8 ms·

Better Ways to Read "Hacker News"

84 points by rokamic 16y ago

brianwillis 16y ago
Not really sure if any of these are better. Different maybe, but not better. hckrnews.com, which the article bills as "a minimalist Hacker News alternative" is IMO more cluttered than the original homepage. HN is already plenty minimal anyway - why would you want to get into a minimalism pissing match?
- wvl 16y ago
  The point with http://hckrnews.com http://hckrnews.com wasn't to get into a "minimalism pissing match", but to read the frontpage items sorted by time (and archived). However, I did strive for minimalism and readability as a goal. I'm not sure why you think it is more cluttered than the original, since every item has less -- one line vs two, repeated words and the submitted user's name omitted.
  - Semiapies 16y ago
    I like the look of it. I may have to try it and the extension out.
  - lt 16y ago
    I've been using that for while as my primary HN frontpage. Can't live without it or the extension highlighting unread comments.
ElbertF 16y ago
I'm looking forward to "5 Better Ways to Read Mashable." They have more Twitter buttons above the fold than paragraphs with content.
nikcub 16y ago
Oh no, HN is being promoted on Mashable..
- AlexBlom 16y ago
  Bunker down, my friend.
  - steveklabnik 16y ago
    It's not even September!
    - PStamatiou 16y ago
      background for those scratching their heads (a friend just asked me what this comment was about): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September
      - duck 16y ago
        Thanks Paul, I hadn't heard of that before.
DanielRibeiro 16y ago
They forgot twitter special accounts: http://twitter.com/newsyc150 http://twitter.com/newsyc150 http://twitter.com/newsyc100 http://twitter.com/newsyc100 http://twitter.com/newsyc50 http://twitter.com/newsyc50 and http://twitter.com/newsyc20 http://twitter.com/newsyc20
- wwortiz 16y ago
  There is also cperciva's http://www.daemonology.net/hn-daily/ http://www.daemonology.net/hn-daily/
da5e 16y ago
I tried those 5 methods and liked some of the features, but I prefer the methodology I've developed over time for using the page as it is. And I prefer the current format. Eyes are faster than clicks.
frou_dh 16y ago
Really, calling out a site as ugly via one packed top to bottom with a ridiculous zoo of disjointed elements: http://i.imgur.com/0SUYk.png http://i.imgur.com/0SUYk.png HN is the pinnacle of beauty compared to that mess. Boy, I sound offended, but I'm just struck by the obliviousness of the author.
- nikcub 16y ago
  online journalism today: http://i.imgur.com/HDQxM.jpg http://i.imgur.com/HDQxM.jpg
  - iwr 16y ago
    You forget the full-screen flash ads, with music and no X in the corner.
- tomhenderson 16y ago
  The site is actually quite clean with ad-block installed. I had to go back and double check to see what you were talking about! http://imgur.com/jDtjS.png http://imgur.com/jDtjS.png
colkassad 16y ago
I like the hacker news android app, which is the app I use the most. Since I don't talk on the phone much, it's arguable that I spend $1500 a year just to read hacker news on the go...
tdupree 16y ago
You could also give my Hacker News OnePage extension for Chrome a try (It's also a greasemonkey script for Firefox). It's what I use everyday and I like it, someone else might too :) http://tdupree.com/extensions/ http://tdupree.com/extensions/
alain94040 16y ago
Can someone give me a Hacker News that is based on the last time I saw the home page? So if I haven't been around in a week, it shows me the top articles of the last week, but if I was around one hour ago, it focuses on what happened since then? Imagine I have been out the week of Thanksgiving. What did I miss? A site should be smart enough to adapt the top stories to my rythmn. Store a cookie.
- wvl 16y ago
  Well, it's not automatic, but http://hckrnews.com/ http://hckrnews.com/ does have that functionality, since that's why I built it. I do store and highlight the last visit time, which is useful for visits of a day or less. For a longer timespan, filter down (top 10 or top 20), then "Get Next Day" lets you page back through days you've missed. It's an interesting idea to make it adaptive, but I see a number of challenges. For example, you want just the highlights if you've been gone for a while, but perhaps someone else wants to scan through everything? Then there are the UI challenges -- making it obvious what is happening (and being able to change the default behavior) could be a challenge.
mbpr 16y ago
i threw this together a while ago, when i was spending too much time reading comments http://hackskimmer.heroku.com/ http://hackskimmer.heroku.com/
- justinchen 16y ago
  Nice! How about some keyboard shortcuts to navigate articles without clicking?
dekz 16y ago
I really enjoy http://hackurls.com/ http://hackurls.com/ and Claudio if you're here, thank you.
grinich 16y ago
I built a popular Hacker News iPhone (and soon to be iPad) app. It lets you browse stories, explore comments and threads, and open links with an in-app browser (with built-in Readability). You can even log-in and vote up/down and post your own comments. The last update also added support for sharing via Twitter, Instapaper, Facebook, etc. Check out a demo video here: http://michaelgrinich.com/hackernews/ http://michaelgrinich.com/hackernews/ Currently I'm working on the next update, which will add full iPad support. If anyone has suggestions for what to add, feel free to email me. (posted on mashable as well)
- iuguy 16y ago
  I use this app, it's great!
- michael_dorfman 16y ago
  I've been using this app for a while, along with a few other HN apps. What's stopping me from using it exclusively is that it only shows the top stories, not the "new" feed. Add that, and you've got a clear market winner.
  - grinich 16y ago
    Yep. This is another feature I've been looking at implementing. Other paths: /news /newest /best /active /classic /bestcomments /noobstories /noobcomments Any others? Email me your UDID and I'll send you a build to test.
- daxelrod 16y ago
  Putting upvote and downvote buttons on opposite sides of the screen to is ingenious. (Explanation: this fixes the "I meant to upvote you but I tapped the wrong tiny button" problem.)
scrrr 16y ago
I kinda like HN the way it comes by default, even on the phone screen. It loads quickly and can be easily navigated. However, I use http://searchyc.com http://searchyc.com to look up some older stuff, from time to time.
AndrewDucker 16y ago
I read it via an RSS feed that makes the articles inline: http://andrewtrusty.appspot.com/readability/feed?url=http%3A//news.ycombinator.com/rss http://andrewtrusty.appspot.com/readability/feed?url=http%3A...
- gkelly 16y ago
  me too. This usually does a great job of pulling out the full text, but on occasion I have to click through to the actual site.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
AtTheLast 16y ago
"The only problem is the interface. It’s simple and easy to get used to, but it’s also a trifle — dare we say it? — ugly" Since when did an interface that was simple and easy to use become a bad thing? As a designer, I would take usability over aesthetics any day. Besides, most people go to websites for the content, not the design.
- kingsidharth 16y ago
  Only if they knew design from decoration.

