Amazon.com Review

How do you like to discover the world? Visually and audibly, or by knowing the longitude and latitude of the place under discussion?All breeds of desktop discoverers will enjoy the Encarta Interactive World Atlas 2000, which delivers information in just about every way that the PC makes possible.

While we haven't used the software to climb any nearby mountaintops, it's pretty clear that someone did in the course of researching this topnotch package. In fact, cartographers as well as a host of other specialists were involved, creating something that goes beyond mapmaking into a fleshed-out, real-world experience of what it's like to visit these spots on the globe. With the ability to zoom in and out, to understand the microcosms as well as the big picture, Encarta's atlas offers an astonishing desktop journey. --Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Reviews (5)

A Brilliant Presentation
The Microsoft Encarta Atlas Team have done it again! This is a high quality world atlas and as a student found it very useful as a research tool.It provides a myriad of map customisation options,which are very good as it can display only the information one wants to see. The atlas is much more than a virtual globe.Not only does it provide multimedia content,but also great in-depth articles. Good Points:Ease Of Use, Available Information, Suberb Multimedia Content. Bad Points:Two-Disk Format Is Annoying. Overall Score=95%

Excellent world reference.
Microsoft Interactive World Atlas is the best value software atlas on the market today. It returns with the globe and much more multimedia (but some people may call it somewhat excessive, due to varying processor speeds.) It contains more flyover tours of more regions, more pictures, sounds, and video, and also a special feature that allows you to measure distance on a global scale, find out the exact latitude and longitude of the place where your mouse is, and also tell the time in that zone. Something else that differs this product from print atlases is the fact that electronic globes are able to store much more information about cities and countries because they don't have a stringent space limit. I would highly recommend purchasing this over another atlas program or a print copy.

Excellent Piece of Software
Microsoft's Virtual Globe is better than an actual globe, in my opinion, because it lets the user actually zoom into a particular area of the world, and gert facts on the country of city. It even lets one access the web for information it can't provide. I've used it on many occasions to help write a report, find out stats or just for leisure. It comes equipped with a virtual flight program, so the user can "fly" over a certain area. It is very helpful.

Encarta is a very good product
I have to admit to holding some initial reservations about a Microsoft mapping product based on past experience with earlier attempts, but I have been a fan of the Virtual Globe series since back in 1997. The earlier reviewer brought up several points that I agree with and several I do not. I am a professional cartographer with the State of Utah and I really thought Microsoft did a good job of collecting and integrating a huge amount of data into this product.

First, it isn't meant to be an atlas in the traditional sense with varying projections. The projection is simply Orthographic, as you appear to be looking down on the globe from space. no matter what zoom level you choose, this is always the case. I do agree that it would be nice for the product to explain to geography neophytes why distances taken from the edge of the globe vary so greatly from those taken from the center using such a projection.

Second, there is a lot of valuable, up-to-date information on the various nations and particularly the larger world cities that would otherwise require a full set of encyclopedias to obtain. There is a lot more in-depth, well executed features to the product than half-hearted rainfall maps and anthems.

There are a lot of features that are of gee-whiz value, but of questionable educational benefit (the videos, world flyovers, anthems etc.) but on the whole I think this remains a solid product and excellent value.

Microsoft Encarta 2000 Fails to live up to Expectations
Microsoft Encarta 2000 turns out to be nothing more than a child's toy. It lacks quality in several areas. First, no map indicates what projection is being used. This makes it hard to figure out the level and type of distortion in each map. Secondly, the climate and annual rainfall maps are poor. It is impossible to zoom in on one country for these types of maps. The closest view you can get is a much to far out to obtain any real data. The program would be a fun method to teach young children about political geography, but after that the software is almost useless. Overall i would have to say that no proffesional cartographer would be able to get useful information from Encarta, but the novice geographer might have two or three hours of fun listening to the national anthems of different countries. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Jules Verne may have proposed the whirlwind 80-day journey around theworld, but he would have been on the road a lot sooner had he used Handmark'sTravel Assistant. A combination of several unique applications, Travel Assistanthelps to arrange and organize your travel plans, make sense of foreign lands,and communicate with the natives.

