Wikipedia Rocks
I've been slowly using Wikipedia more and more, have you? I'm just so impressed with how complete the info is, and how up to date as well. Many times when I'm searching for something using the regular search engines, I'm really just looking for an overview of the topic more than anything, and Wikipedia has been coming up more and more in my searches *and* being exactly what I needed.
Just in the past two days I used it to help fill in some blanks. The first was when I was trying to figure out exactly how a "Class 10" GPRS device was different than say a Class 4. Sure enough, Wikipedia has a great section on both GPRS and EDGE which answered my questions. (Answer: GPRS Data can use up to 5 "slots", Class 10 devices use 4 slots for downloading and 2 for uploading. Other classes use less.)
Then I was listening to NPR recently and I was kind of confused about the news from the U.S. Senate about the "nuclear option." Isn't a Filibuster a constitutional right? Well I looked it up on Wikipedia, and there's an entire page dedicated to explaining what exactly is happening in the Senate right now. It turns out that unlimited debate is simply a Senate rule, and the rules could be changed through a series of votes and challenges creating a precedent which would rule out filibusters for judicial nominees. It's very nicely explained (and shows how Republicans continue to be at the core of everything Evil and Wrong in this country.)
I have to say I'm super impressed. It's so non-intuitive that something like the Wikipedia would work, but it's pretty great. I do have to say that I read everything there with caution, especially political pages, because I know that there are people who just can't wait to get in there and alter the facts to fit their world view, but for the most part it's just becoming more and more helpful. I find myself browsing from page to page educating myself on various topics as well. For example, here's a link to a page about my congress woman. Again, both informative and timely.
Very cool.
-Russ