ANST - Fw: [TY] SC - Encyclopaedia Britannica posts all 32 volumes on Internet,free

[Caley Woulfe]

-----Original Message-----
From: DianaFiona at aol.com <DianaFiona at aol.com>
To: TY at reashelm.ce.utk.edu <TY at reashelm.ce.utk.edu>
Date: Wednesday, October 20, 1999 2:07 AM
Subject: [TY] SC - Encyclopaedia Britannica posts all 32 volumes on
Internet,free


>    My, my, but *this* could come in handy! ;-)
>
>                    Ldy Diana
>
><< Subj:     SC - Encyclopaedia Britannica posts all 32 volumes on
Internet,
>free
> Date:  10/20/1999 1:13:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time
> From:  korrin.daardain at juno.com (Korrin S DaArdain)
> Sender:    owner-sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG
> Reply-to:  <A
HREF="mailto:sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG">sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG</
>A>
> To:    SCA-Cooks at Ansteorra.ORG
>
> Encyclopaedia Britannica posts all 32 volumes on Internet, free
>
> By DAVE CARPENTER
>
> The Associated Press 10/19/99 11:39 AM Eastern
>
> CHICAGO (AP) -- Encyclopaedia Britannica, the longtime leader in
> information that has lost its way in the Internet era, is giving away its
> knowledge for free in a desperate bid to stay afloat. As of today, the
> publisher's 32-volume set is available to anyone who surfs the Web.
>
> The only catch: You have to wade through advertisements -- Britannica's
> source of revenue for the risky move -- to get your information. The
> entire Britannica -- from a-ak (an ancient East Asian music) to
> Zoroastrianism (a Persian religion) -- can be found at the Chicago
> company's retooled site, www.britannica.com
>
> Hoping to emulate the success of Amazon, Yahoo and others, the site also
> offers current information from newspapers, news agencies and 70
> magazines as well as community services such as e-mail, weather forecasts
> and financial market reports.
>
> The head of the new company split off by the publishing company to house
> its digital properties, Britannica.com Inc., tried to put the best spin
> on the venture, calling this "a momentous day for knowledge seekers
> everywhere." "Purchasing the Encyclopaedia Britannica was once a major
> milestone in a family's life, but today we are fulfilling our promise to
> make it more accessible to more people worldwide," said Don Yannias, the
> new company's chief executive officer.
>
> But giving up its prime asset for free -- bound volumes still go for
> about $1,250 a set -- shows the straits into which the 231-year-old
> company has fallen.
>
> Encyclopaedia Britannica had revenue of $650 million and a sales force of
> 2,300 at its peak in 1989. Revenue estimates are no longer available from
> the privately held company, where the work force is thought to number
> about 350.
>
> The company lost ground badly when Microsoft, after being spurned by
> Britannica, teamed with discount-market encyclopedia publisher Funk &
> Wagnalls to produce a colorful, multimedia encyclopedia on CD-ROM in
> 1993. Britannica's own CD-ROM version, released a year later, was low on
> graphics and did not fare well.
>
> It also became the first encyclopedia available on the Web in 1994, but
> the reception was muted by the $85-a-year subscription fee.
>
> House calls by salesmen, once a company trademark, were dropped in 1996.
>
> __________________________________________________________________
>  >>
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