Planning your trip is a straightforward process with the itinerary application,albeit somewhat confusing as to the language used for information (for example,a vendor is never defined, and we're still not sure what it really means). Butthe itinerary function does allow for a logical display of your information,sorting by airline reservations, rental car information, and lodging plans onseparate pages. Additionally, the itinerary offers the ability to plan severaltrips at once and categorizes each accordingly, which is good fordifferentiating between the family's summer vacation and your company's annualretreat.

Once your bags are packed and you're on the road, you can check in with theTravel Mate, a skinny, all-purpose reference tool. It offers clothing sizes(ranging from suits to women's dresses, including UK, U.S., and European sizes),currency conversions (which you can update manually at will), and standardconversions (temperature, distance, volume, and weight).

Rather than rely on hotel personnel to help you meet your tour group on timewith a wake-up call, use the SuperClock, a large display time (approximately oneinch high and very bold) that makes an ideal bedside clock. Alarm settings allowfor a basic alarm sound, varying days (such as weekdays only), and acustomizable snooze function.

Still, the most compelling reason to purchase this application is the translatorfunction, which will undoubtedly serve as your traveling language coach andconstant companion. With 39 languages available, users can select up to nine ata time, so hopping from country to country is no sweat. We found a pleasantsurprise after installing Spanish and Yiddish: words are sorted by types thatinclude directions, shopping, places, and much more. Even though the translatoroffers no pronunciation help, we found that the selection of words and theaccompanying look-up function would prepare travelers for interculturalcommunication.

By combining travel dictionaries, scratch-paper notes on confirmation numbers,and day-to-day plans, Travel Assistant proves to be useful for both the businesscommuter and the leisure traveler.--Emilie Dirks ... Read more

Reviews (3)

No way to chose which platform to download
This was for Palm OS and the OS is compatible with both WIN and Mac. I am sure it is a good program, but there is no way to chose which parent platform to download for. I did not find out there were two different downloads until after I paid the money and try to install it and asking customer support. SO BE CAREFUL IF YOU OWN A MAC, THEY WILL ASSUME YOU OWN A WINDOWS MACHINE AND HAVE YOU DOWNLOAD ITS SOFTWARE!!

hook, line and sinker?
How can the Handmark (formerly Palmspring) company sell this as full retail product specifically labelled on the outside as NOT shareware, and nothing printed inside says otherwise, but after installation it says it is a limited use DEMO which you have to pay more to unlock? If this is not bait and switch, then is it not fraud? Why isn't there any review online warning other new victims/buyers? I must not be the only one who has experienced this, as Handmark NOW has an "instructions" web page (after the fact again) that says its newest "Gulliver" version ships Demo!

Travel Assistant 1.1 by Handmark, Inc
This product supports me on my travels with my palm (I use the new m505), I could not keep up with all of the information that this application can do for me. A MUST buy for anyone that is using the palm and is traveling. The language translater application is one of the best parts of this application, and the 24 hour travel alarm keeps me on time. All over the world. Do not miss this one for your palm. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic Spanish is a comprehensive language-learning titlethat lets you learn about Spanish culture and take your lessons on the road.Study the nuts and bolts of Spanish grammar and build your vocabulary with 100interactive lessons and 3,500 vocabulary words. Choose from 170 audio clips and10 native speakers for practicing pronunciation and conversational skills.Record your voice to check your pronunciation against this program'sspeech-recognition meter. Best of all, you'll receive special access to a traveland cultural online guide (requires Internet access) created by the savvytravelers at National Geographic, plus thousands of regional maps, tips,and much more. National Geographic Spanish also adds a Spanish phrase book andtranslation software for your Palm OS device, letting you take your learningtools with you. ... Read more

Features

• All the latest information is at their fingertips, from the height of Niagara Falls to the population of Fiji
• Visit strange and unusual places, like the shipwrecked Titanic
• Travel around the world to learn about climate, plants, and other stuff that makes a place unique
• Explore beautiful natural landmarks, from caves to waterfalls
• Hundreds of printable maps and photos supplement kids' learning

