炊紙(kashikishi) is a text editor that utilizes GPU to edit text in a 3D space

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Project & Demo Impressions

  • Kashikishi is a GPU-accelerated text editor that can render text in 3D, including psychedelic and AR modes (shown in GIFs from the repo).
  • Some viewers of the demo video mostly saw standard 2D text and wished for clearer 3D examples.
  • The psychedelic mode is specifically highlighted as visually striking, especially for Japanese glyphs.
  • There’s curiosity about AR/VR integration; some note parallel experiments that render code or text in 3D/AR.

3D / AR UI Potential vs Practicality

  • Enthusiasts see 3D and mixed reality as a chance to completely rethink UI, beyond flat windows and tabs.
  • Ideas mentioned: zoomable code spaces, physical-feeling animations, tangible tools (e.g., a virtual timer you wind, record-like album selection), and 3D visualization of code structure.
  • Others prefer traditional, instantaneous text editing without animations, valuing speed and simplicity for serious writing.

Japanese Text, Vertical Writing, and Scripts

  • A key motivation: good vertical-writing support for Japanese, which many editors lack; instant switching between vertical and horizontal is seen as valuable.
  • Several comments appreciate Japanese script aesthetics and compare them to Mongolian, Tibetan, Arabic, and historical Latin scripts.
  • Some argue that technology has flattened and simplified scripts visually; others counter that simplification improves legibility and access.

Language, Translation, and Tooling

  • The README being in Japanese prompts discussion of machine translation quality (Google Translate, GPT-4o, DeepL, Gemini).
  • Issues reported: inconsistent handling of proper names, inserting/removing “not,” hallucinated content, and grammar-driven subject insertion in some language pairs.
  • Some prefer slightly worse but “honest” translators over fluent but hallucination-prone ones; others note humans also “hallucinate” in translation.

Open Source & Community Aspects

  • Maintaining a project in a non-English language is seen as a way to reduce spammy PRs, but also risks fewer useful contributions.
  • Examples given of widespread low-value PRs (e.g., trivial README edits, contest-driven spam) on popular repos.