trey_a_12

joined 6 days ago
[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Software. Everyone gets hung up on the hardware aesthetic and all, especially with this new phone's more... "questionable" design compared to the last ones, which were debatably more "cool." Nothing's supposed specialty is the software side, which goes beyond just a simple minimal monochrome skin or some fancy text.

According to most my friends with Nothing phones, it's all the little details and refinements... but yeah, I'd still buy a Phone (2) or 3a before this since it's otherwise an underpowered flagship. This formula's great when undercutting the competition price-wise, but this phone just feels like a substantial price bump SOLELY for a better processor... and still not the best one.

[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Okay, so I'm still testing things out in terms of the Homebrew installations, but things are working MUCH better this time around. For instance, both GIMP and Darktable actually downloaded the latest versions AND actually work, so this might well become my new solution for app installations for everyone!

Your last statement regarding the app updating though, the part where you said:

If a GUI tool can auto update, Homebrew leaves it to auto update and actually stops updating the tool.

I do want a bit more clarification if possible.

  1. Apps like GIMP and Darktable DON'T auto-update, though apps like Latest will detect that new versions are available. Normally, this means I have to go to the application's website and download the new version myself. Will Homebrew automatically update these programs?
  2. Further, for the apps that do get auto-updated, do they remain in my Homebrew catalog and all to where I'd be able to remove or configure them with brew commands?
  3. Regarding apps that DON'T have built-in updaters like GIMP and the like, if I go to the developer's website and get the newest versions, do I have to do anything with the originals installed via Homebrew CLI or app wrappers like Applite?

Thank you sincerely for your time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) (3 children)

In most instances, app installations via Applite went one of multiple ways:

  • Just plain not available in Homebrew (very few)
  • Available but depreciated or otherwise unable to be installed (few)
  • Installs but crashed upon opening (some, including crucial apps for me like GIMP and Darktable)
  • Installs but has some random error message (a few, including Inkscape, which didn’t save configurations to the app in my brief test)
  • Installs but doesn’t allow checking for updates (all others, though this might just be because they update through Homebrew)

Again, 100% admit that I likely messed up somewhere doing something, hence why I’m redoing this test now. That. and the fact that almost no app that normally does allowed checking for updates within itself makes me think that all update checking is disabled since it’s just handled through Homebrew. By all means, please correct me anywhere I’m wrong there.

1
submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by trey_a_12@lemmy.world to c/macos@lemmy.world
 

TL;DR: Hey guys, question here for everyone familiar with Homebrew on macOS, particularly through GUI apps such as Applite. I had a bunch of problems when installing apps through Applite in a macOS VM, and was wondering is this was likely more of a fault of the VM, Applite, or a legitimate Homebrew issue. I made a checklist of all the apps I wanted to install and/or test out, along with their successes and failures. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1k0FKaoWZD7JC0P641MalLtzefpMaZZVWfWZpLHMr7qw/edit?usp=drivesdk

Long explanation: See, I’m a tech – both in the sense that I’m a power user who can familiarize myself with just about everything, and that I do tech support and break down a lot of things for other people. As a result of this, once I first used Linux a few years ago and started learning about package managers for other systems, Homebrew caught my eye. I saw people recommending it left and right, and as soon as I got comfortable with my Mac and found my application suite, I knew I was going to test it.

…thing is, a majority of applications that I tested on through a virtual machine failed in one way or another. Almost to none of them seemed to allow in-app updates or work with apps like Latest (which use Sparkle for update detection). Some part of this could be due to the virtual machine nature of this test (I created a macOS Sequoia VM ON macOS Sequoia using UTM and Apple Virtualization), and some part of it could be Applite specifically (though I set the app up to use my Homebrew directory set up via the actual Homebrew website, not using “Applite’s custom directory”), but either way, a lot of programs just flat-out didn’t work. Any thoughts as to why this could be?

Also, before you say “just use the CLI,” there’s a reason I used Applite, and it’s the same reason I mentioned tech support: Most people still do not feel comfortable using a command line interface. Convenient as it may be for fellow “power users” with brewfiles and the instantaneous setups, most users still default to their app stores. Helped FIVE people with their Macs on installing different browsers, and they ALL went to “why isn’t it in the App Store?” If Applite or another free program works for this, that could solve the “missing App Store” problem for average users. With it being Homebrew-powered too, that could even open up the door to help people become more technologically savvy. Question is though, was I just doing something wrong, or is Applite not a viable solution for homebrew installations? I’m going to test things out one more time in another VM today, and if I still run into the same issues, I’ll post a follow-up comment. Thank you all for your help!

[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Believe it or not, you can actually do a decent amount of editing it in Quick Look. I discovered that myself not long ago, but you don’t have to open the Preview app or anything – Quick Look can handle it.

