This is pretty open ended, and I’m not sure “digital tool” is really what I should call it honestly. But basically, I’m putting together a big list of programs, applications, websites and the like that I find useful or helpful in some way, that I think could be beneficial to others.

So far my list consists of things like localsend, alternativeto.net, Microsoft powertoys, does the dog die, etc. Pretty varied list, some very niche some very general purpose, but just those kind of things if that makes sense?

I’m looking for some more to add, so what do you have to contribute?

      • bradboimler@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        7 hours ago

        The cohesiveness and polish of it (I’m a UI engineer). I understand some lament the lack of options and the heavy handedness of the GNOME folks but those issues don’t bother me personally.

        Granted I don’t have much experience with KDE. I have used Cinnamon enough to make me go out of my way to get back to GNOME.

        I don’t have the desire to explore because I’m pretty happy with GNOME

        • Helix 🧬@feddit.orgEnglish
          2·
          5 hours ago

          Thank you. What did you dislike in Cinnamon what you felt GNOME was doing way better?

          We’re basically stuck using GNOME at work due to it having the only proper Wayland-enabled multi user RDP session host. I don’t really like its workflows, window management and settings structure… The design is pretty nice, but that’s not my priority.

          • bradboimler@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            1 hour ago

            Thank you. What did you dislike in Cinnamon what you felt GNOME was doing way better?

            The polish thing again. This was years ago when GNOME 3 was a thing. I adapted fine to it. Cinnamon was mandated as an attempt to continue with the traditional GNOME 2 paradigms. I tried and I was immediately repelled by the lack of polish. I’ve been doing UIs for ages by that point and I had gotten pretty sensitive to UI issues. I immediately put GNOME back even though I had to support it myself. I was happy to and it was easy.

  • Asetru@feddit.org
    2·
    7 hours ago

    The one tool I’m actively using all the time is git. I mean, I know I’m probably using the Linux kernel more than that, but when it comes to a conscious choice, it’s git. My documents are all version controlled. It gives me such a peace of mind.

    • cRazi_man@europe.pub
      1·
      1 hour ago

      What does Mavis time Navidrome offer beyond Jellyfin? Music on Jellyfin with Symfonium on the phone works out so well.

      Edit: lol, fucking autocorrect

      • ѕєχυαℓ ρσℓутσρє@lemmy.sdf.org
        1·
        1 hour ago

        Assuming you mean Navidrome, It offers more control over transcoding, has broader support, and has smart playlists. Also, I just like that it’s a separate service. I don’t like keeping all my eggs in the same basket.

        When it comes to Symfonium, I just find the dev to be extremely annoying. I bought a license for it, and used to use it with Navidrome. But when I encountered some issues, the dev was unhelpful, and downright abusive. So, I decided to find something that’s FOSS, and Tempus fits the bill.

      • cRazi_man@europe.pub
        1·
        3 hours ago

        People have described what it does, but here are some uses for it.

        Make it automatically:

        • Send photos yo your PC
        • send songs from your PC to your phone
        • keep your documents on your PC synced with your NAS
        • send screenshots from your steam deck to your PC
        • DIY solution to auto sync save files between gaming devices for emulated games (currently syncs my save files for emulated Switch games between my PC, Steam Deck and Retroid Pocket 5)
      • amelia@feddit.org
        3·
        10 hours ago

        Syncs files between your devices. I use it to automatically upload my photos from my phone to my computer. It does it automatically any time both are in the same wifi. Great alternative to cloud solutions.

  • Damarus@feddit.org
    8·
    15 hours ago

    Voicemeeter allows me to send the audio streams of my computers to each other so my work PC and private PC can just use the same mic and play from my speakers/headphones without having to change any plugs.

    This is complemented by sharing my mouse and keyboard via Mouse without Borders. It’s also integrated into Power Toys but I had some issues with that version, so I’m sticking to the standalone one for now.

    • sneaky@r.nfEnglish
      1·
      6 hours ago

      I so miss Voicemeeter since switching to linux. Pulsemeeter is good, but not quite as intuitive. I’ve had some good luck with something called Easy Effects I found just this week.

      My usecase is just configuring input devices right now. Not sure if Easy Effects will do hotkeys which is what I really enjoyed in Voicemeeter.

      • Damarus@feddit.org
        1·
        9 hours ago

        That’s good to know! Is Pulsemeeter compatible with the VBAN protocol and is there something like Equalizer APO that lets me do filtering and channel copying post mix? Those are the features I’m heavily relying on.

        I tried Synergy before but unfortunately it couldn’t handle my EurKey keyboard layout. MWB is so far the only software that works reliably for me.

    • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world
      2·
      10 hours ago

      BinaryEye (for scanning qr codes)

      Do you have a recommendation for generating QR codes? I basically want to be able to make qr codes that link to notes so I can see what’s in boxes without having to pull them out of hard to reach spots. I see a couple options on fdroid (QRshare and ShareAsQR), but I’m sure there are desktop applications, too.

      • Helix 🧬@feddit.orgEnglish
        3·
        7 hours ago

        I usually use qrencode at the command line. It’s pretty easy to use. There’s a GUI called QtQR but I never felt the need to use it.

  • Helix 🧬@feddit.org
    6·
    17 hours ago

    I like OpenStreetMap and stuff like Overpass Turbo where you can query for specific map features.

  • _deleted_@aussie.zone
    4·
    16 hours ago

    When I was working at a follow-the-Sun help desk, and had a micromanaging boss, we used this planner to book daily meetings across three different timezones.

      • craigers@lemmy.world
        1·
        60 minutes ago

        I mean…i wouldn’t call it a digital tool either but a hobby seems a stretch. Is windows or MacOS a hobby? It’s an OS, which is a platform you can use your digital tools on, or pursue hobbies, productivity etc.

      • myszka@lemmy.ml
        1·
        3 hours ago

        Congrats! What’s your first impression? Btw, if NixOS seems too overwhelming at the beginning, you can try using nix (the packat manager) + home-manager on another distro at first - that’s what I did

        • bradboimler@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          11 minutes ago

          Oh man

          I’m pretty sure I’m sticking with it for the foreseeable future. But it was touch and go for a minute. I knew Debian, it was comfortable, and I had to fight the urge to run screaming back.

          There are a lot of moving parts and I wish they were less abstract. Going in I had no idea I had to learn a foreign programming language. The other day I was surprised to realize that the bash NixOS module is different than the Home Manager one. In my inexperienced opinion I feel they should be one and the same. Some important packages are behind Debian. Debian. I’m on the unstable NixOS channel.

          It’s not all doom and gloom. I feel I’m learning a lot more about the bits that comprise a Linux distro. It feels a lot more mine. I can keep the config in my head. I’m a software engineer so the build error messages don’t scare me. I’m on the latest kernel. I wrote a package for a little software tool that I wrote and I like how it fits right into NixOS. If I change the code one command will build it, run tests, and install it in my system. That’s rad.

          Yeah, in retrospect it was unwise to try to figure out both NixOS and Home Manager at the same time. Oh well.

          Edit: I love how easy it is to jump straight to the actual source from NixOS search. And I appreciate that the infrastructure is modern. Debian’s is absolutely ancient in comparison.