What is your favourite less well known app/software?
What is your favourite less well known app/software?
Been awhile since I saw a thread like this and they're always good for at least one or two things I've never heard of before. Bonus points if the software is open source and cross platform. Extra bonus points if you link to where we can see it/get it.
My contribution: Destiny which is an anonymous, P2P, E2EE file sharing app - its basically a GUI for a Magic Wormhole implementation. Works on Linux (tarball or appimage), Win, Mac, Android (inc f-droid) and iOS. Only downside is it's not been updated for 2 years.
QuickLook for Windows. Coming from a Mac this thing is super useful to replicate that functionality on Windows.
For Windows users, I want to recommend PowerToys: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/powertoys/
The "toys" that I use a lot are: PowerToys Awake: to keep my laptop awake even if I'm away from keyboard for a while.
Fancy Zones: to create my own layout of windows, especially on the ultra-wide monitor I have at work, it's easy to have 3 smaller windows next to each other according to my layout.
Mouse Utilities, I often can't find my mouse cursor, just pressing a hotkey will literally spotlight the cursor.
Quick Accent, especially for multi-lingual people this is really handy, though it takes a bit to get used to its working.
I use fancy zones, and also the one that finds your mouse cursor as I'm always losing it, and the always on top mode for when I don't want a teams call to vanish while I do something else
Be like me, just make your mouse cursor neon green and huge.
FancyZones is literally the only thing I'm missing from Windows after switching to Linux. I've looked around stack and reddit but have only found posts asking for that functionality, haven't found a solution. Is there a DE/window manager/etc that has similar functionality?
Isn't Fancy Zones just window tiling? KDE has a tiling built in (hit meta+t to set up and then hold shift while dragging a window) and there are a hundred way more nerdy tiling window managers.
LocalSend is open-source and great for file transfer (or even just sending text) between my devices.
Greenshot is free, open-source, and the built-in image editor is perfect (for my use-case, ymmv). ShareX is also FOSS but more well-known.
Another vote for Greenshot, I use it nearly daily for my work.
I used to use Greenshot but switched over to Flameshot. Also Free software, but has better and easier editing tools. The numbered arrows are so handy.
The last version on the website is from 2017. I wonder what's going on? The repo seems to be alive. I used it for years but switched recently to ShareX since Greenshot GUI can't really handle high screen resolution
Edit: Just checked the Blog. They didn't had time in the last years but it seems to pick up speed again now. A new version is coming.
Yeah, it's been solid/stable but no new developments until 1.3 is coming. You can download the pre-release version if you want to try it again, because that version has zoom options. I imagine that's what you missed, unless you meant something else with older versions not handling high res well
Screen2Gif is super useful when trying to show someone how to do something without doing a zoom or screen share. And gifs post in slack really well.
ffmpeg -video_size 1920x1280 -framerate 25 -f x11grab -i :0.0 output.gif
It's an android app that uses your display to make a "glow" to light a room rather than using the camera flash like a torch.
It's in F-Droid.
Obviously the camera flash is more powerful if you're outside or whatever, but using the display this way is way better inside. That tiny little dazzling pin-prick of light is just... unpleasant.
With candle you can also set whatever color you like. Red is nice to avoid waking people or ruining night vision.
I discovered this app when we had twins and waking up to nurse them overnight. Gonna sound weird if you've not been through this but basically they won't really wake up they make a gentle sooky noise, and you put a bottle or boob in their mouth and they suckle while they sleep. If you turn a light on they're gonna wake up which is sub-optimal.
This is the first app in this thread that made me go "I need this!" and immediately downloaded it!
Thanks!
It's weird how much i like this app.
It's free / open, solves a problem elegantly, and I use it all the time.
One of the first type programs I got when i got an original iPad touch. Loved it!
I fell down the everyday carry flashlight pipeline / rabbit hole instead. Not recommended if you don't want to ruin your perception of what's a great tint of light to you.
If any of you still aren't using YT Revanced... why?! So yeah, that one, cause God knows my limit for insipid and repetitive ads is extremely small.
I love pipe pipe, especially the live comments view that emulates nico nico douga style. It's annoying for most since the comments obscure the video going past it, but it's a bit of a nerdy fun to me.
Oooh, thanks for the recs!
I'd like to add grayjay
Bulk Rename Utility for Windows:
dired
This is so powerful, I use it all the time.
Here's a bunch of equivalent things for desktop OSes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batch_renaming#List_of_software
PowerToys has something like this roo
OmniDiskSweeper. Forget apps that help manage disk space with some ugly graph that's difficult to understand. This just lists files and directories with the heaviest / most space used from top to bottom in a file tree. Essential. Here's what it looks like:
Everything, the only thing that makes Windows usable.
