The Illusion of Cloud Permanence
Over the past decade, software shifted from software you own into software you rent on someone else's server. While cloud sync is convenient, the tradeoffs are becoming glaringly evident.
When you stop paying a cloud workspace, your notes, archives, and past decisions are held hostage behind a paywall. If you have no internet on a high-speed train or flight, your tools stop working.
The Seven Principles of Local-First Software
The local-first movement, championed by researchers and thoughtful engineers, flips the cloud model on its head:
- Your data lives on your disk first, in standard open formats.
- Everything works at full speed without an internet connection.
- Search runs on-device using local indexes without sending your confidential notes to third-party servers.
- Cloud sync is an optional transport layer, not a mandatory lock-in mechanism.
The Orbit Software Commitment
This principle guides every tool in the Orbit suite. In Orbit Thread, your workspace stays readable, searchable, and exportable even if you stop paying. In Orbit Studio, video rendering executes locally on your hardware. In Orbit Cue, you own your workspace data.
We believe the future belongs to software that respects customer autonomy.
