The Glade 4.0

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/upshot/ency ... 41357.html

In mourning for one of the finest collections of knowledge that I've known. I enjoyed researching in the EB quite a bit as a student. Yes, it cannot keep up with the internet, and it was almost certainly inevitable given today's technology, but still . . .


Encyclopaedia Britannica ends its print run
By Vera H-C Chan | The Upshot – 3 hrs ago

The end of serendipity, as we know it.

Leafing through the world's knowledge, alphabetically, will become am obsolete tradition. The oldest English-language general encyclopedia -- according to, of course, the Encyclopædia Britannica -- will abandon foolscap once and for all.

"For 244 years, the thick volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica have stood on the shelves of homes, libraries, and businesses everywhere, a source of enlightenment as well as comfort to their owners and users around the world," reports its blog. "Today we've announced that we will discontinue the 32-volume printed edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica when our current inventory is gone." That inventory includes 4,000 in its warehouse -- about 8,000 sets have been sold at $1,395 a pop. (Seven million sets have been published in its storied history.)

Digital afterlife

While the move is acknowledged as "momentous," the blog also points out that the Britannica already has a digital presence. Also, those weighty printed sets (the New York Times measures the 32-volume set at 129 pounds) only account for less than 1 percent of the company's sales.

Then again, a Britannica Online subscription costs $70 a year or $1.99 per month for its app. (In honor of its print dissolution, the online service is free for one week.) That hasn't been an easy sell in the days of search engines and Wikipedia. Still, the company plans to polish up its digital offerings and even add "social connections," according to CNN Money.

What distinguishes Britannica from its Wiki-counterparts has been its expertise: Contributors have included the likes of Sigmund Freud and Marie Curie to Bill Clinton and Tony Hawk. What Wiki might lack in quality, it atones for in quantity: The Guardian reports that Wikipedia English brims with 3.9 million articles, while Britannica has 120,000.

Encyclopedic mourning

Wordsmiths twit-mourned this shift in encyclopedic erudition.

"NCTCopyDesk is in mourning. Unbelievable! RT @cnnbrk Encyclopedia Britannica to stop printing. on.cnn.com/x3tZXw." Some reminisced about their childhood education through its tomes: "My family's used set got me through 12+ years of school >> Encyclopedia Britannica to stop printing books zite.to/x79v0w

Others lashed out, looking to cast blame for its demise. "Wikipedia and the Internet just killed 244-year-old Encyclopaedia Britannica tnw.to/1DeWE by @thatdrew." Another noted, "Blaming 'modern bloody wogs and mau-maus' Encyclopaedia Britannica ends print edition. FT:ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7…"

The shift has also brought out the see-what-happens-when-standards-fail purists: "Encyclopedia Britannica, spelled wrong, is trending around the nation right now."

Perhaps one thing that Britannica lovers can find smug solace: Five hours after news hit about its print end, its Wikipedia entry had not updated. "The Britannica is the oldest English-language encyclopaedia still in print." The point under "Competition," however, still stands: "Although the Britannica is now available both in multimedia form and over the Internet, its preeminence is being challenged by other online encyclopaedias, such as Wikipedia.[citation needed]."

Britannica staff plan to acknowledge the moment with a cake -- shaped like encyclopedias, of course. Here's a glimpse into its hallowed halls, and their look into the future.

_________________
The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Yes inevitable but still sad. I remember spending many hours at the library pulling out volumes at random just to see what new things I could discover.

_________________
I met this six-year-old child, with this blank, pale, emotionless face and, the blackest eyes... the devil's eyes. I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy's eyes was purely and simply... evil

My parents took a 1956 World Book encyclopedia set from my paternal grandfather's house when he passed. This set all I had to get through school. Outside of using them for actual research, I always enjoyed perusing them for random bits of information.

_________________
This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

I mourn the loss of serendipitous discovery.

I'm gonna go leaf through the newspaper.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Nothing is better for that than Wikipedia.

NO! What's he going to do about his report that's due on "Space"?!?!?!?!? Or checking to make sure where his mandibula is?!?!




I guess he'll wiki it.

Still, it's always sad to see a long-running staple go away.

_________________
Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Wait, are you still talking about that commercial, or the product it was selling?

_________________
"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Product.

_________________
Les Zombis et les Loups-Garous!

Yes and no. I understand the joy of losing a few hours in Wikipedia (I've already read up on K2 and a couple of other things this morning), but nothing really compares with paper. Or maybe I should say, "physical media." I guess I'm thinking more along the lines of a newspaper, where I can come across articles I wouldn't normally read, because an editor has thought to place them where s/he did. Unless you're clicking on a random article link, you're still following some kind of trail through Wikipedia.

_________________
This cold and dark tormented hell
Is all I`ll ever know
So when you get to heaven
May the devil be the judge

Britannica isn't going away. It's just electronic, rather than paper.

Now, that said...



$1.99 a month is reasonable. But someone didn't do the math here...

_________________
Well Ali Baba had them forty thieves, Scheherezade had a thousand tales
But master you in luck 'cause up your sleeves you got a brand of magic never fails...
...Mister Aladdin, sir, What will your pleasure be?
Let me take your order, Jot it down -You ain't never had a friend like me
█ ♣ █