Public dossier section · @ben
sources
This is @ben's profile revision 1. The original date and editorial confidence below are attributed to its publisher, not independent verification.
Original credited author: Hraness
AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.
Back to the full profile · Markdown version · Original document
Published text
- desktop v1.1.9 — obsidian, obsidian (2022-12-23, primary). canvas reaches everyone.
- desktop v1.3 — obsidian, obsidian (2023-05-09, primary). built-in pdf reading and annotation.
- desktop v1.4.5 — obsidian, obsidian (2023-08-31, primary). properties — structured yaml-frontmatter editing — ships to all users.
- desktop v1.5 — obsidian, obsidian (2023-12-26, primary). the new markdown table editor, a formatting menu, global property rename, expanded sync limits.
- desktop v1.7 — obsidian, obsidian (2024-10-16, primary). the performance overhaul — load-time speed and memory reduction across desktop and mobile.
- desktop v1.8.0 — obsidian, obsidian (2024-12-18, primary). the web viewer core plugin in early access, plus icloud-sync improvements.
- desktop v1.8.3 — obsidian, obsidian (2025-01-30, primary). web viewer reaches everyone, off by default.
- desktop v1.9.0 — obsidian, obsidian (2025-05-21, primary). bases in early access — database-like views over note collections.
- desktop v1.9.10 — obsidian, obsidian (2025-08-18, primary). bases reaches all users — the biggest core-feature addition since canvas.
- desktop v1.12.4 — obsidian, obsidian (2026-02-27, primary). the obsidian cli arrives — scripting, automation, and headless sync.
- desktop v1.13 — obsidian, obsidian (2026-07-30, primary). rebuilt settings, a full-screen image viewer, and obsidian:// uri security prompts.
- desktop v1.14.0 (catalyst) — obsidian, obsidian (2026-09-02, primary). kanban layout for bases, colored highlights, right-to-left workspaces, opening files from outside the vault, mobile quick-capture widgets.
- mobile closed beta started for catalyst vip — obsidian forum, obsidian forum (2021-03, community). the mobile closed-beta announcement for catalyst vips — since removed; cited via contemporary references.
- when is the mobile app coming out? — obsidian forum, obsidian forum (2021-03-05, community). the march 2021 thread referencing the closed-beta announcement.
- obsidian publish standard price — obsidian forum, obsidian forum (2021-09-08, community). users push back on the ~$16/site/month standard; silver: '$8/site/month by end of september and double the price after that.'
- what is the exclusive dev channel? — obsidian forum, obsidian forum (2020, community). catalyst tiers and perks described by staff.
- obsidian sync appears to be down — lemmy, shida li (2024-08-24, community). licat's discord postmortem of the ~5-hour august 24, 2024 outage, preserved via a lemmy mirror.
- dynalist & obsidian — dynalist forum, dynalist team (2020-05-30, community). 'public beta launched two days ago' — the dynalist-forum mirror of the announcement.
- projects: dynalist — ericaxu.com, erica xu (n.d., primary). her own account of the dynalist origin — side project, march 2015, the hn and product hunt launches.
- dynalist inc company profile — dun & bradstreet (2026, reporting). the dynalist inc. corporate record — 115 george st suite 350, oakville, ontario.
- obsidian trademark 2266181 — canadian intellectual property office (2026, primary). dynalist inc. registered as owner of the obsidian trademark.
- obsidianmd/obsidian-releases — github, obsidian (2020-05-08, repo). the plugin and theme registry repo — created may 8, 2020, three weeks before the public beta. plugin infrastructure was planned from the start.
- obsidianmd/obsidian-clipper — github, obsidian (2024-08-29, repo). the web clipper repo — created august 29, 2024, mit-licensed.
- obsidian sync code review — trail of bits via obsidian.md, trail of bits (2025-12, primary). the sync audit — a high-severity weak-randomness flaw (tob-obsync-1) that could have allowed recovery of encrypted files; remediations validated.
- obsidian (dynalist inc.) — linkedin, linkedin (current, reporting). 'privately held,' toronto hq, ~37 associated profiles — almost certainly overcounting volunteers and contractors.
- 1.8.0 early access announcement — threads, obsidian (2024-12, community). the official social post for the web viewer early access.
- obsidian.md homepage — internet archive (2020-04-10, archive). the obsidian.md homepage live during the private alpha.
- obsidian pricing, july 2020 — internet archive (2020-07-18, archive). the earliest full price menu — sync and publish pre-sold on early-bird pricing months before sync shipped.
