The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group
Britannica CD 2000 Deluxe Edition
Ash Nallawalla
 ash@melbpc.org.au

Gone are the days when buying an encyclopaedia was something you did once and took several years to pay it off. The Encyclopaedia Britannica (EB) is still available in 32 printed volumes, but it has also been available on CD-ROM for some years now. American advertising says that the CD-ROM contains the same text as the print edition, although I did not have the resources to verify that statement. The 2000 Australian edition is the first I have used.

Product Description

  • One installation disc, two data discs
  • The complete text from the Britannica 32-volume print set, plus additional articles not available in print
  • Over 83,000 articles, 45 million words
  • 1999 Britannica Book of the Year Access to 125,000+ Internet links via Britannica.com
  • Photos, maps, and illustrations
W hen we look at the product in action, we see the following menu choices:
  • Ask Britannica: Ask a question and find answers with natural-language search. I regard this as my main entry point into the depths of the product, but it is not the only point of entry. Just as you may have noted with Web searches, it helps to narrow your search by specifying more than one word or a phrase. You can also call up images, maps, video and sound.
  • Compass: Discover the farthest corners of the Earth - colourful interactive maps lead to information about climate, continents, nations, and people
  • Analyst: Compare data between nations and create instant reports, graphs and tables for research.
  • This is handy for, say, finding the longest river or the most populous nation. You are limited to the comparisons supplied to you; you cannot compare, say, military expenditure as a percentage of total exports.
  • Timelines: Explore historical events of human experience from 14 subject areas such as science, religion, music, and literature.
  • Spotlights: Experience exciting sight-and-sound multimedia that brings knowledge to life
  • Topic Tours: New for 2000, this feature provides users with a pictorial view of a variety of topics drawn from the database, such as moon exploration, African wildlife, cathedrals of the world, and more
  • Quick Search, Research Assistant, and Notes: New multitasking tools enable you to move directly from a working document to the Britannica search function.


Figure 1. The main menu


Figure 2. Ask Britannica


Figure 4. Spotlight


Figure 5. The Analyst

Verdict

Overall, it is a great comfort to know that you have the full text of the Encyclopaedia Britannica at hand. You expect a lot of material to get dated rapidly, and the company provides annual updates to cover this eventuality.

Examine the following extract from an article describing Victoria's administration and social conditions:

"The public service of Victoria is based on the departments of premier and treasury, which serve a variety of purposes, and a number of other departments and ministries dealing with a single subject. There arc also several public corporations, of which the most important are the Board of Works, the Road Construction Authority the Gas and Fuel Corporation, the State Electricity Commission, and the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission."

As you probably know, the SECV and Gas and Fuel Corporation were privatised in 1994; the State Rivers and Water Supply Commission dropped that name in 1984 and, after some more restructuring, in 1995 the entity was disbanded, with its five regions becoming autonomous water authorities.

Another entry:

"The Australian Broadcasting Commission, financed by the government, provides a comprehensive radio and television service to the entire state."

The ABC became a corporation in 1983.

Nevertheless, these are unfortunate aberrations in what is a monumental collection of human knowledge and I still recommend the product. We have become spoilt by the Internet, particularly the Web, which the EB has taken in its stride by enabling you to search the Web from the EB interface. One can no longer rely on a single reference document for proper research.

Internet Explorer 5

Britannica CD requires a subset of the Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 browser and certain Internet Explorer browser plug-ins to run. If the Britannica CD Setup program does not detect the components it needs on your hard drive, it includes them with the installation.

System Requirements

For success in running Britannica CD, your PC system should meet the following minimum requirements. The recommended requirements give better performance (and more enjoyment).
  • Microsoft Windows 9x, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.x
  • 133 MHz Pentium or higher recommended
  • 32 MB RAM
  • 100 MB free hard-disk space (plus 50 MB for IE 5.0)
  • 2X or faster CD-ROM drive
  • SVGA monitor/display card, 800 x 600, 16-bit colour
  • Sound card and speakers (recommended)
  • Printer (recommended)
  • Internet connection (recommended)
  • TCP/IP protocol
  • Windows 2000 is Supported

 


Figure 5. The New Oxford Dictionary of English


Figure 6. EB is still available in 32 printed volumes

Where to Buy

Britannica CD 2000 Deluxe Edition is sold by many software resellcrs at a recommended retail price (pre-GST) of $199. You can also order directly from britannica.com.au Ltd by calling 1800 000 060 or the Web site http://corporate.britannica.com.au.

Reprinted from the August 2000 issue of PC Update, the magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia