Just realised that probably I was the first one except of two devs who had an ability to test this application out. Finally we have both Mobile and Desktop clients for Steem blogging! And both are really handy.
I am not the developer. I am drawing some things and creating designs mostly for eSteem project here on blockchain. But was lucky enough to get my hands on eSteem Surfer closed alfa prerelease starting from 0.0.0 versions with an ability to pull from closed git anytime to have the most fresh fixes and new features daily.
eSteem Surfer is a desktop client for Steem blockchain. In other words you can get access to your Steemit blog via eSteem application. There is a mobile version and now there is a desktop one. It's cross platform so you can use it on Windows, Mac OS or any type of Linux.
I was testing it heavily for about a week or so and I would say even in 0.0.1 version everything I used daily for posting, commenting, reading replies, claiming rewards and browsing my friends feed or trending was there and was working fine. With even more handy features so it is much better than using Steemit.com for me now.
1.0.0 released recently with bug fixes and lot's of additions. That post was trending so you might seen it.
Best thing I love in eSteem Surfer
It is really much faster than the website. Commenting is faster. Post creating is faster and more handy. Even upvoting is faster. So it gives me the feeling I am using something similar to what I am expecting from Steemit site but on another level. More crisp.
Most useful cross-device sync options
- Drafts
- Bookmarks
- Favorites
I really love the Drafts sync option. Finally I can start writing my post with eSteem Surfer on my PC, prepare and upload all the images and then continue on the go with eSteem Mobile. Or vice versa. It's synced automatically. Really handy!
Sometimes I am watching a post comments for that I am adding the post to Bookmarks inside the eSteem application. This is also synced across all my devices.
Favorites is another great option for me. When you are following a lot of people but you really doesn't want to miss some of your special friends you could add quick links to their profiles on eSteem. This list is private so nobody will know your special choice unless you want.
My expectations for future releases
- Voting power: display with the time left to recharge
- Inbox: Fetch and show full comment texts in Reply section (rather than 2 lines now). Maybe up to 50 lines? So it would be like an email inbox where you can read all the comments out without opening the post to reveal the whole text. With quick reply out there.
- Separate Feed for Favorites
- All types of events notifications together in one place. The united Activities (All sorting).
- Nearest posts payouts similar to steemworld.org
- Followers stats: how many of them are gained, how many unfollow today/week/month
- Some post/comment writing and preview formatting tweaks similar to Hackmd.io
- System Notifications for comments, replies and stuff.
Night Mode
My Conclusion
Application is developing and growing really fast. It looks like I am watching how the house is building in a fast forward regime. I guess it's because have gained big experience creating Steem apps already with eSteem Mobile so using eSteem Mobile code base or API might do the Surfer quick start? Plus because there are two developers for that project now? Maybe desktop applications is easier to build in comparance to mobile?
eSteem Surfer is the example of how I would love to see new eSteem Mobile version growth. Fast, clean and stable. Adding new handy features daily.
Have you tried the app family? Do you like it? Let me know your thoughts. This is really important for development progress.
P.S. Download from Github.
freelance illustrator Fil Dunsky
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