Someone already mentioned Logseq, but I’m really enjoying Obsidian for my note taking needs. It’s similar, but I have found Obsidian to be very nice. Not FOSS, but I really like what the devs are doing.
Yeah I’ve tried One Note, Evernote and notion before coming across Logseq and Obsidian. I’m really enjoying it. I haven’t given Excalidraw much use in obsidian but I may do so in the future.
It’s a game changer for me. Obsidian plugin allows previewing these drawings in notes, and we can also link notes in the drawings. The built in canvas feature is simply bad. All it needs to do is center the text inside boxes. Wish the devs made it open source and this problem could get fixed but apparently they don’t believe in it.
craft and a few others, but I keep coming back to obsidian. Currently self-hosting it using one of the plugins, that helps me easily sync between pc, MacBook, android and iOS.
Nextcloud and Janitor plugin. In my opinion, obsidian sync is not worth it. You have many ways to sync your data across different devices. Even using GitHub or Sorj.
Edit: For my usecase, Janitor plugin works the best. You could try it.
LibreWolf as my browser (it’s a more secure and private version of Firefox, comes with a pre-installed adblocker and removes all the unnecessary junk) (Flatpak) with some of the following extensions:
Server-Status (GitHub) shows information about a web server like country/region (via local GeoIP database lookup), SSL certificate information and more. Good open source alternative to Flagfox.
Ptyxis (Flatpak) as my terminal. It’s optimized for containers (e.g. distrobox). foot is a pretty good alternative if you want something more minimalistic and don’t care about containers. There are countless other good options like Kitty, Alacritty, Konsole, WezTerm and many others.
Bitwarden for syncing my password database with my self-hosted Vaultwarden server (also works with their public cloud syncing option). Use KeePassXC if you prefer something entirely local.
LocalSend for sharing files on the local network (basically works like AirDrop) (also works over NetBird or Tailscale btw)
NetBird for creating a flat VPN network between my devices
KDE Connect for better integration with my phone. Also works over NetBird btw. Check out GSConnect if you’re on GNOME.
KRunner for quickly finding files or applications (Ulauncher for other desktops, rofi for window managers)
Brilliant list! Starred this to go through it in detail later.
EDIT: A good deal of overlap with me on the type of applications I already use, so looking forward to discovering other hidden gems I haven’t yet found.
I also like lutris. But it being “for games” doesn’t do it justice I think. It is basically just a wine environment manager. It advertises as being for games but it should work with just about any windows executable.
Not necessarily unheard of but Floorp has been pretty great for work. I think all of the other applications I use are well known within their respective niche (e.g JOSM)
I’ve been trying to figure out a way to use vanilla Firefox instead but also have a web panel like Floorp. Being able to open and close a webpage on the side like that is pretty handy. Vivaldi has the same feature but I don’t want to use that.
For the most part, that works fine. It’s more of a convenience feature since I can quite easily switch between different sites I have saved in the panel.
I also use Floorp! Firefox is my favourite mobile browser, with the address bar at the bottom for easy access, and also easy-access, reliable tab sync, with Floorp on the desktop for its workspaces feature + the ability to use the old Firefox style (with minimal tabs) with a simple toggle.
The only browser that could measure up to it (meaning it has the same feature set for both desktop and mobile) is Vivaldi (Correction: Last time I used it, Vivaldi was missing a crucial feature: the ability to only show bookmarks on a new tab) but that often feels too complicated and takes too long to set up. If Vivaldi had the ability to, say, sync up all your settings and customisations, as well as tabs, I’d probably be using it right now, or at least consider it. I mean, neither is fully open source, but I’m more likely to trust the Vivaldi team than Ablaze (the company behind Floorp).
I agree with pretty much everything you’ve said. My biggest reason for not using Vivaldi is due to it being based on chromium. I’m trying to do my best to reduce the market share of chromium based browsers
I don’t know about you specifically, but I’m surprised how many people haven’t heard of Krita, a FOSS image editing app with an optional AI Image Generation plugin.
Am I going to be able to use a computer in any way at all in the future without having freaking world power-sucking, thieving, inaccurate, laughable AI doing stuff for me?
