Ask Slashdot: Which Apps Aren't Available on Linux?
- Reference: 0184321686
- News link: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/26/07/05/1952205/ask-slashdot-which-apps-arent-available-on-linux
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> Windows does have a lot of useful app (but smaller than "power apps"). Some of these are closed source, some are open, but they're not all available in Linux yet.
>
> My list would have to contain Gimp Tookit versions of: IrfanView image manager, which I think is unequaled in Linux (though it does work to some extent under Wine). I also miss the full version of 7-Zip, because of its better compression settings, which File-Roller does not provide, though [2]the Linux port p7zip is available (though unnoticed by common distributions). Lastly, I think that Notepad++ would be a good addition to Linux.
That last one drew some pushback from long-time Slashdot reader [3]jesco . "If there's one area where Linux shines, then it's the availability of high-quality text editors. Last time I looked [4] Kate was still pretty nice, and there's Emacs, Vim and Neovim" if you're partial to command lines. But are there any daily-drive apps you still find yourself needing? Share your own thoughts in the comments.
Which apps aren't available on Linux?
[1] https://www.slashdot.org/~BrendaEM
[2] https://www.ruinelli.ch/p7zip-gui-for-Linux
[3] https://www.slashdot.org/~jesco
[4] https://kate-editor.org/
7zip has a commandline level tool (Score:1)
I am sorry but learn to use the cli for 7zip
Re: (Score:1)
Regarding a photomanager ever heard of shotwell ?
Re: (Score:1)
Actually he has a point, the 7zip file manager allows for example to easily extract an icon from an exe, until now I used the windows version for that, from now on I'll use 7zFM then, the linux port, it still allows to do this even in the linux native application.
For the rest yeah, you can do anything with the command line and 7z, there are even specially optimized versions available.
Windows has the opposite problem (Score:2)
Linux software repos are so much more intuitive than the Windows store, as it is moderated by volunteers with incentives to keep it high quality while Windows just rakes in the coins.
Easy (Score:1)
The good ones.
Well it's lacking some malware (Score:2)
For example there are much fewer random ware packages running under Linux. There's also much less ad-ware. There's also a severe lack of "very low quality" software, though Ubuntu and the Free Desktop crowd sometimes seem to try and mitigate that.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, when I went looking for an Algol compiler, I didn't find it. But perhaps I just needed to look outside the repositories.
Re: (Score:3)
Hmm, typically compilers on modern unixoid systems are not language specific, instead you have a language specific front-end while most of the compiler is generic.
So for example there's gcc which offers ga68, the Algol-68 compiler.
Re: (Score:3)
There is an Algol compiler in the Ubuntu repo:
> f.ultra@Sineya:~/$ apt-cache search algol
> algol68g - Implementation of Algol 68 as defined by the Revised Report
Explorer (Score:2)
Windows Explorer. Being able to drag things into and out of the Open... dialogue, consistent right click behaviour to rename or extract or get to Properties, and so on. Having a good chance that you won't have to fidget and change mental gears when you want to quickly rename a document on the way to opening another is invaluable. I miss it so much in every Linux DE. And when programs all have their own inconsistent Open dialogs in Linux I cry.
Re: Explorer (Score:1)
One thing I miss when using Explorer is Dolphin's split windows. Makes it so much easier to drag a file from one folder to another.
Re: (Score:2)
Split windows, tabs, single instance or multiple windows, integrated command-line, selection mode, file stash, inline renaming, configurable double click in white space, configurable context menu, configurable previews, etc. Dolphin beats Windows so much, it's not even fun, Windows Explorer is so pitiful to use. Plus Windows explorer is SLOW.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not a big Windows user so I'm not totally sure what you're referring to, but your use case ("Being able to drag things into and out of the Open... dialogue, consistent right click behaviour to rename or extract or get to Properties") seems covered in all KDE apps, plus GTK apps that will use KDE dialogues if you set GTK_USE_PORTAL=1
Creative Suite, f.e. Affinity. & Fusion 360 (Score:3)
Yes, Affinity is "also not Photoshop" but comes closest to the mark. And you can now apparently WINE it, but I wish there was a supported native tool that doesn't suck for professional work. A lot of Linux devs apparently think people want to work with native RGB pixels. Uh, no.
And I don't get the rationale for Fusion 360's unavailability on Linux. It's cloud-oriented, constantly downloading parts of itself over again and you have to be signed in to use it, even on the non-commercial license. It's not like a monolithic app on a CD from the 1990s. And I don't want "almost as good". I'd like this app.
Video editor? (Score:2)
I have struggled to find a decent video editor - something simple - any suggestions?