Amazon.com Product Description

Take a journey, rich in scenic beauty and historic wonder, that reveals the complexity and special character of Alaska and Hawaii. You willget to know two of America's most remarkable states and discover that,despite their striking contrasts, Alaska and Hawaii share many surprisingsimilarities, including rain forests and volcanoes. Includes 35minutes of multimedia material content, including over 500 images and 100interactive questions. ... Read more

Features

• Track down clues from coast to coast to solve a mystery
• Discover people, places, and pastimes of the U.S.
• 25 animated map screens; over 30,000 words
• 500+ fun-fact pop-ups; 250 quiz questions
• For kids ages 6 to 9

Amazon.com Product Description

This multimedia family atlas includes a huge information database with over 400 data fields and hundreds of photographs and videos in addition to beautiful and highly detailed interactive cartographic maps. Interactive zoom maps for every country in the world with a measuring tool to find out the distance between any two points allow you to truly understand the size of our earth. And the graphing tool lets you customize thousands of graphs, tables, and charts with authoritative and up-to-date statistics. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Waste of money
DVD picture quality is very poor. (not "stunning" as advertised) Real-time 3D graphics is not impressive.(not "awesome" as described) In general, it is pretty boring and poorly produced software. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

National Geographic French is a comprehensive language-learning title that lets you learn about French culture and take your lessons with you. Study the nuts and bolts of French grammar and build your vocabulary with 100 interactive lessons and 3,500 vocabulary words. Choose from 170 audio clips and 10 native speakers to practice pronunciation and conversational skills. Record your voice to check your pronunciation against this program's speech recognition meter. Best of all, you'll receive special access to a travel and cultural online guide (requires Internet access) created by the savvy travelers at National Geographic, thousands of regional maps, tips, and much more. Plus, National Geographic French adds a French phrase book and translation software for your Palm OS device, letting you take your learning tools with you. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Parents have always bought National Geographic magazine to expand their children's horizons as much as their own. Both will find an almost inexhaustible source of information and entertainment in The Complete National Geographic, an astounding collection of every article, photograph, and advertisement from 110 years of the magazine's history.

For those of us who suffered through sunny afternoons spent with the Dewey decimal system--or, heaven help us, the microfiche machines--the marvel of a century's worth of this impressive magazine on CD-ROM can't be underestimated. The pictures come alive on the screen, and a robust search engine delivers spectacular results. (Especially in these days of watered-down and inappropriate search results, the National Geographic Library is a perfect synthesis of information and modern technology for wary parents.)

Of course, with this much information, it's impossible to package the material easily--the collection holds over 30 CDs, and interchanging discs based on the date can be a painful process. Be sure not to lose the installation CD, either, as it's the key to the set. Some technical disappointments appear, too, typical of print sources that make the jump to high tech; in particular, the print is difficult to read unless enlarged--and when enlarged, the pages don't fit without scrolling, even on a larger screen.

Even with that in mind, this is a set not to be missed. A literal library, it impresses with its heft and panoramic view of the world--and, sometimes, of the universe. A must for fans, a treat for kids and adults, The Complete National Geographic is an inspirational compendium. --Jennifer Buckendorff ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Yes, irritating, but still an amazing bargain
I'll be the first to admit I find the CD's and the software difficult to work with, and I know it could have been a much better product. Still, the amazing bargain of having every National Geographic magazine ever published in one compact set is not to be underestimated. I gave a friend the 1960's CD for a birthday gift. (At one point you could buy decades individually). He absolutely adored being able to read the articles from the decade he was born in, and experience some of the issues and discoveries he was too young to appreciate at the time. The user interface is awkward, and the print function is hideous, but don't let that stop you from experiencing the full history of National Geographic on your computer. You'd deprive yourself of an archive of some of the most beautiful photography and writing ever produced.

Neat concept worthless execution
I was very excited about the product. I thought I would spend the next few years exploring the set. I find it impossible to use. It is like reading very poor photocopies of the magazine. the print quality is very poor and the photos are very grainy.

On the bright side it looks great on my shelf gathering dust.

