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Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

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Re: Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

#21

Post by gurkendoktor »

nathan_f77 wrote: post #6

I really wish there was a way to go back and download the first 5 pages of Reddit for any given day, including an offline cache of every comment thread, image, video, web page, etc. Then you could go back and get 10 weeks worth of front-pages to keep you entertained. Otherwise, just take a couple of good books.

Not quite the same as what you said, but I really wish any of the offline reading apps would automatically scrape comments from HN/reddit/disqus along with the page itself. Reading articles on Instapaper/Pocket/... without being able to check out the top comments feels incomplete :(

Re: Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

#22

Post by jaredsohn »

nathan_f77 wrote: post #6

I really wish there was a way to go back and download the first 5 pages of Reddit for any given day, including an offline cache of every comment thread, image, video, web page, etc. Then you could go back and get 10 weeks worth of front-pages to keep you entertained. Otherwise, just take a couple of good books.

You can (although you'd need to write or use a script to make an offline copy.)

https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.reddit.com

Also: http://www.redditarchive.com/

Re: Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

#24

Post by wicknicks »

It depends on personal taste. But if I were going to a country I never visited before, there would be very little time to do anything else other than sightseeing, mingling with the locals, learning about their culture, their history, the food, and if you are anywhere near one, visit the national parks and take the safari.

Document everything you see. Take a good camera with you, and if you don't know how to use an SLR, this is the perfect time to learn some basic tricks. Once you pick a camera, you can find some tutorial on the web, which teaches you the basics for that brand/model.

I would use this time out to "take a break" from computer science. But if you can't stay away from it, pick up a book like SICP (http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/). This is one of those books which you want to read away from all distractions and think deeply about. If you can, download the accompanying video lectures:

http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-comput...

Re: Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

#25

Post by Ecio78 »

patmcguire wrote: post #12

Wikipedia archive. https://dumps.wikimedia.org/other/static_html_dumps/ Gutenberg archive. http://www.gutenberg.org/robot/harvest Should be enough for anyone, and way less space than you would expect. Also, something on the languages for where you're going? And some docs for the work you'll be doing?

+1 for Wikipedia, not just for reading something but as a reference if you want to verify something as the old Encyclopedias we used to use. To just fill the hours, I would suggest some nice book, even better good series, like Foundation and Robot Series by Isaac Asimov, A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) by George R.R. Martin etc.. With those I think those 5 weeks will fly..

Re: Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

#26

Post by kazagistar »

wicknicks wrote: post #24

It depends on personal taste. But if I were going to a country I never visited before, there would be very little time to do anything else other than sightseeing, mingling with the locals, learning about their culture, their history, the food, and if you are anywhere near one, visit the national parks and take the safari. Document everything you see. Take a good camera with you, and if you don't know how to use an SL…

5 weeks is a long time. I could spend a week or two mingling and sightseeing, but burnout will eventually set in, and I would need a small break.

Re: Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

#28

Post by nathan_f77 »

jaredsohn wrote: post #22
nathan_f77 wrote: post #6

I really wish there was a way to go back and download the first 5 pages of Reddit for any given day, including an offline cache of every comment thread, image, video, web page, etc. Then you could go back and get 10 weeks worth of front-pages to keep you entertained. Otherwise, just take a couple of good books.

You can (although you'd need to write or use a script to make an offline copy.) https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.reddit.com Also: http://www.redditarchive.com/

Awesome, thankyou! I hadn't heard of reddit archive before, that's exactly what I was looking for.

I might also need to start from scratch, so that I can get my own personal front-page for each day.

Re: Ask HN: What should I save for offline reading during 5 weeks without Internet?

#30

Post by txutxu »

Why read/watch?

I mean... maybe you can enjoy coding offline ?

You can git clone many things... the linux kernel, the openbsd source tree, the bootstrap project, whatever you love. And then hack on it !

On my external HDD, I use to bring with me a Debian mirror and a CPAN mirror, so I can hack offline (building system scripts, etc).

On the other side, if you want to take a rest of coding, there are free publications and podcasts for many knowledge topics, I think a search engine will drive you to some ebooks in the areas of your personal interest. Just two suggestions if you want to explore them:

"modern perl" (http://onyxneon.com/books/modern_perl/)

"Higher-Order Perl" (http://hop.perl.plover.com)

First one is refreshing if you think "perl is perl4 of 1990", second one is an enlightening experience whatever programming language you like (even if not Perl).

But don't discard to make a git clone of your favourite project, tool, etc and pass the time "reading" source code (and even touching it!!). Enjoy in Africa!

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