- obsidian pricing, january 2021 — internet archive (2021-01-05, archive). standard prices alongside grandfathered early-bird rates.
- obsidian pricing, january 2023 — internet archive (2023-01-01, archive). the pre-reprice grid — publish $16/month, commercial $50/user/year.
- obsidian community page, january 2022 — internet archive (2022-01-02, archive). the footer already links forum-zh — the chinese community infrastructure was early.
- obsidian gems of the year winners — all-in-obsidian (li3huo.com) (2026, community). the fan wiki carrying the unverified 'january 31, 2020 first line of code' claim — included as the claim's only source, flagged weak.
- show hn: obsidian for mobile — hacker news, erica xu (2021-07-12, community). the mobile launch thread — dominated by ios sync workarounds and license questions.
- show hn: obsidian canvas — hacker news, erica xu (2022-12-20, community). the highest-scoring obsidian submission in algolia — 1,380 points, 387 comments.
- obsidian bases — hacker news (2025-08-18, community). 695 points, 255 comments — 'notion killer' versus 'scope creep.'
- obsidian sync now has a headless client — hacker news (2026-02-28, community). 587 points — heavy discussion of self-hosting versus paying.
- less is safer: reducing the risk of supply chain attacks — hacker news (2025-09-19, community). obsidian's own supply-chain post; comments press the no-sandbox problem. 522 points.
- the future of obsidian plugins — hacker news (2026-05-12, community). 452 points — the directory relaunch and automated per-version reviews.
- obsidian plugin was abused to deploy a remote access trojan — hacker news (2026-05-10, community). 366 points, 229 comments — the phantompulse rat story; debate over whether blame lies with obsidian or social engineering.
- show hn: files.md — open-source alternative to obsidian — hacker news (2026-05-18, community). 730 points — an open-source clone's launch out-scoring most obsidian announcements; a referendum on the closed core.
- ditching obsidian and building my own — hacker news (2025-05-18, community). the biggest 'leaving obsidian' thread ever — 471 points, 559 comments.
- why i like obsidian — hacker news (2024-01-17, community). 293 points, 368 comments — a love letter that doubled as a meta-discussion of pkm habits.
- writing down what i do in obsidian — hacker news (2022-11-09, community). 358 points — chris krycho's workflow essay.
- how i blog with obsidian, hugo, github, and cloudflare — hacker news (2025-04-23, community). 336 points — the obsidian→hugo publishing pipeline.
- how i use obsidian (2023) — hacker news (2026-02-17, community). 203 points — kepano's own vault doc, notable for how little it resembles influencer setups.
- be careful with obsidian — hacker news (2025-10-23, community). 127 points, 150 comments — hn split between 'relatively trustworthy for proprietary software' and sandboxing demands.
- obsidian is now free for work — hacker news (2025-02-20, community). ~421 combined points across two submissions — the license made optional.
- if you're remote, ramble — hacker news (2025-08-03, community). 976 points, 464 comments — kepano's biggest hn hit.
- design is compromise — hacker news (2026-07-26, community). 286 points.
- 100% user-supported — hacker news (2024-02-11, community). 191 points — the thread includes kepano's 'file over app is more important than open source' comment.
- photoshop for text — hacker news (2022-10-18, community). 183 points — the ambition essay's hn run.
- flexoki, an inky color scheme for prose and code — hacker news (2023-10-09, community). 194 points — the color scheme's adjacent halo.
- show hn: defuddle — hacker news, steph ango (2025-05-22, community). 418 points — the web-cleaning library powering obsidian web clipper.
- show hn: open-source obsidian.md sync server — hacker news (2023-08-24, community). 416 points — a community-built sync alternative; pricing grumbling throughout.
- obsidian dataview — hacker news (2022-05-17, community). 211 points — the plugin that later pressured obsidian to ship bases.
- obsidian 1.5 desktop (public) — hacker news (2023-12-26, community). 199 points, 193 comments.
- after obsidian and logseq, i give dendron a try — hacker news (2022-07-27, community). 129 points, 159 comments — the era-typical three-way comparison.
- notion api importer, with databases to bases conversion bounty — hacker news (2025-09-17, community). 189 points — obsidian offering bounties to convert notion databases.
- logseq: privacy-first, joyful platform for knowledge management — hacker news (2022-10-15, community). 276 points — the open-source rival's big thread, full of obsidian comparisons.