Less hate please... it's a reasonable question IMHO
Re: (Score:3)
[1]Da Vinci Resolve [blackmagicdesign.com] runs on all platforms, is free, and will do everything a non-professional could ever dream of doing. Da Vinci Studio is the $300 one-time payment for the pro version that dominates Hollywood.
Pro-tip: If you think you need Da Vinci Resolve Studio ask yourself if you need new photo gear too, then see if there's anything in Black Magic's product line that suits you. Buying a Black Magic camera gives you Da Vinci Studio for free -- or $300 off your new camera if you look at it that way.
The late
[1] https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve
Re: (Score:3)
There's kdenlive which works very decently.
Re: (Score:2)
Depends what you mean by video editor.
For transcoding, de and re-muxing, filtering, cropping, resizing, de-interlace, and some splicing with the equivalent audio capabilities (basically for format bashing with enough splicing ability to piece together pieces of movies, for example, spread over multiple discs) you have [1]avidemux [fixounet.free.fr].
You have other tools like [2]MKVToolNix [mkvtoolnix.download], [3]Mediainfo [mediaarea.net] and [4]MakeMKV [makemkv.com] for direct Matroska editing, meta-data vewing, and DVD/Blu-Ray ripping respectively too.
For video authoring with splices, f
[1] http://fixounet.free.fr/avidemux/
[2] https://mkvtoolnix.download/index.html
[3] https://mediaarea.net/en/MediaInfo
[4] https://www.makemkv.com/
CLI (Score:3)
One of the hardest parts when switching to Linux was learning to use the command line and shellscripts instead of relying on "power tools" for everything. It's a very different mindset from the Windows world, but once you adjust it's a lot more pleasant. I feel like telling people that "Linux is exactly like Windows now" is counterproductive. Sure, you can try to use Linux like Windows, but it's a miserable experience.
If you run Windows Subsystem for Linux ... (Score:2)
If you use the Windows Subsystem for Linux to run your favorite Linux distro then you get it all on the same desktop, Windows apps and Linux apps, side by side in desktop harmony. :-)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah. Thumbs up for that Linux Subsystem for Windows.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah. It's finally the Year of Linux on the Desktop, we just didn't expect it would be the Year of Linux on the Windows Desktop in order to reach the masses. :-)
I hate to say it... (Score:2)
... but Microsoft Word and Powerpoint really have no FOSS equivalent, if you actually know how to use them to make things that look nice and need to interoperate with the commercial and government sectors.
Crap tools (Score:3)
1. All those Chinese cameras etc that need Windows Explorer with a very suspect add on just to set up the network settings correctly.
2. Qualcomm's closed IDE to build code to run on their Bluetooth devices.
Both cases force me to run a VM to use them.
Second that for IrfanView (Score:3, Informative)
I have two anecdotes from my use of IrfanView, and why it is so well regarded to this day:
1.) In 2006 I was using a Pentium 1 300Mhz (in not a type, there was a mobile versions of the P1 that reached 300Mhz) with Win2000. Windows media player would take close to 100% of the processor to play an MP3, Clasic Media player would tale 50%, IrfanView + an MP3 player Plug-in would take only 30%, a true lifesaver.
2.) In 2022 I fell of a roof and broke my scapula. IrfanView 32 bit with a suitable plug-in was the only SW that could see the DICOM medical images of my Rx and CAT CDs. Alas, the medical Images plug-in is not available in the 64 bit version...
Plenty small, plenty fast, plenty fleible. Hurray for IrfanView.
Re: (Score:2)
> In 2006 I was using a Pentium 1 300Mhz
Citation needed , please, otherwise you're just spouting nonsense.
Re: (Score:2)
This from Intel: [1]https://www.intel.com/pressroo... [intel.com]
[1] https://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/1999/mp010799.htm
Re: (Score:1)
that was named as Intel Celeron 300A, it was an inferior version of the pentium II
Geany is similar to Notepad++ (Score:2)
Geany is a nice text editor with similar functionality to Notepad++. [1]https://www.geany.org/ [geany.org]
[1] https://www.geany.org/
"glide typing" / swipe on screen kbd. (Score:2)
Just this past week i encountered a POS system that afaict uses the on screen keyboard from Ubuntu 20 LTS or 22 LTS. It has no glide typing capability the way apple and android have.
Some initial searches suggest there's no standard easy solution to this day though i haven't looked deeply into it.
somewhat related.... on the phone side, i still somewhat miss Swype though at this point it might be rose colored glasses as haven't tried in years.
Gboard is "fine" though.
[1]https://www.theregister.com/on... [theregister.com]
[1] https://www.theregister.com/on-prem/2022/06/06/microsofts-swype-still-the-best-software-keyboard-there-is/328522
snipping tool (Score:2)
Where I can use the mouse to screenshot a section of screen, draw annotations on it, then paste it right in an email without even saving the image.
