h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

At the moment all of the guide entries are embedded in the structure of the rest of the community - that is, you don't seem to be able to get just the approved entries without all of the conversations and unapproved entries as well.

Yet it seems to me that the approved entries constitute a useful, well-written and cool encyclopaedia. If you could just get these in some simple HTML format (or even in open ebook format) that would be really useful. Then you would have three things here:

- a quick search mechanism on small mobile devices (WAP)
- an electronic book of Guide entries
- the full caboodle on internet.

Of course the full community is the most useful, because you don't just get the entries, you get other people's reaction to them - but some electronic book thing would be useful too...

What a brilliant idea! I've always wanted a complete downloadable version of the guide because on-line viewing is just TOO expensive. Any chance of this, h2g2 ?

I think that it would be good if there was a feature to download all the pages found in a search. You could then browse the results without being online. Or, if the results could be downloaded in text format, transfer them to a palmtop computer. This would mean that you could do a search on a town or country you intend to visit and then take all the entries you found with you.

I've always thought that an offline or wireless version of the guide would be perfect on a palm top device. A good first step to this would be to create a Text-Only or Low-Graphic-No-table version of H2G2 that can easily be viewed on a Palm or Windows CE device.
These devices are surely much closer to the original idea of the guide.
I already browse the internet using my Palm IIIe palm top. I use it both online using the ProxiWeb browser (via a mobile phone link, or via serial cable to my desktop) and offline using the AvantGo service.
Both of these create a usable browsing experince on a 160*160 black and white screen, that is easier to see, navigate and use interactively than a WA mobile phone. Using these services I am able to check the news (from the BBC's web site), the day's weather (from the Met Office) and some of my favourite sites whilst i commute to and from work on the train.

Devices such as the Palm VII already have full wireless capability built in and are just waiting for a viewable version of this site.

I'd have thought that from a technical standpoint, using GuideML capabilities, it would be relatively easy to create a low bandwidth verison of H2G2 that could be used by anyone with a palmtop, and even those with a full sized computer and a low speed modem would find it useful.

Alright I've gone on a bit, but I just had to say it all.

Yes I agree. As I said, take out the community and the unapproved posts and what you have left is an encyclopaedia (cool and groovy - but an encyclopaedia nonetheless). Which would still be worth having on an off-line reader.

Reader devices (and ebooks generally) are about to have their day (MS ClearType technology, the Open E-Book standard, moves by large publishers like Barnes & Noble to make their content available - its all happening). So it would perhaps be sensible for h2g2 to think how this might work.

I suspect the problem might be how anyone pays for it - after all on on-line service can be paid for by advertising, but I suspect thats much more difficult with an off-line publication - particularly in electronic format where its so easy to remove the ads.

We're working on things which will make all of this easier. We're expanding our use of XML (inclouding GuideML) which will mean we'll be able to provide low-bandwidth downloads, as well as making it much easier for us to vary the look of the site. It'll also tie in with the WAP service and other ways of delivering the content to handheld devices.

This whole area is very exciting, and we're looking forward to making the Guide available in as many different ways as possible.

In that case I look forward to any developments with great expectations.

I almost can't contain myself, H2G2 on my PC, Palmtop and phone. Will I ever get anything done anywhere?

All I can say is keep up the development and put up nice, big notices on the home page when anything changes.

J

Is there a low-bandwidth, small-screen-friendly version available?
Disclaimer: My day job is working on the PalmVII, so I'd like
something that worked specifically on that, but the requirements
are pretty generic, i.e., clean HTML 3.2 with no frames or bells
and whistles, or assumptions about having a large screen and
bandwidth to waste.
But I'm now off-duty, and browsing in Lynx, and the same requirements
would be nice for that as well.

I agree.
WAP is a bit of a joke at the moment, ( see other discussions).
I personally use a Psion series 5, which personally I think connected by an infra red compatible modem provides a far closer version of the origional guide concept, than these dodgy WAP browsers on the phones, especially as you can compose your submisions for the guide on them keep a complete diary etc.
But sadly h2g2 is a bit complex for these feeble browsers. too many pretty GIF's etc, how about another h2g2 gateway aimed at these cutdown browsers.

WAP is not ideal right now - but in two or three months (allegedly) the rollout of GPRS will start in UK. GPRS is a data transport mechanism for mobile phones. It is up to 10 times faster than current mechanisms (although when it is first rolled out it will be perhaps 1.5/2 times), but will enable mobile devices to be "always on" and available to the network without the need to connect and pay time based connection charges. GPRS will offer unlimited access for a fixed monthly fee (the last I heard).

WAP is an ideal protocol for the GPRS bearer. Yes, eventually WAP will probably fall by the wayside and be replaced by HTTP (maybe mid-end next year?) - but right now its the best we've got.

I guess the thing to do is not compare WAP with HTTP/HTML. If you do that then you plainly will end up thinking WAP is rubbish - no flash, no audio, no COLOUR BITMAPS (for Gods sake!).

Thats not the point. A mobile device isn't used like a little computer - the technology may be the same, but how you use it is vastly different. You don't want to browse/ read / assimilate information while you are walking along or even on a train (unless you can't afford a magazine, book or - for the hopeless techies like me - an electronic book).

No, you want to execute transactions or answer specific questions. You want to book a cinema ticket for that night, you want to rearrange your hotel booking because you have to stay over somewhere, you want to book a train, you want to sell shares, you want to place a bet, you want to find out the latest status on the Microsoft case, you want to find the latest scores on Euro2000. What you don't want to do is spend 5 minutes waiting for a multimedia extravaganza to download.

You want to get in, do what you want to do, and get out as fast as possible. WAP is about transactions, not publishing.

...just reread this and it sounds a bit of a rant - sorry!

That's alright, rant away

You're right - designing services for mobile devices is just not the same as designing services for desktop PCs. For a start there's no keyboard or mouse (if you're lucky you get a pointing device that can go in both the X and the Y directions!) so inputting information from the device is always going to be hard. You've also got a screen that's got to be small enough to fit in your pocket - bye bye big graphics...

These restrictions don't cut out browsing, though. As long as you can find stuff that you're interested in, you'd be surprised how easy it is to read stuff on a Nokia 7110. All that gets in the way is the fear of the huge bill from the phone company, and GPRS (which BT is said to be launching at £45 a month, plus a bit-rate charge if you use over a certain amount of bandwidth) doesn't look to be changing that in the near future

So for the moment you're right again! People don't want to spend ages waiting for stuff to download when they're paying through the nose for it!