Are there any Windows-exclusive programs you use?
I had to test/fix something at work and I set up a Windows VM because it was a bug specific to Windows users. Once I was done, I thought, “Maybe I should keep this VM for something.” but I couldn’t think of anything that wasn’t a game (which probably wouldn’t work well in a VM anyway) or some super specific enterprise software I don’t really use.
I also am more familiar with the Apple ecosystem than the Microsoft one so maybe I’m just oblivious to what’s out there. Does anyone out there dual boot or use a VM for a non-game, non-niche industry Windows exclusive program?
You are viewing a single comment
Sadly, a few. I'd love to know if anyone knows any excellent Linux-equivalents for these:
^1^ Technically, it does have a Linux version, but you have to compile it yourself, and I don't know shit about that kind of stuff. Lol.
^2^ I know OpenRGB exists, and it's good enough for my needs when it comes to LED management, but it doesn't seem to be able to control DPI presets like G Hub.
^3^ I tried it back in like 2016 in Ubuntu 4.x and it worked just fine in Wine, but I'm unsure if it still does as I haven't tried it since then really. Still, any Linux-native software that can do shit just as good is something I'd love to know about. :)
^4^ Yes, I know there are alternatives like GameHub, Lutris, etc. but frankly none of them seem to come close to Playnite in terms of UI, UX, and sheer functionality.
MakeMKV is available on Linux as Flatpak and works out of the box: https://flathub.org/apps/com.makemkv.MakeMKV
Probably a tough one since most people will use the command line to bulk rename files. I do use ChatGPT sometimes to create rename commands for me that are more complicated.
I use Sound Juicer now, used fre:ac before.
https://flathub.org/apps/org.gnome.SoundJuicer
https://flathub.org/apps/org.freac.freac
Piper can do DPI presets: https://flathub.org/apps/org.freedesktop.Piper
I used Mp3tag on Windows and switched to Picard, I like it even more than Mp3tag now: https://flathub.org/apps/org.musicbrainz.Picard
Is GIMP really that complex for this use case? I use GIMP to do simple stuff like paint, rescale images, blur things, fill things, ... https://flathub.org/apps/org.gimp.GIMP
I don't use anything out of Steam often but If you don't like Lutris, maybe Heroic for GOG and Epic? https://flathub.org/apps/com.heroicgameslauncher.hgl
r2modman has native support for Linux: https://github.com/ebkr/r2modmanPlus
There's also support for one-click installation of Mod Organizer 2 with steamtinkerlaunch: https://github.com/sonic2kk/steamtinkerlaunch/wiki/Mod-Organizer-2
I was not aware of this. Thank you! :)
I'm still very much a Linux newbie so although I am familiar with some things on the terminal, I never even knew you could bulk-rename files with it. I knew you could rename them, but not bulk-rename them, I mean.
Thanks, I'll check that out!
Thank you!
Yes, it takes a bit longer, even on higher-end PCs, to load up, than Paint.NET. Pinta used to be a good equivalent, but I think that's long since been abandoned, though I could be wrong. It also has way more functions than I need, frankly, and that leads to a cluttered UI. I've tried to use it before, and that always ends up being the case.
I've heard about it, but from what I've seen it doesn't seem to be very close to a 1:1 comparison. Though admittedly I've only read about it, but it seems to not be as good. Again, I'd be willing to try it out, but there doesn't seem to be many Linux equivalents as good.
Also, it's not that I don't like Lutris, but compared to Playnite, it's very bare-bones.
Nice! Thank you again!
Edit: Fixed quote markup.
Just because I didn't see you respond about it, Piper is great, so I second that user's recommendation! I highly recommend you check to see if your peripherals are supported, as I use it on my Logitech mice to edit my mappings, DPI settings, and profiles (and while I don't use the function, you can edit your LEDs in Piper as well). https://github.com/libratbag/piper
I actually didn't even notice that one. I guess all the recommendations sort of blended together! xD
Thanks for the heads-up! Haha.
I tried Lutris first and it was okay but left something to be desired. I switched to Heroic and am in love with it. It works so well and the UI is great
Same with my multiple attempts at Lutris.
And ooh, Heroic has a Windows client! I can try it out now! Thanks!
Edit: So, after a couple hours of fiddling around with it, Heroic Launcher seems really great! Only a few flaws that I can see so far, like not being able to sort by category (you can filter by category, though) or being able to edit any metadata fields for a game unless it's been manually added, like any of these for instance (screenshot from Playnite):
Not deal-breaking by any means, but it can be very annoying, especially when you get instance like BioShock 2 being listed before Bioshock 1 in the game library. Lol.
Edit 2: Yeaaaaaaaah I don't know what the hell just happened, but I refreshed my GOG library and all of a sudden like 2/3rds of my games are now listed as "uninstallable". ...Yeah, I'm going back to Playnite. I hope it's better by the time Windows 10 is unsupported because there's no freaking way I'm downgrading to Windows 11. Lol.
Interesting. I use it on Linux and haven't had the issue of uninstallable games. I wish Playnite had a Linux client
I do too! Playnite is AMAZING. I've been using it for a couple years now and it is incredibly stable and so versatile. AND it's got community plugins!
On ^1^ see here or here
Thank you! I was not aware of this!
I’m old and don’t really sail the high seas these days but does Handbrake not rip DVDs and BluRays?
Handbrake will rip DVDs, but not Blu Rays. That's were good ol' MakeMKV comes in.
I rip with MakeMKV (which will do DVDs as well) and then convert/encode the MKVs with Handbrake.
I do the conversion/encoding because the ripped files can be 35-50 GBs for regular Blu Rays (UHD Blu Rays are even bigger!) and I can get them down to 3-8 GBs with minimal quality loss.
I then toss the smaller MKVs on my jellyfin server.
EDIT: Handbrake CAN rip Blu Rays but only if they arent copy protected. MakeMKV is able to rip protected Blu Rays and DVDs.
Exactly. I do the same thing: rip with MakeMKV then re-encode with Handbrake. :)
For an audio tagger I use Kid3
That looks promising! I'll check it out! Thanks!
Does it work only on audio files or can I use it to tag video files too? Despite the name, mp3tag can work on a large handful of both audio and video files, not just mp3 files.
Have you tried Asunder for CDs?
I have not! I may have to check that out! Thank you!
For MakeMKV you can just use the flatpak.
I didn't know it was on Flatpak. Thanks! :)