- the cult of the obsidian note-taking app — hacker news (2023-10-15, community). 29 points — the fast company profile's modest hn reception.
- obsidian sync now starts at $4 per month — hacker news (2024-03-20, community). the $4/month standard tier's quiet reception.
- obsidian entertainment's ai support forwards emails to obsidian support — hacker news (2025-11-03, community). the game studio's ai support reportedly forwarded user emails to obsidian.md support — the name collision made real.
- file over app — hacker news, steph ango (2023-07-02, community). 56 points — the largest of ~15 submissions through august 2026. canonical status out of proportion to points; the 'hit #1' claim is unverified.
- quality software deserves your hard-earned cash — hacker news (2024-05-17, community). 36 points — the essay's virality was off-hn, in newsletters and docs citations.
- i used to be very against closed source products… — hacker news (2025-11, community). the comment thread resurrecting licat's open-sourcing rebuttal years later.
- have obsidian stopped requiring that you pay for a commercial license? — hacker news (2025-08-18, community). evidence the old license terms confused users for years — one employer 'expressly forbid the use of obsidian.'
- the rise of second-brain apps: notion, obsidian, mem — the cut / new york magazine, sophie haigney (2021-12-22, reporting). the first big mainstream-culture piece to name the category — 'i saw the best minds of my generation being uploaded onto second-brain apps.'
- case study: how the second brain meme is going mainstream — forte labs, tiago forte (2022-02-07, community). forte's meta-analysis of the cut piece — the second-brain meme going mainstream.
- techmeme summary of the fast company profile — techmeme (2023-10, reporting). the aggregator record — including kepano's 'proudly not a cult' response.
- i've turned into a tech hippie — fast company, jared newman (2024, reporting). obsidian as refuge from venture-backed apps — 'a small team that hasn't raised any venture capital.'
- obsidian — a new take on notes — wonder tools, jeremy caplan and jared newman (2023-10-05, reporting). the newsletter explainer that fed the 'cult' framing.
- how to use obsidian for writing and productivity — wired, justin pot (2024, reporting). 'this application has slowly gone from being a weird app i didn't understand to one i can't imagine functioning without.'
- best distraction-free writing apps — wired, justin pot (2024, reporting). recommended with a warning: 'don't let browsing and trying out all those extensions become a distraction itself.'
- obsidian review — pcmag, justin pot (2025-12-07, reporting). 4.0/excellent, 'best for power users'; cons — 'difficult to get started with. no collaboration features.'
- obsidian review — techradar, stefan ionescu (2022-08-04, reporting). 'sophisticated features… a stellar user interface' — and a snapshot of the old pricing grid.
- obsidian's popularity explained — macstories, macstories (2023-10, reporting). the apple-ecosystem validation.
- obsidian vs. notion: which is best? — zapier, zapier (2024, reporting). 'both are for power users, but notion is more user friendly' — the usability-versus-power framing.
- i ditched google keep and replaced it with a notes app that actually respects my privacy — how-to geek, how-to geek (2025, reporting). the churn-era seo switch piece.
- i linked my messy notes and built a universe of ideas in obsidian — android police, android police (2024, reporting). the mainstream-android discovery piece.
- after using obsidian bases, i can't see myself going back to notion — makeuseof, makeuseof (2025, reporting). the bases reception — even this fan piece calls kepano's marketing 'a bit too flowery.'
Original source occurrences
- desktop v1.1.9 · obsidian · 2022-12-23 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2022-12-23 · obsidian
canvas reaches everyone.
- desktop v1.3 · obsidian · 2023-05-09 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2023-05-09 · obsidian
built-in pdf reading and annotation.
- desktop v1.4.5 · obsidian · 2023-08-31 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2023-08-31 · obsidian
properties — structured yaml-frontmatter editing — ships to all users.
- desktop v1.5 · obsidian · 2023-12-26 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2023-12-26 · obsidian
the new markdown table editor, a formatting menu, global property rename, expanded sync limits.
- desktop v1.7 · obsidian · 2024-10-16 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2024-10-16 · obsidian
the performance overhaul — load-time speed and memory reduction across desktop and mobile.
- desktop v1.8.0 · obsidian · 2024-12-18 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2024-12-18 · obsidian
the web viewer core plugin in early access, plus icloud-sync improvements.
- desktop v1.8.3 · obsidian · 2025-01-30 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2025-01-30 · obsidian
web viewer reaches everyone, off by default.
