The Complete National Geographic

Review

The makers of this disc meticulously compiled 108 years of National Geographic magazines, sometimes combing garage sales and used-book stores to find them. They then scanned 2,200 pounds of material to make 30 searchable CDs. But apparently they forgot - or couldn"t figure out how - to turn up the scanner resolution.

So, for two Ben Franklins, you get access to every page of every National Geo, complete with a passable search engine. But to read it, you"re going to have to work those peepers.

The total package - 188,500 pages wrapped in 30 chronological CDs - totals 300 gigabytes for the National Geographic buff.

The Last Words:

Mark: Whether onscreen or in printout form, the text is virtually unreadable. The result may be useful to archivists and researchers, but as an educational tool, it"s no substitute for a library card.

Judy: Despite an expansive collection of information, Web access, and the basic zoom-in, zoom-out features, the disc is difficult to maneuver.

Joe: So what"s the jump between 40 visually sharp CDs instead of 30 subpar ones? Give the folks at National Geo a pat on the back for the effort, but don"t give them your Visa number until they make it readable.

Rating:1/4

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