What a major disappointment.

A Nice Wooden Box
This is a decent program although I wouldn't have gotten it had I known the troubles I was going to have. The software is very outdated and does not have a nice presentation for the photos or articles. The big problem I've had, and still have, is that I'm unable to register by modem or mail. The software is designed to only search for dial-out connections and it doesn't recognize broadband. I have e-mailed and snail mailed out 2 copies of my registration form to the Mindscape software company and have gotten no reply. My best guess is that the product is no longer being made and no one will accept responsiblity for the copies still out in the stores. The best part about this program is I can store the CDs in the nice wooden box it came with.

Great concept, horrible execution.....
I bought this set immediately after it was released and was apalled at what I had bought. While the concept of having every issue on disc was a great idea, the use of JPEG images for the data instead of PDF was completely botched.

Tech support, back in 1996, said they could have used less compression on the images of the pages, but they would have had to use even more than the 30+ CDs they had in the set and they decided that merely HAVING every issue would make up for any shortcomings in presentation.

The end result: a [very costly] set of 30 CDs I hardly ever use and it's a shame as I really wanted to sit back and enjoy as many issues as I could but the text, while mostly legible, is a chore to read.

Spend your money elsewhere or go to the library!

This software is not produced properly.
Like other reviewers, I found this set of CD ROM hard to use. Its quality of text and photo are poorly made. Worse, it may have some bugs in its program that I can only zoom to the point of full pages, no zoom in further. The print out is very bad too. So it is hard to read both on screen or on pages. I tried some later years, the quaility doesn't improve much.
The program like to ask for registration but failed to log on to its server through my cable connection.
By buying this set of CDR, I was hoping I can get something useful, but now, I have to find out a way that 'unlock' it photos like NG claimed to be one benefit of registration but I never was able to. ... Read more

Product Description

Every page, every issue... Witness the destruction of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake through gripping eyewitness accounts. Join Commander Robert E. Peary in 1909 in his quest for the North Pole. Travel to Tibet with Sven Hedin, a bold adventurer who mapped 6,000 miles of the world's previously uncharted regions. And experience many more captivating moments from 1888-1919. National Geographic: 1888-1909 is a snapshot of the world at the turn of the century, bringing you the original issues of this treasured publication on CD-ROM. Minimum System Requirements: Windows 95/98/ ME, Pentium 90 MHz or faster, 24MB RAM, 70 MB free hard disk space, SVGA video card supporting 16-bit color, 16-bit sound card and speakers, 4X CD-ROM drive, printer (optional), modem (optional) for internet access. Macintosh PowerPC or higher, System 7.5 or higher, 32MB RAM, 70MB free hard disk space, 640x480 16-bit color monitor, 4X CD-ROM drive, printer (optional), Modem (optional) for internet access. ... Read more

Features

• Discover every fascination article from 1888 through 1909
• Print every page in black and white or color
• Search effortlessly for the exact information you need with a top-notch search engine.
• Produced by National Geographic Interactive
• For Windows 95/98+ and Mac

Reviews (9)

terrible quality
I am a great fan of National Geographic, partly because of its outstanding quality in prints. This "digital" version was very poorly made: the text and the pictures are all fuzzy. Sometimes the words are barely legible. Reading an article of more than 10 pages is very painful. I would love to see this library completely remade.

Outstanding Reference Guide
This is by far the best software purchase I have ever made for my computer! I seem to always find an excuse to take a look at this extensive database to answerer questions, or just browse the articles and pictures.

Some other customers complained about poor image quality and poor print quality. I have experienced neither problem. Their monitors may need updating, or readjustment.

If you are a fan of the magazine, or need an outstanding reference tool, this is a good investment to make.

Difficult update path
Good product but purchasers need to be careful about product updates. In their earlier editions NG did not maintain the updates in the market for very long. Individuals interested in keeping their collection up to date may end up needing to repurchase the entire collection to fill in a one year gap. Given the low cost of reproducing CDs this is not easily understandable.

One of the best pieces of software I've bought!
I love this thing! Every single article from 1888 til 2000. This is a really treat, being able to look back on history.

