The Why of Offline AI

In an age where technology permeates every aspect of our lives, concerns regarding privacy and security have become increasingly prevalent. As the capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) continue to advance, so too do the ethical considerations surrounding its usage. One such consideration is whether AI chatbots should operate offline, away from the constant data streams of the internet. We believe there should be a choice at Deckr. You can use Chat GPT for free online or you can train your own offline secure AI assistant and chatbot with Deckr.  Delve into the reasons why opting for an offline AI chatbot may be a prudent choice in today’s digital landscape.

First and foremost, privacy stands out as a paramount concern. With online AI chatbots, users often have to relinquish a significant amount of personal data in exchange for their services. This data can include sensitive information such as chat logs, behavioral patterns, and even personal preferences. While companies may claim to handle this data responsibly, the reality is that data breaches and leaks are not uncommon. If you are in a private company with a VPN this is even more important. You do not want your assistant to share any internal information from within your VPN. By keeping the AI chatbot offline, users can rest assured that their conversations remain private and immune to potential data breaches.

Moreover, offline AI chatbots offer a level of security that their online counterparts cannot match. When an AI chatbot operates offline, it significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access or manipulation. Hackers often target online systems, exploiting vulnerabilities to gain access to sensitive information or to disrupt services. By keeping the AI chatbot offline, these potential attack vectors are mitigated, providing users with a more secure conversational experience.

Secure Your Data: Keep It In Your Control

Another compelling reason to opt for an offline AI chatbot is the preservation of autonomy and control. In an online environment, users are at the mercy of service providers when it comes to data collection and usage. This lack of control can lead to a feeling of vulnerability and distrust among users. By keeping the AI chatbot offline, users retain full control over their data and how it is used. They can rest assured that their conversations are not being monitored or analyzed for ulterior purposes.

Furthermore, offline AI chatbots can offer improved performance and reliability. By operating independently of internet connectivity, these chatbots are not susceptible to fluctuations in network speed or availability. Users can enjoy seamless interactions without the frustration of lag or downtime. This enhanced reliability fosters trust and confidence in the AI chatbot, leading to a more positive user experience overall.

It’s important to acknowledge that there are trade-offs associated with keeping an AI chatbot offline. For instance, offline chatbots may have limited access to real-time information and updates compared to their online counterparts. However, these limitations can often be mitigated through periodic updates or by leveraging local data storage.

Summary: How Deckr Has Your Back

In conclusion, the decision to keep an AI chatbot offline is rooted in a commitment to privacy, security, and user autonomy. By operating independently of internet connectivity, offline chatbots offer a level of privacy and security that is difficult to achieve in an online environment. Additionally, they provide users with greater control over their data and deliver improved performance and reliability. While there are trade-offs involved, the benefits of opting for an offline AI chatbot are clear. As we navigate the evolving landscape of AI ethics, prioritizing the protection of user privacy and security should remain a top priority.

At Deckr, we believe in actively protecting your security and offering choices. The reason we built Deckr was to offer a way to share your favorite websites that may not rank on google or other search engines through sharing your bookmark Decks. (See more features now) Simply because a company has a monopoly over an industry does not mean it should determine how and when information is found. Decor empowers it’s users in many ways. Download a free preview today. 

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Hello everyone!

It’s been quiet here at Deckr headquarter over the last few weeks and I wanted to update everyone to what’s been going on.

Building Deckr was a monumental task. I’ve been working on it non stop 7 days a week for months on end and finally reached what I consider is a good first version. This is the build you are running now. It was an enjoyable, fast paced coding experience, but in the end I got a bad case of burnout that had to be addressed.

I’m starting to feel a lot better now after a few weeks of staying off the computer and watching a lot of movies and documentaries and generally being a bum around the house.

For the curious, this is what I had to build to launch Deckr. I’m a solo programmer and this amount of work would normally be a team of 4 or more coders, but I enjoy big challenges.

1. Desktop app for 3 platforms. The app itself wasn’t so difficult, but making installers for Linux, macOS and Windows was a major pain in the a$$. Additionally auto updating on 3 platforms wasn’t trivial. I’m using the Sparkle framework for macOS and Windows and Flatpak for Linux. Deckr is not on any app stores because I support the open internet, not censored app stores.

2. Browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome. I’ve never written a browser extension before and this was more difficult that it first appeared. I also wrote the extensions using Dart that compiles into JavaScript which is great, but it did add more complexity to the task. No JavaScript was used anywhere for Deckr, it’s all Dart/Flutter which makes it easier to update, maintain and debug.

3. Front end “web app”. This is the main UI you see in the New Tab of your browser. Tons of features and lots of code, design work and testing made this a large task for even a team of developers.

4. Deckr.surf website. The web site is written in Flutter and was designed and coded from scratch. Making it look nice and functional is never simple. But I think it looks OK now considering I’m not much of a designer. Since it’s written in Flutter I can make it even cooler in the future. It’s a true web app that is more powerful than a standard HTML site.

5. Purchase system. The purchase system is hosted on WordPress using some standard plugins, but there’s also a lot of custom code and APIs added to fully function. The app uses this server to purchase and verify license keys.

