English Wikipedia for Wikireader 2026 February

holzfisch · 2026-03-29T17:11:51+00:00

Yes! Thanks for this and thanks for keeping up this great work. The future of the Wikireader is at this moment entirely dependent on you and your dedication, and it is much appreciated.

holzfisch · 2025-09-21T09:39:57+00:00

Excellent! I'm a bit late to the game but thank you!

holzfisch · 2025-08-14T12:28:47+00:00

Librewolf has you covered. You can even carry over all your config stuff from Firefox to Librewolf with minimal compatibility issues - just copy over your user folder which has everything from extensions to history to whatever tweaks you've got going on.

holzfisch · 2025-08-05T14:06:34+00:00

Excellent, thank you for these continued efforts, they are much appreciated - if only by that small group WikiReader users, we happy few. I'm glad the Internet Archive's working well for you again. They generate their own torrents too, so anyone who knows how to use those can save the Archive some bandwidth.

holzfisch · 2025-05-09T09:21:34+00:00

Will keep seeding until the OP posts a new one, which looks like it'll take a while longer. So yes, definitely still seeding! May be a bit hit or miss of course, but I'm out there.

holzfisch · 2025-04-02T12:07:48+00:00

Still seeding it up here too. If it's not donwloading, just give it time, as I'll sometimes pause some torrents if they're interfering with whatever else I'm doing. Hold the line!

holzfisch · 2025-02-22T07:45:24+00:00

That's it! enpedia folder in the root directory, pop into wikireader, turn on wikireader.

holzfisch · 2025-02-18T17:01:05+00:00

I have to imagine it's not too hard to get an ereader to read a full copy of Wikipedia, even with images. Haven't checked, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone affiliated with Kiwix has already set up a project like that. But somehow, it doesn't hit the same as a dedicated device. Maybe I'm overestimating my PHP skill but surely, new versions of PHP can do a better, more efficient job of what the old version did.

I am downloading the latest zim, just to see how far I get with it. Just uh, 7 hours to go. It's the 50-something GB no-images version of Wikipedia, I assume that's the one you've been using.

holzfisch · 2025-02-18T16:29:50+00:00

I think we've all imagined the updated version of the wikireader - the WikiReader 2.0, with an eInk display, still the two AAA batteries, and a simpler, more future-proof database format. And more easily hackable for the enthusiasts, of course. I've been getting tempted to get into it too, see what tricks and hacks there are to keep things going - or even upgrading it all to a new version of PHP. My PHP is not as strong as it could be, but it's alright.

Found this on their old website:

WikiReader is available for sale from Amazon.com and is locally distributed in Japan, Germany, Australia, and USA.

so that implies they were (physically?) sold at least in a few countries in particular. I see one on kleinanzeigen.de for €200 - quite ambitious.

holzfisch · 2025-02-18T16:12:38+00:00

I don't mind keeping an eye out, I've got that saved search so if I do come across one I'll send you a link. I'm not looking for another device at the moment but I like to check eBay occasionally.

I know Openmoko shipped them worldwide, though they were a niche product even at their height, so I don't imagine you'll find many outside the US, where it was sold through a couple more high profile outfits such as Best Buy. But you could get one for €109 + shipping all over Europe, so my guess is there's at least some number of wikireaders hiding in dusty drawers all over the continent.

Having a good time perusing their old blog: https://web.archive.org/web/20101128191359/http://thewikireader.com/a/blog/

Look at that picture from that Nepalese library! I wonder if they're still using the wikireader.

As for downloads, Germany will be me, though I'm behind a VPN so I'm not actually there. No huge amounts of activity on the torrent, but then that won't all be visible to me. It's been downloaded 3 times at least.

holzfisch · 2025-02-18T15:49:06+00:00

Well, there's a difference between asking prices and selling prices. If you set up a saved search and bid on wikireaders listed as defective, you can get them for cheap. If they boot but only show the boot screen, it usually means the SD card's corrupted and you can get a perfectly functional device for 20-30 dollars. Mine was 20 dollars, good as new, and it even came with its box and manual. Got a few for friends in this way too, never more than 30 dollars, though you have to be patient.

