Simon and Schuster New Millennium Encyclopedia

 

This encyclopedia program represents the first unique twist in the reference market. Although I was not overly impressed with the articles themselves, the layout is truly innovative. New Millennium is billing itself as your reference library for the new century.

When you install this program, you have the choice of installing eight different reference books. These include:

You can purchase other books from the on-line VersaBook bookstore. These books range anywhere in price from $3.00 to $20 or so. We found them quite reasonable. These new books are downloaded into your program, so that they become an integrated part of your reference library.

As you add new books to your collection, you can include those books in your searches. The search engine allows you to search in many innovative ways. You can even search through phonetic spelling if you aren't sure of a word, or through the thesaurus which allows you to search for similar meanings.

While the quantity of multimedia clips included is slim (90 min. video, 282 sound clips) it is not bad. The quality of these clips is outstanding, however! They are sharper than any other encyclopedia.

Aside from the books which can be downloaded into your virtual library, the way you access information is different. On the left side of the screen, you will find all of the books you 'own' listed in a tree format, similar to Windows 98 Explorer. You can search for titles, subjects, or text strings as in other encyclopedias. The visual layout of the information is very easy to use. If you are familiar with Windows, you will have no problem navigating this encyclopedia.

This is a definite departure in form for encyclopedia programs. If you are looking for strong content, and traditional encyclopedic entries, stick with Compton's or World Book. If you have been pleased with the caliber of articles found in Encarta, you will not be disappointed here. They just are not world class articles. Other than the on-line bookstore and references, World Book has also done a better job of seamlessly integrating web links.

All in all this is a good encyclopedia which has the potential to be upgraded and expanded easily. Whether this particular program will be the format for the new millennium or not remains to be seen. I do believe, however that they are on the right track. Books will be more easily available, more affordable, and more immediate in their application as we move into the next millennium.

 

Grading for Simon and Schuster New Millennium Encyclopedia

Educational Value: 4 1/2

Entertainment Value: 2 1/2

Replay Value: 4 1/2

Ages: all

 

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