Wikipedia Releases Offline CD

An anonymous reader writes "WikipediaOnDVD, with cooperation with the Wikipedia community, has released its first offline test version. The articles were selected by Wikipedians and reviewed for accuracy, vandalism, and importance. Nearly 2,000 core Wikipedia articles will be sold on compact disc to give people without a net connection access to highlights of the popular web resource. The CD can be purchased or downloaded online via their site or the torrent."

Comments

Re:No net connection?

[CastrTroy]

It would be nice to be able to take wikipedia with you when you don't have a net connection, even if you usually have one. If you're using your laptop on the plane, it might be nice to look up something on wikipedia. That being said, I think they should implement it differently. I'm not sure how their repository system works, but it should be possible to download the whole thing, and then download only the changes when you need it updated. Kind of like with CVS or SVN.

Re:So...

[Anonymous Coward]

In order to give people without an internet connection a chance to look at Wikipedia you can only buy or download this CD on the internet? Somebody didn't think this all the way through. 1. Many people who have no internet service don't know what Wikipedia is and will not seek it.
2. Many people who have internet service know what Wikipedia is. Some of these people see some value in Wikipedia.
3. Some of the second group may be civic-minded enough to buy or download the cd and share it with people and organizations that do not have internet service but might be interested in Wikipedia.
4. Finally, some people have internet access sometimes but would like to have access to most of Wikipedia all the time.

It may not be the biggest blockbuster product of all time, but there are enough potential customers that this is worth trying.

Re:Intermittent connection

[Rukie]

I see value in these DVDs. In fact, I even downloaded Wikipedia once, something like 7gig for just the text, made an exact mirror on my own laptop. It is nice to use when you have linux, and bad wireless drivers hehehe. My internet is so intermittent at school, that I just use downloaded content to review during school. I even used the articles while I was on a 10 hour drive from Wisconsin to New York. My neighbor would love something like this too because he uses dial up, and I think he's still using a 33k modem lol. In fact, I'm downloading it now. There are all sorts of people who can use these. People on airplanes, buses, at a cafe with no wifi, etc. Although, in 20 years there will not be much need for these (I should hope), but they are nice to have now.