Software Alternatives & Reviews

Things I can’t do on macOS which I can do on Ubuntu

Rectangle Karabiner Scroll Reverser Audio Hijack yabai LINE Kap LinearMouse Loopback by RogueAmoeba
  1. Window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift.
    Pricing:
    • Open Source
    >Also, the fact that everything I want to tweak requires buying an app? I find this is often the case with MacOS, sometimes with open alternatives available. I wanted windows/linux like window snapping and found a free solution called Rectangle[0], but discovered however they do it was causing mouse lag in games. Apple dev friend investigated into it with logs from my machine and discovered they are "just not doing it properly, go buy bettersnaptool[1]" Sure enough I go spend $8 on bettersnaptool and all my mouse lag is gone and I've got the tweakable window snapping I crave. This is often the case it just depends if the open software solution is done "properly" or will have some small bug that may or may not bother you. Rectangle worked flawlessly in every other instance except once I would launch a game, the mouse lag was not present on desktop applications. [0] https://rectangleapp.com/.

    #Mac Tools #Window Manager #Developer Tools 446 social mentions

  2. Karabiner, previously called KeyRemap4MacBook, is a very powerful keyboard remapper for Mac OS X.
    While your point is true, that you cannot set ESC to Caps Lock <i>without external apps</i>, you can use Karabiner to do that. Very useful when typing, and with Vim https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/ The command+tab switch is also driving me insane! I loved Ubuntu's (probably around 12.04?) window+workspace (or however they called it) handling, but as all the teams I worked on, the devs used Mac, I decided to give in and switch. I miss the window handling options, but hopefully I gain from other aspects (such as being able to rely on coworkers in case something doesn't work as expected).

    #Automation #Windows Tools #Mac Tools 269 social mentions

  3. Scroll Reverser is a free app for Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Leopard that reverses the direction of...
    Pricing:
    • Open Source
    Hated that I couldn't flip scroll direction because I wanted the trackpad to be natural and mouse to be inverted. Found this: https://pilotmoon.com/scrollreverser/.

    #Automation #Note Taking #Game Reviews 36 social mentions

  4. Record any audio, with Audio Hijack!

    #Audio #Audio Recording #Audio & Music 63 social mentions

  5. 5
    A tiling window manager for macOS based on binary space partitioning
    Valid points in the article. Slightly related: I feel it's worth spreading the word about yabai [1], a tiling window manager for MacOs. I've been using it for >1 year, to get an i3 like experience, and find that it makes using MacOs very pleasant. > Focus Follow Mouse Can do this with yabai > Always on top windows Can do this with yabai > Window snapping Can do this with yabai The way I use it: I have 9 desktops, and can switch between them via the keyboard (ctrl+<desktop_number>). Can move apps from one desktop to another via keyboard commands. Apps are automatically resized to fit. Can move apps around on screen via keyboard commands. [1] https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai.

    #Window Manager #OSX Tools #Mac Tools 132 social mentions

  6. 6
    LINE is a Japanese proprietary application for instant messaging on smartphones and PCs.
    I'll start with things that I'm happy to have in mac that didn't have in Linux :) - Cannot run a bunch of programs that stay on the topbar, like LINE (https://line.me/en/), Kap (https://getkap.co/), etc. I am a fairly heavy user of Kap and I love the interface, so this is probably the biggest differentiator for me. - The visual quality of the programs in Mac is generally a lot higher, and humans do like aesthetic visuals. For example the "CPU indicator" (iStat) I have in mac is an order of magnitude better, same as VPN tool, etc. - Upgrading the OS to a major version without worrying if I'll be able to boot next time. - (unfair?) 10+ hours of real-world battery usage, in Linux I could often get half of the advertised 5-6h battery life from the PCs if lucky - A lot more hardware stuff with the M1 Macbook Air, like the amazing touchpad, keyboard (in new models), etc. Some will say it's fair to compare them some won't, so I'll leave that up to you but summarize them all in this point. I want to try Asahi Linux when it comes out stable though! - Drivers all work very well, it's like they built them on purpose for their hardware (!). No more fighting with pulseaudio. However overall I've found them to be a lot more similar than dissimilar to my surprise, swapping from one to another as a normal everyday JS dev is fairly trivial. To add on the author's list, the biggest issue I have is with external USBs, I like having them encrypted for backups and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to do that with mac. I had no trouble with AndroidUSB, just install it and it behaves just like another filesystem program.

    #Communication #Messaging #Group Chat & Notifications 19 social mentions

  7. 7

    Kap

    Kap is an open-source screen recorder built with web technology.
    Pricing:
    • Open Source
    I'll start with things that I'm happy to have in mac that didn't have in Linux :) - Cannot run a bunch of programs that stay on the topbar, like LINE (https://line.me/en/), Kap (https://getkap.co/), etc. I am a fairly heavy user of Kap and I love the interface, so this is probably the biggest differentiator for me. - The visual quality of the programs in Mac is generally a lot higher, and humans do like aesthetic visuals. For example the "CPU indicator" (iStat) I have in mac is an order of magnitude better, same as VPN tool, etc. - Upgrading the OS to a major version without worrying if I'll be able to boot next time. - (unfair?) 10+ hours of real-world battery usage, in Linux I could often get half of the advertised 5-6h battery life from the PCs if lucky - A lot more hardware stuff with the M1 Macbook Air, like the amazing touchpad, keyboard (in new models), etc. Some will say it's fair to compare them some won't, so I'll leave that up to you but summarize them all in this point. I want to try Asahi Linux when it comes out stable though! - Drivers all work very well, it's like they built them on purpose for their hardware (!). No more fighting with pulseaudio. However overall I've found them to be a lot more similar than dissimilar to my surprise, swapping from one to another as a normal everyday JS dev is fairly trivial. To add on the author's list, the biggest issue I have is with external USBs, I like having them encrypted for backups and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to do that with mac. I had no trouble with AndroidUSB, just install it and it behaves just like another filesystem program.

    #Screen Recording #Screenshot Annotation #Video Maker 37 social mentions

  8. LinearMouse is a free and open-source utility for macOS which aims to improve the experience and functionality of third-party mice.
    Pricing:
    • Open Source
    I recently tried https://linearmouse.org/ and it seemed to offer both acceleration and sensitivity settings for mice.

    #Note Taking #Automation #Game Reviews 52 social mentions

  9. Get all the power of a high-end studio mixing board, right inside your Mac!
    I do this with a paid app called Loopback https://rogueamoeba.com/loopback/.

    #Audio & Music #Audio #Email Marketing 126 social mentions

  10. 10
    Tiles is a window manager which allows you to easily reorganize windows by either dragging them to the edges of the screen, using keyboard shortcuts, or the menu bar.
    Check out Tiles, it's free and works great. https://freemacsoft.net/tiles/.

    #Window Manager #OSX Tools #OSX Window Manager 19 social mentions

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