When it comes to customizing your PC or getting the most out of it, there are countless applications out there. Some are paid, some are free, and some have a subscription model. Not all of them are open-source, but it tends to be the case that the open-source ones are just as good (or close to as good) as the paid-for alternatives out there. That’s why we put together a list of the best projects you can find that started on GitHub to improve your PC experience.
This list contains options for Windows, macOS, and Linux, but we’ll mostly be focusing on Windows. However, most of these are at least cross-platform (or we mention alternatives for other platforms), so check to see if it supports the operating system that you’re using!
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5
Wox
An Alfred replacement that’s cross-platform
If you’ve seen what Alfred is capable of on Mac, you’ll know that it’s a productivity boon that can enable you to use your computer more effectively. It’s a macOS exclusive, but Wox is an open-source alternative that you can find on GitHub.
Wox works similarly to Alfred in that it’s a complete system-wide search for applications, folders, files and more. There are also plugins and themes, and it works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It may not be as powerful or sophisticated as Alfred, but it’s better than the Windows Start Menu and it’s better than Spotlight Search on Macs. It’s worth trying out to see if it boosts your productivity!
4
Ghostty
My favorite Terminal Emulator
Ghostty needs no introduction at this rate, and it’s my Terminal Emulator of choice on my Mac. This one isn’t available for Windows yet, though a release is planned, and you can get it on Linux as well. Some of its features include:
- GPU acceleration using Metal on macOS and OpenGL on Linux
- Native tabs and Splits
- Extensive theme customization
- Fast and responsive user interface
If you’re wondering why you should give Ghostty a try, I’ll simply quote the developer:
Ghostty is a terminal emulator that differentiates itself by being fast, feature-rich, and native. While there are many excellent terminal emulators available, they all force you to choose between speed, features, or native UIs. Ghostty provides all three.
In all categories, I am not trying to claim that Ghostty is the best (i.e. the fastest, most feature-rich, or most native). But when I set out to create Ghostty, I felt all terminals made you choose at most two of these categories. I wanted to create a terminal that was competitive in all three categories and I believe Ghostty achieves that goal.
You can check out Ghostty on GitHub to get started!
3
Notepad++
Notepad++ is a Windows-only Notepad replacement that supports all kinds of features and programming languages. Even if you’re not a developer, its litany of options make it the best out there for someone who finds themselves using Notepad a lot. Notepad is fine, but it’s a pretty simple application.
As for why you should use Notepad++, it has autosaving, many find and replace options, searching text within a directory, line bookmarking, macros, and so much more. There are alternatives for macOS and Linux, including the likes of Emacs and Sublime. For Windows users, though, Notepad++ is still one of the best out there.
2
Chocolatey/Homebrew/Winget
Package managers are great
Package managers take a lot of the work out of installing applications, and that’s why you should use one. The software is vetted to ensure that it’s the official version, and you’ll quickly get used to quickly typing in a command line a command with the name of the application you want to install. If you use Windows, you can use Chocolatey or WinGet (WinGet is built in to Windows), and if you use macOS or Linux, you can use Homebrew.
These are all open-source applications that you can find on GitHub, with the slight caveat that WinGet doesn’t automatically update applications by default. You can make it do so though with WinGet-AutoUpdate on GitHub. This will check your installed applications for updates daily, ensuring that you always have the latest and greatest version of the software that you use. Plus, you can use UniGetUI for WinGet so that you don’t need to delve into the command-line.
1
EarTrumpet
EarTrumpet is a free, open-source volume control app for Windows that offers more advanced and intuitive audio controls than the default Windows volume mixer. Some of its features include:
- Visualize audio with multi-channel aware peaking
- Standalone volume mixer
- Move apps between playback devices
- Default playback device management
There’s a bunch more that it can do as well, and it’s basically just a better version of the classic Windows volume mixer. It essentially overhaul’s the default Windows volume controls to make them usable in a way that they haven’t really been in the past.
Downloading and setting up EarTrumpet is incredibly simple, and for someone who’s serious about managing audio on their Windows PC, it’s honestly a must.
#great #software #tools #GitHub #youll
source: https://www.xda-developers.com/great-software-tools-found-github-actually-use/