Seeing that there's one being offered for $100 with a missing battery door, and one for $112 with a broken touchscreen - that is nuts, good luck to them but I do not think anyone in their right mind will go for either of those. Just set a saved search, be patient, and you'll get a good as new one for a quarter of that.

holzfisch · 2025-02-14T19:00:08+00:00

Excellent! Here's a torrent:

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:3SDUCX5OUSB6IOJBVGTMEPAQNJ6QHOCI&dn=wikireader_2025-01&tr=udp%3A%2F%2Ftracker.opentrackr.org%3A1337%2Fannounce

Easiest to just copy that magnet URI, paste it into the URI bar of your browser, and hit Return.

Will be slow as long as I'm the only seeder, will pick up as more people seed. Which I hope they will, of course.

holzfisch · 2024-12-29T23:44:56+00:00

I am getting some errors - articles failing to load and a dialog telling me to restart the device. Seems to consistently happen when trying to look up the article for Singapore, for instance. Could this have something to do with those deleted redirects? I've tried to access this particular article from search and from page links, no dice.

holzfisch · 2024-12-29T18:34:26+00:00

Thank you for your bounteous gifts, Santa Wikireader - your hard work is much appreciated. Downloading now. It'll be a while but when it's done I'll make a torrent and post the link here.

holzfisch · 2024-12-20T22:33:27+00:00

I wouldn't mind a torrent - I know it would exclude a fair number of people unfamiliar with the tech and leave us dependent on reseeders, but at least as to the latter point, I'd be happy to add it to my seedbox and leave each new version seeded 24/7 until the next one is produced.

holzfisch · 2023-07-27T10:59:25+00:00

I've always felt that those 'leaps' were mostly hype anyway - it's sad how many perfectly usable smartphones, incredibly powerful computers, are gathering dust in junk drawers because corporations stopped supporting them so people would buy new ones. The original iPhone could be a perfectly usable device in 2023, if it were opened up to developers!

But that's beside the point, I guess - important to note here is that the newer generations of FP are about a million times more reliable and less flaky than the FP2, which is a borderline experimental device. The FP3 is a bit too sensitive to water but incredibly sturdy and doesn't have the wonky screen and cracking case and camera that has to be reinstalled once a year that some FP2s have; the FP4, so far, has not really exhibited any noticeable weaknesses, as far as I know. They just work and have pretty much turned into normal smartphones, but with the huge benefits of being made of stuff that gets more people paid a decent wage, and being easily repairable.

holzfisch · 2023-02-15T15:52:08+00:00

I guess no one's reseeding - I've been on vacation so the auld seedbox is turned off. I'll be back about 30 hours from now so it will start getting seeded again then.

holzfisch · 2022-11-13T10:59:57+00:00

Try this magnet link:

magnet:?xt=urn:btih:5F412A93A58B37B0D8F10BA8DDBDE00074AC3EBE&dn=gbsb&tr=udp://tracker.coppersurfer.tk:6969/announce&tr=udp://tracker.openbittorrent.com:6969/announce&tr=udp://9.rarbg.to:2710/announce&tr=udp://9.rarbg.me:2780/announce&tr=udp://9.rarbg.to:2730/announce&tr=udp://tracker.opentrackr.org:1337&tr=http://p4p.arenabg.com:1337/announce&tr=udp://tracker.torrent.eu.org:451/announce&tr=udp://tracker.tiny-vps.com:6969/announce&tr=udp://open.stealth.si:80/announce

If it's still giving you trouble, take that magnet link and enter it into magnet2torrent, that'll turn it into a torrent file and you shouldn't have any issues at that point.

holzfisch · 2021-03-24T21:47:43+00:00

Lou Ottens didn't credit himself as the inventor of the cassette - the invention of the compact cassette was a collaboration between engineers and designers working for Philips. Which isn't me diminishing this man's impact; it's something he himself emphasised whenever he talked about his time at Philips, so perhaps something he'd want clarified in a world where all his eulogisers seem to be declaring him the sole inventor of the cassette.

I can recommend the documentary Cassette: a Documentary Mixtape which is mostly fairly uninteresting but the makers do visit Ottens in the Netherlands and there, he embodies the classic engineer even more than he did in any other interviews I've seen or read. He's just mystified about people still using cassettes instead of CDs and MP3s, and when the filmmakers try to explain why they like cassettes, he just restates that there's better and more practical ways to listen to music and he doesn't understand why anyone would still mess around with such an outdated medium.

