Encarta — Encyclopedia Free Software

Although mainly sold on CD-ROM and DVD, Microsoft experimented with free access models:

: An abridged online version offering around 16,000 articles for free to students and teachers. Encarta Encyclopedia Free Software

: After the encyclopedia was discontinued, the online dictionary remained accessible for free until 2011 . Discontinuation and Legacy Although mainly sold on CD-ROM and DVD, Microsoft

Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Encarta in March 2009, citing shifts in how people consume information. Microsoft Encarta Retrospective Encarta Encyclopedia Free Software

: It originally debuted at $395 , though this price quickly dropped to $99 as it became frequently bundled with new multimedia PCs.