Cheap Encyclopedia Britannica 2003 Ultimate Reference Suite on DVD-ROM (Software) (Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Mac OS X, Windows XP) Price

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Customer Reviews of Encyclopedia Britannica 2003 Ultimate Reference Suite on DVD-ROM

There are other UI problems. It's basically a geeky Java Swing UI. Lots of windows opening that you have to close. Using
it isn't as smooth as using the 2002 version.

In terms of technology, the text is rendered on my iBook in an unpleasant, jaggy, non-antialiased font. This is a big step down from the 2002 edition, which renders its article text smoothly on OS X and is far more pleasant to read.

Disappointing. Hopefully the 2004 edition will move back towards the 2002 edition's quality. I can spend hours effortlessly wandering around the articles on the 2002 edition. I expect my 2003 edition won't get used much, if at all, due to the UI problems.

As yet, I can't say if it's as poor on Windows.

Extremely Poor Software with Best Text Content
I upgraded from the EB2002 DVD because it uses 30% of my Win98(1) GDI and USER resources. I never kept 2002 loaded in memory. My hardware is AMD T-Bird 1.4 GHz, 512 MB, and "Special Edition" 8 MB 7200 RPM Western Digital 100 & 120 GB drives. BEWARE: Tech support via phone is normally NOT free. If you have any problems with their software products, you may be forced to call their 900 number. There is an automatic...fee per incident charged to your phone bill.

With EB2003, I have the same complaints as others.... Although I have some of the fastest drives available, EB2003 (DVD full install) takes 14 seconds to access the Britannica interface and it continues reading the drive for another 20 seconds. EB2003 uses a massive 118 MB's of hardware memory, far more than any other application (app) I have. Yet, EB2003 uses only 2% GDI and USER Win98(1) resources and I am therefore able to keep it loaded in memory.

Compared to 2002, the 2003 interface is very poor. You cannot double-click on an article term for look up. The search boxes do not have a clear button for a new search. Search terms are not highlighted in the article text and there is no find text feature. The search engine seems to be worse than EB2002. It does not have intelligent results sorting. With a multiple term such as "President Andrew Jackson", you must click the small results screen several times for the correct article. For article full screen, the border line creeps too slowly from right to left. Because EB2003 is a Java app, Microsoft mouse scroll wheels will not work. The Atlas is nothing more than a collection of slides and I am constantly fighting for full screen views.

EB2003 does not remember previous settings. For "medium" font view, it must be set every start. The quite nonfunctional "Welcome" screen must also be removed every start. For personal saved bookmarks, you must load them every start. I also have the Microsoft 1999 Encarta Reference Suite. While Encarta content might not be as complete, the software is far more advanced. The included Encarta 1999 Virtual Globe is better than anything EB will ever produce. You can zoom in/out, turn a globe to quickly find a country, do searches, compare 2 different country data, and use a tool to find exact distances. It even has a global flight simulator which is fairly cool. Because of current events in the world, I use the 1999 Encarta Bookshelf and Virtual Globe everyday. I followed the progress of the USA and British forces in the Iraq War using the 1999 Virtual Globe.

When I purchased EB2002, I knew the software would be below Microsoft's quality but the content would be better. With EB2003, the software is so poor Britannica should either fire its programming subcontractor or think about merging with Microsoft. Even a beginner programmer knows you never write an app with Java(!). You always write apps with C++ because it is more efficient and faster. I will probably keep EB2003 because I only paid the upgrade price. I will also upgrade to the Encarta 2003 DVD. I suspect the Encarta content now rivals EB's. If so, this may be the last time I purchase an EB.

Daniel Martinez

What's Between You and Contents
Let's face it, user interface is awful and the contents of the encyclopedia does not compensate for this because is too hard to use. On my machine (AMD 1.3 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 40 & 30 GB 7200 rpm HD, Win XP SP1) it takes 15 seconds to start full install of the hard drive and once it's up it consumes somewhere between 80 and 120 MB of RAM depending on the number of searches performed. Java underneath the software is not capable of mouse wheel scrolling, right click brings up only "copy" context menu, the dictionary and encyclopedia are unified, there's no way to customize the look or toolbars (thanks to Java) and last but not least font rendering is terrible, you have to set it either to medium or squint when reading even if you have 20/20 vision. Atlas is a laugh and one intended for high school kids is far better than the one for grownups. Multimedia is almost nonexistent, but we've expected this from eccentric British. My email to the support hasn't been answered for 4 days. Stay away from EB 2003 URS or be ready for sacrifices if you plan to use it. I plan to buy MS Encarta 2003 and soon I'll be able to compare these two.