Show HN: I remade my blog into a Windows 3.1 environment

(passo.uno)

32 points | by theletterf 2 days ago ago

27 comments

  • monitron 2 days ago ago

    The style is really fun, and your writing is interesting.

    I find it slightly ironic, though, that many of your articles that make a case against AI-generated writing are illustrated by AI-generated images. I forget who made the insightful comment that most people seem to think that AI should take over in every field except their own :)

    • theletterf 2 days ago ago

      OP here. You know? Yours is the comment I needed to read. You're right. I'm going to remove them.

      • monitron 14 hours ago ago

        This was unexpected and wonderful. Thank you so much!

  • PaulBunch 8 hours ago ago

    Really like how clear and readable the whole UI feels. Ironically, the old Windows 3.1 style makes everything more scannable than a lot of today's minimalist designs.

    The limited color palette and crisp icons buttons work great together. Did you design UI elements yourself?

    • theletterf an hour ago ago

      Only some of the social buttons

  • vunderba 2 days ago ago

    Nice job. Some feedback:

    - Clicking the minimize arrow should collapse the File Manager down to the classic file drawer icon.

    - Detect if the browser agent is Internet Explorer with ActiveX to enable the A/B icons drives by iterating through the user's drive collection.

    • theletterf 2 days ago ago

      I've made the minimize button functional. If you select maximize, there's a surprise (chord.wav!)

    • theletterf 2 days ago ago

      Ha! Thought about implementing real minimize, but then it'd be really hard to find the way back in mobile...

      • vunderba 2 days ago ago

        Hey, if they're not browsing your site on a proper 14" VGA CRT monitor - they're not really your target audience anyways. :)

  • theletterf 21 hours ago ago

    @dang Could we edit the link to https://passo.uno/win31/ ? Had to move the theme.

  • altairprime 2 days ago ago

    Definitely windows-y. But makes me want to see what Windows 3.1 could have looked like at 216ppi without the visible pixels, though. Would it still have the Windows aesthetic or would people think it’s confusingly familiar but not recognize it or would it be something else altogether? No one’s mentioned that the minimize icon is not pixelated, and I only noticed because I went looking for it — so clearly it’s theoretically possible for it to pass!

  • syoleene 2 days ago ago

    It looks beautiful, but unfortunately, on mobile, the titles get truncated at about 4 words for me. I had to enable desktop mode to read enough of the title to get the context.

  • nar001 a day ago ago

    I can't seem to find it, is there something you have to do to see it?

  • nox21125 19 hours ago ago

    This is really cool, feels super nostalgic. Good writing too

  • y42 2 days ago ago

    reminds me of that:

    https://institut-fdh.de/

    but your's is way better implemented it seems - very nice!

    (disclaimer: it's my site, shameless-plug)

  • theletterf a day ago ago

    Author here. I'm reverting the theme, but will make it accessible through a link / open source it.

  • chloeeekim 2 days ago ago

    Really nice retro vibe. Feels clean and focused.

  • docheinestages 2 days ago ago

    That's really cool.

  • hyprcat 2 days ago ago

    Looks cool and super nostalgic

  • keepamovin 2 days ago ago

    That is a nice style.

  • sgbeal 2 days ago ago

    Somehow disgusting but also lovely :). Now i want one styled after OS/2 Warp for my own site.

  • mrlonglong 2 days ago ago

    I feel soiled. (lol, it's good)