No internet? This ‘survival computer’ has everything you need offline – including AI

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ZDNET highlights

• Project NOMAD is an offshore data collection and AI tool.
• This platform can help you if you are unable to access the internet.
• It can be installed on any Debian-based Linux distro.

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Imagine you have arrived in some kind of post-apocalyptic, dystopian future. In the future, it is not necessarily that the strong will survive, but those who have the experience of information.

Information can end up being the most sought-after commodity, the difference between living and, well, not.

But how can you get information? You probably don’t have an internet connection, which means no internet. And that means no search engine or AI.

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What do you do?

If you’ve already installed Project NOMAD, which stands for Node for Offline Media, Archives, and Data, and is a self-contained, passive “survival computer,” you don’t need to worry. The tag line of this project is “Infinite Knowledge Offline.”

Thanks to this app, you have access to a knowledge base and offline AI that can keep you informed and empowered.

Sounds pretty good, right?

NOMAD isn’t just about a possible future dystopia. Imagine you have to go to unknown places, where internet connections are difficult, but information is needed. As Project NOMAD continues, you have everything you need to keep you informed.

How does Project NOMAD work?

First, you must install Project NOMAD, which can be done on any Debian-based Linux distribution with the command:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y curl && curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Crosstalk-Solutions/project-nomad/refs/heads/main/install/install_nomad.sh -o install_nomad.sh && sudo bash install_nomad.sh

Once the packages are installed, you can start, stop, and update NOMAD with the commands:

• sudo bash /opt/project-nomade/start_nomad.sh
• sudo bash /opt/project-nomade/stop_nomad.sh
• sudo bash /opt/project-nomade/update_nomad.sh

This latest service works with the help of Docker containers. After detailing Project NOMAD on Sparky Linux (based on Debian), I was curious to see what was behind the curtain, that’s how I saw that it used Docker containers. After running the install command, I checked to see if there were Docker containers that came with:

docker ps -a

I was immediately greeted with a permission denied error (more on that in a moment). Then I added sudo into the mix and was rewarded with a list of dishes in action, which were:

• project-nomad: recently
• redis: 7-alpine
• mysql: 8.0
• amir20/dozzle:v10.0
• project-nomad-disk-collector: recently
• project-nomade-sidecar-updater: recently

Thanks to those 6 containers, Project NOMAD is able to deliver all of its content from one efficient website. Open a browser and point it to http://localhost:8080, and you’re ready to learn about anything you need.

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The first thing that caught my attention was the Apps section. After clicking that button, I was taken to the “Application Store”, where I could install a few useful applications, such as Data Library, Education Platform, AI Assistant, Notes, and Data Tools.

Out of curiosity, I installed the AI ​​platform. When that was done, I found that it didn’t work. OK, time to troubleshoot. I went back to the home page and clicked on Easy Setup. Here, NOMAD has made it clear that certain capabilities have been installed, but not enabled.

I tried to select AI Assistant, but it refused. I can choose the other options fine, but not the AI. Curiosity sent me to the command line to see if Ollama was installed. It was, but that’s because I had it in for a previous review.

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Hmmm….

I went back to Tools and ran a Force Reinstall. No luck.

I decided to try another NOMAD install, this time on Kubuntu. I thought that maybe Ollama’s previous schedule was causing problems. Good news: that did the trick. I was able to run a simple setup for all the required features.

During that setup, I had to choose the area of ​​the map (you can choose as many areas as you like), and topics such as examples of AI, Wikipedia, medicine, living and preparation, education and information, DIY & repair, agriculture & food, and computing & technology. Be careful with this section, as each package of information you add takes up space. You don’t want to run out of internal storage.

With everything installed, I began to see the real benefit of Project NOMAD Imagine having some of the tools you usually use, with an internet connection, available while you’re offline.

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I asked AI questions, looked at medical information, and more.

This plan is brilliant, and I hope I never have to use it again. If I do… I’ll be glad it’s there. I will say that some of the information was somewhat unexpected (such as “Teme Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine” and “Wilderness Medicine Course”), but even those manuals may be useful to some.

Overall, Project NOMAD impressed me. I really hope that the project continues to grow, because it could be very important in the coming years (read what you will read).

Find out more on the GitHub project page.