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  • WEDNESDAY MARCH 1 2006 12:00 PM

Encyclopodia -- Wikipedia for Your iPod

Submitted by Shal

Edited by Shal

Make: blog has a write-up of the Encyclopodia, a program that ports the Wikipedia to your iPod.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is here - Wikipedia on your iPod, uses iPod linux - "Encyclopodia is a free software project that brings the Wikipedia, which is one of the largest encyclopedias on the world, on the Apple iPod MP3-Player. It has been successfully tested on a third-generation iPod and on an iPod mini, but it should also work on other iPod generations."



The Encyclopodia is a free open-source download for both Windows and Mac. Once you install the program on your computer, you'll be able to download the entire Wikipedia in English, German, or Italian (just those three languages so far -- given the nature of open-source software and the Wikipedia, I'm sure other languages will follow).

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Comments
alpha_hazard

alpha_hazard

Fort Collins, CO
April 2004

MAR 01, 2006 12:10 PM

Now I can get that iPod engraved with "Don't Panic" I've always wanted.

but what does it have to say about the pan galactic gargle-blaster?

NinjaTech

NinjaTech

Minneapolis, MN
November 2003

MAR 01, 2006 12:40 PM

alpha_hazard said:
Now I can get that iPod engraved with "Don't Panic" I've always wanted.

but what does it have to say about the pan galactic gargle-blaster?



The Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster is a fictional alcoholic drink which is mentioned in Douglas Adams' humorous science fiction radio series, novels, computer game, movie, comic book mini-series, and television series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

This is actually quite awesome. I'm going to grab this for sure. Wikipedia gives me like a thousand boners.

[Edited on Mar 01, 2006 12:41PM]

belkins666

belkins666

South Bend, IN
February 2006

MAR 01, 2006 01:03 PM

bah...another reason to buy an iPod...dammit!

Snottlebocket

Snottlebocket

Netherlands
March 2004

MAR 01, 2006 01:31 PM

does it automatically update periodically?

attn_ho

attn_ho

Brooklyn, NY
February 2004

MAR 01, 2006 01:43 PM

oh dear god YES! WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY!

im sad mr adams didnt live to see this. frown

MrStitches

MrStitches

Brooklyn, NY
November 2003

MAR 01, 2006 01:52 PM

Ipod only my ass. . .as much as I would love this, I just refuse to spend that kind of money. mad

Idjit

Idjit

HOPEFUL

I'm lost

MAR 01, 2006 02:05 PM

If it was even remotely readable I might get excited, but... those examples aren't exactly wow'ing me.

akl

akl

Sacramento, CA
February 2004

MAR 01, 2006 02:09 PM

MARCH said:
I would NEVER want Wiki on an iPod.

Maybe Webster's, the Encyclopedia, etc...

You know, truly reputable resources.


People who rail against the inaccuracy of a publicly created encyclopedia confuse me. It's as good as a random google search, most of the time. If you're writing a report, go to the library.

NickFaust

NickFaust

USA
April 2004

MAR 01, 2006 02:14 PM

MARCH said:
I would NEVER want Wiki on an iPod.

Maybe Webster's, the Encyclopedia, etc...

You know, truly reputable resources.



Heh, I think I would rather have access to questionable knowledge than reputable knowledge that I have to wait til I get home to get to.

Besides, you really can do both you know. Check Wiki and then follow up with the so called reputable resources.

AndrewB

AndrewB

Victoria, BC
August 2003

MAR 01, 2006 02:54 PM

How much space does it take up?

bcguitar33

bcguitar33

Jamaica Plain, MA
January 2004

MAR 01, 2006 02:58 PM

MARCH said:
I would NEVER want Wiki on an iPod.

Maybe Webster's, the Encyclopedia, etc...

You know, truly reputable resources.



Of course, the research done shows that at least in the scientific arena, wikipedia isn't substantially less accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2005-12-14-nature-wiki_x.htm

NickFaust

NickFaust

USA
April 2004

MAR 01, 2006 02:58 PM

MARCH said:

NickFaust said:

MARCH said:
I would NEVER want Wiki on an iPod.

Maybe Webster's, the Encyclopedia, etc...

You know, truly reputable resources.



Heh, I think I would rather have access to questionable knowledge than reputable knowledge that I have to wait til I get home to get to.

Besides, you really can do both you know. Check Wiki and then follow up with the so called reputable resources.



Wait to get home?
I'm saying I'd rather have those reputable sources in my PDA than wiki.



Well, as usual, the open source folks are way ahead of the curve on getting people information.

So, untill the staid "reputable" folks show up and start playing like they mean it, I am thankful for the Wiki folks.

Very thankful.

AceTracer

acetracer

Hollywood, FL
January 2004

MAR 01, 2006 03:02 PM

thoughtcriminal said:
How much space does it take up?


Depends on if you're downloading just the text or everything else, and just the English site or all the languages. If you downloaded the entire English dump with resized images it would be somewhere between 2-4 GB.

This has actually been done for a while now with PDAs and other devices that interface with large flash drives. The problem is that because of Wikipedia's very nature a solid state version of its contents isn't terribly useful. Articles get added, edited, rewritten, fixed and deleted every second of every day. So downloading a solid state version becomes obsolete before the transfer is even complete.

That's why a comparison to the Hitchhiker's Guide is somewhat inaccurate; the Guide updated itself when new or revised entries went over the SubEthaNet. A more accurate device would be cell phones and PDAs with internet access that can access mobile versions of Wikipedia online.

Maxpedia for example provides a mobile version of Wikipedia that can be accessed by WAP browsers rather effectively.



Querying the live version with an actual keypad is much more worth your time than downloading gigabytes of data on an iPod and then wheeling your way around.

[Edited on Mar 01, 2006 by AceTracer]

Oren

Oren

United Kingdom
January 2006

MAR 03, 2006 10:07 AM

WOOHOO!

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