Explore Wikipedia Like a Windows XP Desktop

(explorer.samismith.com)

149 points | by smusamashah 3 hours ago ago

37 comments

  • hliyan 35 minutes ago

    Incredibly beautiful, possibly because it maps so well to the mental model we typically use to organize knowledge in our heads. I don't know how we lost the folder/container vs. document/content iconography, and other things (like layout of items, sorting) during the shift to web applications.

    • cheschire a minute ago

      Knowledge doesn’t neatly align to a nested hierarchy. Especially written knowledge.

      Language is an imperfect means to convey knowledge, and people store that knowledge in subjective and highly personal ways.

      You may mentally recall balloons within “entertainment” or “party”, whereas I might store that knowledge under “horror”.

      Add onto that the massive focus on using graph theory to scale social networking technologically, and you effectively lose any motivation for rigid hierarchy.

    • sznio 27 minutes ago

      I guess this model doesn't maximize engagement

  • eur0pa a minute ago

    Beautiful memories of browsing random topics in Microsoft Encarta '97

  • cube00 a minute ago

    This is exactly what I imagined the original Microsoft Network in Windows 95 would have been like.

  • dewey 2 hours ago

    The shininess looks a bit more like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_XP_Media_Center_Editio... and not like the regular Windows XP, but still a fun project!

  • soupspaces a few seconds ago

    Is there a way to go up/back a folder? Enter works forward.

  • tigerlily 22 minutes ago

    Oh wow, to me the history section feels like Civilopedia (in a good way). I can't explain why.

  • crabmusket an hour ago

    Where does the hierarchical classification come from?

  • pixlmint an hour ago

    Such a cool project! Now it's just missing search and a request for donations

    • emil-lp an hour ago

      It's also missing the defrag tool. Without it, it's going to be very slow as the disk fills up.

      Should put a shortcut to it on the desktop as well, so that users who experience significant lag can defrag at will.

  • angilr 2 hours ago

    It is nice. I randomly click on something interest just appear in my mind and lead to this: life -> death -> last_words -> More milk. But I can't find it on Wiki. I search More milk. and the first result is this page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Michael_Jackson. Hmm, why is the name different?

    • flexagoon 2 hours ago

      "More milk" is a redirect to that page

      https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=More_milk.&redire...

      The "Windows XP" website displays the same article when you click on "More milk" there

      • angilr an hour ago

        Wow, do you know what is the relationship between More milk and the death of MJ?

        • Kwpolska an hour ago

          The Wikipedia article does:

          > After several hours and several drug injections, Jackson was still unable to fall asleep, and, according to Murray, was repeatedly asking him for "milk", a nickname for the powerful surgical general anesthetic propofol, which Jackson had used in the past as a sleep aid. At 10:40 a.m., with Jackson still not asleep, Murray relented to his requests and injected him with 25 milligrams of propofol diluted with lidocaine. With Jackson finally asleep, Murray testified that he left his bedside to go to the bathroom, and after returning two minutes later, discovered that Jackson was not breathing and had a weak pulse.

          • angilr an hour ago

            Thanks! TIL that Propofol has a nickname "Milk of amnesia". MJ asked more milk which meant more propofol.

  • steveharing1 an hour ago

    What a beautiful nostalgic feeling. Keep up the good work! Worth adding some start menu options as well.

  • kramit1288 an hour ago

    This looks really cool. feels nostalgic. it would be more fun if it can be switched into whatever desktop mode i want like unix.

  • sagacity an hour ago

    This is genuinely a really fun way to browse Wikipedia. Only drawback is that folder names that contain ellipsis don't show the full name when clicked.

  • Eonexus 39 minutes ago

    This is just beautiful. I wonder if this could turn into different styles, like that of a book, or a cabinet?

  • Uptrenda 16 minutes ago

    Somehow the format makes me feel like its easier to learn here than the intimidating encyclopedia theme of wikipedia. It's interesting to consider the effect that presentation of information might have on learning. We know that physical books are said to be better for learning (I have heard people go up by an entire grade if they use them), but maybe there is something to be said for themes, too.

  • unrvl22 2 hours ago

    love how it loads instantly and feels smooth. imo useless but still cool

    • kristianp 25 minutes ago

      > love how it loads instantly and feels smooth.

      Unlike Wikipedia these days.

      • hexagonwin 8 minutes ago

        wikipedia is fine, and you can still use vector or even monobook skins. try adding ?useskin=monobook at the end of the url

    • senfiaj 41 minutes ago

      I guess XP (x64) could run like this on modern PCs.

    • dolmen an hour ago

      Yes. It definitely lacks the hourglass mouse cursor experience!

  • koolala 27 minutes ago

    trying to find what folder has Дэбі робіць Даляс

  • jdw64 2 hours ago

    Seeing the Windows XP theme I loved the most really brings back a wave of nostalgia

  • arnon 44 minutes ago

    make it look like encarta 95 and you'll have a REAL winner on your hands

  • dunderd 21 minutes ago

    Very cool!

  • hnlmorg 44 minutes ago

    I guess appearance is subjective because I always considered XP to be the ugliest Windows ever released.

  • macwhisperer an hour ago

    pretty cool! needs the search function to work tho to be useful

  • DeathArrow 39 minutes ago

    Well, it should also have Solitaire and Minesweeper. :)

  • redox99 an hour ago

    Is there a reason why it looks like Temu's Windows XP? Copyright concerns I guess?

    • sunaookami an hour ago

      Because it's obviously vibe coded (look at the source code).