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.
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.
A folder system doesn't have to be strictly rigid, you can still have "symlinks" so the same article appearing in different folders (aka labels if you can easily duplicate content inside folders, but you retain the nested, drill-down approach)
This is really impressive. It's exactly what I imagined the original Microsoft Network in Windows 95 would have been like.
And so The Microsoft Network wasn't a program you loaded like CompuServe. It was part of the OS, with folder icons that looked just like real folders. It was a kind of version of the Web where you could browse online data the same way you browsed your file system. This is what made it cool.
It was as if the data was suddenly free of the shackles of being displayed in a program. Data wasn't just a web page, or a program showing its own internal databases. The Microsoft Network made it look like the data was right there, and you could click it and drag it around! For a brief time, back in 1995, it felt like we were on the verge of the true object-oriented web, a world filled with open data and free from the tyranny of the walled gardens.[1]
It also reminded me what an excellent job Wikipedia does with their hierarchical classification which you don't see when you're often searching by article name.
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.
Ok this is a genuinely perfect way to research an entire field by article instead of having to jump recursively link to link and forgetting what you were doing 5 minutes ago.
I've never seen wikipedia from this categorized vantage point. If we're being real their UX is kinda crap outside the usual search->article->link flow and could use a complete rework.
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?
> 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.
Not sure why they downvoted you because you have a point - icons are not the same as Windows XP's, wallpaper flat color reminds me more of Win 95/98 and the taskbar design has some details that do not match precisely with Windows XP's. I'd also bet it's due to copyright concerns
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.
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.
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.
Yes, and it sad the search in this UI doesn’t work…
A folder system doesn't have to be strictly rigid, you can still have "symlinks" so the same article appearing in different folders (aka labels if you can easily duplicate content inside folders, but you retain the nested, drill-down approach)
I guess this model doesn't maximize engagement
This is really impressive. It's exactly what I imagined the original Microsoft Network in Windows 95 would have been like.
And so The Microsoft Network wasn't a program you loaded like CompuServe. It was part of the OS, with folder icons that looked just like real folders. It was a kind of version of the Web where you could browse online data the same way you browsed your file system. This is what made it cool.
It was as if the data was suddenly free of the shackles of being displayed in a program. Data wasn't just a web page, or a program showing its own internal databases. The Microsoft Network made it look like the data was right there, and you could click it and drag it around! For a brief time, back in 1995, it felt like we were on the verge of the true object-oriented web, a world filled with open data and free from the tyranny of the walled gardens.[1]
It also reminded me what an excellent job Wikipedia does with their hierarchical classification which you don't see when you're often searching by article name.
[1]: https://web.archive.org/web/20260129143542/https://www.coder...
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!
This is so Cool! Great concepts and execution. I could imagine this way of interaction and exploration apply to Educational area
Where does the hierarchical classification come from?
Wikipedia category namespace: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Articles
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.
Beautiful memories of browsing random topics in Microsoft Encarta '97
Oh wow, to me the history section feels like Civilopedia (in a good way). I can't explain why.
Such a cool project! Now it's just missing search and a request for donations
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.
Ok this is a genuinely perfect way to research an entire field by article instead of having to jump recursively link to link and forgetting what you were doing 5 minutes ago.
I've never seen wikipedia from this categorized vantage point. If we're being real their UX is kinda crap outside the usual search->article->link flow and could use a complete rework.
I'd like to see a gource interface to Wikipedia, personally ..
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?
"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
Wow, do you know what is the relationship between More milk and the death of MJ?
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.
Thanks! TIL that Propofol has a nickname "Milk of amnesia". MJ asked more milk which meant more propofol.
Here's Robin Williams describing it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOIBBE3ObRY
He calls taking propofol for sleep as Having chemotherapy because you're tired of shaving your head
This looks really cool. feels nostalgic. it would be more fun if it can be switched into whatever desktop mode i want like unix.
What a beautiful nostalgic feeling. Keep up the good work! Worth adding some start menu options as well.
pretty cool! needs the search function to work tho to be useful
make it look like encarta 95 and you'll have a REAL winner on your hands
trying to find what folder has Дэбі робіць Даляс
love how it loads instantly and feels smooth. imo useless but still cool
Yes. It definitely lacks the hourglass mouse cursor experience!
> love how it loads instantly and feels smooth.
Unlike Wikipedia these days.
wikipedia is fine, and you can still use vector or even monobook skins. try adding ?useskin=monobook at the end of the url
I guess XP (x64) could run like this on modern PCs.
Is there a reason why it looks like Temu's Windows XP? Copyright concerns I guess?
Not sure why they downvoted you because you have a point - icons are not the same as Windows XP's, wallpaper flat color reminds me more of Win 95/98 and the taskbar design has some details that do not match precisely with Windows XP's. I'd also bet it's due to copyright concerns
Because it's obviously vibe coded (look at the source code).
This is just beautiful. I wonder if this could turn into different styles, like that of a book, or a cabinet?
Seeing the Windows XP theme I loved the most really brings back a wave of nostalgia
Is there a way to go up/back a folder without clicks? Enter key goes into folders.
Well, it should also have Solitaire and Minesweeper. :)
I guess appearance is subjective because I always considered XP to be the ugliest Windows ever released.
Very cool!
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.