Let's share foss we like and make a list
Could someone test this with programs like GIMP, Darktable, and Inkscape? I’m curious about the potential of the Android phone as PC, particularly with the merging of Android and Chrome OS. If Android’s desktop mode progresses enough to a level of maturity to run Linux programs sufficiently, this combined with the general Linux on ARM efforts of Asahi and others could prove to be THE solution. Just imagine one of those tri-folding phones unfold to a tablet size with a folio-style keyboard and trackpad, then plugging the tablet-phone into a monitor and desktop setup to “get real work done.”
In all fairness, RapidRAW still wouldn't solve this person's needs (a mobile editor with desktop sync) even if it didn't flag their suspicion, and vibe-coded programs rightfully should warrant a bit more investigation. They are still a relatively new phenomenon and malicious programs DO exist. From my (admittedly somewhat brief) research, RapidRAW's developer seems to be credible, though I understand caution.
On iOS and iPadOS, I usually resort to Snapseed, though that is also where one of Adobe's few free editors exist in the form of Lightroom mobile. I'd love it if Darktable or RapidRAW got a mobile port, but at least here in the US where sideloading is still not the most accessible and the alternative is a paid developer account to be available in the App Store, I can understand where they're coming from.
Fair point on the AI caution. The author actually shares a similarity to myself with my own "LaunchBack" Launchpad revival app which was also a good amount vibe-coded in the initial version. To quote the developer's ReadMe,
I developed this project as a personal challenge at the age of 18. My goal was to create a high-performance tool for my own photography workflow while deepening my understanding of both React and Rust, with the support from Google Gemini.
The thing is, "vibe-coded" doesn't always have to mean some terrible project stealing data with a million backdoors. From the looks of his GitHub page, he's made a fair share of programs and contributions already, and he's done a good amount of improvement and updates since the first release. Utilizing AI in development isn't necessarily a bad thing. Now, as far as programs that sync between mobile AND desktop in this category, I'm afraid those are more sparse outside of Adobe's offerings, and credit where due – Adobe does a good job of that.
I only dislike Adobe because it can be SO inaccessible for people just wanting to learn some photography, forcing them to think "I have to dedicate ##% of my salary to this program, even if I'm just learning things as a beginner." That's the primary reason I stand with FOSS and all, as any option that allows people to work without needing to subscribe to closed-source companies (that are most likely using your data ALSO to train AI models and whatnot) is a win, and you seem to understand that. I'm just suggesting that this app being largely vibe-coded doesn't have to be a bad thing, y'know?
Genuine question – Are these updates shaping up to a 1.10.0, or is there going to be some major 2.0.0 refresh update? I always am curious with numbering schemes like this as to whether they’re about to do a major update or continue smaller ones.
(Just imagine Terraria’s “Adventure’s Journey’s Finalie’s Conclusion’s End getting 1.9.9, only to refresh to 1.10.0 lol)
Understandable sentiments. I’m a MS Edge user, for instance, and despite slowly switching almost all my other services, MS Edge just gets it all right. Brave’s featureset is basically a lesser version, and Firefox is getting better, but Microsoft (of all companies) genuinely made a great browser.
I second this. I’m on Stable and have had basically no issues, though I did experience a few that only resolved after disabling Decky when I temporarily tested SteamOS Beta.
The original post in question, for those curious: https://lemmy.world/post/33660136
Software. Everyone gets hung up on the hardware aesthetic and all, especially with this new phone's more... "questionable" design compared to the last ones, which were debatably more "cool." Nothing's supposed specialty is the software side, which goes beyond just a simple minimal monochrome skin or some fancy text.
According to most my friends with Nothing phones, it's all the little details and refinements... but yeah, I'd still buy a Phone (2) or 3a before this since it's otherwise an underpowered flagship. This formula's great when undercutting the competition price-wise, but this phone just feels like a substantial price bump SOLELY for a better processor... and still not the best one.
Okay, so I'm still testing things out in terms of the Homebrew installations, but things are working MUCH better this time around. For instance, both GIMP and Darktable actually downloaded the latest versions AND actually work, so this might well become my new solution for app installations for everyone!
