The month of October has me occupied with monsters—and, particularly, mutants.
That’s a wierd strategy to begin a dialog about tech subjects, I understand. However stick with me: I promise that is going someplace.
I maintain having the thought, y’see, that among the greatest and most helpful apps on the market could be even higher if we might by some means mix ’em and create new, superpowered mutant app mega-tools.
And there’s no place that’s extra true than with the time-tested companies of Google Maps and Wikipedia.
Maps is stuffed with endlessly helpful information in regards to the locations round you, whereas Wikipedia is the end-all useful resource for fascinating information about just about something.
So what in case you might mix them and have an app that’d present you noteworthy Wikipedia entries for bodily places in your present space—or any different space you need?
My pal, it’s time to placed on our Frankenstein masks and uncover a brand-new, one-of-a-kind tech mutant simply ready to spice up our day.
Psst: For those who love a majority of these instruments as a lot as I do, try my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. You’ll be the primary to search out all types of easy tech treasures!
Wikipedia + Maps = this
As soon as you actually cease and give it some thought, it’s truly kinda bizarre that Wikipedia doesn’t have a easy map-driven interface possibility—a strategy to discover the world of information it gives primarily based on the place you might be within the bodily world, or perhaps the place you’re planning to be.
➜ A considerate new software referred to as NearbyWiki is right here to fill that void. It’s a mutant creation of Maps and Wikipedia, and it’s extremely simple to make use of.
⌚ The truth is, it’ll take you all of two seconds to determine.
✅ All you’ve gotta do is open up the NearbyWiki website in any browser, on no matter machine you’re utilizing.
And hey, how ’bout that?
Proper there in your browser, you’ll see a map of your present space with particular “W” pins indicating each location round you with a Wikipedia entry.
For those who aren’t seeing any pins, strive zooming out or panning round along with your mouse or fingers till you land in a busier locale. You can even use the search icon within the website’s upper-right nook to maneuver to another particular spot.
From there, you possibly can click on or faucet on any “W” pin you see to summon a useful little pop-up with Wikipedia-provided information in regards to the place in query.
And if you wish to dive deeper but, you possibly can then click on or faucet on that pop-up to broaden it right into a full-fledged window that’ll present you the related Wikipedia article in its entirety proper then and there—neatly formatted atop your map.
Take observe, too, of the “Record” button within the website’s lower-left nook. That’ll swap you over to a card-based scrolling checklist of all the numerous Wikipedia-mentioned locations round you for even simpler area-based shopping.
It’s an entire new strategy to wander round Wikipedia and discover the world round you—and it actually is a delightfully helpful mutant combo (no ninjas or turtles concerned).
- NearbyWiki is completely brower-based—no downloads or installations—and it’ll work in any browser, on any machine.
- It’s utterly free to make use of, too, with a minimal quantity of unobtrusive advertisements all through its interface.
- And the software doesn’t require any type of sign-ins or private information.
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