Description:
Students of all ages will revel in the learning opportunities provided by Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2002. Stepping up and expanding the successful Encarta encyclopedia tool, this five-disc set offers a complete reference desk at your fingertips. After a quick install, we were off and running. We were immediately impressed by how current the package is right out of the box. Because of the online connection, the package automatically updates itself (as they say in the packaging, "History didn't stop when this disc was made"). While we were researching Tampa, Florida, for instance, we were not only able to check out detailed maps from the interactive world atlas and general points of interest, but we also noted the local temperature and current headlines, courtesy of MSNBC.com. The packaging presents the software as if it were seven unique tools, but the truth is these tools are interwoven and enmeshed in such a way that it doesn't even feel like there's a border between one and the next. For example, reading an article gave us not only the meaty content with links to other articles, but also a multimedia gallery, related articles, and editor's picks for related Web sites. We also found a number of really cool games, timelines, and 3-D virtual walk-throughs of historic sites, as well as headlines from the Encarta Today feature that held our interest. You might think that with all of this information within easy reach it would be easy to get lost jumping from topic to topic. It seems that the Encarta developers had this in mind and structured the navigation to mirror your favorite Web browser: simply navigate back, forward, or home to get your bearings. You can also jump to the pop-up dictionary, thesaurus, or the world atlas with just a click of your mouse. Two handy features are the researcher function and the FactFinder. The researcher allows you to create a project, for which you can collect related articles, definitions, illustrations, and multimedia features in one place. You can then opt to easily print out your research (the output is a complete, easy- to-read document with reference citations), or you can produce a more customized document with notes on your findings and adjustments to the layout. The default format for the report is an HTML file, a convenient feature that allows for maximum multimedia interactivity within the document. The FactFinder is a tool that acts independent of Encarta. Simply hover over any word on your screen--whether in a document, on the Web, or otherwise--and the FactFinder will define it and provide links to other available information. --Emilie Herbst
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