Some FOSS programs, due to being mantained by hobbyists vs a massive megacorporation with millions in funding, don’t have as many features and aren’t as polished as their proprietary counterparts. However, there are some FOSS programs that simply have more functionality and QoL features compared to proprietary offerings.

What are some FOSS programs that are objectively better than their non-FOSS alternatives? Maybe we can discover useful new programs together :D

I’ll start, I think Joplin is a great note-taking app that works offline + can sync between desktop and mobile really well. Also, working with Markdown is really nice compared with rich text editors that only work with the specific program that supports it. Joplin even has a bunch of plugins to extend functionality!

Notion, Evernote, Google Keep, etc. either don’t have desktop apps, doesn’t work offline, does not support Markdown, or a combination of those three.

What are some other really nice FOSS programs?

edit: woah that’s a whole load of cool FOSS software I have to try out! So far my experiences have been great (ShareX in particular is AWESOME as a screenshot tool, it’s what snip and sketch wishes it could be and mostly replaces OBS for my use case and a whole lot more)

  • brax@sh.itjust.works
    17·
    3 days ago

    I remember fucking around with Compiz back when it was still called Beryl. It was I think just before Window Vista came out? My computer was too shit for Vista, but had no problem with Beryl - wobbly windows, app previews when you hover the taskbar icon, stackable windows, desktop cube, etc.

    • Fenrir @lemmings.world
      2·
      2 days ago

      I’m old enough to tell you Compiz was there first, then Beryl came around with many more bells and whistles and then it got folded back into Compiz. My mind was blown when I first saw the desktop cube.

    • dryfter@lemm.eeEnglish
      4·
      3 days ago

      Man this is a trip I remember Beryl and when it turned to Compiz. I spent way more time than I care to admit just spinning stuff around and playing with effects than accomplishing anything of meaningful value.

      • brax@sh.itjust.works
        2·
        2 days ago

        Same though haha. I liked the ability to stick a window to the back of another window. I used to have Pidgin chats on one side, and the contact list on the other.

        These days it could be handy to have a browser on side and an incognito on session on the other. Could also be handy if you launch a program from the terminal but you want to keep an eye on it, you could stick its terminal behind it.

        • dryfter@lemm.eeEnglish
          3·
          2 days ago

          I can guarantee you I would again waste countless hours just spinning stuff around again if I tried using it now 😆

          • brax@sh.itjust.works
            2·
            2 days ago

            I was actually surprised to see some of it baked into Plasma - the jello windows, the desktop cube, the “explode the window when I close it” and a few other things.