A little over 10 years ago, the internet was not as widespread as it is today. People were still patiently waiting for their browsers loading via a dial-up connection.

Today, almost everybody goes on the internet. By everybody I mean people of all ages from pre-teens, teens, adults and even senior citizens.

Microsoft Encarta was definitely a gem during the 90′s when information across the internet was not easily found as it is now. Wikipedia was created during 2001 and it was sort of like Encarta, just more flexible and comes at no cost at all. I guess Wikipedia just kept growing at an alarming rate and Microsoft’s Encarta couldn’t catch up anymore. And of course, why would you want to pay for something when you can get it for free?

Microsft Encarta made sense during the time when you can’t simply Google something and then you have lots of choices to read through. Now, with Wikipedia around and other information-filled sites, there really is no point in continuing Microsoft’s Encarta because it is 1) not free 2) updated on a yearly basis. Why would anybody still want to purchase it, unless they live at some remote location where there is no possibility of an internet connection.

Read here to find out more about Microsoft’s announcement to discontinue Encarta.

[via resourceslog]