The shutdown of Microsoft Encarta Online was announced in March 2009, with the service fully closing by October 31, 2009. The official reason: "The category of traditional encyclopedias has changed." But the real reasons were threefold:
held the middle ground. It was more authoritative than Wikipedia (articles were written by PhDs) and more fun than Britannica. At its peak in 2004, Encarta Online boasted over 1.5 million paid subscribers, plus millions more who accessed it via school and library licenses. microsoft encarta online
Leo became obsessed with the year 1883. He had found an obscure audio clip on Encarta: a tinny, hissing recording of a man reciting a nursery rhyme. It was said to be the oldest surviving voice recording, predating Edison’s wax cylinders. The man’s name was Frank Lambert, and he was speaking into a device called a "Grahamophone." The shutdown of Microsoft Encarta Online was announced
However, by the late 1990s, the CD-ROM was becoming outdated. The internet was spreading into homes via dial-up connections. Users no longer wanted to buy a new disc every year; they wanted live, updated content. Enter . At its peak in 2004, Encarta Online boasted over 1