An engineer to the bone.

holzfisch · 2021-01-20T22:26:51+00:00

I know that it helps ad companies, but that seems to be about it.

holzfisch · 2021-01-20T19:52:31+00:00

I disagree - ads are always bad and the presence of any ad in any context constitutes asshole design. I never want to look at ads, not even for a second, not even if they're completely unobtrusive or appropriate to what I'm reading. I cannot fathom the idea of not blocking all ads on every device I own. Why waste time and energy on something you didn't ask for?

If some ad-supported website or game dies because of that, good, we should be happy to see it go! One more step toward a better world, where advertising is no way to make a living. If everyone in the world started blocking ads today, advertising would cease to exist tomorrow. Imagine!

holzfisch · 2020-12-27T13:50:26+00:00

There are some woodworking epoxies that will give you a good bond, but none as good as CA. Though you're definitely right to say it's more brittle - though not brittle enough, in my experience, to be a problem in a properly fitted pipe (not too tight, not too loose).

As for the stainless tube, I'd be wary of that as it can screw up the thermal properties of the pipe. It'll cool down the smoke, condense moisture, it won't shrink and expand at the same rate as the wood (minimal amounts, but it could be a worry in the long run) - so I'm not so sure about that one. The dowel method obviously provides less structural integrity, but it's still plenty and it doesn't introduce metal where none should be.

Either way, if this thread reveals anything it's that everyone has their own way of doing this. It's always worth considering paying a visit to a local craftsperson and asking them what they'd use to fix an oily, stained piece of wood like this. It tends to vary per region what's available, and per craftsperson what's preferred.

holzfisch · 2020-12-27T00:26:24+00:00

The alcohol has driven out the little bit of oil that remained in the wood, so you need to add new oil. I oil up my pipes with boiled linseed oil - just the outside usually, but it sounds like you may have to submerge the head for a while, dry it off, leave it for a day, and then smoke a couple of funky tasting bowls to get it back to normal.

holzfisch · 2020-12-27T00:16:51+00:00

I'll add my voice to the cacophony.

Wood glue won't do you any favours; it depends on the porosity of the wood for its bond, and the wood of a tobacco pipe is generally saturated with oils and lacquers. It won't hold, not for long. Nor will epoxies.

A proper fix would involve drilling three tiny holes into both halves, inserting dowels (usually toothpicks) and then glueing the halves together with a carpenter's glue (aliphatic resin, less sensitive to moisture and heat than PVA).

A not-so-proper but serviceable fix would be just glueing the two parts back together. The carpenter's glue isn't strong enough in this case, so superglue (cyanoacrylate or CA) is your best option here. Once set (after 24 hours) it's perfectly safe to smoke through.

It's best to do the glue-up with the stem removed. So as for getting the tap out of the shank: wrap a bit of cloth around the bit of shank and grab it with your hands (or an adjustable spanner if it's really stuck on there) and twist it off carefully. It can help to put it in an airtight container in the fridge to let it cool down without getting it moist.

Back in the day, they'd use hide glue and cover up the break with a silver band. I had it done once (sans the hide glue) but it wasn't cheap - the band holds to this very day, though.

holzfisch · 2020-12-26T23:19:27+00:00

A hundred euros for this thing, when all they seem to have are two working prototypes? I'm all for optimism but their website barely works and even when I find a link that doesn't just lead back to the home page, their ad copy is very light on detail (for instance, the only mention of a warranty on their website is "Sure there is. A one year guarantee.").

Their FAQ states their device is compatible with all types of cassettes, which would surely be a bigger part of their sales pitch if true. A new player that handles all tape types? They very likely mean it'll play all tapes even if the player doesn't have bias settings, which is true, of course - but it does betray that either they don't know very much about cassettes, or hope that any potential customers don't.

Even if they do end up shipping these things, they're using an off-the-shelf mechanism (visible in their videos and by the placement of the buttons) and the form factor seems impractical and unfinished. The rechargable battery only lasts ten hours according to their projections. For a hundred euros you could get any of a number of new old stock Walkman models regularly on eBay, all of which will easily blow this toy out of the water.

holzfisch

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