I want to know what kind of apps/programs y’all recommend to people or just use personally. This is just in general, could be anything from a game to a media codec. I personally use Linux but stuff for other operating systems is welcome too.
Voidtools Everything is a gamechanger on Windows. It can search my entire PC instantly opposed to Windows Explorer taking minutes. You can also configure it to work with 3rd party file managers like Freecommander and eliminate Explorer from your workflow entirely.
Don’t really have that problem on my Linux distro but that would’ve helped so much when I was on windows. Idk how many times I searched for something and just left the room to wait.
Anyone have a good alternative to photopea for Windows/Linux? Please don’t say gimp :(
I love photopea but the subscription model is lame. It turns it into another Photoshop.
I need something to do occasional art in that will survive my slow Linux transition.
Another suggestion I have is pinta. But I really only do super simple edits like cropping, adding text, etc
I quite like Krita
LocalSend. File transfer between any devices with (almost) any OS over LAN. No account required. The best file transfer app I’ve ever encountered by far.
StreetComplete. Get motivated to go outside with quests to help complete OpenStreetMaps. Surprisingly addictive. Requires an OpenStreetMaps account.
f.lux. Remove the blue light from your computer monitor in the evening to help you fall asleep more easily. Redshift. As above. Not quite as good, but works on some OS/System configurations that f.lux can’t handle.
Pulsar. A community version of the discontinued Atom text editor. Highly extendable and configurable. Great for small programming tasks or opening text files with an obscure syntax. Has most of the packages built for Atom.
Home Assistant. For automating your house and more (controlling smart lights and appliances, monitoring solar panel output, weather forecasts, printer diagnostics, delivery tracking…). A dedicated device (Raspberry Pi, old laptop) is highly recommended. A bit of a learning curve, but hard to live without after using it.
I mostly use this on my desktop running win10, but GridPlayer for playing shows off an external hard drive.
At one point had it on my laptop running a Debian based OS, but I must have uninstalled/removed it somehow because I couldn’t find it a few days ago when I needed it. Thankfully I found an appimage as I couldn’t find it in the repos. And as I am writing this comment, I checked to see if it was available through flatpak and it is.
Love it because I can have my shows take up the full program area and stay that way when I change program resolution. I try that with other programs and it either doesn’t fit the whole program area or doesn’t take up the area when I change program size.
Only thing I wouldn’t really recommend it for is shows with subtitles since I have yet to figure out if it even supports subtitle files. Couldn’t watch the latest season of a show on it and had to switch to VLC because of that.
Snagit, it’s like Windows snipping tool on steroids. I was introduced to it at work and loved it so much I bought a license for my personal computer.
I’m also a huge fan of Dashlane for managing my passwords. It’s one of the pricier options, but it works so much better than everything else I’ve tried (and has a nicer UI, too)
Krita (without any kind of unnecessary unsupported and unofficial AI plugins btw). It’s one of the few free programs that I like so much I paid for them.
I’ve also been getting a lot of mileage out of Tiny Media Manager.
Would you say that Krita is suitable for a beginner, especially with a little knowledge of traditional drawing?
I wouldn’t recommend learning to draw from scratch digitally no matter what software, but if you’re not a complete beginner and you’re willing to experiment with its functions, I don’t see why not. There’s a large helpful community and lots of tutorials too.
Mullvad, Ente Auth, VS Codium, Librewolf, VLC, Steam
Got a game on a library other than Steam, but want access to all the Steam workshop mods for said game because nobody posts them anywhere else?
Then you want WorkshopDL. I would be stuck with a minimally modded RimWorld if not for this, because I got the game on GOG, and I’m not paying for it and all the DLC again just to get access to the workshop.
Never knew that was a thing
Aegis, Bitwarden, Librewolf, Mullvad and MEGA on my desktop
I have a few to recommend…
Firefox - Stop giving an ad network all of your data on a silver platter.
Affinity Photo - Good photo editing software with perpetual licensing.
digiKam - FOSS photo organizing software
Strawberry Music Player - A fork of a fork of amaroK, good music player!
VLC - Watch any video file.
Kodi - Consume your media library, in style!
OpenRA - Play the original Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert as well as Dune 2000 on modern hardware/software for free.
Unreal Tournament 2004 - I have bought this game three times, the original CD release on 6 discs, Steam and GOG. This is to my mind the best arcade shooter ever, the original CD release even came with an official Linux installer.
