Software that you would like to have for Linux

[xenopeek]

I'd also love to see more business software. So, replacements for PeachTree and Great Plains (now Microsoft Dynamics GP), for FileMaker Pro and another database program which for some reason I just can't remember the name of (here, it may be more plausible to build software that just uses SQL in the background)

I think there's quite a bit of ERP and CRM software for Linux. Some fully open source, some have a free open source community edition and a closed source paid edition with more features and support. It will take some exploring to find the one that best meets needs. Do an Internet search for "linux erp" and you'll quickly come across top 10 lists of ERP and CRM offerings to get started.

For FileMaker Pro I'd suggest to take a look at Kexi: https://www.calligra.org/kexi/

[Portreve]

...for FileMaker Pro and another database program which for some reason I just can't remember the name of (here, it may be more plausible to build software that just uses SQL in the background), ...

Would that be Access from Microsoft that you can't remember?

No. It's not a Microsoft product. A friend of mine absolutely swears by it, and for the life of me, the name escapes my memory.

[absque fenestris]

form.Z - a CAD/3-D modeling program. Called unusable by many, I find it absolutely logical and reminds me of the work at the classical drawing table.
Continue to use it under Mac OS 9... - Computer Stone Age so to speak - but what the hell - it works.
Blender? I have great respect for this work and it is certainly a good project, but I personally can't cope with it.

form.Z on Linux - I would buy immediately...

[Alexiy]

So many serious requests... I'm afraid I won't able to help with most of these XD.

- TotalCommander, once more
- MusicBee, the non-plus-ultra music library & player

I never used total commander, but I'm curious what features of it you lack in linux managers...

form.Z - a CAD/3-D modeling program. Called unusable by many, I find it absolutely logical and reminds me of the work at the classical drawing table.
Continue to use it under Mac OS 9... - Computer Stone Age so to speak - but what the hell - it works.
Blender? I have great respect for this work and it is certainly a good project, but I personally can't cope with it.
form.Z on Linux - I would buy immediately...

I don't like Blender as well, seems counter-intuitive program for me.

I would love to be able to run Android apps natively on linux, i.e. no VM or emulator. So much stuff comes as a mobile app only these days and I hate fiddling with a phone or tablet when it could be right on my desktop.

This! ⬆

YES!

Native run is not possible because android has a non-standard JVM implementation. That said, what android apps you want for desktop? Games aside...

[BG405]

That said, what android apps you want for desktop? Games aside...

An infra-red remote control program would be rather handy. I mean one where the computer is used to control other devices, NOT the other way round which always seems to be the case with everything I've found. Such software could be used for equipment with a lost or broken remote, or unlocking the region restrictions on DVD recorders, for example.

[Portreve]

...for FileMaker Pro and another database program which for some reason I just can't remember the name of (here, it may be more plausible to build software that just uses SQL in the background), ...

Would that be Access from Microsoft that you can't remember?

No. It's not a Microsoft product. A friend of mine absolutely swears by it, and for the life of me, the name escapes my memory.

Ok, I was just on the phone with that friend, and the name of the database program is Panorama.

[xenopeek]

Ok, I was just on the phone with that friend, and the name of the database program is Panorama.

It's a RAM based database and spreadsheet program? There are plenty of RAM based database available for Linux but not standalone with a spreadsheet front-end that I know of. But, you can just run LibreOffice Base or Calc or similar with its files stored on a RAM disk. It's trivial to set up a RAM disk on Linux and there are tools for automatically syncing the RAM disk with a directory on your hard disk. But this quickly goes into the "scratch your own itch" territory and it depends on how badly you want it whether going that route is worth your time

[Portreve]

Hey xenopeek!

It's a RAM based database and spreadsheet program?

When I first read this, I was like “Huh? What?” Honestly, I hadn't read any of ProVue's description about Panorama. I don't use it myself, so I honestly don't know anything about it, just that it's supposedly a pretty good database program that a friend of mine and evidently a ton of people he hangs out with use.

There are plenty of RAM based database available for Linux but not standalone with a spreadsheet front-end that I know of. But, you can just run LibreOffice Base or Calc or similar with its files stored on a RAM disk.

Honestly, I doubt that aspect of Panorama is particularly important. It wouldn't be to my friend, and I don't think it would be to me either.

My primary background in using databases is FileMaker Pro. I remember when it was still essentially owned by Apple by way of a division which was subsequently spun off. In my own personal life, I've just never really needed one; my main concern here is that there are some really good choices available for normal people so that when the conversation comes up about basically pulling someone away from FMP (which I think would be more likely with Mac OS X users than Windows ones) it is an area that's also covered.

[InkKnife]

The only application I miss from OSX is called GraphicConverter.

Wow! I haven't thought about GraphicConverter in years! However, in the age of GIMP, I think it would probably be superfluous.

