Downloadable book aims to ease wireless networking

IDG News Service - Several community wireless and networking specialists have just completed a free, downloadable book designed to instruct users in remote corners of the world on how to build their own Internet connections using wireless gear.
While the book itself is noteworthy in that it offers a resource that could have an impact on the livelihood of people in remote areas, equally interesting is the way in which it is being distributed.
Wireless Networking in the Developing World, was written by eight volunteers, including Rob Flickenger, a community wireless activist, author and developer, as well as Sebastian B¿ttrich and Tomas Krag, co-founders of the nonprofit organization wire.less.dk. Krag, who instructs people around the globe on how to use wireless technology to set up networks, came up with the idea to write a training manual that could be used by people in remote areas.
Krag admits that this isn't the first book on the subject. One of the authors, Flickenger, has written a book for the publisher O'Reilly Media Inc. on building such wireless networks.
"But there are two issues," Krag said. "One is, it's not free. But more importantly, it's hard to get even if you can pay for the book." Someone in a remote area of Mongolia, for example, who could benefit from this book and had the money to pay for it might live in an area that does not have any mail service. Parcel delivery companies will often ship to such locations, but often for exorbitant fees.
The book is free for anyone to download and print from the Web site http://wndw.net/.
In an unusual twist among books that are free to download, the authors are allowing others to sell the book for a profit. That means that an enterprising person could print out copies of the book and sell them, for example, in towns without Internet access.
Krag is hoping to develop ways to encourage small businesses to sell copies of the book. For example, he'd like to develop a page of the Web site where small businesses could register as an organization selling printed copies of the books.
The response to the book since it was first introduced on Friday has been surprising. Already, 3,500 copies have been downloaded. One person in Cambodia has started printing out copies and will distribute them for free. A friend of Krag's in India has offered to translate the book into Hindi.
Krag and his co-authors hope to have the book translated into Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, French and Russian. The translations

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