# Tech that should exist I am now publicly maintaining a [list of wacky tech ideas (mostly software) at Codeberg](https://codeberg.org/nilesh/request-for-hacks/issues). Comments and brickbats are welcome. ## Markdown with support for Math and Argument maps Markdown has been fantastic for content authoring. We're now starting to see [support for inline diagrams using Mermaid](https://github.blog/2022-02-14-include-diagrams-markdown-files-mermaid/). What would be great is support for mathematical expressions (LaTeX/MathJAX) and argument maps (like ArgDown). ## Browser addon for site advisory When you are on a webpage, the entire viewport is controlled by that site. This leads to all kinds of manipulation. I'd like a browser extension that shows me community-curated warnings such as: * Security risks of using this site, past data leakages * Dark-patterns * Alternative products and services which are "better" * Social harms caused by this company * Problematic past behavior by company execs or investors * And more I am taking a stab at this here: . If you'd like to contribute, please contact. ## Google+GoodReads for lifelong learning with all media types Today's learning platforms are not actually learner-centric. They want the students to be locked within their apps & websites, learn ONLY from their own content and their own preferred formats. But the way we learn in 21st century is far too rich. **We learn from blogs, podcasts, videos, tweetstorms, livestreams, games, newsletters, infographics, Q\&A sites, forums and much more.** Discovering the right kind of learning material for YOU at the right time is still too hard. I have been building [LearnAwesome.org](https://learnawesome.org/about) - an open-source GoodReads-like network for learning resources here. Check it out: and contribute if possible. ## Easy self-hosting for webapps Although there are a number of open-source apps, deploying and maintaining them is still quite difficult. There are tools like Cloudron with good features, but it's not open-source (not even with a delay) and pricing is very difficult. The most promising project seems to be: . Others options are HomeLabOS, YUNoHost, Sandstorm, Caprover, Kubernetes Helm Charts, Ansible scripts, Docker Compose files etc.\ \ I intend to look into this problem and probably contribute to an existing project. If needed, I would also love to run a hosted service to make it super-easy for small businesses and families. If you want to collaborate on this, please contact. ## Better Discourse Arguments and debates on social media use free-form text which runs into the same probles again and again: logical flaws, personal attacks, suspicious data sourcing, incomplete reasoning etc. With computers, we ought to do better. Have a look at ArgDown. It uses markdown-like syntax to create structured arguments. Wouldn't it be nice, if the social/political/intellectual discourse was done in this format? Because it's pure-text, we can leverage entire ecosystem of ActivityPub apps like Mastodon for this. Relevant projects to watch in this space are Kialo, Underlay.org. Also, see [this old idea](https://gist.github.com/nileshtrivedi/09a1ef4027780e7ce293f967d539923f) I had. ## Learning as a game People are willing to learn a LOT for playing games. Can use game-like elements for life skills? This idea is explored in multiple books: The DIamond Age, Level Up and more. I have started experimenting on this within LearnAwesome.org. There's a course format which has a series of challenges and chat rooms which get unlocked only after you clear a challenge. ## Open-source alternative to Webflow Enough said. There is GrapesJS but it falls short by a big margin. ## Open-source alternative to Beeper Matrix bridges are fantastic but it will take an app like Beeper to get people to actually adopt it. ## Personal search engine We consume a lot of content - articles, videos, internal google docs and spreadsheets etc. But the browser, where all this happens, can at best track the URLs, not the content itself. People have suggested note-taking (perhaps with bi-directional linking like TiddlyWiki or Roam), but this manual work ought to be unnecessary. ## Personal CRM Why isn't there an app that keeps track of all my relationships - personal, professional etc? Relationships require effort to cultivate, but having our communication fragmented in dozens of apps have made this impossible to achieve. ## Personal AI assistant Siri, Cortana, Google will never truly act in my interest. I need a bot that is truly MY agent. I should be fully comfortable handing over my calendar, my email/SMS, my goals and even bank account to this bot to take care of my errands. ## Visual programming environments The best example I have seen so far is Snap! by Berkeley/SAP. But there's huge potential if we can build an environment where real programming work can be done. Some feature ideas: * Impossible syntax errors * Zoom in and out from big picture to details * Live test-cases (see [my livecoding idea](https://nilesh.trivedi.link/work#live-coding))