These articles provide me with a method to get anwsers to my history questions, and these articles come in handy when doing research.

The software works great on my PC, under XP, and this software works great in MacOS 9. It doesn't seem to work in X under the Classic environment.

Fuzzy scans, but at least the magazine's available
What can you say about the National Geographic? It's an old standard and a wonderful reference--no well-stocked library should be without it. Having it on CD leaves a lot more room on your bookshelves for other things.

However--this is not the most user-friendly product. The quality of the imaging is the worst problem. Both pictures and text are fuzzy, almost as if they had been printed on an old dot matrix printer with a well-used ribbon. In addition, the program is less versatile than might be desired. For example, each screen consists of two pages, and there is no way to print only one of the pages, let alone a single image. Instead, you're stuck printing both pages, like it or not. (You can, however, print the entire article.)

If this were anything other than the National Geographic, I would probably give it 3 stars instead of 4. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Back in the good old days, world explorers needed to carry tons of food,gear, and malaria pills; these days you can go anywhere using just a notebookcomputer in the local coffee shop and Eartha Global Explorer 1.0. Usinghigh-detail satellite imagery and up-to-date political and transportationinformation, users can find the facts on locations from Manhattan to Madagascarand practically anywhere else. The interface is easy to navigate; users justenter a place name or browse the world map from nearly any height.

Those who want to leave their armchairs will find travel planning a breeze aswell, with highway, air, rail, and even ferry travel data wired in or availableonline; any trip imaginable, short of hot-air ballooning, can be planned inseconds. Users can change any leg of the trip in accordance with particularneeds, including sightseeing, efficiency, or sticking to particular routes.Floyd, DeLorme's guide, offers tips and facts about locations worldwide in amanner that's far less obnoxious than his virtual cousins, and the terminallyimpatient can turn him off at their whim. While it doesn't offer thecomprehensive demographic and geographic data of a good atlas, the combinationof browsing and trip-planning capabilities makes Eartha Global Explorer 1.0worth attention. Better still, it's cheaper than getting all yourshots. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (1)

United States Geography
United States Geography is a 10 CD set containing thousands of images, hours of multimedia presentations, over a thousand questions and answers, and a electronic glossary. It features the following regions: the southwest, the southeast, the northeast, the midwest, the rockies, and the west. It also features the states of Alaska, Hawaii, Florida, and Texas. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Wherever you want to go, someone has been there first. Desk-chairtravelers and students alike will love Microsoft Encarta Interactive WorldAtlas 2001, which offers more detail than any other atlas yet available,plus multimedia tours of hundreds of locations worldwide. Almost 2 million placenames include practically everybody's hometown; the dynamic maps let the userfollow chains of association beyond simple geography. Traditionalists willapprove of the flat maps outlining bioregions, political demarcations, and otherqualities--all printable in a wide array of styles.

Local place-name spellings, informative articles, and numbers galore pepper thesoftware with features not found in other references, but the key toEncarta's success is its optimization of multimedia. Using images,sounds, and Web links to surround the user with information, the InteractiveWorld Atlas is both dazzling and useful. Reports are easy to complete--usethe researcher tool to gather, organize, and export information to MicrosoftOffice tools. While you might not be able to discover new lands, you cancertainly explore the world we know without ever leaving home. --RobLightner ... Read more

Reviews (4)

No rebate
The rebate has expired!, but so far it's still listed as coming with a rebate. As for the maps, it seems to be a pretty good atlas, but not as detailed as it led me to believe--I bought it because I wanted detailed geographic maps of certain areas of the UK. Not much help there.

Simply the best
Computer atlas and map programs can easily become either too bogged down with silly multimedia files, or dry and boring, with endless similar maps that don't tell you anything about the actual culture. Microsoft has avoided both of these things with an outstanding atlas that is interactive, informative, and fun.

At the foundation are the maps. They are extremely detailed, showing both major and minor cities in nearly every country. At each level of magnification, more and more towns appear, until at the highest level it seems like wall to wall names in some countries. There are several different map styles for each map - comprehensive, political, population, religion. My personal favorite is "view from space at night." It is truly beautiful to see the Earth the way planets on Star Trek look from the Bridge.

