Surprised no one has mentioned OBS. I don't use it for streaming, but afaik it's one of the more popular options for that. So it's really cool that not only is it available for linux, but it's open source and works great. I'm sure every linux user has had audio, general hardware, or GPU acceleration issues at some point, but OBS is seamless in my experience. Pretty cool to see a piece of software live at the crossroads of all that and get it right.
I believe it was the Linux counterpart of XSplit, the "other" streaming software that was very popular in the early days of streaming. Before that we had to use some very elaborate setups.
Mixx is a cool free dj software, didn't expect davinci resolve to have an official version, stremio also I didn't think would have an app for whatever reason. I like inkscape for vector art, didn't realize it was a thing til I swapped to linux. I use software and apps more in general because it's stuff I've installed and its not hidden by bloat, even if there is more windows stuff out there, its way easier to discover actual useful software using linux through linux appstores compared to windows.
The one that surprised me the most was Steam, honestly.
Zoom. No dark mode though.
I use zoom several times a week, and have had to revert to windows several times because development lags behind win/mac, and for some reason my org has a fixation on trying new features, useful or not.
I wish it wasn't cause then I wouldn't have to use it at work
It works in the browser
I was really surprised by some libre games with really good graphics for free software, like Xonotic or Unvainquished. And also very cool projects like Speed-Dreams, that is not as beautiful but is really promising
Otherwise, very cool stuff like Kdenlive, Ardour, LMMS, Puredata, ... This is a long list! 😅
Bitwig. I'm moving to libre tools like Pd and Ardour, so I didn't renew my license. But it works just like it does on Mac.
Except that it supports touch screens on Wayland, and you can't do that on a Mac.
I've tried Ardour, but compared to Reaper, I unfortunately just can't use it. Pd is fantastic though!! It's what got me interested in music stuffs in college, man those are memories... making a drum kit in Pd was my first assignment, I remember suffering over the cymbal for hours and hours. Now I'm getting all nostalgic lol
Reaper is nifty, but it's not FOSS, which would be the only reason why I'd give up Bitwig. (I know that's not what the thread asked, but that's my reason for not using Reaper.)
Neverball.
So gaming on Linux is obviously amazing now, but back in 2006 or so when I started using it, it was less than great. I probably tried every single game in the Ubuntu repos and Neverball entertained the hell out of me.
I spent hours rolling this shiny ball around. I loved Marble Madness on NES as a kid, so it was a natural fit.
A close second was Freeciv, as I had also grown up with a copy of Civilization.
Honorable mentions to Nesticle and Snes9x.
Probably REAPER
What surprised me the most, also in part due to me not really being knowledgeable about software solutions in their respective industries, was the Unreal Engine (the editor that is) and Houdini being available on Linux. Tbf, at least in the vfx department it is apparently more common as most of the high profile software in that industry does have a native Linux version available.
What I appreciated the most though was software like Reaper and Renoise providing a (very good even) Linux-native version when I looked for a new DAW to learn, seeing most software in the audio industry not being very Linux-friendly.
Ardour is also a very good fully free (as in freedom) alternative to Reaper, if you want to experiment 😊
I cannot recall any specific programs besides a game called Feudal Tactics, but I swear I've seen software while looking through EasyFlatpak that surprised me.
Microsoft Defender.
I convinced my work to let me use linux on their laptop. They sent me instructions for setup. One of them was to install Microsoft Defender, had a link to the Ubuntu package and everything. Blew my mind.
I bet it has to do with Microsoft azure
How did you manage to convince them?
Wasn't too difficult as they already offered Linux as a supported option. But I had to justify it. I was already using a linux VM for all my actual work. So I complained about all the buggy behavior I had experienced. Didn't have to exagerate too much. I was properly modivated after IT sent out an email announcing the forced migration to Win11.
This right here, if I can do the same to my work desktop I would be in my glory.
Only works on Ubuntu though last I heard (and not even downstream distros), which is somewhat unfortunate
You're right. But I'd rather have limited Linux options than no option at all.
What the fuq??
If it enables the use of Linux at work I would install it, too. And use Edge for corporate ressources as well.
KDEConnect, probably the best (only?) to do what it does in such a magnificent way
about 10 years ago, i noticed steam was available for linux. for the longest time i had pretty much written off gaming on linux (apart from like tuxcart, nethack, emulators...). i hadn't considered actually being able to play "real" games.
that was before proton, so there really wasn't a ton of stuff i could play, but i found some good stuff like hotline miami, papers please, super win the game.
obviously now we have proton and linux can be argued as a superior gaming platform in many cases.
Back then CS:GO used to run better on Linux! That was why I switched (apart from a borked windows system I put Linux on just for shits and giggles): to get more frames, lol. Now I couldn't live without Linux, even though I don't even play CS:GO anymore.
Bitwig and Reaper. Two of the best music DAWs on the market and they each have a Linux native version.
EDIT: I forgot to include Renoise, the music tracker DAW.
LocalSend.
No more USBs ever (outside of install media). So so simple, fast, and works on all devices and FOSS.
It is really the best UX of any file sharing app I have experienced (outside of airdrop I guess, but obvious problems there)
Okular is also a favorite of mine.
For me it was blender. I absolutely loved using blender as a teen for making silly games and animations (I wasn't good at that). Now as an adult I re-discovered it and I use it for making DnD minifigs
Microsoft Edge was a recent surprise. It's surprising both that Microsoft would create it and that any Linux users would run it. Since its Chromium based, there should be no need for developers to test Edge separately.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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