With Microsoft's recent announcement that Encarta 98 would be the last Mac version of their popular encyclopedia, Mac users now have even fewer options to choose from in the once saturated genre of multimedia encyclopedias. Grolier has been offering an Encyclopedia each year since the advent of the CD-ROM drive it seems, and the 1999 iMac Deluxe Edition is their latest offering.
The iMac Deluxe Edition is similar to Grolier's 2-CD Deluxe Edition with an interface that's full of bondi blue. This is great if you own one of the original iMacs or even a new G3, but most users might just want to stick with the regular Deluxe Edition.
Textual content has never been one of Grolier's shortcomings and the 1999 iMac Deluxe Edition continues to build on that with over 36,000 articles available on the CDs and another 22,000 available online. The online features of the 1999 Grolier iMac Deluxe Edition extend to within articles where web links, to Grolier's online New Book of Knowledge and Encyclopedia Americana are provided for many of the articles. The Grolier Internet Index will also use the internet to bring you a list of hand picked links relating to your article. The online features of Grolier aren't quite as impressive as those of Encarta 98's, which featured convenient monthly Yearbook updates among other things.
Just because the 1999 Grolier iMac Deluxe Edition has 1999 stamped on it, don't expect all the articles to be up to date. The article on Steve Jobs, for example, ends with his return to Apple in 1996. Clicking on the ArticleUpdate button, which is another online feature that takes you to an updated version of the article, adds a somewhat more recent line that in late 1997 Jobs became Apple's interim-CEO.
The 1999 Grolier iMac Deluxe Edition also offers a wide array of multimedia, including plenty of photos as well as sounds and video. Although the iMac Deluxe Edition boast "full screen videos", the videos that I sampled played in the traditional 320x240 window, albeit the entire 640x480 Grolier window was taken over by a nice backdrop related to topic. Either way, don't expect to be watching a DVD-quality space shuttle launch at a resolution of 1024x768.
The Atlas, just like in previous versions, is surprisingly robust for an Encyclopedia offering plenty of modern political maps complete with historical maps and even maps of dozens of cities. Timelines are a quick way to get an overview of a time period; clicking on a topic will bring up a brief, easy-to-digest, tidbit of information on the subject. Grolier's Guided Tours, unlike those of Encarta's that offered plenty of video and multiple 360 degree panoramas of a location, are little more than a compilation of similar information into one subject header.
The 1999 Grolier iMac Deluxe Edition's strength lies in its article content, solid integration of the internet, and ease of use. Nevertheless, unlike Encarta 98, Grolier doesn't offer any ground breaking new features for a multimedia encyclopedia.
Between Grolier and Encarta, each has its own strengths and weaknesses and each offers great content; just like Encarta, it's hard to go wrong with Grolier.