Just in case, a big thread this week for Linux users: https://feddit.org/post/14167855
Qalculate is a fancy calculator available for Linux, MacOS and Windows. I use it for calculations that involve unit conversions, but it can do much more.
I acutally use Qalculate as well when I have to use my Windows laptop
Fuck Microsoft for not bothering to improve on the calculator app for decades.
Best of all, you can also install it using winget. Yes, package management through the cmd in Windows. Well, as long as you’re the admin of that computer. Don’t expect this to work with all corporate laptops.
And Android!!
Oh that’s a good point. Totally missed that one. Seems that there’s also a webapp for other platforms.
- Converter Now: An all-in-one convert everything to everything app.
- Light Meter: Calculate light levels and color temps for photography and videography.
- Stellarium: Honestly don't know how "well known" it might be. But it's fun to point at stars and planets.
+1 for converter now, close to my most used app on Android.
A windows app that shows you the space things are taking up on your computer so you can easily delete them. Usually helps me clear out a ton of space.
I prefer WizTree. It'll show you space usage, but you can also search for files, and it's incredibly fast.
It's also much faster
Edit: you said that already lol sorry
I’ll have to give it a try one day.
Wiztree and Treesize are both much faster.
Windirstat is still relevant... But slow.
ncduin LinuxThe same disk space visualisation, on Linux, can be shown with:
(Available from your distro package-manager)
https://logseq.com/ a personal knowledge base with markdown and has a whiteboard feature. I live in this program now. From daily little notes and reminders to full on script writing. It's a little clunky but it works with my brain. Other similar programs are notion, obsidian and anytype.
I can second logseq but it has a bit of a steep learning curve. Not impossible but you have to learn how logseq wants you to use their software and then it becomes powerful.
URLCheck on Android. Displays a popup on opening links allowing editing the URL before opening (with such features as removing chosen parameters with one button), applying transformations like Shitter→Nitter, http→https, sharing the URL, copying and selecting the application to open the URL in. Oh, and if you decide to open in Firefox or Fennec, you have the option to open in the incognito mode. Can't imagine using Android without it now. Absolute gamechanger
Small apps available on Flathub that have only one purpose
Latest examples:
- Trilium Notes: note-taking
- Foliate: .epub reader
- Shortwave: radio player
My brain works in a way that 1 software = 1 single and unique thing, and you shouldn't have to go through a roundabout way to do that thing.
https://www.sportismygame.app/ Helped me get of my fat ass and move every once in a while
sl is a classic command line program for something harmlessly pointless
calibre for digital library software (cataloging books/docs/articles)
Comic book reader, it's a cbz/CBR comic book archive reader that tries to do the panel/smart auto zoom that used to be a part of comixology until Amazon bought it to kill it as competition to their shitty books app
I donated to calibre, makes my eBook viable.
In a similar vein, rclone
This thing is a lifesaver
The smallest quickest launcher for Android
Start programs from your new home screen by typing in a few letters.
The app adapts to how you use it, making finding what you want even faster.
Flashbang warning for anyone following that link.
Pixelorama, a good, open-source pixel art program
Apparently many don't know libre office is thing and free. Seeing people ask for goggle doc alternative amd all they need is a word processor.
Freedom - https://freedom.to/
A very powerful cross platform website/app blocker with a lifetime membership option. Works well for blocking multiple fediverse domains.
SimpleX has file sharing too now, it's great :)
Sadly limited to 1gb afaik
Use PeaZip (which is better than 7-ZIP because it's cross-platform) to split large files into as many smaller chunks as you'd like.
DevToys. It's an awesome cross-platform swiss army knife for developers. It's got most of the little tools that you would look up online.
Formatters, encoding/decoding, validators etc.
I really love it!
And for Linux: Krusader
ncdu, it's a pretty decent utility for interactively exploring your rectum whilst traversing the deep hierarchical layers of your soul
File converter in the context menu. Handles a lot of common formats, batch converting, nondestructive, and the presets are all customizable. https://file-converter.io/
Ear Trumpet - Replace window audio button with one that gives you per app, and device control. https://github.com/File-New-Project/EarTrumpet
DGT GTD is an old Android app for task tracking. It is ugly and incredibly useful. Lives entirely in the phone, no cloud subscription, no paid plans, nothing.
I have used it forever. There is no good alternative.
The current app "Chaos Control" is a close contender, but pricey and cloud connected.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dg.gtd.android.lite