First of all, I actually find it quite helpful, AI is not bad in itself, just the people who use it for things it’s not designed for are misguided. Secondly, did you miss the part where this AI is optional?
The fact that it’s optional now is irrelevant. Most people aren’t going to disable AI and will thus use a horrible, broken feature that has never been proven to work reliably. And what is “optional” now becomes the standard later. Best to kill it now before it becomes the complete ruination of the tech industry.
I use CoreCtrl to fix my GPU’s atrocious fan curve, which is a necessity since normally it overheats to high hell. With CoreCtrl, I have a nice fan curve that makes my GPU rarely, if ever, run hotter than 70°C.
I wish it had Nvidia support. Even though I have it installed, it’s useless for me. Currently trying to find a fan control/curve tool/program that works with Nvidia GPU.
Cherrytree; nominally for making hierarchical lists but you can basically use it as a wiki for your entire life. You can theme it yourself too, if you think it looks too retro out of the box.
Syncthing, for keeping files synced between devices without having to use a server.
Qbittorrent, for getting files you need. Remember to install search plugins.
KeepassXC. Password manager (local, not on a server, use in combination with Syncthing).
Convertall, for unit conversions.
Calibre, for managing an ebook library, converting formats, removing DRM, transferring to ereader etc.
Rhythmbox, for music library, podcasts, internet radio.
Shotwell, for photo and video library. Easy to use, supports tags (metadata written to image files).
GIMP, for image manipulation. It’s extremely versatile, comprehensive and versatile. 3.0 is due out soon and will include non-destructive layer effects. Heavyweight piece of software, so expect a learning curve.
Ardour, for music production. Heavyweight, steep learning curve.
Flowblade for video production. Lightweight, easy to learn.
Libreoffice, desktop publishing.
Librewolf; privacy-focussed web browser.
Thunderbird; highly organisable email client.
Freetube, for watching youtube videos without all the ads and tracking. Local subscriptions and playlists, which you can export to use with Newpipe on Android. Also lets you download video and audio.
If you like the terminal also add:
ranger; file manager
newsboat; RSS feed reader
yt-dl; download videos from youtube and many other sites ;)
w3m; command line web browser. I like to use this in combination with newsboat.
Apparently people still believe that floorp is proprietary. That’s not true, some of it’s components went closed-source for a while to switch licenses. Now it’s back to being open-source
I mostly use terminal unironically. Duf (to check system storage) Youtube-tui (written in rust tui for youtube) Btop (for system management) Iftop (see where my pc is calling to) Tuptime (has full system uptime from install to now. It just for fun to see how long my system has been alive)
Ive also gotten into atuin to find command i used and cant remember the command.
What is Logseq?It’s a non-linear note taking app that allows smart linking and is made as a second brain. It makes use of the Zettelkasten system, where, in theory, you make notes of everything and categorize it. Over time, you offload your brain and make it free for more productive stuff.
Logseq is often considered as a FOSS alternative to Obsidian.
I had some initial problems in the beginning, because I was used to linear note taking apps like OneNote or Joplin, but once I watched a guide on how it works, it clicked and now it’s my second nature. I even began to write my hand written notes in Logseq style!
TL;DR, if you don’t wanna watch any guides/ read docs:
Indentation matters. Logseq works with a parent-child hierarchy
You usually don’t open or create new pages, you write everything in your journal and link stuff there.
Use links, either with [[Link]] or #Tag, which are the same. They crosslink different topics and reveal connections.
Make use of plugins. There are thousands of it. Especially the Graph Analysis plugin should be included by default.
I used Obsidian extensively at a previous job. The linking of notes was super helpful! I don’t think it’ll work as well for my needs at the moment (at work) but I’ll give it a go
Mainly data entry. I’m writing bullet form (pro for Logseq) justifications that the QA uses to understand my ratings (the data entry aspect). I will occasionally work on the same task so I open up the original note and just add to it.
I know that I could use Logseq to link - [[link]] - the different task projects together (maybe). Something like Project -> individual task.