84 points by rokamic 16y ago

Not really sure if any of these are better. Different maybe, but not better. hckrnews.com, which the article bills as "a minimalist Hacker News alternative" is IMO more cluttered than the original homepage. HN is already plenty minimal anyway - why would you want to get into a minimalism pissing match?

wvl 16y ago
The point with http://hckrnews.com http://hckrnews.com wasn't to get into a "minimalism pissing match", but to read the frontpage items sorted by time (and archived). However, I did strive for minimalism and readability as a goal. I'm not sure why you think it is more cluttered than the original, since every item has less -- one line vs two, repeated words and the submitted user's name omitted.
- Semiapies 16y ago
  I like the look of it. I may have to try it and the extension out.
- lt 16y ago
  I've been using that for while as my primary HN frontpage. Can't live without it or the extension highlighting unread comments.

ElbertF 16y ago

I'm looking forward to "5 Better Ways to Read Mashable." They have more Twitter buttons above the fold than paragraphs with content.

nikcub 16y ago

Oh no, HN is being promoted on Mashable..

AlexBlom 16y ago
Bunker down, my friend.
- steveklabnik 16y ago
  It's not even September!
  - PStamatiou 16y ago
    background for those scratching their heads (a friend just asked me what this comment was about): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_September
    - duck 16y ago
      Thanks Paul, I hadn't heard of that before.

DanielRibeiro 16y ago

They forgot twitter special accounts: http://twitter.com/newsyc150 http://twitter.com/newsyc150 http://twitter.com/newsyc100 http://twitter.com/newsyc100 http://twitter.com/newsyc50 http://twitter.com/newsyc50 and http://twitter.com/newsyc20 http://twitter.com/newsyc20

wwortiz 16y ago
There is also cperciva's http://www.daemonology.net/hn-daily/ http://www.daemonology.net/hn-daily/

da5e 16y ago

I tried those 5 methods and liked some of the features, but I prefer the methodology I've developed over time for using the page as it is. And I prefer the current format. Eyes are faster than clicks.

