Here's my review about Utopia ecosystem and it's desktop software.
InstallationI use freshly insalled Debian 11 on VM with 4 core CPU & 4 GB RAM for this review, so i choose
.deb file. I have no problem installing Utopia using
dpkg and i don't need to install other dependency. While i do not experience any problem, AppImage would be great addition since there are some linux distro which isn't based on Ubuntu, Debian, RHEL or RPM.
First impressionAfter creating new wallet, i was greeted with Welcome tour. It's quite helpful to write this review, although it'd be great if mining/stacking feature is also briefly explained on it's own page. Initial/first sync took some time (about 15-25 minutes) since my internet connection isn't very fast. Adding estimated remaining sync time or how much data need to be downloaded would be great addition.
The UI reminds me of email client and application from early 2000. Personalty i like the UI, although people who mainly use mobile device or web-based application will find the UI is unattractive. Initially i have problem finding feature such as "Idyll browser", where i had to check all option on top menu bar one by one. And when i quit and re-open Utopia software again, it failed to detect location of the db/wallet file and i had to find it manually using command
find ~ -name "*\.db. However, i unable to reproduce the problem since Utopia software automatically select db/wallet file when i try to quit and re-open it again.
Idyll browserAfter opening Idyll browser, i see homepage which show an image and address bar which say "Please enter address in P2P Utopia Network". But since Idyll can't access regular website (such as
https://bitcointalk.org) and the browser doesn't show any list of Utopia-based website/link (such as Utopia offcial website), i cannot proceed further. I would suggest to give short explanation/tutorial and list of utopia-based website on the homepage so user won't be confused or feel disappointing.
MiningAfter reading FAQ about mining[2] and description about mining bots (located under "Tools -> Mining Bots..."), i found out mining process require Public IP. But since i'm behind NAT, i couldn't try mining feature. But reading mining description (located under "uWallet -> Cryptons -> Mining...") and reading FAQ at one of Utopia block explorer[3], i have confusion whether Utopia actually use PoW, PoS or dPoS. I also found out there's option to delegate your crypton coin to someone. But i couldn't try delegate feature since i couldn't find public key of delegator/node which perform mining on both Utopia website[1] and block explorer[3].
uWalletuWallet UI is intuitive, so i have no problem understanding what each uWallet feature does. Although to test uWallet more throughfully, i decide to make payment on merchant listed on Utopia website[4]. After looking at list of merchant, i decide to choose WorldVPN[5] since they offer VPN which cost $1.99 (less than 5 CRP). But when i make payment, i'm surprised instruction by Utopia is outdated[5] where there's no "crypto currenies" option (see below screenshot). There's nothing i could do, so i cancel the transaction.
Afterwards i decide to try other feature on uWallet. While i'm not sure where or when to use crypto cards, i find uVoucher is handy and could be really useful in various scenario. Here are few voucher i created (each voucher has different amount). Feel free to redeem
1 (one) of these to try uVoucher feature.
UTP-U2BA-YREQ-Z4DP-7STG-MNHM
UTP-42EY-VWDT-CFRX-HKNS-QUM7
UTP-R7DB-5C6F-4P3Z-UILG-NWJR
UTP-CU2X-WIQO-TAMH-7B3S-E5GY
UTP-MNOB-IZ5L-T3CF-DE6W-Q4UB
I don't have much to say about uChannel. While there are >2800 channel, there are less than <50 channel which have 10 or more guest. It's rather unusual there are many channel which isn't moderated, which is different from Telegram and Discord ecosystem. I also tried "Advance search" feature, but while it's useful i 2 critique.
1. There's no autosuggestion when i choose filter "uTag". It bring some inconvenience since i don't know which tag is available and i could make typo.
2. The filter "Language" actually show list of country rather than list of languages (see screenshot below)
Additional note1. When i check the FAQ, i found out Utopia software is closed source[6]. It's a red flag for most people who care about privacy or decentralization.
2. When i use the desktop application, it might freeze for few second on few occasion (such as joining channel or opening Mining tab/window).
SummaryWhile Utopia have many features, lack of documentation and tutorial could discourage some people to choose Utopia as their cryptocurrency choice. I didn't review all features available on Utopia desktop software, but i will leave that for other reviewer. And i strongly encourage to make Utopia software open source to build trust among cryptocurrency community.
[1]
https://u.is/en/[2]
https://u.is/en/faq.html#faq38[3]
https://explorer.utopiaecosystem.com/faq[4]
https://u.is/en/merchants.html[5]
https://u.is/en/redirect_merchant.html?website=worldvpn.net&ret=1,All,worldvpn[6]
https://u.is/en/faq.html#faq4
