• EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 months ago

    Could you explain to me how indeed a desktop reader app for Wikipedia might work better than just, say, opening up Wikipedia in a tab?

    Keep in mind that I’m not saying there’s no point to it, since the fact that it exists means there is clearly a use case. I’m just wondering what that use case is.

    • Pasta Dental@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      Yeah, 100% of the time I end up on Wikipedia is from clicking a link on google and whatnot, I never actually open Wikipedia then search it with their search thing

    • Churbleyimyam@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      AFAIK you can do all of the same things in your browser but I find it simpler, neater and faster to have all my Wikipedia tabs and bookmarks in their own application. It’s themed for GNOME too and is easy on the eye which is pleasant.

    • GolfNovemberUniform@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      I’m just wondering what that use case is.

      The speed of opening a standalone app instead of opening a browser and searching through bookmarks. Also I think this app is nice to install for someone who’s very unfamiliar with computers.

      • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 months ago

        Fair enough.

        For me, I just set up Wikipedia as one of the search engines, with the search shortcut wiki (you can change this to anything you want) and so typing wiki [keyword] in the address bar will do the same thing as searching site:wikipedia.org [keyword].

        No need to mess with bookmarks and I don’t have to open up the page (or an app) & then search.

        Not sure if you can do this with Chromium-based browsers, but I use a Firefox fork and it’s pretty damned easy on it.

    • 5ubieee@slrpnk.net
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      2 months ago

      The first use-case that came to mind for me is research. A distraction-free dedicated application for wikipedia could be a great way to keep organized, especially if new features are added and expanded upon over time that go beyond the typical browser experience.

      It’s not a workflow for everyone and if wikipedia is something that’s usually just accessed through other search engines then this probably won’t be all that useful to you.

    • XTL@sopuli.xyz
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      2 months ago

      It could work better because a web browser is the most bloated useless bug ridden insecure creeping horror ever invented.

      Although I suspect this is just a web browser with some extra chrome.

      • EveryMuffinIsNowEncrypted@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 months ago

        I think it might be because of the extra chrome. Lol. xD

        Because, for example, I use LibreWolf with uBlock Origin, NoScript, Decentraleyes, and a small number of other privacy-/security-related extensions and mine seems pretty clean.

  • NomenCumLitteris@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    I can see this being useful for young children who need access to information but whose parents don’t want them in creepy pockets of the internet.

  • Karna@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    Just installed it, and my initial impression -

    • Thanks for dark mode :)
    • UI responsiveness is good.
    • Need an option to increase/decrease width of reading pane.
    • Need multiple themes like Wikipedia website.
    • Require smooth scrolling (I’m on 240 Hz monitor but scroll doesn’t feel smooth on this app, though apparently uses GPU acceleration)
  • Wilzax@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Sounds like a great tool to have available for school districts looking at using Linux for student laptops.

  • Raccoonn@lemmy.ml
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    2 months ago

    While I’d personally never install or use this, it good to know its there for the extremely small percentage of people who’ll want or need it…