I was only cynical about the urge to irritate people with a request to register to receive worthless updates (if one really wants to harvest many email addresse

I was only cynical about the urge to irritate people with a request to register to receive worthless updates (if one really wants to harvest many email addresses for hostile purposes, there is better bait than niche software). My impression, based on the OP's introductory comment in this thread, is that development of this product is earnest but severely unfinished/half-baked, with a somewhat annoying but "normal" marketing style and business plan. Unfortunately, a new app/startup of this sort is not judged by backstage discussions on Hacker News, but by their website, and the first impression of the website is shockingly terrible: nothing to read, nothing to see, and a prominent request for our email addresses that adds up to negative value.