244 years ago the first Encyclopedia Britannica was pressed and now we say good bye to the print version of the popular encyclopedia.? It seems technology has finally caught up to the brand and they have decided to stop printing and focus mainly on the digital version.? The last print of the encyclopedia was a 32 volume 2010 edition that weighed in at a hefty 129 pounds and had some new entries including global warming and the Human Genome Project.
?It?s a rite of passage in this new era,? Jorge Cauz, the president of Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., a company based in Chicago, said in an interview. ?Some people will feel sad about it and nostalgic about it. But we have a better tool now. The Web site is continuously updated, it?s much more expansive and it has multimedia.?
Myself personally I am shocked this didn?t happen sooner.? With the internet being so easy to access with real time information, encyclopedia?s aren?t needed as often as they were say 20 years ago.? So now they will focus on the $70 annual fee for online subscription which includes the full database of articles , original documents, videos and a mobile application.? So we say goodbye to the printed version of the Britannica and say hello to the digital version.