Recently, Microsoft’s been making lots of controversial strikes, from eradicating the BYPASSNRO command (there’s an official bypass for that by the way in which), to creating Home windows 11’s {hardware} necessities stricter, inflicting frustration amongst customers with older machines.

The explanations Redmond’s supplied for these controversial selections typically focus on safety and efficiency, however they’ve sparked loads of debates.

Linux distros like Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Zorin OS, and extra supply an incredible various for customers who wish to make the change to Linux, providing better customization, decrease system necessities, and extra freedom in how you utilize your laptop.

In fact, there are cases the place Home windows emerges because the clear winner, particularly in the case of gaming, .NET improvement, and area of interest Workplace duties, particularly with powerhouses like Excel, which nonetheless have superior help on Home windows.

In case you’re seeking to leap to Linux, Paul has additionally written a wonderful piece on how Linux may also help save your laptop from ending up within the landfill, particularly if it would not meet the {hardware} necessities for Home windows 11, as the top of life for Home windows 10 attracts close to.

With that being mentioned, this is a listing of fully FOSS (Free and Open Supply Software program) apps that it is best to set up while you make the change.

1. Varia

Varia is a obtain supervisor for Linux, written in Vala. It is constructed on yt-dlp (a very fashionable command line utility forked from the youtube-dl venture) and aria2. It provides obtain help for web sites like YouTube, TikTok, and extra. There’s additionally further performance, like obtain scheduling and help for downloads from protected areas requiring authentication.

It is obtainable for each Linux and Home windows. For Linux, you’d should seize the Flatpak bundle, simply be sure to have Flatpak put in correctly in your machine.

One draw back to Varia is that it embeds yt-dlp as an alternative of counting on the separate yt-dlp construct in your laptop. If there’s a problem with the model of yt-dlp embedded within the app, you’d want to attend for the developer to replace the app with a more moderen model of yt-dlp, then obtain the replace.

In such instances, you possibly can change again to utilizing common yt-dlp within the command line or use a special obtain supervisor. Varia is obtainable for Linux (as a Flatpak) and Home windows.

2. Micro

If you first make the change to Linux, you’d most likely spend a while setting some configuration recordsdata. One fashionable instrument for modifying recordsdata with out having to step out of the terminal is Nano.

Nano’s nice if it’s essential do some mild modifying, possibly commenting out a line in a config file, but it surely’s not perfect for modifying massive recordsdata.

One other factor to notice is that Nano has fewer options. For instance, there is not any mouse help by default, so that you’d have to begin up nano with the -m flag, or add the next line to your ~/.nanorc file.

set mouse

Micro is a way more “fashionable” various, providing sane defaults, superb mouse help, frequent key bindings, syntax highlighting for over 100 languages, splits and tabs, and many others. It is obtainable for Linux, macOS, Home windows, and extra. Take a look at the official set up directions.

3. LocalSend

LocalSend is an open-source app that, utilizing a REST API, lets you securely share recordsdata between units in your native community, while not having an web connection.

It is a Flutter app, that means that it is written to be cross-platform, obtainable for Desktop (Linux, Home windows, macOS), cell (Android, iOS), and even Hearth OS. LocalSend has three Ship modes: Single recipient, A number of recipient, and Share through hyperlink. The primary two are fairly self-explanatory, permitting you to ship recordsdata between one and a couple of recipient, respectively.

The final mode is fairly helpful if the recipient doesn’t have LocalSend put in. It really works by beginning a server on port 53317 by default (you possibly can customise this in settings).

As soon as the server is began, you possibly can go to the generated hyperlink in your browser in your recipient’s system, and seize the recordsdata from there. If this all sounds attention-grabbing, you possibly can obtain LocalSend right here.

4. mpv + uosc

At first look, mpv is a simple media participant supporting all kinds of video file codecs, audio and video codecs, and subtitle varieties. It handles codecs comparable to AVI, ASF, QuickTime, Ogg, OGM, Matroska, MP4, NUT, FLV, and extra. This in depth compatibility permits mpv to play nearly any media file you encounter.

Now, you may be questioning why it is best to take into account mpv in comparison with one thing like VLC (in spite of everything, they each use FFmpeg below the hood). It’s largely right down to selection. In my expertise, mpv has dealt with every little thing I’ve thrown at it, which isn’t all the time the case for VLC. I’ve had points with VLC stuttering when taking part in .webm and .mkv recordsdata, particularly on Wayland.

