Britannica ships Ultimate Reference Suite 2006
updated 02:30 pm EDT, Thu August 11, 2005
Ultimate Reference ships
today announced the 2006 edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Ultimate Reference Suite. The reference guide, now available on DVD and CD-ROM, is the latest version of Britannica’s multimedia software, which includes Homework Helpdesk, a collection of special features aimed at helping students complete assignments at home. Helpdesk has guides to preparing papers and oral presentations, learning games and activities, and easy access to statistics on the countries of the world, among other features. The 2006 edition offers an updated interface, improves performance, and also includes features on history, people and animals that are updated daily (via the internet). It will be available later this month for $50.
The Ultimate Reference Suite has three encyclopedias: the entire 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica Student Encyclopedia and Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Each encyclopedia forms the cornerstone of an integrated “reference library” with its own distinctive interface that includes a dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and historical timelines appropriate to the age of the user. The company says that this allows students to advance to the next level when they're ready as well as offers a solution for adults.
"Unlike other multimedia reference products, which focus mainly on students in the middle grades, the mammoth, 100,000-article Ultimate Reference Suite, winner of several software awards, provides comprehensive information for everyone from young children to adults in one place. It also embodies Britannica’s high standards of quality and accuracy."
The suite features Britannica BrainStormer, a visual browser, based on Britannica’s unique classification system--which it says "provides an exhilarating ride though the encyclopedia, making research easier and more fun." Britannica has improved BrainStormer’s performance and has added a keyword search function. Other features include 166,000 online links to magazine articles and high-quality Web sites, an integrated Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary & Thesaurus, and thousands of images, audio and video clips.