[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 1 points 4 days ago

It’s pretty nice; I tested it out on day one. Now I just wish we had a solid Wayland window viewer. Xquartz is not great and doesn’t even support retina modes, so any GUI windows you create are NOT sharp whatsoever on a Retina display…

[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

As have I! 3.0’s been great, and I’ve learned a lot about GIMP as a whole since using it.

[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

Legitimate question – How beneficial is PhotoGIMP over just manually rearranging the tools and layouts for the 2-3 minutes that takes? I’ve used Photoshop enough to be decently fluent, but I don’t go between it and GIMP enough to install PhotoGIMP, so I just rearranged the panels to a more PS-like layout. I imagine the keyboard shortcuts are much nicer, but beyond that (or is that one of the main reasonings for you using it)?

[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

On a similar note, anyone have any luck with Resynthesizer on macOS with GIMP 3+ versions (without having to completely compile from source or something)? I saw tutorials for Gimp 2+ and earlier, but I don’t know if those tutorials for Resynthesizer would still work now.

[–] trey_a_12@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

Thank you, though I would have to politely disagree with your statement.

macOS 26’s “Apps” menu, at least as of Tahoe Beta 4, still lacks much of the functionality of classic Launchpad, and there are still plenty of users who prefer the original. I’m new HERE on Lemmy, but back on Reddit, there was a “I miss Launchpad” post practically every day, and adding the folder to the Dock isn’t quite the same. Sure, more powerful methods like Spotlight and Raycast or Alfred exist, but for people who just want a full screen app grid, Launchpad offered that. Now, LaunchBack’s bringing it back. 🙂

 

Unfortunately, my old Reddit account was recently suspended without notice (though I believe it to be because of "spam" from reminding people who comment about missing Launchpad that they can submit feedback requests), but this has not halted my progress with developing this app. Instead, here I am now on Lemmy!

Hey everyone, I'm proud to announce the first beta release for LaunchBack, my FOSS Launchpad remake built entirely independently of Spotlight and Launchpad/Apps dependencies!

  • Application Reordering: By opening LaunchBack's settings via the menu bar and switching to the "General" tab, you are now presented with two options: Alphabetical and Manual sorting!
    • With Alphabetical sort, your apps are automatically arranged from A-Z on all pages, no manual reordering required.
    • As for Manual sort, with the option enabled in the "General" tab, you can switch to the "Apps" tab and see your applications in a column, my personal take on an improved reordering system for LaunchBack over the classic grid-based method. This may eventually be changed and I plan on refining things further in time, but this is currently functional.
      • While manual sort is still being worked on since drag-and-drop is seemingly unavailable on macOS via Swift's "editmode" function, you can move apps up or down in the list with Command and the ↑ ↓ keys or the onscreen "Move Up" and "Move Down" buttons.
  • Custom App Directories: While this is still very much a WIP feature in more of a placeholder-ish state, LaunchBack brings a feature unavailable in the classic Launchpad in the form of custom application directories! In theory, you should be able to click the "Apps" menu from the settings and add folders containing your apps, a feature which could be useful for applications not stored on-device or in the traditional /Applications directories.
    • There is a known issue with this where duplicate application entries may appear with recursive directories and/or other circumstances. This has usually been resolved with an application relaunch or system reboot.
  • Do note: The LaunchBack grid is not (yet) updated in real-time, and you must either Relaunch LaunchBack (available via a button at the bottom of the Settings window) or close and reopen the app manually to see changes. This applies for toggling manual and alphabetical sort, showing the rearranged apps in their new order, and custom app directories. Please do not submit issue requests regarding the grid not updating in real-time.

Why LaunchBack? See, while other solutions for accessing apps exist on macOS, there have always been three fundamentals of Launchpad that make it so beloved: A fullscreen app grid with search, application reordering, and folder support for organization. With Launchpad's removal in macOS 26 Tahoe, plenty of alternatives or solutions have arisen with some of these, but as a new developer learning more about computer science, I figured this would make for a great starting project to learn Swift, hoping to eventually capture (and surpass) the functionality of Apple's original Launchpad application. Furthermore, projects like OpenShell from ClassicShell on Windows inspired me to make the app fully free and open-source, which I was successfully able to achieve. Previously with release 1.0, I was able to achieve the first of these fundamentals, and now with Beta 1.1.0, I proudly present a solution for the second fundamental, as well as another LaunchBack exclusive: Application Reordering & Custom App Directories!

So then, without further ado... here's LaunchBack 1.1.0! Watch the GitHub page to follow along and be notified for new updates such as folder support, Sparkle updates, Homebrew installation, and more! https://github.com/trey-a-12/LaunchBack/releases/tag/Beta