GraphicConverter is not like Gimp or Photoshop.It has a set of solid quick edit tools but also has a very powerful and easy to configure batching system: Batch renaming, orientation sensitive resizing, watermarking and on and on.It can edit EXIF or strip it out completely.
Basically any conversion can be done in GC.
In addition to that it is a powerful organizing utility with a full range of tags and does all this using the native file system instead of obfuscating things in a library.
A nice GIF builder, optimize for the web...I could go on and on.
GraphicConverter is the best graphics utility on any platform.

[mediclaser]

The software I would like to have for Linux is an equivalent to Visual FoxPro (VFP). It's the all-purpose RAD tool which M$ decided to kill because it kept the small to medium size (and some large) businesses from buying their more expensive MS SQL + C# / VB tool combination.

What about Harbour https://harbour.github.io/ or Flagship http://www.fship.com/

Both can read FoxPro's xBase dialect.

Sorry for taking too long to reply. Apparently, those two are not designed for rapid application development (RAD), but are rather alternatives for Clipper which was my favorite xbase tool before switching to FoxPro.
Anyways, thanks for sharing the links.

[Alexiy]

Someone requested a TotalCommander clone, so I started developing a file manager. It is in early stage, but if anyone wants to try it, here is the download - https://drive.google.com/open?id=1a-Gpb ... vcePiKY9m7.
It requires Java 8 to work.
Usage: after extracting downloaded Zip, use the shell script appropriate for your system to launch the file manager. On start it opens all root directories; text labels represent files, and buttons - directories.
Its code can be viewed here - https://github.com/AlexiyOrlov/FileManager.

[JosephM]

I don't like Blender as well, seems counter-intuitive program for me.

While I have sorta have to agree on Blender, to be fair it isn't a CAD program. CAD has some different needs then general 3d modeling and animation software. For general 3d stuff, that's one area where Linux isn't shorthanded. Some of the biggest apps like Maya and Houdini are fully supported under Linux.

[absque fenestris]

I don't like Blender as well, seems counter-intuitive program for me.

While I have sorta have to agree on Blender, to be fair it isn't a CAD program. CAD has some different needs then general 3d modeling and animation software. For general 3d stuff, that's one area where Linux isn't shorthanded. Some of the biggest apps like Maya and Houdini are fully supported under Linux.

It may be that these programs run on Linux (Red Hat...).
But it is not the programme that would be decisive for me. I mentioned form.Z explicitly - and not Maya...
Not to mention the price.

MAYA $1,505.00 / YEAR
Houdini 16.5 2017-NOV-07 $6,995

[rui no onna]

Haven't used it long but these are the ones that hit me right away.

Microsoft Office (although I'd be happy with just Excel)
Notepad++ (this one's not playing fully nicely with WINE)
iTunes (need it for offline iPhone/iPad backups)
PortableApps

[catweazel]

Notepad++ (this one's not playing fully nicely with WINE)

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:notepadqq-team/notepadqq
sudo apt update
sudo apt install notepadqq

It's not notepad++ but it is close.

[DAMIEN1307]

interesting that you said "Microsoft Office (although I'd be happy with just Excel), Notepad++ (this one's not playing fully nicely with WINE)"

in the newest peppermint 9 release the following are included in "online" versions...DAMIEN

microsoft excel
microsoft one note
microsoft powerpoint
microsoft word

[catweazel]

in the newest peppermint 9 release the following are included in "online" versions...DAMIEN

microsoft excel
microsoft one note
microsoft powerpoint
microsoft word

I think anyone can get those by signing up for a free Office 365 account. The problem with them is that they are nowhere near as comprehensively kitted out as the full versions so they're somewhat limited.

[AZgl1800]

Notepad++ (this one's not playing fully nicely with WINE)

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:notepadqq-team/notepadqq
sudo apt update
sudo apt install notepadqq

It's not notepad++ but it is close.

Wow!
Thanks for that tidbit....
I am a NotePad aficionado
Ted just don't quite cut it when you are used to Notepad.

[rui no onna]

interesting that you said "Microsoft Office (although I'd be happy with just Excel), Notepad++ (this one's not playing fully nicely with WINE)"

in the newest peppermint 9 release the following are included in "online" versions...DAMIEN

microsoft excel
microsoft one note
microsoft powerpoint
microsoft word

Noticed that in Manjaro. Iirc, my Office 365 subscription (used with iPad) is currently lapsed so gonna have to renew first. Based on the limitations of the iOS versions, though, I don't believe the online versions would be fully featured, either.

[Portreve]

It would never happen in a million years, but HyperCard would be fun to have.

And from HyperCard we would get AppleScript.

Now, I know most of you folks are pretty much anathema to anything that comes from Cupertino, and believe me, I understand fully, but AppleScript is still a pretty user-friendly scripting language.

(And for the umteenth time in this thread, Automator (which both lets you grab building blocks plus you can also write your own AppleScript bits, too.)