The articles and multimedia are adequate - they give you a taste of the culture and history of the countries, and point you in the right direction if you require more information. The package includes much of the same statistical information you would find in a good almanac, and the interface allows easy comparison of information.

This software is going to keep me busy and inquisitive for hours. I would unhesitatingly recommend it.

Microsoft at its best, installing things you may not want...
I've been a loyal follower of the Virtual Globe/Interactive World Atlas series since 1998, and the product is without a shadow doubt a very fine piece of software and worth your $45. However, I'm beginning to become a little bit irritated at the Microsoft philosophy of installing everything including the kitchen sink (and perhaps the bathroom sink, the utility room sink, your neighbor's sink...) to run something. Upon entering the setup process, the program proceeds to install IE 5.5, Outlook Express, MSN Messenger, and a whole host of other totally nonrelated software with no options at all to NOT install them beforehand. I have problems with IE 5.5 because it reloads frames every time a target is clicked, which can take a LONG time if the frame is packed with images. It no longer jumps immediately to a target in a frame. Sigh... I see no excuse to dump all the unneeded software like Outlook and MSN Messenger to a user's machine without their having an option not to. Luckily, despite its claiming to "require" IE 5.5, I was able to uninstall 5.5 and go back to 5.01 with no apparent problems in the software. This even more leads me to believe that Microsoft is simply pushing its new browsers versions more and more aggressively.

Anyway, what's new in the 2001 version? There is a new map style, the "Flat map", and it shows the world as you'd see it on a Mercator projection paper map. Also, you can now switch from the default place names to their local variants. Moscow becomes Moskva, Munich becomes München, etc. It's a nice touch and makes it possible to locate features you may hear of which are in their local tongue. There are more images and they are high quality. Apparently, Microsoft has teamed up with Corbis to some extent for pictures as a number of them have that company credited for the shot. There are additions to most other features of the program, some new videos, lots of new text, and of course the world flyovers and music. Some features seem pretty half-hearted and I'm sorry that they have not gotten better. The ecoregion and language maps are rather undetailed and the national anthems seem to be still provided as MIDI files rather than MP3 or some other sound format, so their quality varies greatly depending on your sound hardware.

Overall, I still love the series. As a GIS/geography graduate I feel qualified to praise Microsoft's developers highly for incorporating such huge amounts of data into a cohesive and fascinating product. If only all their products were as wonderful as this one is!

If this product doesn't provide all the world city images you could ask for, give my page with over 4400 more a look at www.worldcityphotos.org

Why I like this product
I think this product towers above all other interactive atlases is because this atlas has alot of rich features,such as : excellent display of countries,major towns, and states, lots of information about each country etc.. I love it also is because I am a student in jounior high and this is a excellent reference to have to help me in history and geography. I believe every student should purchase this because I have bought alot of references from Microsoft and they all go above 5 star ratings. ... Read more

Features

• Answer world geography questions correctly to advance through the game
• Navigate around the world using colorful political and satellite maps
• Remarkable photography brings famous sites right to your desktop
• Try to advance up to the highest rank of 007
• For ages 12 to adult

Amazon.com Product Description

Start pedaling: it's time to take a trip across the U.S. on your GeoCyle and learn about American geography, famous cities, and landmarks--from the Golden Gate Bridge to Maine's craggy coast. While steering your GeoCycle high above the states, kids and adults develop map reading, navigation, and physical geography skills. Also, test your knowledge with questions that build problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. All the while, you'll learn about the states and their capitals with colorful political maps, navigate the U.S. using satellite maps, or you can take the GeoChallenge--a fast-paced geography trek. Detailed photography brings historical sites right to your desktop, and there's even a bird's-eye view, but watch out for sinister spaceships. ... Read more

Features

• Virtual rendering bring the world to life in astonishing 3D
• Country overviews bring you climate, population, economics and other useful statistics
• Latitude/longitude coordinates for every location on the planet
• Easy measuring tools give you the distance between any two points in the world
• Copy or print out maps, text or graphics