Ask HN: What Desktop HN client do you use?
Do you use any desktop client for HN, or just the web version? I wonder what folks generally use. For me, comment/topics/keywords notifications are important features for me that's missing from the web.
Do you use any desktop client for HN, or just the web version? I wonder what folks generally use. For me, comment/topics/keywords notifications are important features for me that's missing from the web.
I use a client I wrote in Godot and hack on when I'm bored sometimes.
I probably won't ever release it because it isn't nearly feature complete but here's what the page display looks like[0]
[0]https://imgur.com/3YTqBgo
I always wanted to try to build software with a game engine, but I have only made a metronome with Love2D.
What is your experience with Godot as a Software developpement framework? Would you recommand it?
It's adequate. The only other application development I've done is with C# and Windows ages ago, and you can use C# and NuGet with Godot. I'm using GDScript just because C# for something this simple seems like overkill, but if I were to take it seriously as a product I'd probably use C#. GDScript works for its intended purpose but I've never been a fan of languages that use significant whitespace.
For me the biggest issue is UI design and theming. These aren't nearly as robust as you might expect using web technology or an actual GUI framework because for games they don't need to be. On the other hand, building an app around nodes and signals is a breeze. There are probably plugins that make application development on Godot easier, I haven't really looked. And of course you can write plugins for Godot if you need to. So the flexibility of the framework is also a plus.
I'd recommend at least trying it. I don't know if I would start a business around it, though. Then again, apparently doing it with Unity isn't uncommon.
Neat. I automatically upvote / like when one builds <not-a-game> with a game engine.
I just use the website on desktop and mobile. I tried a couple apps on the phone, but it didn't seem worth having an app for.
UX of the website is honestly underrated, and I think if every website has an HN/Craigslist mode it'd be so awesome. I just wished for additional functionalities and a brief search seems to indicate people resort to external websites for notifications.
I would say notifications on replies would be the only thing I'd really want. But I think that helps avoid never-ending replies and bloated comments. At some point it's too much to go through and I move on with my life, which is probably good.
> I think if every website has an HN/Craigslist mode it'd be so awesome
I think this is why old.reddit keeps living on. It's simply a better experience than their "modern" UX refresh. I'd say the new UI also encourages a different kind of content which changes how people use the site for the worse.
I've seen other posts on HN asking for 'lite' versions of websites and there are some out there. Here are a couple examples.
- https://lite.cnn.com
- https://text.npr.org
There are some directories of more, here are a couple of those.
- https://www.leanternet.com
- https://greycoder.com/a-list-of-text-only-new-sites/
I should probably go through and replace most of my bookmarks with these versions where it makes sense.
Chrome, Safari, or Firefox, depending on the device.
Plus the Dark Reader extension: https://darkreader.org/
Just the web version, on mobile I use Harmonic though.
I just use the website, both desktop and mobile. The absence of notifications is a great feature.
The website is great, fast and slick. but sometimes I wished there were notifications when I needed it. Of course a mute everything option would be handy as well.
Like for this post it'd be faster if I can click a button to see the responses instead of go to my submissions.
Modern for Hacker News: https://www.modernhn.com/ (On web desktop)
I was not aware there was such a thing as a desktop client for this website, though it seems pretty obvious that somebody would make one, now that you mention it.
Most likely someone will make desktop/mobile clients for popular websites with minimalist aesthetics. Last time I tried a couple but didn't find it useful.
Web version only. I have some Tampermonkey styles for it.
Google Chrome is plenty to open up text links
Materialistic.