Chicago (IL) - Microsoft's Encarta finally lost the battle to Wikipedia and Internet in general. One of the best-known flagship entertainment titles from the Redmond-based software giant will soon be a goner. After sixteen years of existence (1993), Microsoft's decided to pull the plug on Encarta interactive software and shut down the accompanying online Encarta edition. Though the door has closed, in reality it hardly comes as a surprise. Encarta was faced with Wikipedia, Google's search engine and several online business models that predominantly lure users with free premium content.

[Editor's note: The title is purposefully incorrect.]

A quiet note slipped through on the MSN Encarta web site, one basically spelling death for Microsoft's flagship encyclopedia. "The category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed," Microsoft wrote. "People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past."

As a result, online Encarta will shut down globally on October 31, 2009 -- except for the Japanese version, which will be taken down on December 31, 2009. Encarta Premium subscribers will be refunded for fees paid beyond April 30, 2009. Encarta software will be removed from store shelves by June of this year, but it will keep technical support for the product for three years.

Some of our younger audience may wonder why all the fuss? For the rest of us who fondly remember our computing in the early 90s, Encarta holds a special place in our hearts. It was our first mapping program in the days when there was no Google Earth. The search feature exposed us to Encarta's vast knowledge database long before Google's search engine was even a concept scribbled down on napkins over dinner. And yes, by playing on the human's thirst for knowledge, Encarta did its part in turning computers into a valuable learning resource. In short, Encarta is one of the most famous and longest-standing interactive knowledge resources ever.

The software peaked in popularity during the mid-90s, when advent of optical media and CD-ROM drives for computers provided software makers with previously unheard of storage capacity (650 MB when most hard drives were below 200 MB as this was long before perpendicular hard drive storage technology).

Developers both big and small flocked to take advantage of the 650 MB optical medium, resulting in perhaps the biggest explosion of software the industry has ever seen. Microsoft's Encarta has been the first serious piece of software which put those hundreds of megabytes to good use. In a way, you could say that it was the optical medium and Encarta which drove each other to glory.

GOOGLE EARTH AS IT ONCE WAS
Yes kids, there was a time before Google Earth. Many of us used Encarta's (then) revolutionary interactive maps to explore and tour the world virtually. And no, it didn't have a satellite view. ["The best we could manage was to suck on a piece of damp cloth", right Christian? -Editor]

Read on the next page:  Encarta vs Internet, Encarta vs Wikipedia, Final thoughts...