Microsoft's encyclopaedic MSN Encarta websites and related software are set to be discontinued this year.
MSN Encarta will shut worldwide on October 31 excluding in Japan, where it will run for a further two months.
MS will also stop supplying Encarta software products for sale from June 2009.
"... The category of traditional encyclopaedias and reference material has changed," the company explained, without direct reference to Wikipedia. "People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past.
"Microsoft's vision is that everyone around the world needs to have access to quality education, and we believe that we can use what we've learned and assets we've accrued with offerings like Encarta to develop future technology solutions," it added.
The problem with wiki' is there's so much unsubstantiated crap on there and just blatantly wrong information that there's no way you can trust it as a reliable source.
Having said that, with the power of the Internet, I can't see why anyone other than schools would be interested in purchasing Encarta...was good while it lasted though!
A shame, as i remember using this A LOT when i was younger, but i now just a search on the web gets most of what i need. A classic programme from the times.
Encarta was really good, especially before the internet was so common place. Now with all the other resources available I'm surprised it's lasted this long.
I still remember the little maze trivia game from the 97 version, brilliant way to learn.
hey minignaz I remember that trivia maze game now! It was addictive yet annoying, all those dudes popping up wearing clothes from the 1400s and asking you questions about planes. ha.
hey minignaz I remember that trivia maze game now! It was addictive yet annoying, all those dudes popping up wearing clothes from the 1400s and asking you questions about planes. ha.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who remembers that! The one with the jester at the beginning, right?
^ that's the one, brilliant little 'game' kept me entertained for ages. Ahh those were the days.
I think I had the same version but in Encarta '96. You can knock MS for a lot of things, but that was a really useful tool. Better than the DK reference software.
My dad had a version of Encarta back in the day too. I'm sure I remember that game, although obviously I was way more interested in playing Screamer or Duke Nukem 3D
Screamer! Oh how I miss that game. Remember how you could add a cheat that unlocked a library van with books flying out the back?!
Don't remember that, but then I didn't use any cheats in that game. Didn't need it. Once I worked out that you could spin rival cars by knocking their front end I was a winner. Still love the soundtrack though
I was going through my old tat a few months back and found a set of CDs that came with my first PC which were never even opened. It had a copy of Encarta and something called "Microsoft: Dangerous Creatures" and "Microsoft: Ancient Civilizations".
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