Explore Wikipedia Like a Windows XP Desktop

(explorer.samismith.com)

107 points | by smusamashah 2 hours ago

17 comments

  • hliyan 7 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.
  • dewey 1 hour 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!
  • crabmusket 35 minutes ago
    Where does the hierarchical classification come from?
  • steveharing1 18 minutes ago
    What a beautiful nostalgic feeling. Keep up the good work! Worth adding some start menu options as well.
  • pixlmint 34 minutes ago
    Such a cool project! Now it's just missing search and a request for donations
    • emil-lp 23 minutes 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.

  • kramit1288 25 minutes 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.
  • Eonexus 11 minutes ago
    This is just beautiful. I wonder if this could turn into different styles, like that of a book, or a cabinet?
  • angilr 1 hour 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 1 hour 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 1 hour ago
        Wow, do you know what is the relationship between More milk and the death of MJ?
        • Kwpolska 51 minutes 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 50 minutes ago
            Thanks! TIL that Propofol has a nickname "Milk of amnesia". MJ asked more milk which meant more propofol.
  • sagacity 45 minutes 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.
  • arnon 16 minutes ago
    make it look like encarta 95 and you'll have a REAL winner on your hands
  • hnlmorg 16 minutes ago
    I guess appearance is subjective because I always considered XP to be the ugliest Windows ever released.
  • DeathArrow 11 minutes ago
    Well, it should also have Solitaire and Minesweeper. :)
  • unrvl22 1 hour ago
    love how it loads instantly and feels smooth. imo useless but still cool
    • senfiaj 13 minutes ago
      I guess XP (x64) could run like this on modern PCs.
    • dolmen 51 minutes ago
      Yes. It definitely lacks the hourglass mouse cursor experience!
  • jdw64 1 hour ago
    Seeing the Windows XP theme I loved the most really brings back a wave of nostalgia
  • macwhisperer 54 minutes ago
    pretty cool! needs the search function to work tho to be useful
  • redox99 1 hour ago
    Is there a reason why it looks like Temu's Windows XP? Copyright concerns I guess?
    • sunaookami 20 minutes ago
      Because it's obviously vibe coded (look at the source code).
  • prokajevo 22 minutes ago
    [dead]