Comment by rbbydotdev

Comment by rbbydotdev 2 days ago

11 replies

View on Hacker News

- 100% free, no subscriptions, no accounts, no cloud

- Local-first: all slicing and toolpath generation runs on your machine

- Works in any browser, even offline once loaded

YES!

I think a new type of open source is emerging centering around what is now possible in browsers. Browsers have a great track record when running legacy projects. Relying on a backend could be a liability for longevity.

I built opal editor myself, a local first open source free markdown editor with these same principles, https://github.com/rbbydotdev/opal

dirkc 2 days ago

That's an interesting take. I've never really thought of it that way before, but I think you are right that you'll have an easier task running an HTML file with embedded JavaScript from 15+ years ago in a browser than running a 15+ year old binary.

Reply View 0 replies
h4kunamata 2 days ago

> Works in any browser, even offline once loaded

That, my friend, is not how offline works. You will be required to have internet access in one way or another. Offline works 100% locally no matter if you have internet or not.

Reply View 9 replies
  • soanvig 2 days ago

    But you have to get the software somehow? Once you get it, it works offline. The same here I guess: once you download the source code/binaries into browser's cache (that can store things indefinitely) it's offline.

    Reply View 3 replies
    • fwip 2 days ago

      True, but you are at the whims of the browser cache, and how long it wants to keep it around.

      Reply View 1 reply
      • zdp7 2 days ago

        If you are worried, download and self host. As suggested on the website (when discussing trust and PII).

        Reply View 0 replies
    • hulitu 2 days ago

      > But you have to get the software somehow?

      We call this: download. Usually better than RCE.

      Reply View 0 replies
  • RobotToaster 2 days ago

    There's an electron build, although why you'd use it over a native slicer is beyond me.

    Reply View 0 replies
  • aprilnya 2 days ago

    Umm, I’m confused about this comment… the concept of a web app that gets saved into browser cache and then can be loaded and used while offline definitely isn’t new. See Photopea etc

    Reply View 2 replies
    • ginko 2 days ago

      With a stand-alone application once you download it in your file system you know exactly where it is and how to create backups etc.

      A "browser cache" is just an opaque bit of storage. What if you need to update/reinstall your browser or want to switch? I wouldn't trust important data to it.

      I generally feel uncomfortable how so many applications are browser-only these days. The thought of having important data in a tab that you might close by mistake at any moment is uncomfortable. Browsers should really only be used for fleeting content, not productive work.

      Reply View 1 reply