frou_dh 16y ago

Really, calling out a site as ugly via one packed top to bottom with a ridiculous zoo of disjointed elements: http://i.imgur.com/0SUYk.png http://i.imgur.com/0SUYk.png HN is the pinnacle of beauty compared to that mess. Boy, I sound offended, but I'm just struck by the obliviousness of the author.

nikcub 16y ago
online journalism today: http://i.imgur.com/HDQxM.jpg http://i.imgur.com/HDQxM.jpg
- iwr 16y ago
  You forget the full-screen flash ads, with music and no X in the corner.
tomhenderson 16y ago
The site is actually quite clean with ad-block installed. I had to go back and double check to see what you were talking about! http://imgur.com/jDtjS.png http://imgur.com/jDtjS.png

colkassad 16y ago

I like the hacker news android app, which is the app I use the most. Since I don't talk on the phone much, it's arguable that I spend $1500 a year just to read hacker news on the go...

tdupree 16y ago

You could also give my Hacker News OnePage extension for Chrome a try (It's also a greasemonkey script for Firefox). It's what I use everyday and I like it, someone else might too :) http://tdupree.com/extensions/ http://tdupree.com/extensions/

alain94040 16y ago

Can someone give me a Hacker News that is based on the last time I saw the home page? So if I haven't been around in a week, it shows me the top articles of the last week, but if I was around one hour ago, it focuses on what happened since then? Imagine I have been out the week of Thanksgiving. What did I miss? A site should be smart enough to adapt the top stories to my rythmn. Store a cookie.

wvl 16y ago
Well, it's not automatic, but http://hckrnews.com/ http://hckrnews.com/ does have that functionality, since that's why I built it. I do store and highlight the last visit time, which is useful for visits of a day or less. For a longer timespan, filter down (top 10 or top 20), then "Get Next Day" lets you page back through days you've missed. It's an interesting idea to make it adaptive, but I see a number of challenges. For example, you want just the highlights if you've been gone for a while, but perhaps someone else wants to scan through everything? Then there are the UI challenges -- making it obvious what is happening (and being able to change the default behavior) could be a challenge.

mbpr 16y ago

i threw this together a while ago, when i was spending too much time reading comments http://hackskimmer.heroku.com/ http://hackskimmer.heroku.com/

justinchen 16y ago
Nice! How about some keyboard shortcuts to navigate articles without clicking?

dekz 16y ago

I really enjoy http://hackurls.com/ http://hackurls.com/ and Claudio if you're here, thank you.

grinich 16y ago

I built a popular Hacker News iPhone (and soon to be iPad) app. It lets you browse stories, explore comments and threads, and open links with an in-app browser (with built-in Readability). You can even log-in and vote up/down and post your own comments. The last update also added support for sharing via Twitter, Instapaper, Facebook, etc. Check out a demo video here: http://michaelgrinich.com/hackernews/ http://michaelgrinich.com/hackernews/ Currently I'm working on the next update, which will add full iPad support. If anyone has suggestions for what to add, feel free to email me. (posted on mashable as well)

iuguy 16y ago
I use this app, it's great!
michael_dorfman 16y ago
I've been using this app for a while, along with a few other HN apps. What's stopping me from using it exclusively is that it only shows the top stories, not the "new" feed. Add that, and you've got a clear market winner.
- grinich 16y ago
  Yep. This is another feature I've been looking at implementing. Other paths: /news /newest /best /active /classic /bestcomments /noobstories /noobcomments Any others? Email me your UDID and I'll send you a build to test.
daxelrod 16y ago
Putting upvote and downvote buttons on opposite sides of the screen to is ingenious. (Explanation: this fixes the "I meant to upvote you but I tapped the wrong tiny button" problem.)

scrrr 16y ago

I kinda like HN the way it comes by default, even on the phone screen. It loads quickly and can be easily navigated. However, I use http://searchyc.com http://searchyc.com to look up some older stuff, from time to time.

AndrewDucker 16y ago

I read it via an RSS feed that makes the articles inline: http://andrewtrusty.appspot.com/readability/feed?url=http%3A//news.ycombinator.com/rss http://andrewtrusty.appspot.com/readability/feed?url=http%3A...

gkelly 16y ago
me too. This usually does a great job of pulling out the full text, but on occasion I have to click through to the actual site.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

AtTheLast 16y ago

"The only problem is the interface. It’s simple and easy to get used to, but it’s also a trifle — dare we say it? — ugly" Since when did an interface that was simple and easy to use become a bad thing? As a designer, I would take usability over aesthetics any day. Besides, most people go to websites for the content, not the design.

kingsidharth 16y ago
Only if they knew design from decoration.