WikiReader: Plan B of OpenMoko Realized
As OpenMoko CEO Sean Moss-Pultz was announcing his departure from the mobile phone project, he mentioned as an aside that we was indeed working on yet another project. His Plan B has now been completed.
In his Plan B message to the community in June, Moss-Pultz alluded to a possible WikiReader, a small touchscreen device with the entire Wikipedia on a mini-SD memory card. The WikiReader operates neither on a WLAN connection nor 3G. It is currently orderable at $99.
The WikiReader, branded as "Wikipedia in Your Pocket," is keen on making reading Wikipedia an entertainment factor. The device has three buttons, Search for searching, History lists the previous searches and Random calls up a randomly selected article. The device distinguishes itself by its particularly low power usage: the two AAA batteries should last a year under normal use, mainly because the b&w display requires no backlighting.
The lack of external connectivity provides users two alternatives. You can get an annual update subscription for $29 and have an updated Wikipedia sent twice a year on a mini-SD card. Or you can download the 4-8 GByte archives off the Web.
The technology behind WikiReader is similar to that of the offline Wikipedia of the OLPC project. The software eliminates all graphics, renders a highly compressed and indexed archive from the raw text, and unpacks just the text called up in the search. The source code is under GPLv3 and BSD licensing and download is available from Github. Documentation already includes a QuickStart guide for building your own WikiReader.
Comments
comments powered by DisqusIssue 261/2022
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
KaOS 2022.06 Now Available With KDE Plasma 5.25
The newest iteration of KaOS Linux not only adds the latest KDE Plasma desktop but sets LibreOffice as the default.
-
Manjaro 21.3.0 Is Now Available
Manjaro “Ruah” has been released and includes the latest Calamares installer, GNOME 42, and much more.
-
SpiralLinux is a New Linux Distribution Focused on Simplicity
A new Linux distribution, from the creator of GeckoLinux, is a Debian-based operating system with a focus on simplicity and ease of use.
-
HP Dev One Linux Laptop is Now Available for Pre-Order
The System76/HP collaboration Dev One laptop, geared toward developers, is now available for pre-order.
-
NixOS 22.5 Is Now Available
The latest release of NixOS with a much-improved package manager and a user-friendly graphical installer.
-
System76 Teams up with HP to Create the Dev One Laptop
HP and System76 have come together to develop a new laptop, powered by Pop!_OS and aimed toward developers.
-
Titan Linux is a New KDE Linux Based on Debian Stable
Titan Linux is a new Debian-based Linux distribution that features the KDE Plasma desktop with a focus on usability and performance.
-
Danielle Foré Has an Update for elementary OS 7
Now that Ubuntu 22.04 has been released, the team behind elementary OS is preparing for the upcoming 7.0 release.
-
Linux New Media Launches Open Source JobHub
New job website focuses on connecting technical and non-technical professionals with organizations in open source.
-
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 Now Available
Ubuntu Cinnamon 22.04 has been released with all the additions from upstream as well as other features and improvements.
reply