REDMOND, Wash. Dec 4, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. continues its tradition of bringing innovative new technologies to market with the release of its premier DVD title, the Encarta® DVD-ROM Reference Suite 98. The suite brings together three of the company’s best-selling reference titles – Microsoft® Encarta 98 Encyclopedia Deluxe Edition, Encarta Virtual Globe 1998 Edition, and the Bookshelf Ò 98 reference library – on one DVD-ROM.
“Microsoft’s reference collection has been reconfigured and enhanced to take advantage of DVD’s technological advancements,” said Craig Bartholomew, general manager of the reference business unit at Microsoft. “We took advantage of DVD’s superior storage capacity to house the content and multimedia of five CD-ROMs on one DVD-ROM. Now, consumers with access to DVD technology will have the convenience of using the most comprehensive reference library suite available on one disk.”
This comprehensive PC collection features breathtaking 3-D World Flights and full-screen video playback for hundreds of mini-movies and panoramic, 360-degree views. It includes 33 new videos on subjects as diverse as the first human steps on the moon and robots on a production line; 33 new 360-degree views, including a tour inside the Louvre with a stop at the Mona Lisa; and four new 3-D World Flights.
The combined reference works contain more than 20 million words of text in more than 50,000 articles. There are 32,000 comprehensive articles in Encarta 98 Encyclopedia Deluxe, 1.2 million place names in Encarta Virtual Globe, and more than 600,000 entries for definitions, synonyms, quotes and more in Bookshelf 98.
Explore and Learn With Every Title
The best-selling encyclopedia in the world, Encarta 98 Encyclopedia Deluxe is the ultimate learning resource, offering a wealth of extraordinary new content and interactive features. Encarta Virtual Globe is the richest and most detailed geographic reference available in any medium. And Bookshelf 98 helps users enrich and improve their written communications by providing quick and easy access to 10 essential reference works.
Highlights of the Encarta 98 Encyclopedia Deluxe include the following:
-
Comprehensive content. Twenty-eight percent more content than last year, with 6,000 new and updated articles on a wide range of topics complete with more than 900 informative Sidebars – guest essays, historical accounts, famous documents and speeches.
-
New media and interactive features. Our new Virtual Tours enhance understanding of complex concepts and encourage exploration.
-
Research Organizer. A handy homework helper that makes it easy to gather information from a variety of sources, make virtual note cards, arrange them in an outline and construct a report.
-
Accessibility tools. These include closed captioning and quick searching.
-
Online features. These include streamlined, automatic monthly updates and over 10,000 searchable Web Links.
Highlights of the Encarta Virtual Globe include the following:
-
Richly detailed maps. Navigate a 3-D model of the Earth and turn your PC into an interactive learning tool for understanding the world.
-
Comprehensive information. Over 1.2 million place names, up-to-date statistical data and rich cultural information make this the most detailed world atlas in any medium.
-
3-D World Flights. Experience the sensation of flying over unique geographic landmarks.
-
Online connection. Over 10,000 Web Links highlight news, weather and information from all over the world.
Highlights of Bookshelf 98 include the following:
-
Comprehensive resources. Ten frequently used reference titles, including the American Heritage Dictionary and the Columbia Dictionary of Quotations.
-
Bookshelf Premier Web Search. Infoseek technology connects users to more than 400,000 high-quality, editorially selected Internet sites.
-
QuickShelf
™
information retrieval tool. Options such as QuickDefine,
QuickQuote and Quick ZIP Code can be accessed without users having to exit current programs.
Pricing and Availability
Microsoft Encarta DVD-ROM Reference Suite 98 for Windows® 95 and Windows NT® Workstation operating systems is available for an estimated retail price of $129.99. Schools and other educational institutions may acquire Encarta Reference Suite 98 at a discount through the Microsoft Open License Pack program, a flexible plan for acquiring Microsoft products. To take a tour of this new product, consumers can visit the Encarta Web Site at (http://encarta.MSN.com/ref-suite98.asp)
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, Encarta, Bookshelf, QuickShelf, Windows and Windows NT are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
The ZIP code database is licensed from the United States Postal Service. Microsoft is a nonexclusive licensee of the United States Postal Service. The price at which Microsoft Bookshelf 98 can be acquired is neither established, controlled or approved by the United States Postal Service. Copyright
©1996 by the United States Postal Service. All rights reserved. The ZIP Code database contained in Microsoft Bookshelf 98 is intended for reference purposes only and may not be used for the purposes of qualifying for postal rate discounts.
