Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Email Lazy Web

Mail a server and get a webpage
 
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I am always on some form of public transport, desperately wanting to read something of value on trains, tubes or in traffic etc with bad or no connectivity mobile or otherwise. While trying to connect to the web I am teased with tantalizing glimpses of what I want and I wonder if I am paying an arm and a leg for data on my mobile.

So how about simply emailing a friend, (bot) and asking them to send me the text from a simple web search.

When I pass through somewhere with connectivity where my short email can get out, a text based email will be sent back with the content from some Wikipedia article or other first page of a google search. (presumably with a setting to say how many of the results I would be interested in reading (e.g. top 5 google searches)

In the days of fast connections and such this idea has to be dead in the water, and its clearly a yesteryear steampunk solution, but not sure why or if this has not been done before, presumably you could even make it viable using a text based advert at the top like, "buy cheap food from Mac Ronalds Burgers its kinda tasty and really cheap."

PainOCommonSense, Sep 26 2012

Kinda baked... http://tek.sourceforge.net/
...but they shut it down, because nobody was using it. [Wrongfellow, Sep 26 2012]

[link]






       Has been baked many times over the years. Especially back when interactive internet access was less commonly available than dial-up email drops.   

       A quick google for "web via email" brings up several sites still offering this sort of service.
prufrax, Sep 26 2012
  

       Browsers that reduce a webpage to text only are also WKTE.
DIYMatt, Sep 26 2012
  
      
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