Jargon vs iGuanZhi

Jargon is a fully offline reader for the Jargon File — the hacker culture dictionary that gave the word "hacker" its original meaning, decades before it came to mean "cracker." Compiled by Eric S. Raymond and Guy L. Steele and continued today as a community project, it's the closest thing hacking has to an etymology. Over 2,300 entries, all bundled in the app: * Browse alphabetically with a fast-scroll index * Instant search across terms and definitions, with your recent lookups kept handy * Tap any cross-referenced term to jump straight to it * Share or copy any definition * Favorite entries for quick access later * "Surprise me" with a random entry — or long-press the app icon for one * A Word of the Day widget for the Home Screen and Lock Screen * Find entries straight from Spotlight, or ask Siri to look up a term * On iPad, browse the list and read entries side by side Zero permissions. Zero network access, ever — the dictionary ships inside the app, favorites stay on your device, nothing is ever sent anywhere. No accounts, no ads, no analytics. Dictionary content is CC BY-SA 4.0 from the Jargon File community edition (github.com/agiacalone/jargonfile). App source is GPL-3.0.

iGuanZhi is an offline workshop for the Guwen Guanzhi, not a static classic-text reader. Original, vernacular, and study English share one page. Recitation, Academy, a fable gallery, and Daily Essay then fold into ordinary days. The app includes 222 classical essays and about 6,500 sentences across 12 parts, from the pre-Qin age to the Ming, by nearly 50 authors. There are also more than 220 famous lines, 18 idioms grown from the essays, and 12 notes on form and craft. Yueyang Tower, the Memorials on Sending Out the Troops, Prince Teng, Orchid Pavilion, Peach Blossom Spring, Red Cliff, On Teachers, and the Chenqing memorial live in one place. Nothing here sits still. Close reading, recitation, practice, idioms, and Home Screen entries form one workflow. Walk from a famous line into an essay, and from an essay back to its idiom, form, and author. Browse by part, seven forms, theme, or author. Take Yueyang Tower. Read the original, open the vernacular, use study English as a ladder, recite with highlighting, practice in Academy, and find "worry first, joy later" in the fable gallery. One essay, several doors. Daily Essay sits on the Lock Screen. Recitation reads a section on the commute. At night you compare layers and keep a note. iPhone, iPad, Mac, and visionOS share the same texts. On iPad, long tools open as a full-screen workbench. The first launch has a seven-page guide you can skip and replay later. 1. Three-layer close reading • Original, vernacular, and English on one page, each layer optional • Bilingual, Chinese, or English reading; vertical text, pinyin, type size, sectioned long essays • Immersive mode; interface in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and English • Comparison does not replace the original. It lets you walk between classical and vernacular Chinese. 2. Recitation workbench • Sentence highlighting; rate, pitch, and volume • Playback matrix for title, author, and body in original, vernacular, or English • Captions, continuous play, Lock Screen listening, background audio, Live Activity 3. Academy and Phrase Hunt • Fade, fill-in, sense checks, quizzes, and mastery you can review or reset • Section practice, batch lists, fable match, and Phrase Hunt from one character 4. Fable gallery, famous lines, and the form map • Idioms such as Peach Blossom Spring, the first drum, and worry first, joy later, each linked to the source essay • Famous lines, plus a map of record, preface, rhapsody, memorial, and other forms 5. Daily Essay and streaks • One essay a day, optional seasonal picks, local notification, streaks, random essay, and last read 6. Favorites, lists, and notes • Separate saves for essays, fables, and lines; lists for reading or practice; notes and history 7. Search and discovery • Prepared index, handwriting search, optional system search, authors, forms, and themes 8. Widgets, Lock Screen, and voice • Six widgets on Home Screen, Lock Screen, and StandBy • Control Center, Siri, Shortcuts, and deep links so an essay appears where you already look 9. Cards, appearance, and devices • Twelve share-card styles, accent colors, alternate icons, custom Home shortcuts • iPhone, iPad, Mac, visionOS; guides you can replay; VoiceOver labels and type size 10. Privacy • Full text offline. No account, no ads, no third-party analytics • Optional iCloud sync. Optional on-device explanation on supported devices; the essay stays on the device • Every study feature is free. An optional tip in Settings unlocks nothing The originals are public-domain classics. Vernacular and study English are made for this app, for learning only, and will keep being checked. For students who want to finish an essay, readers who want the original to stay, and anyone who listens on the commute. Open Daily Essay and begin with one piece.