Re:Launch HN: Fig (YC S20) – Autocomplete for the Terminal
by marlor on Tuesday May 25, 2021 @11:21PM
(#27285863)
Yes, but when you’re Googling, you’re searching for public information.
When you’re using the terminal, you’re mostly manipulating your own data, often in ways that would reveal sensitive information if your terminal history was leaked.
Any attempt to collect data from users’ terminal interactions is indistinguishable from keylogging.
Re:Launch HN: Fig (YC S20) – Autocomplete for the Terminal
by meowface on Wednesday May 26, 2021 @02:14PM
(#27294066)
They could rationalize it as only capturing the commands and not the arguments, or something. (If that's indeed the long-term plan. No clue; for all I know data collection isn't intended as the business strategy whatsoever.)
There has to be some grand vision behind this, presumably large-scale data capture. At the end of the day, the terminal is is to the dev what Google is to the internet user: the point of entry where many journeys begin, with dozens or hundreds of interactions every day. And while devs are a niche market compared to Google's userbase, they are a lucrative and strategic one nonetheless.
Casting aside the environment of low-interest rates and massive inflow of investment in startups, how does a product like this otherwise raise several millions? The pitch sounds like something that a competent indie dev studio could sell on the Mac App Store...