engleski

Britannica on different supports

It is published in paper form (32 volumes containing 65, 000 articles, list price US$1400), online (120, 000 articles, brief summaries of articles can be viewed for free, and the full text is available for US$11.95 per month or US$69.95 per year for individual subscribers), and on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM (more than 100, 000 articles, US$50). In the 1980s, Microsoft approached Britannica to collaborate on a CD-ROM encyclopedia. Britannica, feeling that they had a stronghold on the market and showing strong profits (sales of the complete Britannica were priced between US$1, 500 and US$2, 200), turned Microsoft down. Britannica's senior management viewed their product as a luxury brand with an impeccable reputation handed down from generation to generation. They did not believe that a CD-ROM could adequately compete or supplement their business. Which version somebody can prefer? It depends on the purpose he needs the Britannica for. Does he look for entertainment or for data, or for both? If a journalist looks for the written content, for accurate data, the CD-ROM version, installed on the hard disk of a notebook, can be reached with several clicks. Britannica is not always reliable, anyway. But there is not any 100-percent reliable data source.

encyclopaedia; data support; reliability

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