Remember those nice, 24-volume sets that cost $1200+? They're
pretty much dead, aren't they? I don't think I've looked in a
real Encyclopedia since I got my first computer (which came with
Encarta '97).
Who buys these expensive sets anymore? Britannica still sells
them (the 2003 set goes for $1395), but I can't imaginine there's
a huge market for them. The internet, CD-ROM, they've pretty
much killed the traditional encyclopedia.
I kind of miss the feel of the old encyclopedias. There were times I
would just flip through the pages looking at pictures and reading
random articles; I would find interesting topics completely by
accident. This doesn't really happen with Google or CD-ROM 'pedias.
Those really depend on the user knowing exactly what it is they're
looking for.
Then again, I like the multimedia aspects of Encarta. I like the little
video and sound clips. I remember the first time I saw Encarta,
it was amazing. I remember watching a clip of whales, and another
of cheetahs at my friend's house. Plus, they made homework
about a billion times easier...
I don't know; I'm just rememberin' things...
How long do you think it'll be until regular books (novels, textbooks)
are all written and published electronically? I don't know if I like
the idea of that.
