Wikipedia - The New Google??

[Tomahawk]

Hi all, I'm sure a lot of you would have heard about Wikipedia but for those who haven't, you've been missing out quite a lot....

Wikipedia is an online free encyclopedia and dictionary which has articles on just about everything. Anyone can add to the articles or correct what is wrong... I have recently turned to Wikipedia for information when I find google boggles my brain with the millions of results of which a lot are IRRELEVANT. Some of you may not use a site like that but I use it to find info on bands, albums, sports info, products or anything... its great.

When I am looking for info now, especially for research projects I first try Wikipedia, then I use google... because Wikipedia provides good relevant info... so I don't have to sit and sift through so much to find what I want.

Edit: I was reading an article today saying that Wikipedia is now the 37th most popular website in the world, according to stats by Anexa

Try it:
http://www.wikipedia.org/

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[Pyro]

I don't use it too often, but it does give you a good answer to your questions!

[ZX]

One can now install a plugin for Firefox which adds the wikipedia search page to the little search engine textbox next to the URL text box. So you don't have to go to wikipedia to look for something, you just type it in there and firefox will automatically fill out wikipedia's search page for you.

Wikipedia is definitely very useful. But it would always be a good idea to just double check some of the facts it gives before using it for school projects or million dollar contracts! It's regular people that contribute knowledge to the encyclopedia and they're not paid to make sure that what they write is correct so it is very much conceivable that a little mistake will slip in every now and then.

[Tomahawk]

Yeah. There's also been a lot about Wikipedia in the media lately to do with copyright infringements etc. Probably people just complaining to make a quick buck.

Anyway, where can i download this program from. Normally I just search google for "Wikipedia + whatever i'm looking for" it seems easier than going to wikipedia directly. But I would like that toolbar.. Do you perhaps have a link

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[ZX]

I don't know of a Wikipedia toolbar, but you can download a plugin for Firefox which adds a Wikipedia search bar on the address bar. In fact, the current version of Firefox has this plugin pre-installed. Just click on the icon in the search bar, select wikipedia from the drop down list, then type what you're looking for and press ENTER.

For those that don't know where to find Firefox's search bar: It's that smaller text entry box on the right of the larger one where you would normally enter your URLs. By default (at least on all my firefox installations) a Google icon is shown in this search bar.

[Edit] If your Firefox doesn't show Wikipedia, just left click on the icon shown, then select "Add engine..." on the drop down menu. This will open a new webpage from where you can download and install the search page plugins. [/Edit]

[shamoly]

What is so bad about Wikipedia, that teachers should prohibit students from using it for projects or reports? I am helping my nephew with his 5th grade science project. The assignment sheet he was given has "NO WIKIPEDIA" printed boldly across the bottom of the page. I mentioned this to a coworker and learned that his girl, (7th grader in a different school), has the same issue. I understand that a small percentage of information posted on wiki may be incorrect, but checking it against other sources should prevent any mistakes in a grade school project.
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