What if we had Local-First Software?
I have a lot of experience with this having developed a personal finance app that is local-first: <a href="https://actualbudget.com/" rel="nofollow">https://actualbudget.com/</a><p>Having all of the data local is a superpower. It changes how you build the app, and you just never have to worry about the network. Everything is fast _by default_. It's great.<p>The app uses CRDTs to sync and it's unlocked a lot of powerful stuff like a robust undo system. We also offer end-to-end encryption.<p>On the negative side, over time I've stepped back a little from being truly local-first. The mobile app used to connect to the desktop by pointing the phone's camera at a QR code on desktop, and it would literally sync peer-to-peer. Maintaining that was nightmare and users had endless networking problems. Our network infrastructure unfortunately is not built for truly peer-to-peer apps. Maybe ipv6 will help, I don't know. My app now has a "centralized" server but it's really just a backup that gives some convenience - the app is still totally local but syncs through a single server. You can work on it for weeks offline and then sync up. In the future when p2p is ready, I'll be ready for it.