Encyclopedia Britannica 2005 CD Ultimate Reference Suite

by Avanquest

Product Features

• Brings first-rate reference materials right to the computer
• Complete 32-volume Encyclopedia Britannica
• 2 dictionaries and thesauruses; world atlas with 1,300+ maps
• Vivid illustrations with 21,000 images, video, and audio
• Categorized into 3 easy-to-use comprehension levels

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002HQWLM
• Item model number: 8302
• Date first available at Amazon.com: June 18, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,223 in Software (See Top 100 in Software)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

With the Encyclopedia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite is a complete reference library, right at your fingertips. Its contents would easily fill a large bookcase, but now you can store this vast trove of information on your personal computer. Categorized into three easy-to-use comprehension levels, the suite includes over 100,000 articles in three complete encyclopedias, two dictionaries and thesauruses, rich multimedia, a world atlas, timelines, and more. A world of information from one of the world's most trusted source. Vivid illustrations with 21,000 images, plus video and audio that bring topics to life

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for Pentium III 1000 Mhz 512 RAM, October 15, 2004

By 

Billy Budd "an_encyclopedias_addict" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Encyclopedia Britannica 2005 CD Ultimate Reference Suite (CD-ROM)

I buy every year Britannica and Encarta. Your can read my opinion in Encarta 2005.
The system requirements they recommend in www.eb.com and in the box of the product are very cheap, but the reality is different.
Britannica 2004 was slow, but 2005 is exasperating. I made a full installation (4.1 GB, 510 videos) and then tried installing only the Application (550 MB) and the Articles (only 390 MB), but it's the same. It's not a problem of quantity of contents: Encarta 2005 takes 3.2 GB and responds immediately. It's a problem of the application. I've bought a new and more powerful PC and I'll tell you how it goes. One pro for Britannica: it's compatible with MAC (Encarta isn't).
About the content I can't say very much for the moment. They have added 510 videos but, still, it is not a multimedia product due to, in part, the limited options you have to search (Encarta has a lot). Its AUTHORITATIVE TEXT is still authoritative, but some of their authoritative contributors died years ago, and updating does not work with Britannica (Encarta is updated every week free till October 2005 with new articles and additions to the old ones).One example: Encarta's articles for George Bush and John Kerry are updated till August 18. Kerry has 12 sections, 2 photos, internet links, related articles... George Bush has more. Britannica does not have entry for Kerry (mentions him twice when it was only a Senator) and Bush has utterly less information (perhaps more authoritative... I'm not an expert). Britannica's large articles of printed edition have been shortened, and others modified (for good or bad). They make comparison in the box with Encarta and World Book and claim that they have "More than 100.000 articles!" They confuse articles with sections and windows, windows and more windows that open slowly but inexorably. In Encarta one article is one article, good or bad, and you can scroll very fast or open in any moment the Index and go immediately to any section. Encarta 2005 includes "Encarta Kids" with an interface very colorful and appealing. Britannica has "3 encyclopedias in one": Britannica, Student and Elementary. The interface is the same for all. If you're not interested in Student and Elementary, you can buy Britannica Deluxe. But I've heard it goes very slow too!
All this said, I think Britannica is a marvelous encyclopedia. I have the printed edition (32 volumes, 32.000 pages) and I buy every year "Britannica Book of the Year". Why don't make an "only text" electronic edition like the first one in 1995? Its performance was excellent even in those old computers.