In focus
Offline Wikipedia developed at OFF.NETWORK Content Hackathon
From 14–18 August 2017 a group of 35 offline Wikipedia enthusiasts convened at the OFF.NETWORK Content Hackathon to advance Kiwix and its distribution of offline Wikipedia in the Internet-in-a-Box device. (See previous Signpost coverage) The goal of the meeting was to develop Kiwix and complementary projects enough to make it possible for anyone to be able to:
- load a Kiwix package onto a Raspberry Pi;
- deploy that Raspberry Pi to a place without consistent inexpensive Internet access; and
- expect that anyone nearby with an Android cell phone should be able to connect to the Raspberry Pi's network and begin browsing offline Wikipedia articles within one minute, with no further instructions except "please connect to the Wi-Fi".
The outcomes of this meeting included technical development of Kiwix software, decisions on device hardware, designing content packages, framing of the social and ethical challenges, and planning for deployment of more devices by the end of the first half of 2018.