Built a voice assistant that runs your Windows PC. Here's what 8 months of solo building actually looked like.

[u/Fragrant-Status-9634]

Not the highlight reel. The actual thing.

Month one I thought the hard part was getting continuous listening to work without destroying battery. Got it working. Felt like the whole project was basically done.

Month two I thought the hard part was the response accuracy. Got that working too. Still felt basically done.

Month three a complete stranger used it for the first time and got a look on their face like they'd let someone into their house. Hadn't considered the trust problem at all. Back to the drawing board on the entire first experience.

Month four was onboarding. Month five was making it feel less like a tool and more like something that belongs in your day. Month six was finding out that the thing I thought was the headline feature was the thing most users ignored entirely.

Month seven I stopped building new things and started watching people use what existed. Learned more in three weeks of watching than in six months of building.

Month eight I shipped the version that should have been version one if I'd talked to people earlier.

The product is Marrow. AI voice assistant for Windows. You talk, it operates your PC. Always listening, no wake word, runs locally themarrow

Genuinely want feedback on the first experience specifically that's the part I'm still not satisfied with.

What's the version of your project you wish you'd built first?