Wikipedia actually does a pretty good job. Comparisons to "real" encyclopedias have been favorable. As has recently been demonstrated, the legitimacy of content can get a little dicey, but the site has an incredibly strong mechanism for corrections. I have personally made several edits myself, mostly involving current events and pop culture. Which is both its strength and weakness. Anybody can add/edit content but there are also lots of people keeping an eye on things.
Any composition teacher will tell you that Wikipedia should not be used as source material. Fair enough. But there have been widespread examples of "legitimate" reference sites and even textbooks being grievously inaccurate. At least Wikipedia maintains copious footnotes. Personally, I have used it numerous times as a primer on subjects for which I had little or no knowledge.
Obviously, there are going to be other sites that provide more accurate or complete information on subjects. For the uses you mention, I can suggest the following:
Dictionary: Internet search for "definition of (insert your word)". Similar searches can be made substituting "acronyms for", "thesaurus" and "slang for" for "definition of."Atlas: CIA's The World Factbook. Also, internet search for "map of (insert your location)". This is not as effective as dictionary search because it gets cluttered with sites selling maps.These are not programs and of course require online access, but the internet is truly a wonderful place, and is getting better and better every day.
Bruce
--- On Tue, 6/14/11, Peter Shkabara <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
From: Peter Shkabara <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [PCSOFT] encyclopedia
To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2011,
4:38 PM
Microsoft has discontinued the Encarta Encyclopedia. I often use the
dictionary tool in addition to the world atlas. Any recommendation for a
current replacement to this product? I am running Windows 7 Pro 64bit.
Peter Shkabara
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