The Microsoft Encarta reference works are among the most popular and widely used packages of their kind - this review is about the 2000 version DVD-ROM (2002 version has since been released). Capable of holding the same information as six CDs could, this disc contains a multimedia display of dictionary, encyclopaedia and world atlas, all with the impressive sound, graphics, videos and content that you would expect from such a product - of course though, it is only of use to those of us who are smug enough to have a PC with a DVD drive built in! The first question is of course, why did I choose to buy this reference pack over the others available on the market? ...  Read the complete review

This Encyclopedia from Microsoft is an excellent one. It contains lots of information and is also easy to use. All you do is type in a word or string of words you want the article to be related to and hit search eg. If you wanted to find about monkeys in the jungle you just type in 'monkeys' and 'jungle'. Other features include maps, atlas', pictures, timelines and charts, which are all related to the articles. The software comes in the form of two CDs, with Disc 1 ontaining all of the articles and information and Disk 2 neccasary for viewing pictures and the other features. The software comes free with any PC you purchase, although it can ...  Read the complete review

The reference suite comes on 6 CD’s with a multimedia encyclopedia, a 3D world atlas and a dictionary. The encyclopedia has everything that you need and will be up to date with the latest information until Dec 2000, as that is when the web updates cease. It has a number of interesting features including virtual tours where you can explore (in a limited way) things from the space shuttle to a volcanic park in Hawaii. The atlas has information on over 1.6million places world wide, you want information on the place it is here. It also includes a number of views of the Earth from normal to night from crop to people distribution. The dictionary will ...  Read the complete review

People criticise Microsoft a lot, but the primary reason for the success is that generally the software they make is of a very high standard – Encarta DVD Reference Suite 2000 is no exception. The primary advantage of DVD is of course the fact that it eliminates the need for disc swapping which really limits the usefulness of the CD version. The fact that all the programs are on one disc also ensures that they are well integrated. Taking the individual programs one by one: *ENCARTA DICTIONARY There are three main sections to the dictionary. The first is what you would expect – you type in a word and you get a ...  Read the complete review

This Encyclopedia from Microsoft is an excellent one. It contains lots of information and is also easy to use. All you do is type in a word or string of words you want the article to be related to and hit search eg. If you wanted to find about monkeys in the jungle you just type in 'monkeys' and 'jungle'. Other features include maps, atlas', pictures, timelines and charts, which are all related to the articles. The software comes in the form of two CDs, with Disc 1 ontaining all of the articles and information and Disk 2 neccasary for viewing pictures and the other features. The software comes free with any PC you purchase, although it can be ...  Read the complete review