- desktop v1.9.0 · obsidian · 2025-05-21 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2025-05-21 · obsidian
bases in early access — database-like views over note collections.
- desktop v1.9.10 · obsidian · 2025-08-18 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2025-08-18 · obsidian
bases reaches all users — the biggest core-feature addition since canvas.
- desktop v1.12.4 · obsidian · 2026-02-27 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2026-02-27 · obsidian
the obsidian cli arrives — scripting, automation, and headless sync.
- desktop v1.13 · obsidian · 2026-07-30 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2026-07-30 · obsidian
rebuilt settings, a full-screen image viewer, and obsidian:// uri security prompts.
- desktop v1.14.0 (catalyst) · obsidian · 2026-09-02 (day) · original ID: src-h-cl-2026-09-02 · obsidian
kanban layout for bases, colored highlights, right-to-left workspaces, opening files from outside the vault, mobile quick-capture widgets.
- mobile closed beta started for catalyst vip · obsidian forum · 2021-03 (month) · original ID: src-h-forum-mobile-beta · obsidian forum
the mobile closed-beta announcement for catalyst vips — since removed; cited via contemporary references.
- when is the mobile app coming out? · obsidian forum · 2021-03-05 (day) · original ID: src-h-forum-mobile-timing · obsidian forum
the march 2021 thread referencing the closed-beta announcement.
- obsidian publish standard price · obsidian forum · 2021-09-08 (day) · original ID: src-h-forum-publish-price · obsidian forum
users push back on the ~$16/site/month standard; silver: '$8/site/month by end of september and double the price after that.'
- what is the exclusive dev channel? · obsidian forum · 2020 (year) · original ID: src-h-forum-catalyst-channel · obsidian forum
catalyst tiers and perks described by staff.
- obsidian sync appears to be down · lemmy · 2024-08-24 (day) · original ID: src-h-lemmy-outage · shida li
licat's discord postmortem of the ~5-hour august 24, 2024 outage, preserved via a lemmy mirror.
- dynalist & obsidian · dynalist forum · 2020-05-30 (day) · original ID: src-h-dynalist-obsidian · dynalist team
'public beta launched two days ago' — the dynalist-forum mirror of the announcement.
- projects: dynalist · ericaxu.com · n.d. (unknown) · original ID: src-h-erica-dynalist · erica xu
her own account of the dynalist origin — side project, march 2015, the hn and product hunt launches.
- dynalist inc company profile · dun & bradstreet · 2026 (year) · original ID: src-h-dnb
the dynalist inc. corporate record — 115 george st suite 350, oakville, ontario.
- obsidian trademark 2266181 · canadian intellectual property office · 2026 (year) · original ID: src-h-cipo
dynalist inc. registered as owner of the obsidian trademark.
- obsidianmd/obsidian-releases · github · 2020-05-08 (day) · original ID: src-h-obsidian-releases · obsidian
the plugin and theme registry repo — created may 8, 2020, three weeks before the public beta. plugin infrastructure was planned from the start.
- obsidianmd/obsidian-clipper · github · 2024-08-29 (day) · original ID: src-h-github-clipper · obsidian
the web clipper repo — created august 29, 2024, mit-licensed.
- obsidian sync code review · trail of bits via obsidian.md · 2025-12 (month) · original ID: src-h-tob-pdf · trail of bits
the sync audit — a high-severity weak-randomness flaw (tob-obsync-1) that could have allowed recovery of encrypted files; remediations validated.
- obsidian (dynalist inc.) · linkedin · current (approximate) · original ID: src-h-linkedin-obsidian · linkedin
'privately held,' toronto hq, ~37 associated profiles — almost certainly overcounting volunteers and contractors.
- 1.8.0 early access announcement · threads · 2024-12 (month) · original ID: src-h-threads-1-8-ea · obsidian
the official social post for the web viewer early access.
- obsidian.md homepage · internet archive · 2020-04-10 (day) · original ID: src-h-wayback-home-2020
the obsidian.md homepage live during the private alpha.
- obsidian pricing, july 2020 · internet archive · 2020-07-18 (day) · original ID: src-h-wayback-pricing-2020
the earliest full price menu — sync and publish pre-sold on early-bird pricing months before sync shipped.
- obsidian pricing, january 2021 · internet archive · 2021-01-05 (day) · original ID: src-h-wayback-pricing-2021
standard prices alongside grandfathered early-bird rates.