Your last statement regarding the app updating though, the part where you said:
If a GUI tool can auto update, Homebrew leaves it to auto update and actually stops updating the tool.
I do want a bit more clarification if possible.
- Apps like GIMP and Darktable DON'T auto-update, though apps like Latest will detect that new versions are available. Normally, this means I have to go to the application's website and download the new version myself. Will Homebrew automatically update these programs?
- Further, for the apps that do get auto-updated, do they remain in my Homebrew catalog and all to where I'd be able to remove or configure them with
brewcommands? - Regarding apps that DON'T have built-in updaters like GIMP and the like, if I go to the developer's website and get the newest versions, do I have to do anything with the originals installed via Homebrew CLI or app wrappers like Applite?
Thank you sincerely for your time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
I don’t exactly know what you mean about the “when you resize the view. Thumbnails don’t reflow” point, but the Cut option is valid. I use the app Command X which is a must-have at this point. I know it is also possible to make columns autofit to contents somewhere, but you may need an app like Onyx to enable it.
Sorry, I tried using MacPorts in a VM and installing Nautilus with sudo port install Nautilus as suggested on the MacPorts website, but this was the final result after like 20 minutes of "installing" data and the like to no avail.
(This was tested on a macOS Sequoia VM with an M4 MBA host running macOS Tahoe Beta 4. It is possible this may work better on an x86 Mac or older macOS version, but I wouldn't get too caught up in this.)
There is ONE other way to run Nautilus on macOS that I've used a bit, but it's kind of cheating and not that great: Containers. Specifically, Docker and similar programs should allow this (which I did test once), but more recently Apple introduced their own Containerization framework which I also tested and was able to get up and running. The issue is that Xquartz, which you'd have to use to get any GUI Linux applications on macOS, isn't very good in and of itself. No Retina support is the biggest dealbreaker for me, but this is also technically just running a micro Linux VM with access to your macOS files a bit like Windows Subsystem for Linux.
Answering your title question of “is it worth it,” considering that you seemingly either have to compile the app yourself or use an old bloated version with MacPorts, I would probably say “no.” I don’t think the time and difficulty you’d have to potentially go through just to run another file manager when you can’t even truly “replace” Finder is worthwhile.
I’m curious though, what exactly do you want out of Nautilus specifically? You could argue “aesthetic” or something, but that’s just going to look out-of-place on macOS. Unless Nautilus has some hidden superpower somewhere, it’s less functional, too. I could understand Nemo (Cinnamon’s file manager), and I’d definitely consider Dolphin (KDE’s file manager), but Nautilus (to me) has always just been the least powerful file manager with the only advantage being looking native on Adwaita… which wouldn’t even be true if you used it on macOS. Not a criticism, genuine question.
I have always been curious about MacPorts’s applications. Usually I’d assume they’re either really old versions that were once available for the platform natively (such as Safari on Windows), but that’s worth checking out.
Follow-up: Did a bit of research and looked into MacPorts. Yes, most their applications appear to be older versions, as I don’t see any indication that Nautilus (the GNOME file manager) or Dolphin (KDE’s file manager) is still in the works for macOS. I’m attempting to install this older version of Nautilus via MacPorts now in a virtual machine, and will follow up again with results.
In most instances, app installations via Applite went one of multiple ways:
- Just plain not available in Homebrew (very few)
- Available but depreciated or otherwise unable to be installed (few)
- Installs but crashed upon opening (some, including crucial apps for me like GIMP and Darktable)
- Installs but has some random error message (a few, including Inkscape, which didn’t save configurations to the app in my brief test)
- Installs but doesn’t allow checking for updates (all others, though this might just be because they update through Homebrew)
Again, 100% admit that I likely messed up somewhere doing something, hence why I’m redoing this test now. That. and the fact that almost no app that normally does allowed checking for updates within itself makes me think that all update checking is disabled since it’s just handled through Homebrew. By all means, please correct me anywhere I’m wrong there.
Believe it or not, you can actually do a decent amount of editing it in Quick Look. I discovered that myself not long ago, but you don’t have to open the Preview app or anything – Quick Look can handle it.
