Wikipedia In Your Pocket, $99 412
An anonymous reader notes the announcement by Sean Moss-Pultz (Openmoko, Inc.) of a new geek device: The $99 WikiReader. All of Wikipedia in your pocket with no Internet connection required. Works in bright sunlight. 3-button interface. You can update the information in the WikiReader either by mail (they ship a microSD card) or by downloading a 4+ GB file.
Solution looking for a problem (Score:3, Insightful)
With ubiquitous cellular broadband practically everywhere (that matters) and phones with good web browsers in them, this is a solution looking for a problem.
I've got wikipedia reader in my pocket (Score:4, Insightful)
It's called an iPhone. :)
Re:Solution looking for a problem (Score:5, Insightful)
Three points to consider:
- It's openmoko based, so it's extremely hackable.
- It uses standard AAA batteries. I can't overstate how important this is to me.
- No contract, hard copy of reference information, safe to give to a kid.
This seems like a good gift solution for
a. hackers
b. travelers
c. parents
Re:trick you into thinking I'm educated (Score:5, Insightful)
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination. - Einstein
Re:Which Search Software Does This Employ? (Score:3, Insightful)
I can guarantee you they're not actually running MediaWiki on PHP. It would make no sense to run a web browser and a web server and a database server just for one embedded device. It's probably just some basic firmware reading data off a flash chip.
Re:a 4G+ file? (Score:3, Insightful)
That still sounds like a design flaw. In the worst-case scenario, the problem should be that the device doesn't have enough CPU and extra storage space to uncompress the archive and apply the diffs. Even in that case, I should be able to offload the current archive version to my PC, apply the diffs there, and then load it back onto the device.
Re:So this is ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Solution looking for a problem (Score:5, Insightful)
yeah, there's no use for an encyclopedia with detailed information on all edible plants out in the middle of nowhere where there's no cell access.
and you couldn't possibly find yourself in a situation where you need information but can't access your wireless, despite being in a 'covered' area, cell phone coverage is, practically, perfect.
Oh, also, power outages. Infrastructure is all well and good, but having all the knowledge you need about the world around you at your fingertips regardless of the state of the outside world is great.
I'd say the places that matter the most are precisely the places that don't have cell access.
Re:I've got wikipedia reader in my pocket (Score:4, Insightful)
How much did your iphone cost? Does it run on batteries you can buy anywhere for cheap? According to the website this device runs on AAAs.
This sounds like a great little cheap device. If I can make and load my own articles (the site said something about updating with a flash card), then it could be useful for me. If this is programmable (open source mentioned) and has a touch screen like it appeared (video had someone typing search in a touch-screen keyboard), then it could have all sorts of uses. If you are rich enough to buy an iPhone, then obviously this device is not for you.
This could be huge for developing nations (Score:1, Insightful)
One of the biggest issues for projects like OLPC is getting electricity and internet to remote locations.
A device like this could be very helpful in remote villages where having a resource on agriculture, emergency medical how-to's, etc. in a compact, low cost device that needs 2 AAA batteries every year could be very helpful. Users could update it a a nearby library, city, etc. that has electricity and internet when they are able to.
If it's modeled anything like the neo/freerunner they will encourage hardware hacking that could evolve the device.
Re:Hitch Hiker's Guide (Score:3, Insightful)
101010. Light side (something) and dark side (nothing). Three of each, like the sides of a triangle. Like two triforces, one good and one evil, balancing each other, Yin and Yang.
The Universe is at peace with itself.
Re:trick you into thinking I'm educated (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:optional firmware for GPS ? (Score:2, Insightful)
Good news! You can get one gadget that's all that PLUS a phone!
=Smidge=
Great! What is is? The only thing I know of that comes close is the iPhone, but that fails the first item on his list.
Re:Solution looking for a problem (Score:4, Insightful)
yeah, there's no use for an encyclopedia with detailed information on all edible plants out in the middle of nowhere where there's no cell access.
Might not be as useful without pictures, though.
Why isn't this an iPhone App? (Score:3, Insightful)
Seriously, my iPod touch has the capacity to store the 4GB data file and render the content just fine.
So why can't I have an offline copy of Wikipedia AND take Diff files of the changes and updates when I am near a Wifi hotspot? Its got the capabilities to do play music, video, and display images so why isn't this the better form factor?
Also a refurbed iPod touch is $149 with a color screen and rechargeable batteries and it does more than just read Wikipedia.
Re:Solution looking for a problem (Score:5, Insightful)
No contract, hard copy of reference information, safe to give to a kid.
I'm actually wondering about this part. Their website seems to be clearly positioning it at children, and yet Wikipedia is quite deliberately not censored for children. I smell a lawsuit there once some 7yro Johnny, driven by curiosity, starts with anime, and ends up diving into the depth of interlinked mesh of articles on yuri and lolicon...
Read the site, rather than just looking at the pictures ;-)
For Parents: WikiReader offers an easy way to protect your child from adult-oriented content.
<flamebait>I wonder if there's "American mode" (hiding all the articles about sex) and "European mode" (hiding all the articles about guns).</flamebait>
Re:Solution looking for a problem (Score:2, Insightful)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choking [wikipedia.org]
$99 Ugly Ass Hardware? (Score:1, Insightful)
I am sorry but the piece of hardware looks so extremely ugly it reminded me 80's.
Get It for Free (Score:3, Insightful)
Anyone with an Internet connection can download the complete Wikipedia [wikipedia.org] in a compressed file about 5GB (decompresses to about 3TB), or even as SQL or XML. You could probably delete all the non-text content (eg. rm -R /*.jpg) to get something small enough to put on a 4GB Flash card for any smartphone.
And you could get the updated snapsot a lot more frequently than with this subscription.
Re:Got a Kindle already (Score:3, Insightful)