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SHOW HN: Building an app to rule all web-based SaaS, need feedbacks from HN

by zhangruinan on 7/4/22, 4:05 AM with 9 comments

  • by zhangruinan on 7/4/22, 4:05 AM

    > Instead of COPYING, we should do REFERRING.

    I had this idea for over two years. A lot of time, I found myself copying data from one app/website to another. The problem with copying is that: you lose all context of your result.

    To fix it, I thought instead of copying; we should do refering. Sadly, there is no "Ctrl/Cmd+C" for referring on any OS. As I dug deeper, I found some computer visionaries Ted Nelson also had this idea. Since 2019, PKM tools like RoamResearch, and Obsidian had some progress in making a personal knowledge base with links, but no one has bought the idea of linking/referring to cross-app level.

    So, ambitiously, I started building my own, and here is my vision: https://medium.superus.space/my-ideal-solution-to-informatio...

    Key features on my upcoming MVP:

    - You can place any website on an infinite canvas

    - You can refer (instead of copy) information by drag and drop

    - You can navigate through apps/contents with the reference you created

    - You can visually set up your daily routine (sequence of using many functional apps)

  • by 97-109-107 on 7/6/22, 10:24 AM

    I would suggest looking into the following areas for inspiration as well:

    - Xanadu and related systems for linking information

    - CardboardWM (how it does user's working canvas)

    - Desktop Neo – (https://desktopneo.com/) & Muse — dive into big ideas(https://museapp.com/)

    - The ecosystem of templates and tooling for Notion

    - TreeSheets (https://strlen.com/treesheets/)

    My gut feeling is that going deep into interoperations within apps will be very challenging and require intrinsic knowledge of each platform (always evolving) interfaces.

  • by pacarvalho on 7/5/22, 12:42 AM

    Something related to this that I would particularly find useful is a tool that summarizes all my daily activities down to who I messaged and estimates the amount of time I spent doing each activity. Basically the iPhone's scree time app on steroids.

  • by mutant on 7/4/22, 1:47 PM

    Is there a video demonstration of what this does? The marketing video provides no context.

    Show something before asking users to add to their tool chain YET ANOTHER APP

  • by e-clinton on 7/4/22, 11:04 PM

    A few companies are trying this… would be great to see a demo or at least screenshots to explain how your approach is unique.

  • by Mandatum on 7/5/22, 5:36 AM

    iOS or Android need to be first-mover on this. Cross-tooling formats are a nightmare. Even copying text from one app to another is problematic.

    Good luck, but I don't see this coming to fruition without more collaboration from major vendors.