Microsoft Encarta Reference Library Premium 2005 CD review:4 stars (Encyclopedia is good; but Amazon...??) - I have used this in a friend's place and found this to be very very good. I 'bought' it in Amazon and the price when I bought was $4.99 (24.99 - 20.00 MIR). Apparently it was a mistake as I found out later. Amazon changed the price to 24.99 (44.99-20.00 MIR) and simply cancelled my order with out any notice to me. I was waiting for my shipment and then logged in to see my accound to find that my order was cancelled.5 stars (Good content, great deal) - Encarta started out about 15 years ago as a premier multimedia electronic encyclopedia, and quickly established itself as a viable computer-based encylopedia to paper ones. Each edition adds a lot of new features, so, in a way, it's become somewhat of "bloatware," but most of its contents are of excellent editorial quality and will please both adults and kids alike. The emphasis on multimedia really makes it shine.

This CD version is less convenient than the single-disc DVD version, but is also much cheaper, so I think it's a great value. Get it while the $20 rebate is still good.4 stars (A very good and convenient reference resource.) - Having had Encarta for a few days now, I consider it to be fully as advertised and more. I shall not belabor the excelence of the product more than to say it is supurb.

I now feel that I must have suffered a careless moment when I ordered the CD version. The price I paid for that was to spend well over 2 hours installing it (less the special kid's stuff which would presumably have taken longer). There are 5 CDs. The first 3 finished whatever it is that they do in about 15 minutes each. After becoming impatient with the progress of the 4th CD I started a stop-watch and it ran for about an hour-and-a-half before announcing that it was finished. The 5th CD proceeded without my direct attention, and when I observed my monitor about an hour later, it was awaiting my consent to shut-down and restart my system. Aside from the time involved with the installation, the process was without problems.

I have no idea how long it takes to install the DVD version, but I would hope that it would be shorter.
Microsoft Encarta Reference Library Premium 2005 CD Features:
Encyclopedia (Encyclopedias)
Dictionary (Dictionaries)
Computer software (programs)
Reference
CD
Designed for students as young as 7 years old
Complete learning resource for home or school use
Multimedia encyclopedia and feature-rich reference tools
Explore science, history, cultures, geography, art, and more
Encarta dictionary, thesaurus, and translation dictionaries

Microsoft Encarta Reference Library Premium 2005 CD is the CD-ROM version. The full version can be purchased by clicking on the "CLICK HERE TO ORDER" button below for around 44.99USD.