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IIAB 8.1 Release Notes

A Holt edited this page Jan 1, 2024 · 327 revisions

Internet-in-a-Box (IIAB) 8.1 was released December 31, 2023 (changelog). NOTE: Please also consider IIAB 8.2 preview releases !

Use it to "steal" the Internet's crown jewels and craft your own LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA with a $35 Raspberry Pi computer, or an old laptop.

Install Internet-in-a-Box (IIAB) 8.1 using its 1-line installer to transform an old PC/laptop into a "learning palace" for a developing world school, that urgently needs this today! Learn how easy it is to DIY (Frequently Asked Questions at FAQ.IIAB.IO) an amazing digital library for any school, clinic or community on this planet:

  🍓 download.iiab.io 🍓

Drag-and-drop the very best of the World's Free Knowledge (Wikipedia in any language, thousands of Khan Academy videos, zoomable OpenStreetMap, E-Books, WordPress journaling, the new Sugarizer 1.5, Toys from Trash electronics projects, RACHEL Content Packs, Kolibri, Nextcloud, ETC) for those who are burning for learning — but just happen to be offline.

The crown jewels are all free, liberated — and open source too! Internet-in-a-Box is now used in schools, libraries and medical clinics in more than 20 countries. Why not DIY your own LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA with a $35 Raspberry Pi computer, starting today?

What's New?

What's Upgraded?

What might future versions bring?

  • "Fieldback" Community Analytics
    • (1) Friendly for village librarians, (2) Actionable for IT implementers, (3) Thorough for education/medical researchers #1268
    • Charts showing usage hourly/daily/weekly/monthly PR #2511
    • Matomo for usage analytics, alongside some careful re-thinking of how IIAB teachers and content contributors can learn from users' needs. #1762
  • IIAB out-of-box guided discovery
    • Automatic installation of "Learning Bouquets" during IIAB installation (up to 64 GB or 128 GB typically, "I want what she has!") so new implementers can pick a language — then hit the ground running. #1958
    • Updating & Versioning Infra for:
      1. Learning Bouquets, Content Packs, Kolibri Channels (and Student Portfolios?). Peer catalogs, relating to torrenting/mirroring below? #857 #2553
      2. IIAB Apps "Registry" (might coordinate with point releases?) PR #2533
      3. IIAB software (effectively point releases like 8.2.1?)
    • Torrent-like content interchange between IIAB's ("Maps might be enough for starters...possibly also including Satellite Photos?") as the Sneakernet-of-Alexandria grows more real! PR #2572
    • Better support for Raspberry Pi Imager for effortless installs of prefab IIAB images #2338
    • Enhanced HOW-TO Videos (old view) for enterprising implementers, teachers and students, with actionable subtitles in common languages. Building upon IIAB's YouTube channel. #1975
    • Out-of-box experience/guidance on our most popular OS (Raspberry Pi OS With Desktop) ? #1979
  • Local Search Engine across most/all IIAB Content #2429
  • See also the Internet-in-a-Box (IIAB) 8.2 Milestone

Credits

Thank you e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e for building your own DIY Library of Alexandria. To serve One & All.

Building on this software and designs contributed by Ed Magara, Josué Acevedo, Mohamad Abu-ElHaggag, Carl Wivagg, Nzolantima Swasisa, Nathan Koops, Shanti Bhardwa, Mir Rodríguez Lombardo, Mitra Ardron, Kurt Maier, T.K. Kang, Eric Nitschke, César López-Natarén, Joshua Kanani, Josh Dennis, Arky R., Matt Johnson, James Heilman, Sam Zidovetzki, Reno McKenzie, Anish Mangal, Mikko Kotila, Avni Khatri, Blondel Mondésir, Evelyn Fitzgerald, Denis Lafontant, George Hunt, Tim Moody, Jerry Vonau, Adam Holt — among many other contributors !

Not just in your own community — but by keeping in touch with our global volunteer community network (http://OFF.NETWORK) each of you are providing the lifeblood "fieldback" — that keeps us motivated enabling Internet-in-a-Box's quality content collaborations across ALL communities!

Frequently Asked Questions: FAQ.IIAB.IO

Known Issues

  • Problematic lines may appear at the bottom of /library/www/html/home/menu.json in some situations when Admin Console is used intensively, disabling your IIAB's home page: #3487 #3602
  • The sudo iiab-network command doesn't cleanly recognize Wi-Fi routers (or Access Points) that you attach to IIAB with an Ethernet cable, with recent OS's like Ubuntu 22.04. Manual workarounds can help: #3330 #3385 (comment)
  • A few residual issues may remain at: github.com/iiab/iiab/milestone/9