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Rating: 
Summary: Encarta is a very good product
Review: I have to admit to holding some initial reservations about a Microsoft mapping product based on past experience with earlier attempts, but I have been a fan of the Virtual Globe series since back in 1997. The earlier reviewer brought up several points that I agree with and several I do not. I am a professional cartographer with the State of Utah and I really thought Microsoft did a good job of collecting and integrating a huge amount of data into this product.First, it isn't meant to be an atlas in the traditional sense with varying projections. The projection is simply Orthographic, as you appear to be looking down on the globe from space. no matter what zoom level you choose, this is always the case. I do agree that it would be nice for the product to explain to geography neophytes why distances taken from the edge of the globe vary so greatly from those taken from the center using such a projection. Second, there is a lot of valuable, up-to-date information on the various nations and particularly the larger world cities that would otherwise require a full set of encyclopedias to obtain. There is a lot more in-depth, well executed features to the product than half-hearted rainfall maps and anthems. There are a lot of features that are of gee-whiz value, but of questionable educational benefit (the videos, world flyovers, anthems etc.) but on the whole I think this remains a solid product and excellent value.
Rating: 
Summary: Microsoft Encarta 2000 Fails to live up to Expectations
Review: Microsoft Encarta 2000 turns out to be nothing more than a child's toy. It lacks quality in several areas. First, no map indicates what projection is being used. This makes it hard to figure out the level and type of distortion in each map. Secondly, the climate and annual rainfall maps are poor. It is impossible to zoom in on one country for these types of maps. The closest view you can get is a much to far out to obtain any real data. The program would be a fun method to teach young children about political geography, but after that the software is almost useless. Overall i would have to say that no proffesional cartographer would be able to get useful information from Encarta, but the novice geographer might have two or three hours of fun listening to the national anthems of different countries.
Rating:
Summary: Microsoft Encarta 2000 Fails to live up to Expectations
Review: Microsoft Encarta 2000 turns out to be nothing more than a child's toy. It lacks quality in several areas. First, no map indicates what projection is being used. This makes it hard to figure out the level and type of distortion in each map. Secondly, the climate and annual rainfall maps are poor. It is impossible to zoom in on one country for these types of maps. The closest view you can get is a much to far out to obtain any real data. The program would be a fun method to teach young children about political geography, but after that the software is almost useless. Overall i would have to say that no proffesional cartographer would be able to get useful information from Encarta, but the novice geographer might have two or three hours of fun listening to the national anthems of different countries.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent world reference.
Review: Microsoft Interactive World Atlas is the best value software atlas on the market today. It returns with the globe and much more multimedia (but some people may call it somewhat excessive, due to varying processor speeds.) It contains more flyover tours of more regions, more pictures, sounds, and video, and also a special feature that allows you to measure distance on a global scale, find out the exact latitude and longitude of the place where your mouse is, and also tell the time in that zone. Something else that differs this product from print atlases is the fact that electronic globes are able to store much more information about cities and countries because they don't have a stringent space limit. I would highly recommend purchasing this over another atlas program or a print copy.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Piece of Software
Review: Microsoft's Virtual Globe is better than an actual globe, in my opinion, because it lets the user actually zoom into a particular area of the world, and gert facts on the country of city. It even lets one access the web for information it can't provide. I've used it on many occasions to help write a report, find out stats or just for leisure. It comes equipped with a virtual flight program, so the user can "fly" over a certain area. It is very helpful.
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Presentation
Review: The Microsoft Encarta Atlas Team have done it again! This is a high quality world atlas and as a student found it very useful as a research tool.It provides a myriad of map customisation options,which are very good as it can display only the information one wants to see. The atlas is much more than a virtual globe.Not only does it provide multimedia content,but also great in-depth articles. Good Points:Ease Of Use, Available Information, Suberb Multimedia Content. Bad Points:Two-Disk Format Is Annoying. Overall Score=95%
Rating:
Summary: A Brilliant Presentation
Review: The Microsoft Encarta Atlas Team have done it again! This is a high quality world atlas and as a student found it very useful as a research tool.It provides a myriad of map customisation options,which are very good as it can display only the information one wants to see. The atlas is much more than a virtual globe.Not only does it provide multimedia content,but also great in-depth articles. Good Points:Ease Of Use, Available Information, Suberb Multimedia Content. Bad Points:Two-Disk Format Is Annoying. Overall Score=95%
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