Explore Wikipedia Like a Windows XP Desktop

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...

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.

This is cute, but the UI is uncannily not there (I think there were multiple attempts of designing the XP for web already which looked more authentic).

But my biggest gripe is, why represent it as a file system with WordPad displaying HTML? I get the idea for media, but not for the articles.

It's pretty obvious that Wikipedia should be a single CHM file. That would be nice and much more immersive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Compiled_HTML_Help

I feel like the 100 or so uncategorized articles should lie either directly in home or clutter the desktop for a more authentic experience.

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!

Large scrollbars! Windows with borders! What a relief!

This has become a forgotten art: we focus so much on CONTENT these days that we forget that people want to use the mouse to scroll, and use the mouse to resize windows.

It’s too snappy for a windows xp experience.

I did something similar for my personal site :)

https://brynnbateman.com/

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.

Where does the hierarchical classification come from?

Beautiful memories of browsing random topics in Microsoft Encarta '97

what tech stack does it uses?

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?

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

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

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

This is so Cool! Great concepts and execution. I could imagine this way of interaction and exploration apply to Educational area

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

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

this needs to be an offline bootable usb version :)

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.

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

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

trying to find what folder has Дэбі робіць Даляс

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

Thanks! This is great.

Super nice. Congrats

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.

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.

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

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

I'd like to see a gource interface to Wikipedia, personally ..

Amazing work!

This is actually so cool

Is there a way to go up/back a folder without clicks? Enter key goes into folders.

Very cool!

I love it! Congrats !

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