in school and I always found it is useful. I guess the content will not disappoint me and it is as expected. with over 80,000articles in two cds, the multimedia is the opportunity cost. I think the image is not enough, I read swordfish and it doesn't show me a picture. although the print version has no picture as well, I think it is necessary. there are some minor bugs with the program but it is generally stable. I recommend this product to the serious learners.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great on hard subject matter, lame on view-based subjects, August 31, 2001

By 

"[e-mail]" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia Britannica 2002 Deluxe Edition (Software)

Very good on hard subject matter, like science, medicine, mathematics. But it is certainly lacking in soft areas, like history, politics.
The interface is too constricting in its article presentations.
I, too, notice the multiple clicking needed to get thru articles.

Tho history and politics are well-known for their inexactness and historians and politicians are known for their sometimes criminal slantedness, I do think Britannicas researchers should try at least a little harder to present balanced, unslanted historical and political information.