Encanta Media Group is the next chapter of an evolutionary twenty-year journey at the forefront of entrepreneurship and marketing. We have been in the trenches and speak your language. Incorta provides data analytics software that aggregates large complex business data in real time, eliminating the need to reshape it. No Data Warehouse. No Transformations. When one day Microsoft decided to create the multimedia encyclopedia called Encarta. At the time they knew that it would revolutionize the landscape of encyclopedias, becoming the industry leader.
Microsoft Encarta came out in 1993 and was one of the first CD-ROMs I had. It stopped shipping in 2009 on DVD. I recently found a disk and was impressed that it installed just perfectly on my latest Window 10 machine and runs nicely.
Encarta existed in an interesting place between the rise of the internet and computer's ability to deal with (at the time) massive amounts of data. CD-ROMs could bring us 700 MEGABYTES which was unbelievable when compared to the 1.44MB (or even 120KB) floppy disks we were used to. The idea that Encarta was so large that it was 5 CD-ROMs (!) was staggering, even though that's just a few gigs today. Even a $5 USB stick could hold Encarta - twice!
My kids can't possibly intellectualize the scale that data exists in today. We could barely believe that a whole bookshelf of Encyclopedias was now in our pockets. I spent hours and hours just wandering around random articles in Encarta. The scope of knowledge was overwhelming, but accessible. But it was contained - it was bounded. Today, my kids just assume that the sum of all human knowledge is available with a single search or a 'hey Alexa' so the world's mysteries are less mysterious and they become bored by the Paradox of Choice.
In a world of 4k streaming video, global wireless, and high-speed everything, there's really no analog to the feeling we got watching the Moon Landing as a video in Encarta - short of watching it live on TV in 1969! For most of us, this was the first time we'd ever seen full-motion video on-demand on a computer in any sort of fidelity - and these are mostly 320x240 or smaller videos!
A generation of us grew up hearing MLK's 'I have a dream' speech inside Microsoft Encarta!
Remember the Encarta 'So, you wanna play some Basketball' Video?
Amazed by Google Earth? You never saw the globe in Encarta.
You'll be perhaps surprised to hear that the Encarta Timeline works even today on across THREE 4k monitors at nearly 10,000 pixels across! This was a product that was written over 10 years ago and could never have conceived of that many pixels. It works great!
Most folks at Microsoft don't realize that Encarta exists and is used TODAY all over the developing world on disconnected or occasionally connected computers. (Perhaps Microsoft could make the final version of Encarta available for a free final download so that we might avoid downloading illegal or malware infested versions?)
What are your fond memories of Encarta? If you're not of the Encarta generation, what's your impression of it? Had you heard or thought of it?
Sponsor: Develop Xamarin applications without difficulty with the latest JetBrains Rider: Xcode integration, JetBrains Xamarin SDK, and manage the required SDKs for Android development, all right from the IDE. Get it today!
About Scott
Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.
AboutNewsletter
About Us
Encanta Media Group is the next chapter of an evolutionary twenty-year journey at the forefront of entrepreneurship and marketing. We have been in the trenches and speak your language. Our experience, practical knowledge, and commitment to leading edge trends will help you grow your business into a trusted brand that customers will prefer and return to again and again.
Learn more about OUR STORY.
Leading companies trust us because we are results-driven and provide sound and practical recommendations in a straightforward fashion at a reasonable cost. We strive for win-win, long-term relationships in which our clients become our partners.
Encanta Media Group is led by Gabriel Goldberg.
Me Encanta Vacaciones Definition
Guiding principles
Encarta.com
We are a purpose-driven organization with an entrepreneurial spirit.
The values and principles that compose our DNA are at the core of our culture.
These basic beliefs create the environment where we can effectively unlock potential and realize lasting success for our clients and our company.