ubuntu-ngo team mailing list archive

[Rory McCann <rory@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 08/09/09 14:20, Stephen Michael Kellat wrote:
> "Offline wikipedia?"
> 
> While it still feels compelling to have an equivalent to the
> Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the problem is keeping it up to date.
>  This problem afflicts print publications too.  This is why libraries
> have to count encyclopedia purchases as fixed costs annually.

Yes it's good to keep an up to date encyclopedia. However it's better to
have an encyclopedia that's 5 years out of date, than nothing.

> This area of thought has three parts to it.  The first is having a
> format to store this data in that is somewhat standardized.

HTML pages?

> The third is logistics of
> updating it after it goes into the wild.

Just burn the whole thing to a DVD every so often and post it out. DVDs
/ CDs can be copied locally aswell.

> What use cases do we have in terms of needs of NGOs?  Have inquiries
> been made with NGO umbrella groups like VOAD relative to this?

Yes, I've brought wikipedia CDs to schools in Africa which have no
internet. They are delighted to have a free encyclopedia that they can use.

> "Ubuntu Add-on CD from already downloaded packages (Say from
> /var/cache/apt/archives)"
> 
> How would this be kept up to date?  What about security updates?  Just
> because there is no routine connectivity does not mean virii and other
> nastiness are also out of the equation.  Old foes have new life in such
> settings.  Having no specific release of an add-on CD but rather having
> it rolling like ffmpeg snapshots would be best, I suppose.

Yes, keeping things up to date is a noble goal. However let's not cut
off our nose to save our face. It's better to have *something* than
*nothing*. The idea is to have a snapshot of various software.

I don't think the goal is to have a complicated TCP over sneakernet
system in place with automatic updates, and posts and keeping software
up to date with minimal lag. The problem is that there's millions of
people out there with no internet. Something is better than nothing.

Since we are using open source software, we are free to copy and share
it. So we can legally send CDs out to people and they can copy the CD 20
times. This is a great benefit of Ubuntu, and we should take advantage
of it.


Hope that helps,

Rory

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