Microsoft distributed Encarta on CD and it was a big factor in driving adoption of that technology.
At $400 for a series of floppy discs, it was actually a bargain.Įncarta dominated the world of computer encyclopedias because after about 1995, most computer manufacturers started giving it away for free. Microsoft wanted to dominate your computing life and Encarta was a way to do that. There was no Google, Apple was a niche company and Facebook founder was a plucky child of 10. You have to remember that in the early 1990s Microsoft was the most dominant computer company on the planet. Taking that content and putting it in your computer made it a lot easier to user. It was hard to find what you were looking for. This is a typical encyclopedia published in 1962.Īn encyclopedia was big and bulky. While it wasn’t a good research tool for anyone past the eighth grade, it was a quick way of learning a little bit about a lot of things. An encyclopedia, for those too young to remember, was a series of books with short articles on various subjects of interest. What was Encarta?Įncarta was an encyclopedia on your computer. The very technologies it helped to pioneer were the ones that killed it. While it transformed research for millions of casual users, its lifespan was short. Encarta came along at a time when people were just starting to integrate some form of computing into their lives.
Such is the case with Encarta, one of the most interesting products of the 1990s. Sometimes, we don’t realize that the latest innovation is really just a transitional step.
Novem| How do I Download Videos to Watch Later when I am Offline – Advantages of Offline Video Access.Novem| Four years with the weBoost Drive Sleek.Novem| Will ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) even happen? Maybe not.Novem| Podcast #451: Which is better… streaming or satellite TV?.Decem| Why are there so many shopping channels on cable and satellite?.Decem| Why Cell Phone Booster Apps Do Not Actually Improve Your Signal.