Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Java Runtime UI = awkwardness, February 24, 2006
Compared to Microsoft's Encarta, Encyclopedia Britannica should have better written articles. However, the rough Java Runtime UI behaves unpredictably alongside other Windows apps, making it painful to navigate, besides being visually confusing. It just feels like a free cross-platform open source app in early beta, not yet native-code like Mozilla or OpenOffice.org, instead of a product I'd buy. Also reminds me of the early Microsoft Bookshelf/Cinemania '95/etc. and other early reference products with good information locked up inside a clumsy interface.
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32 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Completely Revamped, September 12, 2005
The Encyclopedia Britannica 2006 (established in 1768) is a completely revamped product. Its interface is intuitive and uncluttered. It is far more fun to use. For instance, it now offers a date-based daily selection of relevant articles. The search box is persistent - no need to click on the toolbar's "search" button every time you want to find something in this vast storehouse.
The new Britannica's display is tab-based, avoiding the erstwhile confusing proliferation of new windows with every move. Most importantly, articles appear in full - not in sections. This major improvement facilitates finding relevant keywords in and the printing of entire texts. These are only a few of dozens of user-friendly alterations and enhancements. The 2006 edition is a breakthrough. The Britannica seemed to have finally got it entirely right.
The Britannica provides considerably more text than any other extant encyclopedia, print or digital. But its has noticeably enhanced it non-textual content over the years (the 1994-7 editions had nothing or very little but words, words, and more words).
The Britannica fully supports serious research. It is a sober assemblage of first-rate essays, up to date bibliographies, and relevant multimedia. It is a desktop university library: thorough, well-researched, comprehensive, trustworthy.
The Britannica's 80-100,000 articles (depending on the version) are long and thorough, supported by impressive bibliographies, and written by the best scholars in their respective fields. The company's Editorial Board of Advisors reads like the who's who of the global intellectual and scientific community.
The Britannica comes bundled with an atlas (and 287 World data Profiles of individual countries and territories), the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus, classic articles from previous editions, eleven yearbooks, an Interactive Timeline, a Research Organizer, and a Knowledge Navigator (a Brain Stormer).
In its new form, the Britannica is as user-friendly as the Encarta. Regrettably, it is updated only 2-4 times a year, a serious drawback, only partially compensated for by 3 months of free access to the its impressive powerhouse online Web site.
The Britannica is an embarrassment of riches. Users often find the wealth and breadth of information daunting and data mining is fast becoming an art form. This is why the Britannica incorporated the Brain Stormer to cope with this predicament. But an informal poll I conducted online shows that few know how to deploy it effectively.
The Britannica also sports Student and Elementary versions of its venerable flagship product, replete with a Homework Helpdesk - but it is far better geared to tackle the information needs of adults and, even more so, professionals. It provides unequalled coverage of its topics. Ironically, this is precisely why the market positioning of the Britannica's Elementary and Student Encyclopedias is problematic.
The current edition is fully integrated with the Internet. Apart from the updates, it offers additional and timely content and revisions on a dedicated Web site. The digital product includes a staggering number of links (165,808!) to third party content on the Web. The GeoAnalyzer (compares national statistical data and generates charts and graphs) is now Web-based and greatly enhanced.
The Britannica would do well to offer a browser add-on search bar and integrate with new desktop search tools from Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and others. A seamless experience is in the cards. Users must and will be able to ferret content from all over - their desktop, their encyclopedias, and the Web - using a single, intuitive interface.
Having used the product extensively in the last two weeks and on different platforms and operating systems, I find myself entertaining some minor gripes:
The atlas, dictionary, and thesaurus incorporated in the Britannica are surprisingly outdated. Why not use a more current - and dynamically updated - offering? What about dictionaries for specialty terms (medical or computer glossaries, for instance)?
Despite considerable improvement over the previous edition, the Britannica still consumes (not to say hogs) computer resource far in excess of the official specifications. This makes it it less suitable for installation on older PCs and on many laptops.
The Britannica now uses a new graphic and text renderer. On some systems, the user needs to modify his or her desktop settings to get rid of jagged fonts and blurry photos.
Moreover, despite the hype, relatively few users possess DVD drives (but those who do find the entire reference suite available on one DVD).
But that's it. Don't think twice. Run to the closest retail outlet (or surf to the Britannica's Web site) and purchase the 2006 edition now. It offers excellent value for money (less than $50) and significantly enhances you access to knowledge and wisdom accumulated over centuries all over the world. Sam Vaknin, author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited"
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39 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
An Overall Disappointment, December 15, 2005
I bought this electronic version of Brittanica 2006 to install on my computer. I was pleased with myself and my "epic" purchase, and all seemed to go well until I saw the quality of the print on its pages. It is faded and appears "moth eaten", instead of being proper and uniform in texture throughout, as would be the case normally . When I saw that, I was sorry I had wasted my money. I hope reading it doesn't strain my eyesight. The problem is that it is very easy to rip customers off in such cases, as such basic details remain hidden till the very last, when it is too late to return or reject the opened product. Not only that, but this version is far shorter than the original 32 volume "hardcopy" - as other reviewers have pointed out here (and it should have been better, given the phenomenal ability to store vast amounts of knowledge electronically on DVDs and other such media). What is the use of advances in technology when the basic intent of such "services" remains subject to vulgar moneymaking considerations? That this should happen with knowledge, in our "enlightened" era, is indeed criminal. Equally criminal is the attitude of the Brittannia staff, who haven't yet been civil enough to return a reply to my complaint to them in this regard. All glorious institutions, it seems, are destined to crumble ingloriously.
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