6 ms·

It took quite a bit of digging but I think I've finally figured out what the heck this thing actually is. * Desktop is a web-based file manager that ties into

It took quite a bit of digging but I think I've finally figured out what the heck this thing actually is. * Desktop is a web-based file manager that ties into a bunch of proprietary cloud storage systems * Dashboard is some sort of cross-network social media reader * Library is a catalog of public-domain content, for some reason What any of this has to do with the high-minded visioneering slogans and impenetrable marketing text I have no idea. Of the three, only Dashboard sounds like it might have any value at all; unfortunately the very first thing it does on signup is: (if you sign in via facebook) demand access to "your public profile, photos, videos, likes and email address". (if you sign in via google) demand total access to Google Drive and to "View and manage your YouTube activity, including posting public comments". (if you try to sign in via email) this appears to be impossible; there's a "forgotten password" link but no apparent way to actually create a new account. This doesn't sit very well with the whole "respectful of your time, attention and personal data" thing.

outsidetheparty 9y ago
I should follow up to say: I do recognize that if the service wants to be able to display content from your facebook feed or youtube channel, certainly it needs to ask for access to that content. I don't object to that; I object to it asking for far more access than it needs, before you're even able to see the product you're granting access to, after making such a big deal about "putting the user back in control" of their data. I went ahead and sucked it up and signed up via facebook. (There's a "free invitation code" on Dissident's facebook page, if you're curious.) It's... eh. For facebook content it only has the ability to show "Pages", not people -- I believe this is a facebook-imposed limitation, but it makes Dashboard fairly useless for that site at least. You can import RSS feeds and read them inside this app, which works reasonably well. There are dozen or so other services that can be imported as sources (mostly the usual suspects: youtube, vimeo, medium, flickr, etc). In all cases that I tried, the app asks to be granted maximal permission, whether that's reasonable or not. That's about it. The UI feels a little old-school -- it's all nested folders and tiny type -- but isn't terrible. I dunno. Maybe if I hadn't been so turned off by the awful marketing copy I'd be feeling more charitable about the app itself -- it looks like a not-terrible feed reader, I suppose -- but as it stands I don't see anything here that seems worth paying money for, and I don't see anything that has anything to do with the manifestos and sloganeering.
- ASalazarMX 9y ago
  > I object to it asking for far more access than it needs, before you're even able to see the product you're granting access to. If after trying it, you don't like it and revoke its access, it's fine. The most meaningful data was probably siphoned already.
  - outsidetheparty 9y ago
    > The most meaningful data was probably siphoned already Yeah, that's pretty much exactly the part I object to.

outsidetheparty 9y ago

I should follow up to say: I do recognize that if the service wants to be able to display content from your facebook feed or youtube channel, certainly it needs to ask for access to that content. I don't object to that; I object to it asking for far more access than it needs, before you're even able to see the product you're granting access to, after making such a big deal about "putting the user back in control" of their data. I went ahead and sucked it up and signed up via facebook. (There's a "free invitation code" on Dissident's facebook page, if you're curious.) It's... eh. For facebook content it only has the ability to show "Pages", not people -- I believe this is a facebook-imposed limitation, but it makes Dashboard fairly useless for that site at least. You can import RSS feeds and read them inside this app, which works reasonably well. There are dozen or so other services that can be imported as sources (mostly the usual suspects: youtube, vimeo, medium, flickr, etc). In all cases that I tried, the app asks to be granted maximal permission, whether that's reasonable or not. That's about it. The UI feels a little old-school -- it's all nested folders and tiny type -- but isn't terrible. I dunno. Maybe if I hadn't been so turned off by the awful marketing copy I'd be feeling more charitable about the app itself -- it looks like a not-terrible feed reader, I suppose -- but as it stands I don't see anything here that seems worth paying money for, and I don't see anything that has anything to do with the manifestos and sloganeering.

ASalazarMX 9y ago
> I object to it asking for far more access than it needs, before you're even able to see the product you're granting access to. If after trying it, you don't like it and revoke its access, it's fine. The most meaningful data was probably siphoned already.
- outsidetheparty 9y ago
  > The most meaningful data was probably siphoned already Yeah, that's pretty much exactly the part I object to.