Proposal:Wiki in a Stick, with auto-update

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The status of this proposal is:
Request for Discussion / Sign-Ups

Every proposal should be tied to one of the strategic priorities below.

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  1. Achieve continued growth in readership
  2. Focus on quality content
  3. Increase Participation
  4. Stabilize and improve the infrastructure
  5. Encourage Innovation


Proposal

I propose releasing Wikipedia in a USB stick, which would include an easy solution for auto-updating.

There are already movies being bundled with high-capacity USB sticks, so why not a USB-stick with Wikipedia? The content + auto-updating software could be either given for free (USB manufacturers should be interested = max coverage), or it could be used to bring in money (select coverage).

Using Wiki(pedia) in a Stick would also reduce the load (hits) on online wikipedia. But auto-updating would increase it in another way.

Motivation

  • Increasing coverage in online-challenged environments (esp. developing countries)
  • Taking a leap from geeky "offline wikipedias" to a polished, easy to use, version with better chance of wide adoption

Key Questions

  • Which parts would be included (size limit). Most popular articles, articles with most encyclopedic value, articles without media or categorized packages?
  • Free or profit
  • Specs of the auto-updating software (what kind of an edit in the online WP would mark the article as updated, and to be included in autoupdate download)
  • User interface: Should the stick include a customized browser for this one purpose?
  • USB stick not the only possible physical media for this use. Bluray would be one alternative (video consoles!).

Potential Costs

  • Creating auto-updating software
  • Increased volume of dump downloads

References

Community Discussion

Do you have a thought about this proposal? A suggestion? Discuss this proposal by going to Proposal talk:Wiki in a Stick, with auto-update.

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