Encarta Reference Suite Deluxe 2000

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PC

Microsoft

$199.95
Review: Peter Eley


It is the product that launched a million cut-and-paste fourth-form essays, a piece or two of plastic that encapsulates a goodly chunk of everything mankind has ever learned.

Encarta is one of the most widely owned pieces of software in the English-speaking world - it comes bundled with most new PCs.

But Encarta Reference Suite Deluxe is a premium product. The basic version comes with 30,000 articles, while Reference Suite has 480,000.

That difference is not quite as staggering as it seems - the first 30,000 articles average around 300-350 words while the additional 420,000 average only 30 words.

Reference Suite is more than an encyclopedia.

The 1999 version included Microsoft's excellent World Atlas, while this year's version has the spanking new Encarta World English Dictionary.

Microsoft says: "Created for a new age of global communication, this unique dictionary gives you a broader definition of the English language."

Does this mean that the BBC standard is finally dead? Probably, but Encarta World English Dictionary is even-handed and comprehensive: "color" and "colour" are both listed, while pronunciation guides aren't noticeably Americanised.

The dictionary also includes French and German translators, a thesaurus and a dictionary of quotations.

It's an all-round, excellent product and worth a sizeable chunk of Reference Suite's $200 price by itself.

Required: Pentium 90, 32Mb Ram.