Encarta charges for its Deluxe edition, but the Concise edition is free. Search results in the Deluxe edition are comprehensive and clearly organized, with a good selection of related links. The Concise edition offers only brief results and is better for quick searches. This is a godsend for anyone trying to figure out what motherboard, CPU or ethernet means. For good search results at a cheaper price than Britannica or Encarta, try Compton's Encyclopedia.
Searches bring up ample listings, plus related pictures, maps and even music.
There's also a current events box and a topic tree, which lets you browse under categories like economics, religion and science. How Stuff Works Not exactly an encyclopedia, Marshall Brain's site is still a great reference point for mechanical, electrical and other functionality-type questions. At the end of each entry is a good list of related links. I have gathered a posie of other men's flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own. Search by keyword for quotes by thousands of authors, poets and other scholars.