Minor warning about Strawberry Music Player:
If you are looking for a completely free local music player on windows or mac without paying, I’d skip this because both versions are tied to patreon last I checked. I know as a fact the windows version is, but not 100% sure on the mac version since I don’t have a mac.
I personally think it’s good enough if you feel like paying for it so they can keep developing it, but it’s good to keep this kinda stuff in mind.
Tied to patreon how?
I was on Clementine before but development seems to have stalled
That is a horrible abuse of the term “arcade shooter”
OpenRA - Play the original Command & Conquer: Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert as well as Dune 2000
OMG I’m gonna unlock some really deep memories right now
they can be found on openra.net
I hope you don’t mean stock firefox.
What is wrong with stock Firefox?
I hope you are not calling it worse than Chrome, because that would be insane.
Hmm yeah. Not as bad as chrome but not that better. At this point, I use Librewolf because it allows uBo and has mozilla spyware removed. Mozilla pretends to be privacy-friendly. They aren’t your friend.
Well yeah, they are a company, I have never thought of them as a friend.
I would like it if they released an annual “Firefox Pro” version, the only difference would be that Pro version would be branded as “Firefox Pro” and a badge in the about dialog.
You would pay €20 for it, and Mozilla could rely less on ads, and focus more on privacy.
Why not just a donation?
Why not get rewarded for it as well?
yeah ok. It’s not like nobody rewards donators
telemetry is not spyware.
Google collects data because their business model depends on them knowing all much about you as possible. Mozilla collects the data they need to fix bugs.
Mozilla collects the data they need to fix bugs
Funny
You should look at their privacy policy. You’ll be shocked at how privacy invasive they really are.
you posted asking for software, and now just arguing about Firefox?
go find your own software then, jesus christ. did you just come looking for a fight? you don’t ask for people’s opinions then shit on them.
When did I ask for software??? I think you’re confusing me with the OP.
i have. which part do you find objectionable?
Well then, you should know that they aren’t any better. They track and spy on users, and also put ads into the browser itself.
foobar2000 is an awesome music player
Wish it was on Linux
It’s one of the few apps I use wine for
Dzr is a great accountless player for deezer with a CLI version and GUI version that runs in Visual Studio Code
I love Godot for making video games.
Simple enough for a hobbyist, powerful enough for a developer. Free and open source
So, what are you working on at the moment?
BTW Godot is really nice, maybe lacking a bit in the documentation but nothing showstopping.
Sadly, I’ve had to take a break from gamedev for a while to develop some more employable skills. That’s not to say you can’t get a job in gamedev, but if I don’t do the indie thing then I’m sure I’ll lose my passion for games.
I try to get away from the grind for a bit with a game jam here and there though. Those end up on my Itch page (link in my bio if you’re curious)
My most recent foray was a deck builder where you play as a witch running a potion shop. Your cards controlled what ingredients you had and did things to your cauldrons or customers. The scope got out of control and we missed the deadline for the jam with no end in sight. A tale as old as time 😅
Lately I’ve been thinking that something I’d like to do is a Vampire Survivors-esque cooking game. Roguelike, monsters, and snacks, what’s not to like?
Couldn’t find your bio, care to share that itch page?
Oh yeah, sure thing!
Personal life first of course!
Working in game dev is rewarding but exhausting and usually not very well paid but you learn a lot ( like keeping deadlines 😉).
I separate hard any game I’m brewing at home and just follows the flow, if it becomes something then I’ll maybe finish it, which means nonpressure and you can make any game you want (IMO).
I’d love testing a roguelike vampire snacking game 😁!
GameMaker is awesome for… making games, but also automation and simple apps as well. Excel can be used for automating things and be a useful calculator. I like doing digital art on Artrage as it has realistic tools and has a simpler interface without all that clutter. The Kustom apps (android) are awesome for making live wallpapers, lock screens, smart watch faces, and widgets. GraphicsGale is useful for pixel art. Offline Games (android) is a compilation of… offline games. They’re well made and worth the no-ads purchase. I think that’s about all my personal favorites unless I include Boost for lemmy
Newpipe, KDEconnect, Vlc, KeepassXC, Syncthing, convert (CLI program for converting files eg jpg to PNG ), Yakuake (a dropdown terminal)
Special shout-out to KDE Connect. You can instantly share files between your phone and your PC, remote control your PC, share your clipboard, notifications and so much more. With two clicks, you can share a link that instantly opens on your PC. It’s all so smooth! And it’s also available for Windows if you need it.