It’s pretty nice; I tested it out on day one. Now I just wish we had a solid Wayland window viewer. Xquartz is not great and doesn’t even support retina modes, so any GUI windows you create are NOT sharp whatsoever on a Retina display…
Just to make things simple regarding the Mac apps and tweaks, imma just go ahead and forward my “Mac app recommendation suite.” of course, not everyone needs all of these apps, and this isn’t over every use case, but this is just about every program I have on my system. You can check these out and determine if anything sounds like it could be beneficial for you. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pSsLcM4lVnqGt68yu-GgKFApOJBv2aIzMmUs_8iT_2c/edit?usp=drivesdk
Now then, specifically regarding window management and multitasking, I have a few key tips:
- Learn to utilize the App Expose, Mission Control, and true full screen app switching. macOS inheritly handles things differently from other Operating Systems. The sooner you get a grasp on that, the sooner you may start to appreciate it, or determine what other apps and programs you may want to add with it. Don’t start just adding a bunch of apps and programs before you determine what all you need. For most people, just this and macOS’s built in tiling is enough… but from the looks of things, you and I would not be “most people,” so if you would agree, read along.
- If you’re on a trackpad or Magic Mouse, you can enable and configure the settings easily within the System Settings application, and I’d argue macOS has the best trackpad experience in these regards.
- If you’re on a non-Magic Mouse, get an app like Mac Mouse Fix. It is absolutely amazing and legitimately has become part of my essential application suite anytime I use a non-magic mouse. You can download the latest 2.x version on the developer’s GitHub (which yes, does work on Tahoe) to use it free forever, configure individual app settings for things like smooth scrolling, and my personal recommendation: Map the multitasking features with extra buttons on your mouse and/or gestures. Previously, I couldn’t use any regular mouse with macOS as it felt clunky and cumbersome, but now I’m just as eager to use one as I am my trackpad, and I don’t miss the Magic Mouse one bit.
- Set apps to minimize into their application windows, then get an app like DockDoor to show window previews like Windows and most other operating systems.
- DockDoor also has a pretty basic Alt Tab-style window switcher which could be enough for some, but the dedicated “AltTab” application is a lifesaver with the right tweaks and setups for you. You can set multiple shortcuts to show different things like only app windows on that virtual desktop, windows from a certain app, non-minimized windows, and so on.
- You already said Rectangle, which I use as well. Just a general improvement over the built-in macOS window snapping (that only finally released in Sequoia or Sonoma).
- Supposedly apps like BetterTouchTool and Swish are “essentials” for many, but for me, even across my sometimes-quintuple monitor setup, the things I recommended there are about all I really need. My advice? Don’t treat macOS like a tiling manager system. it likes to have virtual desktops and different full screen windows, so utilize those. Sure, supplement the OS with nice modifications from other Operating Systems if you like, but you don’t HAVE to use those. About the last program I use is just one called Dockey that wraps a GUI around a terminal command to make the dock animate faster so I can get more out of my screen, but that’s it. Let me know if you have any other questions. I am a power user, but I also do enough tech support that I try not to become too far removed from stock so that I can help others as well. More powerful window, tiling management apps and features definitely exist, and I’ve used a few here and there, but those are the ones that work for my use case.
As have I! 3.0’s been great, and I’ve learned a lot about GIMP as a whole since using it.
Legitimate question – How beneficial is PhotoGIMP over just manually rearranging the tools and layouts for the 2-3 minutes that takes? I’ve used Photoshop enough to be decently fluent, but I don’t go between it and GIMP enough to install PhotoGIMP, so I just rearranged the panels to a more PS-like layout. I imagine the keyboard shortcuts are much nicer, but beyond that (or is that one of the main reasonings for you using it)?
Easy: My Ex-dobe suite! Lightroom Classic → Darktable Lightroom → RapidRAW (fairly new, but looks promising) Illustrator → Inkscape Premiere Pro → Kdenlive (I usually use DaVinci Resolve, but Kdenlive is respectable for a FOSS program) Photoshop → GIMP + Krita