"This is a great online reference."

"I ordered the Encyclopedia Britannica (EB) 2003 DVD. Although they said 5-7 business days, It arrived in only 3. BEWARE: Tech support via phone is normally NOT free. If you have any problems with their software products, you may be forced to call their 900 number. There is an automatic $10 fee per incident charged to your phone bill.

I upgraded from the EB2002 DVD because it uses 30% of my Win98(1) GDI and USER resources. I never kept 2002 loaded in memory. My hardware is AMD T-Bird 1.4 GHz, 512 MB, and "Special Edition" 8 MB 7200 RPM Western Digital 100 & 120 GB drives.

With EB2003, I have the same complaints as other Amazon.COM reviewers. Although I have some of the fastest drives available, EB2003 (DVD full install) takes 14 seconds to access the Britannica interface and it continues reading the drive for another 14 seconds. EB2003 uses a massive 118 MB's of hardware memory, far more than any other application (app) I have. Yet, EB2003 uses only 2% GDI and USER Win98(1) resources and I am therefore able to keep it loaded in memory.

Compared to 2002, the 2003 interface is very poor. You cannot double-click on an article term for look up. The search boxes do not have a clear button for a new search. Search terms are not highlighted in the article text and there is no find text feature. The search engine seems to be worse than EB2002. It does not have intelligent results sorting. With a multiple term such as "President Andrew Jackson", you must click the small results screen several times for the correct article. For article full screen, the border line creeps too slowly from right to left. Because EB2003 is a Java app, Microsoft mouse scroll wheels will not work. The Atlas is nothing more than a collection of slides and I am constantly fighting for full screen views.

EB2003 does not remember previous settings. For "medium" font view, it must be set every start. The fairly nonfunctional "Welcome" screen must also be removed every start. For personal saved bookmarks, you must load them every start. I also have the Microsoft 1999 Encarta Reference Suite. While Encarta content might not be as complete, the software is far more advanced. The included Encarta 1999 Virtual Globe is better than anything EB will ever produce.

When I purchased EB2002, I knew the software would be below Microsoft's quality but the content would be better. With EB2003, the software is so poor Britannica should either fire its programming subcontractor or think about merging with Microsoft. Even a beginner programmer knows you never write an app with Java(!). You always write apps with C++ because it is more efficient and faster. I will probably keep EB2003 because I only paid the upgrade price. I will also upgrade to the Encarta 2003 DVD. I suspect the Encarta content now rivals EB's. If so, this may be the last time I purchase an EB.

Daniel Martinez"