My notes look like this currently:
<span style="color:#323232;">A:
</span><span style="color:#323232;">
</span><span style="color:#323232;">- some thoughts
</span><span style="color:#323232;">
</span><span style="color:#323232;">B:
</span><span style="color:#323232;">
</span><span style="color:#323232;">- more thoughts
</span><span style="color:#323232;">
</span><span style="color:#323232;">C:
</span><span style="color:#323232;">
</span><span style="color:#323232;">- this is bad
</span><span style="color:#323232;">
</span><span style="color:#323232;">D:
</span><span style="color:#323232;">
</span><span style="color:#323232;">- this is good
</span><span style="color:#323232;">
</span>
I would then copy and paste all of that into a text box on our system (per task) where the QA can use that to understand my ratings of the task. My role title is Advanced AI Data Trainer, it sounds more impressive than it is. It’s glorified data entry.
Yeah, definitely, especially at work.
It really helped me to switch off my “work brain”, because I know, that everything I did today is written down, and I don’t have to keep things in my mind anymore after work. Doing that was a blessing for my stress level and mental health.
It also gives me the edge above my colleagues that I “remember” everything I did in the last months, which is nice when my boss wants to know details of a project I did a year ago.
I basically can’t even remember what I did 5 minutes ago (ADHD says hello), but I know exactly where I can find that knowledge. This frees up my working memory (psychological term, not related to work) immensely. It’s basically like transfering more tasks onto your hard drive instead of keeping it in the RAM.
It’s also great to give me an graphical overview of all I think and work on all day, and unveals connections I never thought of between different topics.
For private use, it’s also great as a journal, though I gave up on that because I’m too busy for it and it cost too much time in my everyday life. But I still use it daily for normal note taking, e.g. results of some experiments at home, hobbies, thoughts, and much more.
All of this makes sense, but I still can’t wrap my head around the “finding” of information. How do you search for it? Do you remember keywords or the location of the note (this I feel like maybe defeats the purpose of Logseq’s write anywhere idea)
That sounds so useful if I can stick with it enough.
That’s my main issue for private use. At my job, I never had problems sticking with the habit of writing everything down. I work in a science job, and documentation is key there. So, I basically get paid for exactly that.
But in my free time, the whole concept of task management, knowledge offloading, and more, is a bit harder for me, especially when I come home tired.
Welcome in the life of someone with ADHD. I need my life to be organized, but have a hard time with exactly that. It’s like needing to find your contact lenses because you dropped them…
I don’t use Logseq, I use Silverbullet, and yes, it helps A LOT. I have lots of random notes on random pages on how to do things at work, or on my personal servers or whatever. You know that feeling of “I’ve already had to deal with this, how the hell did I do it?” It’s completely gone.
If you use a good organization system with a hierarchy that makes sense and tags you can easily find stuff, so you can turn off your brain from having to remember all of that and it can focus on the thing you need to actually solve now. Don’t know if you’re old enough to remember a time before cellphones, we had to remember our friends number, nowadays this is not a concern, because your phone will remember the number for you, it’s like that but for everything, very liberating.
I tried it and really wanted to like it, but the Android client’s UI is just unusable for me. as much as I prefer going FOSS whenever I can, I tried Obsidian and stuck with it. it’s electron on desktop and definitely not native UI on mobile, but feels much more polished.
Yeah, the Android app is horrible. I only use it if I don’t have my PC in arm’s reach.
It feels sluggish, buggy, is overloaded, I always get sync issues (usually the last words I just typed go missing), and some features (especially the graph overview) don’t work at all sometimes. And the whole app sometimes feels like an alpha version, which is just a no-go…
I really hope the mobile app gets polished more over the next months. Many people nowadays mostly use mobile devices, and having such an unpolished app really hurts the image. And, PLEASE devs, test your software before shipping it out. Especially the mobile app is broken half the time.
I still gladly pay the 5$/ month for the optional sync and to support the devs.
Well, I just realized they don’t support multi user which is kind of a deal breaker for us, since we are a couple sharing a homelab. We always wanted to share a few files when using Logseq and it seems this won’t be solved with Trilium either. This sucks.
I tried it on desktop but the fact that it’s “paragraph-based” so to say is annoying. I’d like to format text freely and hit return to go to a new line, not create bullet points for everything I write. It seems a bit contrived in this way, but perhaps I just haven’t found how to make it work the way I want yet
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