Microsoft Encarta Premium 2008 Student Package Full Version for PC Review

Bottom-Line: Student with Encarta Premium 2008 still fulfills my needs for a portable yet powerful and comprehensive reference suite at an affordable price-point.

Microsoft's Student with Encarta Premium 2008 is a software encyclopedia that contains 60,000+ articles, as well as over 800 videos, 25,000+ photos and illustrations, 3,000+ sound and music clips, 25,000+ web links, and 1.8 million map locations.  There are several different reference tools inside of Student with Encarta Premium 2008 that together form a tightly cohesive and comprehensive reference package.  Those tools include an Encyclopedia, Quotations, World Atlas, Encarta World English Dictionary, Translation Dictionaries, and Encarta Thesaurus.  But that's not all; the Student portion of the program includes the aforementioned Math Tools, as well as Microsoft Kids, Book Summaries and Tutorials, Style Guides, and Student Tools for Microsoft Office Applications.        

Inside the Encyclopedia the articles are well written in clear, simple language, with well-explained technical terminology. Tightly integrated into these articles are a plethora of photos, audio, video, and other multimedia devices, which complement the text.  The included Encarta World English Dictionary and Encarta Thesaurus open in their own sub-program, and can be run independently of the main program.   

Encarta Usage

The interface for Student with Encarta Premium 2008 has changed little from earlier versions of the software; those of you who use Microsoft Vista or Microsoft Office 2007 will feel at home with the softer interface.  A carry-over from Encarta Premium 2006 is a searchable bar that integrates into the Internet Explorer interface; sweet.  The interface is still simple to use; open the program into the Encarta browser that looks and works less like a standard Web page and more like an independent program, though there is a search bar in the far upper right hand corner of the interface.

On the Home page dressed in blue, there are a number of principle links that open up in a large round rectangular box with searchable articles and text available under three main heading entitled: Homework, Project, Discover & Learn.  And underneath each of these are further categories; for instance underneath Homework are Math Tools, Foreign Language Tools, and Search Tools.     

The Search Bar is located on the far upper right of the display.  And under the search bar a large menu with large tabs labeled All of Encarta, Maps, Dictionary, Photos & More, and Web Links.  This is the primary means for searching for articles within Encarta. 

There is also another more standardized menu bar along the upper left hand side of the interface.  It is here that Student with Encarta Premium 2008 takes on the airs of its Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 with large orange round buttons that allow one to easily navigate to the home page and move forward and backwards with ease.       

Back to the search bar: Type a word or phrase into the search box and the results are displayed below it on the right in a long window similar to the task pane in Office 2003/2007.  Click on the result(s) and the corresponding article is displayed on the left, and the result window scrolls up.   Note that Encarta will return on all relevant results from wherever they appear in the program; i.e. text, image, or multimedia content.  For example, a search for the Navy's F-14 Tomcat air superiority fighter will yield several relevant articles, images of the aircraft as well as a movie clip of an F-14 landing on a carrier.  Relevant articles are displayed as well; e.g. along with my F-14 results and articles, Encarta also returned articles on air craft carriers in general and any other article that might have the word Tomcat or F14 in it. 

Since I have installed Student with Encarta Premium 2008 entirely on my local drive, the program is quick and responsive, which is important if the program is really going to useful as a reference tool.  And once you've have found the information you need, Encarta helps you organize it with project starters that guide you with useful tips on integrating the information into writing essays, short stories, and other coursework.  This feature is a idea for school-aged children, and college students.  

Searching is not confined to the program itself.  For those who have joined Club Encarta, searches can be conducted on-line as well at Encarta.com.  The on-line site can be very useful if you are on the road and cannot access your copy of Student with Encarta Premium 2008.  I use it primarily for the Dictionary and Thesaurus functionality.    

You can copy text from Student with Encarta Premium 2008 articles via the standard Windows method, but doing so will anywhere within the program will fetch an interface for copying text straight to word or some other word processor, or to the Encarta Researcher.  Note: Text pasted into a word processor from Encarta will carry a copyright statement in bibliography format at the end of the text. 

My ViewPoint

I have not endeavored to compare and contrast Student with Encarta Premium 2008 with other electronic references because I have no experience with them.  I have read however that Encyclopedia Britannica electronic offering offers more in-depth textual content, but that it lacks the rich multimedia content of Encarta.  For me Student with Encarta Premium 2008 fulfills my needs and my child's need for a portable yet powerful and comprehensive reference suite and homework helper toolbox at an affordable price-point.