Re: (Score:2)
[1]spectacle [kde.org].
[1] https://apps.kde.org/spectacle/
Re: (Score:3)
[1]Spectacle [kde.org] does all of that. It's the built-in screenshot tool for KDE.
[1] https://apps.kde.org/spectacle/
Re: (Score:2)
[1]https://flameshot.org/ [flameshot.org]
[1] https://flameshot.org/
Just as useful to ask: (Score:1)
Does anyone know how to get Onstar to work in my new Honda?
Laser engraving software (Score:3)
There used to be LightBurn, but the Linux version was discontinued last year.
Photoshop (Score:3)
GIMP is a serious case of not-invented-here leading to abysmal usability. It can't even compete with Photoshop from more than a decade ago. It's embarrassing. Copy the good stuff.
Re: (Score:2)
Photoshop is garbage software for untalented hacks.
Re: (Score:3)
Photoshop didn't become an industry standard if it was "garbage software". It is a good software but horribly managed by a greedy company
Engineering (Score:2)
Just about every engineering and non web LOB software.
Altium, any old microcontroller dev platform, most mech CAD.
Altium Designer
Keil MDK
IAR Embedded Workbench
Intel Quartus Prime
Lattice FPGA tools
Proteus (if used)
Siemens/Cadence PCB tools (PADS, Xpedition, OrCAD)
Solid works
STLink
flash magic
NI lab view.
M1 ERP
PSOC creator
You get the idea
It’s a long list.
Re: (Score:1)
Very true. A decent mechanical CAD app prevents me from fully switching Linux. I do not expect this to change anytime soon.
Adobe Digital Editions (Score:1)
As much as I don't like Adobe, Adobe Digital Editions is much needed to borrow ebooks from public libraries in Italy (at least), unless you have an ereader supporting Readium LCP (which are not so many and not so good) and its hard to make ADE work well and easy under wine...
Pretty much all (Score:2)
Serious engineering tools
Was going to say Claude Desktop (Score:2)
I was going to complain about the lack of a Claude Desktop for Linux, but I double checked before roasting them, and by gosh they've got a version in beta for Ubuntu and it'll work on any Debian offspring. When Anthropic says beta that means it's pretty darned good, they're cautious about putting stuff out.
I got a couple M1 Macs two years ago and the weight advantage pushed Linux off my desktop. Anthropic releases Mac first and I'm a Max subscriber so I've been at the head of the line. All my Linux these da
MS Office, mostly (Score:2)
Of course, it would be nice if we could get a native version of Office 365. My needs are mostly covered with LibreOffice but I need sometime the real MS Office to test compatibility with some documents supplied by my clients.
Other than that, there are still some games that won't run on Linux, mostly because the kernel-level anticheat malware prevents that.
There's also some niche apps that only offer versions for Windows or Mac or Android/iPhone, but not for Linux. My digital signature with SignCloud has no
srsly? 7z default params? (Score:1)
srsly? you're dissing on Linux because "7zip" and "default parameters" ??? how did this post ever even make it to slashdot?
Engineering software and hardware drivers (Score:1)
Here, the geodesists have been the loudest in shouting that Linux is no good. It doesn't have the software they need. I myself complain about the lack of drivers for studio hardware. Before buying anything, always search Google to see if anyone has gotten the thing they are buying working and how.
GDID (Score:2)
I miss GDID. /etc/machine-id isn't quite the same: inferior user interface, and none of my cow-orkers can open it.
IDM (Score:2)
That alone probably kept me on windows longer than I should have.
Yes yes yes, there are managers available for linux, but none come close to the ease and integration of IDM.
Project Management? (Score:2)
Not that MS Project Server is necessarily the greatest tool in existence, but what is the Linux equivalent? And I do mean the Server/Cloud editions, i.e. supporting multiple projects across shared resource teams, with ticketing and websites per project, etc.?
how? (Score:4, Informative)
How did this article even get published?
Re: (Score:1)
Exactly
Re: How did this article even get published? (Score:2, Insightful)
Maintaining the low quality of Slashdot is a mysterious choice by its owners whose replacement by AI would be an upgrade.
Vote with your feet (Score:2)
> Tero said: How did this article even get published?
It's a great article. There are a lot of apps, use cases, and workflows that can be duplicated in Linux, but which aren't obvious or well advertised. An article like this encourages people to share those workflows they have had problems duplicating and then others who have duplicated them or found other solutions can share them. Great idea. The lowest quality (or one of) part of this article was your comment.
> couchslug said: Maintaining the low quality o