- obsidian pricing, january 2023 · internet archive · 2023-01-01 (day) · original ID: src-h-wayback-pricing-2023
the pre-reprice grid — publish $16/month, commercial $50/user/year.
- obsidian community page, january 2022 · internet archive · 2022-01-02 (day) · original ID: src-h-wayback-community-2022
the footer already links forum-zh — the chinese community infrastructure was early.
- obsidian gems of the year winners · all-in-obsidian (li3huo.com) · 2026 (year) · original ID: src-h-gems-wiki
the fan wiki carrying the unverified 'january 31, 2020 first line of code' claim — included as the claim's only source, flagged weak.
- show hn: obsidian for mobile · hacker news · 2021-07-12 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-mobile-2021 · erica xu
the mobile launch thread — dominated by ios sync workarounds and license questions.
- show hn: obsidian canvas · hacker news · 2022-12-20 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-canvas · erica xu
the highest-scoring obsidian submission in algolia — 1,380 points, 387 comments.
- obsidian bases · hacker news · 2025-08-18 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-bases
695 points, 255 comments — 'notion killer' versus 'scope creep.'
- obsidian sync now has a headless client · hacker news · 2026-02-28 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-sync-headless
587 points — heavy discussion of self-hosting versus paying.
- less is safer: reducing the risk of supply chain attacks · hacker news · 2025-09-19 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-less-is-safer
obsidian's own supply-chain post; comments press the no-sandbox problem. 522 points.
- the future of obsidian plugins · hacker news · 2026-05-12 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-future-plugins
452 points — the directory relaunch and automated per-version reviews.
- obsidian plugin was abused to deploy a remote access trojan · hacker news · 2026-05-10 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-phantompulse
366 points, 229 comments — the phantompulse rat story; debate over whether blame lies with obsidian or social engineering.
- show hn: files.md — open-source alternative to obsidian · hacker news · 2026-05-18 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-files-md
730 points — an open-source clone's launch out-scoring most obsidian announcements; a referendum on the closed core.
- ditching obsidian and building my own · hacker news · 2025-05-18 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-ditching
the biggest 'leaving obsidian' thread ever — 471 points, 559 comments.
- why i like obsidian · hacker news · 2024-01-17 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-why-i-like
293 points, 368 comments — a love letter that doubled as a meta-discussion of pkm habits.
- writing down what i do in obsidian · hacker news · 2022-11-09 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-krycho
358 points — chris krycho's workflow essay.
- how i blog with obsidian, hugo, github, and cloudflare · hacker news · 2025-04-23 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-ingau
336 points — the obsidian→hugo publishing pipeline.
- how i use obsidian (2023) · hacker news · 2026-02-17 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-kepano-vault
203 points — kepano's own vault doc, notable for how little it resembles influencer setups.
- be careful with obsidian · hacker news · 2025-10-23 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-be-careful
127 points, 150 comments — hn split between 'relatively trustworthy for proprietary software' and sandboxing demands.
- obsidian is now free for work · hacker news · 2025-02-20 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-free-for-work
~421 combined points across two submissions — the license made optional.
- if you're remote, ramble · hacker news · 2025-08-03 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-ramble
976 points, 464 comments — kepano's biggest hn hit.
- design is compromise · hacker news · 2026-07-26 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-design-compromise
286 points.
- 100% user-supported · hacker news · 2024-02-11 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-vcware
191 points — the thread includes kepano's 'file over app is more important than open source' comment.
- photoshop for text · hacker news · 2022-10-18 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-photoshop
183 points — the ambition essay's hn run.
- flexoki, an inky color scheme for prose and code · hacker news · 2023-10-09 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-flexoki
194 points — the color scheme's adjacent halo.
- show hn: defuddle · hacker news · 2025-05-22 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-defuddle · steph ango
418 points — the web-cleaning library powering obsidian web clipper.
- show hn: open-source obsidian.md sync server · hacker news · 2023-08-24 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-oss-sync
416 points — a community-built sync alternative; pricing grumbling throughout.
- obsidian dataview · hacker news · 2022-05-17 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-dataview
211 points — the plugin that later pressured obsidian to ship bases.
- obsidian 1.5 desktop (public) · hacker news · 2023-12-26 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-1-5
199 points, 193 comments.
- after obsidian and logseq, i give dendron a try · hacker news · 2022-07-27 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-dendron
129 points, 159 comments — the era-typical three-way comparison.