Private expertise apart, mpv is extra configurable, resource-efficient, and infrequently provides higher video and audio playback high quality.

There are downsides to mpv, although. For instance, it is much less user-friendly, and its easy interface may be a turn-off for most individuals used to GUI apps like VLC. The excellent news is that there are good mpv frontends like Celluloid, SMPlayer, and extra.

Or if you’d like one thing lighter, you possibly can set up an On-Display Controller (OSC), like uosc to switch the default mpv OSC, bringing options like thumbnails, configurable controls bar, UIs for choosing video/audio monitor, loading subtitles, and many others.

mpv is on the market for Home windows (10 1607 or later), macOS (10.15 or later), and Linux. You may seize it right here.

5. FSearch

In case you use Home windows, you may be aware of Every part, the search utility from Voidtools, that is sooner and higher than the built-in search in Home windows. FSearch is a superb various to Every part for Linux customers. It does require occasional database updates, however I’ve set mine to replace robotically each time I open the app (I’ve mapped Tremendous (Home windows Key) + S to launch FSearch).

Plus, FSearch features a neat command-line instrument that permits you to open the app straight from the terminal.

When launching FSearch from the command line, you should use flags like -s to specify a search time period immediately.

For instance, this command will launch FSearch and immediately seek for any recordsdata that match the *.png sample within the background.

fsearch -s *.png

FSearch is on the market for varied Linux distros, like Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch Linux. You may as well seize the Flatpak if that is your factor, although the Flatpak model is restricted in options.

6. KDEConnect (or GSConnect)

I can not think about being with out this one. KDE Join makes connecting units in your native community tremendous straightforward, and it brings tons of helpful options.

You get issues like a shared clipboard, synchronized notifications, and a digital touchpad and keyboard. Plus, you possibly can flip your telephone right into a presentation distant and management your desktop’s slides from it. In case you occur to misplace your telephone round the home, you possibly can even ring it out of your desktop.

To make use of it, simply seize the KDE Join app to your desktop (Home windows, macOS, and Linux) and set up the app in your telephone (Android and iOS).

In case you’re utilizing GNOME, you may wish to strive the GSConnect GNOME extension for a greater expertise than the common KDE Join Linux app. Simply do not forget that you shouldn’t have GSConnect and KDE Join put in and operating on the identical laptop.

7. Apostrophe

In case you’re after a clear, no-fuss markdown editor for GNOME, Apostrophe‘s positively price trying out. It is obtained a bunch of helpful options like reside preview, a spotlight mode that dims every little thing besides the sentence you are writing (nice for slicing out distractions), and export choices to PDF, Phrase, LibreOffice, LaTeX, even HTML slideshows.

It is obtainable as a Flatpak on Flathub, however should you’re on Arch or Fedora, there are unofficial builds floating round too.

8. Switcheroo

I take advantage of Switcheroo on a regular basis to transform .webp recordsdata to .png. It helps loads of different codecs too, together with JPEG, PNG, AVIF, BMP, HEIF, and JXL. You may alter picture high quality, set a background for clear pictures, and resize utilizing completely different algorithms.

It additionally handles batch processing, so changing a bunch of pictures directly is not any downside. You may get it as a Flatpak on Flathub.

9. Newsflash

Newsflash is an RSS reader constructed with Rust that offers you a easy, fashionable interface. It comes with a bunch of helpful options, like syncing with fashionable web-based RSS companies comparable to Feedbin, Inoreader, NewsBlur, Miniflux, Fever, FreshRSS, and CommaFeed.

Plus, it helps native RSS feeds, helps you to import and export OPML recordsdata, and provides content material parsers, amongst different cool options. The app is on the market as a Flatpak on Flathub, Snap, and Arch Linux through AUR.

10. LibreOffice

LibreOffice is actually a behemoth, and it is superb that it is free. Its complete suite of purposes rivals these of business workplace suites, providing sturdy instruments for phrase processing, spreadsheets, shows, and extra.

One other function I like about LibreOffice is its command-line utility for changing varied file codecs. For instance, to transform a PowerPoint file to PDF, you should use the next command:

libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf presentation.pptx

The newest launch, LibreOffice 25.2, introduces a number of notable enhancements like inline headings in Author, mushy edge and glow results in textual content body objects in Impress, and extra. On desktop, LibreOffice is obtainable on Linux, Home windows, and macOS.

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That wraps up this record. Are there every other Linux apps you suggest or use each day? Please share them within the feedback.