From Input: “A ragtag community is keeping this aughts Wikipedia gadget alive”:

The aesthetically unremarkable aughts gizmo measures 4 inches by 4 inches, with a resolution of 240 by 208 pixels. It has an e-ink display with a rather janky touchscreen that’s better fit for a stylus than a finger.

Jack sells SD cards with updated content for $34, or $29 for a digital download. [He] believes he is the only person in the world who “makes the update and makes one that works and has all the articles (at least the articles that can be viewed on the WikiReader).”

Something about this device, and the person working to keep it relevant, makes me happy. As much as I love/hate the internet, I’m always interested in ways we can do things without needing an internet connection.

Over the last couple decades we’ve begun putting everything on the web. Taking something off the web — something that couldn’t have existed without the web — and putting it on a handheld device feels warmly reassuring.

It’s a nice reminder, too, that Wikipedia is “freely licensed, allowing anyone to copy, modify, and re-use it for any purpose, including commercial uses.” It’s incredible that such a thing exists.