- notion api importer, with databases to bases conversion bounty · hacker news · 2025-09-17 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-importer-bounty
189 points — obsidian offering bounties to convert notion databases.
- logseq: privacy-first, joyful platform for knowledge management · hacker news · 2022-10-15 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-logseq-2022
276 points — the open-source rival's big thread, full of obsidian comparisons.
- the cult of the obsidian note-taking app · hacker news · 2023-10-15 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-fastco
29 points — the fast company profile's modest hn reception.
- obsidian sync now starts at $4 per month · hacker news · 2024-03-20 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-sync-4
the $4/month standard tier's quiet reception.
- obsidian entertainment's ai support forwards emails to obsidian support · hacker news · 2025-11-03 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-entertainment-ai
the game studio's ai support reportedly forwarded user emails to obsidian.md support — the name collision made real.
- file over app · hacker news · 2023-07-02 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-file-over-app · steph ango
56 points — the largest of ~15 submissions through august 2026. canonical status out of proportion to points; the 'hit #1' claim is unverified.
- quality software deserves your hard-earned cash · hacker news · 2024-05-17 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-quality-36
36 points — the essay's virality was off-hn, in newsletters and docs citations.
- i used to be very against closed source products… · hacker news · 2025-11 (month) · original ID: src-c-hn-oss-rebuttal
the comment thread resurrecting licat's open-sourcing rebuttal years later.
- have obsidian stopped requiring that you pay for a commercial license? · hacker news · 2025-08-18 (day) · original ID: src-c-hn-license-confusion
evidence the old license terms confused users for years — one employer 'expressly forbid the use of obsidian.'
- the rise of second-brain apps: notion, obsidian, mem · the cut / new york magazine · 2021-12-22 (day) · original ID: src-c-thecut-second-brain · sophie haigney
the first big mainstream-culture piece to name the category — 'i saw the best minds of my generation being uploaded onto second-brain apps.'
- case study: how the second brain meme is going mainstream · forte labs · 2022-02-07 (day) · original ID: src-c-forte-case-study · tiago forte
forte's meta-analysis of the cut piece — the second-brain meme going mainstream.
- techmeme summary of the fast company profile · techmeme · 2023-10 (month) · original ID: src-c-techmeme-fastco
the aggregator record — including kepano's 'proudly not a cult' response.
- i've turned into a tech hippie · fast company · 2024 (year) · original ID: src-c-fastco-hippie · jared newman
obsidian as refuge from venture-backed apps — 'a small team that hasn't raised any venture capital.'
- obsidian — a new take on notes · wonder tools · 2023-10-05 (day) · original ID: src-c-wondertools · jeremy caplan and jared newman
the newsletter explainer that fed the 'cult' framing.
- how to use obsidian for writing and productivity · wired · 2024 (year) · original ID: src-c-wired-howto · justin pot
'this application has slowly gone from being a weird app i didn't understand to one i can't imagine functioning without.'
- best distraction-free writing apps · wired · 2024 (year) · original ID: src-c-wired-distraction-free · justin pot
recommended with a warning: 'don't let browsing and trying out all those extensions become a distraction itself.'
- obsidian review · pcmag · 2025-12-07 (day) · original ID: src-c-pcmag-review · justin pot
4.0/excellent, 'best for power users'; cons — 'difficult to get started with. no collaboration features.'
- obsidian review · techradar · 2022-08-04 (day) · original ID: src-c-techradar-review · stefan ionescu
'sophisticated features… a stellar user interface' — and a snapshot of the old pricing grid.
- obsidian's popularity explained · macstories · 2023-10 (month) · original ID: src-c-macstories · macstories
the apple-ecosystem validation.
- obsidian vs. notion: which is best? · zapier · 2024 (year) · original ID: src-c-zapier-vs-notion · zapier
'both are for power users, but notion is more user friendly' — the usability-versus-power framing.
- i ditched google keep and replaced it with a notes app that actually respects my privacy · how-to geek · 2025 (year) · original ID: src-c-htg-google-keep · how-to geek
the churn-era seo switch piece.
- i linked my messy notes and built a universe of ideas in obsidian · android police · 2024 (year) · original ID: src-c-androidpolice · android police
the mainstream-android discovery piece.
- after using obsidian bases, i can't see myself going back to notion · makeuseof · 2025 (year) · original ID: src-c-muo-bases · makeuseof
the bases reception — even this fan piece calls kepano's marketing 'a bit too flowery.'