Show HN: GYST – A new take on the desktop interface (alpha)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcWzuBBuiPM

3•arnaudbd•4mo ago

Hi HN! I’ve been working on a tool that merges file explorer, whiteboard, bookmarking, note-taking & simple graphic design into one lightweight interface.

The idea is to make all these tools feel like one fluid space instead of 5 separate tools. The hope is to replicate the feeling of a physical desk : where order and freedom coexist.

This 15-min video walks through the current alpha and the vision for the full product : https://youtu.be/AcWzuBBuiPM

I’d love your feedback — especially around the concept and UX. The alpha is online if you want to try it: https://gyst.fr

This is a solo project for now, inspired by the “second brain” / PKM movement and my own frustration with fragmented tools and outdated UX.

Comments

arnaudbd•4mo ago

This is a product I’ve been imagining for a while. I couldn’t get my head around why it didn’t exist. It felt absurd to me. It became kind of an obsession to be honest. Why can’t I have a place that’s at the same time the place where is store and organise rigourously AND a place for free-flowing thought and creativity. Why can’t I build and design a digital space, freely ? Why are there always constraints ? And aggregate and tag all your content from everywhere. Why can’t I just do what I want ?

It feels to me that digital organization is still, for no good reason at all, too complicated. It should be easier by now. GYST is my answer to that frustration. For me it seems obvious. Of course this is what’s needed. But maybe I’m crazy.

halfdaft•4mo ago

congratulations on the work so far - looks interesting, will try it out. reminds me of Microsoft’s Courier tablet [0] concept from 2009, which I was naively obsessed with for a while.

[0] https://youtu.be/pFQWc79TYcU?si=9JvYw1FVQwUrxn0M

arnaudbd•4mo ago

thanks ! Funny i didn't know about Mircosoft's Courier tablet. Looks like they were trying to replicate a notebook on a tablet.