Encarta Encyclopedia Free Software -

At its 2008 peak, contained over 62,000 articles and a massive library of multimedia assets.

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

Microsoft Encarta was a digital multimedia encyclopedia published by Microsoft from . While it was primarily a paid commercial product, limited free versions existed through the Encarta Concise Encyclopedia online and ad-supported web articles before its eventual discontinuation. Today, the software is considered abandonware and is often found for free on archival sites like Internet Archive . Historical Overview and Development At its 2008 peak, contained over 62,000 articles

: Microsoft released localized versions in several languages (e.g., German, Spanish, Japanese) and specialized products like Encarta Africana and Encarta Kids . The "Free" Versions Today, the software is considered abandonware and is

: After the encyclopedia was discontinued, the online dictionary remained accessible for free until 2011 . Discontinuation and Legacy

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