Definition: Computer Select

The first CD-ROM subscription service that aggregated articles and abstracts from major computer periodicals. Starting out in the early 1990s, it wound up with more than 175,000 article abstracts and descriptions of products, vendors and computer terms. "The Computer Glossary," the predecessor of this encyclopedia, was the first dictionary included. Before the Web, and even after it, Computer Select provided an extraordinary resource for IT departments.

Too Many Moves
Originally developed by the Computer Library division of Ziff-Davis, the CD-ROM service was acquired by the Gale Group and later dissolved. Electronic versions were created and offered by Gale and subsequently by Software Vista and then eShaman.com, which ceased operations in 2001. In 2002, True Query evolved from the ashes of eShaman.com and offered more than 100 tech-focused publications, but it too went under in 2005.