6. Deckr backend. The backend is hosted on back4app.com. I knew nothing about back4app, but luckily it’s well designed and wasn’t too big of a hassle. But it still took weeks of trial and error and lots of testing to get it working.

7. AI Chatbot libraries. I had to compile and package up the AI chat libraries on macOS, Windows and Linux which took some time to get working.

I get anxiety just writing this out. I really pushed myself to the absolute limits and I hope it shows.

The next steps are now a matter of polishing, improving and adding on to this powerful base of code that I’ve written.

Our plan it to be guided from here on out by user feedback and suggestions, so if you have great ideas, please tell us about it by emailing deckr@cocoatech.com. We’d love to hear what you think.

We also plan on having pols on our Discord channel, so be sure to check that out.

I’m feeling better now and am ready for the next round of burnout inducing hardcore coding sessions. If you like Deckr now, just wait until you see version 2. We are ready to take things to the next level with features requested by our users.

Please support the development of Deckr by purchasing a license key. It’s only $19.95.

Have fun, and thanks for trying Deckr,

– The Deckr team

Discord: https://discord.gg/HtgR6fRYsk

Email: deckr@cocoatech.com

Hello everyone!

We are proud to announce a new desktop application we have been working on named Deckr. Deckr supports macOS, Linux and Windows.

Deckr is unlike most other desktop apps. It has one innovative and unique difference. The user interface for Deckr is accessed from within the web browser.

This is accomplished by installing the Deckr browser extension. The Deckr extension replaces the web browsers default “New Tab” page with the Deckr user interface. Now anytime you need to access Deckr, just make a new tab and it appears. The New Tab page becomes the portal into the Deckr desktop application.

The browser extension can be found in the Chrome and Firefox app store and installs easily with one click.

The Deckr desktop application has no user interface of it’s own (except for a small icon in the menubar). It runs silently in the backgound. You can think of it as a private cloud server providing data to the browser extension. In this way your data stays local to your machine. It’s fast and private by design.

Why is this a good idea? First of all, convenience. The web browser is easily the most popular desktop application and adding Deckr to the browser means you don’t have to open another app to access it’s features.

A second reason is that most of Deckr’s features involve opening browser tabs, saving bookmarks and other web related tasks. It would be cumbersome to continually switch between Deckr and the browser. The innovation is never having to leave your browser!

So, we like to say Deckr is a desktop app inside your web browser. Having a desktop app in the browser has some unique qualites not found in pure Javascript based web apps or extensions.

1. Your data stays on your computer and not on a remote cloud server.
2. Creating an account and signing in is not required.
3. The desktop app is a natively compile app, so it runs faster than a Javascript web app. Many interesting features wouldn’t be possilbe running in pure Javascript because of speed and performance issues. For example image conversion or an AI chatbot.
4. There are some limitations on what can be done running Javascript in a browser. We side step these limitations by doing the work in the desktop app.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

So after that long explanation of how Deckr works and why, you must be wondering what does Deckr do?

We have big plans for Deckr, but for this first release Deckr’s main feature is bookmark management. Additionally there is an RSS feed reader and a bunch of other useful utilities.

Our bookmark manager is designed to be simple. Just drag and drop icons to different collections we call ‘Decks’. But Deckr is more than just simple bookmark management. We host a ‘deck store’ where you can share and download decks.

Our hope is that sharing decks becomes a new way to find and share quality user generated content online not censored or filtered by “Big tech”. The internet is huge and has incredible content, but finding quality content is still a huge problem. Deckr’s aim is to help solve this problem.

In it’s current form, it’s incredibly useful, but this is just the beginning. We have other features coming in the next months. For example and RSS feed reader for news, and AI chat bot, and more features traditionally found only in desktop apps. We want to bring desktop app functionality to the web browser so you don’t have to launch and switch to other apps. Deckr is always one click away.

TIPS

The Deckr app puts a blue icon in the menu bar so you know it’s running and you can quit it if necessary. Click the icon for a menu of options related to the app.

Turn on the “launch at startup” option. That will auto launch Deckr after restarts to be ready at all times.

The Deckr app and browser extension will auto update themselves, so you never have to worry about having an older version. Install it and forget about it.

WHO ARE WE?

We’re the same team behind Path Finder for macOS (https://cocoatech.io). We are a small remote only team working on innovative desktop apps since 2001.

MORE INFO:

Check out the website for help, documentation and FAQs. Also join our Discord channel to talk with other Deckr users.

This is our first release and we are looking for feedback from the community. It’s free to install and use unrestricted. But we do offer the option to buy a license key if you would like to show your support, help fund development, and avoid nag messages. Your avatar also gets a blue check if have a license key.

We would appreciate it if you install it and give it a try. Love it or hate it, send us feedback to deckr@cocoatech.com. We’d love to hear what you think. We want user feed back to drive development.

Have fun, and thanks for trying Deckr,

– The Deckr team

Are you a graphic designer and have ideas on how to make Deckr better?

We’re looking for help making Deckr look visually dazzling. We are great coders, but not the best at user interface design and icons.

If you have design skills and have used Deckr and have suggestions, send us an email at deckr@cocoatech.com

We appreciate any quality feedback. Send image mockups, icons, or any suggestions you can think of.

Thanks,

The Deckr team.