Like more than half of the web, I’m an avid Wikipedia user. Friend mentions a brand I’ve never heard of? Wikipedia. Australia wins Cricket World Cup? Wikipedia. You get the picture. But as most Wikipedia users know, the search function really sucks. Typing a query in Google takes ages. So what’s my option for those quick Wikipedia moments? Litesum.
Developed by 15 year-old Jake Jarvis, Litesum is a quick way to get those Wikipedia summaries, biographies, and overviews. Actually, quick would be an understatement — it’s faster than that. And if you need more info, click through for the whole article.
The site is simple, with a logo and giant textbox. Type in your query and the results stare at your face — literally (for my test ones, I tried ’something corporate’ (band), ’chuck norris’ (person) and to top the oddness level, ‘feedburner’ (startup) ).
Opinion
Light, simple, quick, and brilliant. Why has it taken so long for something like Litesum to come and save the day? Now that I think about it, it strikes me that I’ve been suffering from that dreadful and slow Wikipedia search function for so long. Of course, Litesum is no doubt going to be a part of my life now. As a side suggestion, wouldn’t it be cool if there were alternative interfaces for it? Perhaps one for the cell phone (iPhone!), a Firefox extension, and a Vista gadget would put the icing on the cake.
