Internet-in-a-Box

For other uses, see Internet in a Box (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Network-In-a-Box.
Internet-in-a-Box
The 2017 set-up of an offline medical library. Anyone physically near to the device may connect to it and download the offline content it contains.

Internet-in-a-Box is a low cost digital library, consisting of a wireless access point with storage, which users nearby can connect to.[1] The hardware and software from which it is built has changed since 2012, as miniaturization of storage space and electronics progressed.[2] As of 2017, its hardware often consists of a Raspberry Pi with a replaceable storage card.[1]

In 2016, Columbia University's Masters in Public Administration in Development Practice (MPA-DP) explored using these boxes in the Dominican Republic for three months.[3]

Distribution of devices assembled by Wiki Project Med Foundation via the Wikipedia Store began in 2024.[4] It ships a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W with a 256 GB SD card, which contains all of English[failed verification] and Spanish[failed verification] Wikipedia, among other resources.[4]

  1. ^ a b Watkins, Don. "How to create an Internet-in-a-Box on a Raspberry Pi". Opensource.com. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  2. ^ Gaskill, Braddock (2014). "Internet in a Box" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Internet-in-a-Box: Connectivity for the Rest of the World". 13 June 2017. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
  4. ^ a b Frauenfelder, Mark (1 August 2024). "Wikipedia's $58 gadget lets you access its entire library offline". Boing Boing. Retrieved 2 August 2024.