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Show HN: Bigwords.page – Turn any screen into a sign. The URL is the app

130 points SpeakingOfBrad 2 hours ago 34 comments

SpeakingOfBrad 2 hours ago | parent

I had the idea for BIGWORDS.PAGE when I wanted to display a message on a tablet that I had remote management control over, but no physical access. Configuring it to be a kiosk browser is easy, but how do I get the browser to show my message? So I made the URL be the message.

It uses a URL fragment to configure the message. Browsers don't send URL fragments to the server, so I never see your message. There's no backend, and no storage.

All parameters are documented, so generating a message link is easy. There's also a built-in editor to make it extra easy.

https://bigwords.page/#Hello,%20HN!&bg=ff6600&fg=000000&font...

There are a few extra features like slides, animations, and countdowns and timers. QR codes too. Not too fancy, but hopefully enough to be useful.

I know the uses for this are pretty niche. But it may be one of those things that you keep as a nugget in your brain, a tool in your back pocket. Not something you use often, but when you do it makes things just a little bit easier.

It's open source (MIT), and self-hostable if that's your thing.

Let me know what you think.

idw 1 hour ago | parent

Really nicely done

notpushkin 4 minutes ago | parent

> The URL is the app

LLM-speak is a huge turn off to me (and a lot of other people here, from my interactions), so the fact that your submission title is AI-generated is... sorry, I have no words. I don’t care about your code, but please write prose by your hands if you want us to read it.

libertyit 1 hour ago | parent

Brilliant

Retr0id 1 hour ago | parent

> The URL is the app

We used to call them websites

iJohnDoe 1 hour ago | parent

Really clever! Definitely feels like positive hacker creativity. Thanks for making it open source.

adzm 1 hour ago | parent

this is actually awesome, i've had something similar on my todo list forever. thanks!!! https://bigwords.page/#%E2%9D%A4%EF%B8%8F

totallygeeky 1 hour ago | parent

Really well done, can think of a few times this would have been useful in the recent past. Would be great for conferences in particular!

ceejayoz 1 hour ago | parent

Hook it up to voice control so I can put an iPad in the back window of the car and tell other drivers… things.

a3w 1 hour ago | parent

Won't it say

> You are a poo-emoji bomb-emoji #!! driver

?

ceejayoz 1 hour ago | parent

I am exercising my Fifth Amendment right to silence at this time.

GoRudy 1 hour ago | parent

I had this idea ten years ago. Told my parents it’d be nice to say “have a good day” and my moms initial reaction was she’d say “** you”. End of that idea.

trallnag 50 minutes ago | parent

I considered something similar with LED lights but I deemed it illegal in Germany

chrisra 1 hour ago | parent

I've used something like this on a phone to tell another car something was wrong with their vehicle.

pimlottc 1 hour ago | parent

The URL is the state but clearly there is an actual app here

simlevesque 1 hour ago | parent

Suggestion: make it a GoogleTV / AppleTV app so users can set it up in a few clicks and transform any screen laying around into a sign.

SpeakingOfBrad 25 minutes ago | parent

I think BIGWORDS.PAGE would be a great companion to a web browser app on those TV devices. I haven't found any good web browser for AppleTV, but if somebody has a browser/kiosk app that let's you send a URL from your phone, that would be really great!

wiradikusuma 12 minutes ago | parent

Unfortunately Apple TV doesn't support WebView. I'm procuring a second-hand device so I can test my app there. I'm thinking of rendering it on the server and sending a series of images. Not sure of the cost, though.

wiradikusuma 18 minutes ago | parent

I built https://signagesync.app for my cafe. It can be used to create a video wall (combine multiple screens to make a bigger screen).

paul7986 1 hour ago | parent

Site is blocked - getting an SSL warning on Firefox.

jonotime 1 hour ago | parent

Love this. Simple idea. Nice execution.

paulsmith 59 minutes ago | parent

Who remembers https://bigassmessage.com/

whycome 59 minutes ago | parent

I love solutions like this. Make the URL the entirety of the data needed. Awesome

PBnFlash 58 minutes ago | parent

I use to try and coordinate game nights across the world, and a url with the Unix timestamp of the event and a countdown showing how many days and hours worked quite well.

darkstar999 56 minutes ago | parent

"Nothing else: no lists, tables, links, quotes, images or rules."

Claudish needs to be cleaned up.

moecables 51 minutes ago | parent

Love this and I already have a use for this

sandymcmurray 47 minutes ago | parent

Nice work! This is great.

T0mSIlver 29 minutes ago | parent

I like that the fragment is basically argv for a static web app.

frankthecobbler 22 minutes ago | parent

how to hide the Preview when sharing on messages? id prefer something more neutral.

SpeakingOfBrad 4 minutes ago | parent

That's the OG (Open Graph) Image. It's an image built into the site that's used as the thumbnail for shares on social media and messaging apps. (More info on OG Images here: https://layerre.com/glossary/open-graph-image/)

How could I change the image to be less intrusive? I can't have it show an image of the message you're trying to share, because the server never sees that message. But can I make the default image nicer on the eyes.

frankthecobbler 22 minutes ago | parent

how to hide or change the gigantic preview when sharing on apple messages? id prefer to change it, the default is obtrusive

slater 21 minutes ago | parent

IIRC with any link thru Messages, before sending, you can press and hold it and it'll give u the option to send just as a text link

kinduff 15 minutes ago | parent

I used to order drinks like this when the bar was full

1-6 11 minutes ago | parent

I like this site because it exemplifies DOTADIW, do one thing and do it well.