Encyclopedia Encarta < 2027 >

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Encarta contained only what Microsoft licensed. There were no external links (until late versions), no community edits, no way to add local knowledge. It was a static snapshot, carefully curated, and increasingly irrelevant as the open web exploded. The Turning Point: Wikipedia Arrives (2001) The launch of Wikipedia was the beginning of the end. Compare: encyclopedia encarta

| Feature | Encarta (2002) | Wikipedia (2004) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | $50-100 / year | Free | | Size | ~50,000 articles | ~500,000 articles (and growing daily) | | Updates | Annual CD / online sub | Real-time, minute-by-minute | | Depth | Short, summary articles | Deep, hyperlinked, evolving | | Authority | Centralized, professional editors | Decentralized, community consensus | | Errors | Fixed in next version | Fixed in seconds | | Multimedia | Licensed clips & maps | Free media + embedded YouTube | Anyone seeking reliable, in-depth research

A full print Britannica set cost $1,500+ (in 1990s dollars). Encarta cost $50-100, or often came free with a new PC. For the first time, a middle-class family with a computer could have reference depth rivaling a small university library. Where Encarta Faltered (The Weaknesses) 1. The "Britannica Problem" – Depth & Authority To fit on a CD-ROM (650MB), Encarta had to be shallow . A typical Encarta article was a short summary (500-2000 words). Britannica's print edition had long-form, scholarly articles (e.g., 20,000 words on "China") written by Nobel laureates. Encarta's content came from Funk & Wagnalls —respectable but not top-tier academic. Teachers and librarians openly dismissed it as "Encyclopedia Lite." There were no external links (until late versions),