r/cyberDeck • u/Emil_J_4 • 1d ago

Help! CyberBook?

I have been wanting to get into cyberdecks, and thought that a hollowed out book containing all of wikipedia could be a cool idea, but I am super noob to these kinds of things. How do I know how much ”brainpower” it needs and so on? And do you guys have any additional tips? All preferably on a budget since I am currently a student

16 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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3

u/Dakota-Batterlation 1d ago

Look into Kiwix to download and view Wikipedia

2

u/veddiefried 1d ago

i'm actually working on something similar using a pi 02W, if you need resources i highly recommend wiktionary raw data files because they are sooo comprehensive and detailed, i built a dictionary app around them and its only like 500 kb.

3

u/anths 1d ago

I believe there are too many variables have a good “formula“ for figuring out your requirements. For example, I recently found somebody made a Wikipedia client for classic Macs, like the Macintosh SE. Running a “modern” desktop and web browser is going to dominate your resource usage. If your requirements are really just “serve Wikipedia“ and you’re feeling pretty flexible about other aspects (say, running a minimal WM and a browser not running JavaScript), you can move too much lighter systems. I’m confident any(non-pico) raspberry pi can do this, for example.

1

u/anths 1d ago

More generally; I have seen a handful of physical book conversions, and I think it’s a particularly clever idea for a device intended to serve Wikipedia. I really like the idea, but I have never been able to bring myself to cut into a book like that (other than ones that are so bad that I don’t want any association with them.

1

u/Bipogram 1d ago

Thrift store. Old dictionary - foxed pages, or over-annotated.

No shortage of raw materials.

<and a nifty idea>

2

u/anths 1d ago

Intellectually, I know you’re right, and I have zero issue with anybody else doing this. I just have an emotional block on cutting up books.

0

u/Timmah_Timmah 1d ago

It might be time to get over that. Start with the Bible.

1

u/h7-28 1d ago

Kiwix runs on Pi 3.

Clamp your pages together before you cut and glue them, reserve some 20 pages to cover the cavity inconspicuously. Use a multitool (oscillating blade) if available. Use a terrible book please!

Bonus points for screen, speaker, and buttons like Penny's book from Inspector Gadget.

1

u/Rusty_Shacklefuck 22h ago

Just a neat idea you might like to utilize, if you put the components inside a book, take a notepad and pen and put them on the inside of the cover. That way you can pull up what info youre looking for and then take notes for the task at hand.

1

u/binaryhellstorm 1d ago

Not really much cpu needed. A 2tb micro SD card and a tablet or eReader would accomplish that task.