[Wikipedia-l] nice article about encarta and Gary Alt

[Mathias Schindler]

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/181656_msftnotebook12.html

[...]
"The Web itself is another source of competition. With free online 
information sources becoming more pervasive and comprehensive, Encarta 
could face an increasingly tougher task in appealing to consumers. One 
competitor is Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia with articles and 
information compiled by volunteer contributors.

"Clearly it's difficult to sell something in a shrink-wrapped box if 
something far superior is available for free on the Web," said Wikipedia 
founder Jimmy Wales, predicting that it will become "harder and harder" 
for Encarta to find an audience.

But Alt and others at Microsoft point out that free online sites don't 
offer the same consistency and reliability, and attention to user's 
needs, as Encarta does. At the same time, Encarta provides a safer 
environment than the Web does for student research."