05 FAQ
Straight answers.
The things people ask before they buy. If yours isn't here, email us and a person answers.
The product
What is the Offline Brain?
Your own copy of the answers, for the day the cloud goes quiet. It's a US$29 download (NZ$49 in New Zealand) that sets up a small AI assistant on your own laptop, with English Wikipedia (with images), WikiMed, a map pack and our outage playbook beside it. After setup it all works with no internet. It's the first product from AI Survival Guide.
Isn't all this free online?
Yes, and we credit it. You're paying for us to choose it, set it up, test it and keep it updated, so it works the moment you need it, when you can't download anything.
How good is the offline assistant?
It's a small model that fits on a normal laptop, so it's less capable than the big online ones and can be wrong. Wikipedia and WikiMed sit beside it so you can check anything important. We'll publish our own test results alongside the model's name.
Are you saying AI will go wrong?
No. Nobody knows, and we don't claim to. What we can show is how often online AI and cloud services go down (see AI Watch, with sources). This is a backup that doesn't depend on them.
Will it protect me from AI?
No. It's a reference library and an assistant that work without the internet. That's all we claim.
Are my questions private?
Yes. The assistant runs on your laptop, so your questions never leave it. Nothing is sent to us or anyone else.
Buying
What do I get when I buy the download?
An email with the installer, setup guide, playbook PDF, map pack and licence file, straight after payment. The installer then fetches the assistant, Wikipedia and WikiMed from their official sources.
What if the email doesn't arrive?
Check your spam folder first. If it's not there within 10 minutes, email us with your order number and we'll resend it.
How do refunds work?
Within 30 days of buying, email us and we refund your payment to the card you used. No form, no questions.
Is it a subscription?
No. One payment, with 12 months of update emails. After that it keeps working exactly as it is.
Which payment methods?
Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay through Shopify's secure checkout. You can check out as a guest.
Setup
How much space and time does it need?
English Wikipedia with images is 119 GB, so you need more than that free. On a 100 Mbps connection that takes about 3 hours to download.
Do I need to be technical?
No. Run the installer, wait for the download, open the start page. The setup guide walks you through it with screenshots.
Does it work on my phone?
Wikipedia does, through the free Kiwix app on Android or iPhone. The assistant and map pack are for laptops and desktops.
What if I get stuck?
Email us. A person replies.
Waitlist and add-ons
Is there a USB version?
Not yet. We're gauging interest in a pre-loaded USB. Join the waitlist and you'll hear first if pre-orders open. No payment to join.
What are the kit add-ons?
Optional extras for when the power's out too: a radio, a headtorch, blankets and a messaging node. They come from our suppliers, and prices are set once stock is confirmed. Delivery time is shown before you pay.