Microsoft putting Encarta to rest

First they came for our printed encyclopedias. Now they're coming for our encyclopedia software, too.

One of the most venerable names in software, Microsoft Encarta, has reached the end of its days. Unable to compete with online offerings, ranging from the free, yet always questionable Wikipedia to the more scientifically-minded Britannica Online ($70 a year).

But it's not just Encarta's shrink-wrapped editions that are being killed off, Microsoft is ending Encarta's web presence, too, effective October 31, 2009. (One exception: Encarta Japan, which will survive until December 31.) The Encarta software will actually stop being sold earlier than that, in June 2009 -- though realistically Encarta software hasn't been widely sold for some time already.

Also note that Encarta is being killed in all its formats, whether you're getting on the web, on disc, or via the MSN service.

Microsoft offers a web page about the closure which (vaguely) explains the reason for the closure ("the category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed... People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past"). Ultimately, it probably comes down, as most things do, to money.

Encarta users have been complaining for months that the site and software haven't been updated properly, so this is a decision that's probably been coming for awhile. Still, it's sad to see such a venerable name in the software world go out not with a bang, but with a barely audible whimper.