[Wikireader] offline Wikipedia, Google Gears, & XO

[Ben Lisbakken]

Phil --

I wanted to put you in contact with some other developers that would love to
work on/see mediawiki offline.

For the rest of you, check out what Phil is hacking on (
http://groups.google.com/group/google-gears/browse_thread/thread/efbd808325df607a/08e943f7942c53bf?lnk=gst&q=phil#08e943f7942c53bf).
It's cool stuff :)

-Ben

On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 11:44 AM, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com> wrote:

> Returning to this -- Ben, any recent progress?   a hint of offline editing
> would be a hit.
>
> SJ
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 27, 2008 at 12:29 AM, Ben Lisbakken <lisbakke at google.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Hey guys -
> >
> > I've done some work on taking Wikipedia offline.  I made a
> > Greasemonkey script to inject Google Gears code onto Wikipedia pages.
> > Here's the script -- you need to install Gears and Greasemonkey first,
> > though.
> > http://gears-monkey.googlecode.com/svn/trunk/WikipediaOffline/
> >
> > Also, here's a screencast of me using it:
> > http://www.lisbakken.com/GearsMonkey/wiki_offline/wiki_offline.mov
> >
> > It wouldn't be hard to give WikiMedia Gears support in a patch (it's
> > just JavaScript), and there are a lot of cool features that could be
> > put in beyond what I've done (offline wiki editing, auto-download 1
> > link deep on each page browsed to, only download small resources, a
> > better ui for browsing offline pages, auto-syncing of fresh content
> > etc.).
> >
> > Benj. Mako Hill has already expressed some interest in this project,
> > and I was wondering if anyone else would like to help.
> >
> > -Ben Lisbakken
> >
> > On Tue, Feb 26, 2008 at 12:21 PM, Samuel Klein <meta.sj at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > > Hello Renaud, resources are certainly being wasted in duplicated
> > effort.
> > >
> > >
> > > > 1. Define clear needs.
> > > > We are a bunch of people now, involved in this Offline Wiki thing
> > > > (even if it's more than Wiki). What are the different needs ?
> > >
> > > See [[Wikislices#Needs]] (extracted from last weeks' discussion)
> > >
> > >
> > > > 2. Define core tech-needs.
> > > > We know we need so kind of library ; and tools for selection/import.
> > > > But those have been expressed in too many different ways I don't
> > know
> > > which are still in.
> > > >
> > >
> > > See above.
> > >  - At least one protocol/format for defining a collection index
> > >  - A tool for finding existing collections (scouring through a
> > whitelist of
> > > potential archives, to start with)
> > >   - Tools for creating an index quickly
> > >  - Tools for creating a downloadable zip/pdf/xol of a collection
> > >
> > > I don't think we need to /make a new library/ so much as we need to
> > > categorize existing tools in these terms so that the different
> > approaches
> > > can be compared (in spirit and in code).
> > >
> > >
> > > > 3. Choose a technology (for good).
> > > > OK, not for good, but we need to choose a platform and stick with it
> > > > for a specified milestone because all the technology switches are a
> > > > waste of time and energy.
> > >
> > > For specific projects, by all means.  (for instance, OLPC could use a
> > way to
> > > name a hundred articles and generate an offline collection of those
> > > articles.   Related to this, Pascal and Guillaume were discussing
> > adding an
> > > export feature to wikiwix.)
> > >
> > > In general, this list is not to "set a standard" or reach consensus on
> > what
> > > technology or platform to use for all of our diverse projects.  That
> > may be
> > > valuable eventually, but there is much more pressing work for us to do
> > : for
> > > instance, implementing a simple way to name and share collections
> > (sets of
> > > articles and revisions).
> > >
> > > Choosing "a technology"  without cause can just alienate people.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > 4. Assign task to people.
> > > > We are numerous people: companies, organizations, individuals. We
> > have all
> > > spent some time working on our direct needs so that we can use our
> > > solutions. It's now time to work on a common solution which will
> > benefit to
> > > all of us. I am willing to work on it, but I need to know
> > > > that I'm not alone and that you guys won't just switch to something
> > > > else after I've put my work on it.
> > > >
> > >
> > > The first task I see (for each project) is to separate information
> > about
> > > existing DVD-images and projects, and the scripts used to generate
> > them, so
> > > that they can be compared to one another... and so that the task of
> > > reviewing and curating can be separated from questions of platform or
> > > language or reader.  How would I find out, for instance, how to make
> > my own
> > > moulinwiki instance; or the list of articles included in each
> > language?
> > >
> > >
> > > > 5. Set up a real communication channel.
> > > > SJ, you are used to IRC, it's a great tool but it's not perfect,
> > > > especially when you're in Boston, Kelson and Linterweb are in
> > Europe,
> > > > I'm in Africa and Ksana people are in Asia.
> > > > We should agree on some Wiki-space which we would _all_ be aware of
> > and
> > > set-up a mailing-list so that we can follow-up with updates.
> > > >
> > >
> > > Indeed.  We're setting up a mailing list for this now through
> > > lists.laptop.org.  (we have had some server reorganization recently,
> > else it
> > > would already be in place.)  For wikispace, I recommend finding a
> > space on
> > > the Metawiki itself to discuss this -- perhaps this one:
> > > http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Static_content_group
> > >
> > > It is an old page, but one that needs new life.  (I'm open to
> > suggestions of
> > > other wikis to host if meta seems a poor choice; but whatever we
> > choose
> > > should be a multilingual project)  I hope everyone on this list will
> > sign up
> > > to be participants.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > Now, re-read all those 5 propositions: it's communication-centric.
> > The
> > > > first two points is mostly a matter of sharing what SJ know with
> > > > everybody. I'm sure you, SJ, have worked on those stuff for OLPC ;
> > we
> > > > know need to share it together.
> > > >
> > >
> > > Communication is key; which is why I began with a suggestion of
> > forming a
> > > list so that we will all have somewhere to share our efforts.   I
> > certainly
> > > have as much work to do as anyone to let you know about projects OLPC
> > is
> > > engaged with.  And I hope everyone else will share their own efforts,
> > needs,
> > > and projects -- not just with this group but on public wikipages for
> > > everyone.  The ratio of interest-in-static-content to knowledge about
> > the
> > > state of the field is very large.
> > >
> > >
> > > > Well, thanks for reading, I'm looking forward to read your feedback.
> > > >
> > >
> > > Thanks for your feedback!  I'll write to you all again once a list is
> > set
> > > up.
> > >
> > > SJ
> > >
> > >  ps - Erik Z, thanks for the notes on scripts to compress images.
> > > <math>-to-png sounds great.  is that active on any wikimedia project?
> > >
> >
>
>
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