Slashdot Mirror
A Search Engine For The Slower Net
Makarand writes "According to this BBC News
article researchers at MIT
are developing a search engine for people
using the web on slower net connections.
The software will e-mail queries to a central server and receive the most relevant
webpages from the search results by e-mail in a compressed form. Since the program is too big to download over a poor net connection
it will be mailed on CDs to libraries for people to borrow and install. They are also considering trying to persuade computer sellers
in developing countries to install the program on machines."
About them Modem Linkers,
ain't they kinda odd?
Goin' on the net,
with they little baud.
Look at all those Modem Linkers,
what a thing to see.
Web sites come up really slow,
get's lousy Voice/IP.
Internet at low bit rates,
what a dawgon mess.
Load a web site, take a break,
while 'pache mods compress.
How to be a Modem Linker,
don't need a ticket.
Get a local ISP,
dial up and link it.
A programmer is a machine for converting coffee into code.
Use lynx or w3m and search on google like the rest of us, ya Nancy-boys..
Trolling is a art,
I know the Internet is complicated - but there's no need to pick on slow people.
Maybe we could have all webpages categorized by a number, something like 800 for science or whatever, and then we could have a filing cabinet with index cards in it. Then, people could open the filing cabinet, see a number for the page they want and then go directly to the page.
...still surfing the internet with their Commodore 64s and 300 baud modems!
http://www.mshiltonj.com/sr/
MIT guys! Why don't you put your brain into better compression technology? So we can deliver higher bandwidth to those still on crappy 56K lines?
And don't say it isn't doable... If I had the time, I could do it, and I'm a mere highschool graduate...
---
Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
with my 300 baud modem.
They are developing the program which will replace web forums - you post a message to predetermined mail account and everybody subscribed will receive it very soon (patent pending).
File transfers and weather forecasts are planned in 2006.
This will make a difference.
- Arwen, I'm your father, Agent Smith.
- Well, you're just Smith, but my father is Aerosmith!
And for those people with no internet connection, you can mail your search requests to MIT (Please include self-addressed stamped envelope). MIT will then process your search request within 5 business days, and mail you back the results. You can then peruse the results and marvel at the wealth at information you'd be able to find... if only you had internet access.
Shameless plug for my photos on Flickr
I tried to RTFA but MIT hasn't emailed it to me yet :(.
my blog
For those of you who want to try it out at home, just use one of your several hundred AOL CDs, and voila, you'll have a line slow enough to try it out.
They should develop a program that strips images, animation, java aplets, ActiveX components and all HTML from Web pages, leaving only the text and the links. Then send it to the users. It could be called Gopher. Or Archie.
"MIT Reinvents Archie service from the early 90's."
"Given the pace of technology, I propose we leave math to the machines and go play outside." -- Calvin
I can imagine your brainwaves are somewhere along the lines of:
[_______________________________]
Ok, you are obviously someone incapable of making a point without resorting to childish insults. In my experience this usually correlates well with inferior mental capacity so I would encourage you to read the below slowly:
Downloading the contents of 20 pages when one page is the one you're looking for is vastly inefficient.
Its very likely, that since the target is to use this for information, that the pages would be _highly_ compressed, either reducing image quality or removing many images altogether.
Ooh! High compression achieved by not downloading fancy images or code! That's absolute genius. We can only download the text and then the user can choose if they want a particular image to be downloaded. Someone should really inform the makers of lynx so they can put this feature in the next version. Maybe the makers of IE and Netscape can have an option where they don't download images by default.
And since you seem to be particularly dense, I will have to point out that the above paragraph is intended to be sarcasm since that functionality already exists.
Mmmm.. Donuts