If your weekend plans involve doing something interesting with your Linux setup, I've done some of the legwork for you.Instead of spending three hours reading Reddit threads only to install something mediocre, here are three apps worth actually trying.One fixes cross-device file sync without touching the cloud, one makes Markdown readable in your terminal, and one turns speech into text locally without phoning home.
Syncthing Peer-to-peer file sync that works without any technical hassle Syncthing is one of those tools that sounds simple on paper but completely changes how you work once you actually start using it.At its core, it's a file syncing tool—it lets you sync folders between your devices over your local network or even over the internet.You install it on your Linux PC, install it on your other devices, point it at a folder, and that folder stays in sync across everything.
No cloud storage involved, no server you need to configure, no account to create—your files move directly between your devices, encrypted in transit.Moreover, you can control exactly which devices can access which folders, so if you want different sync setups for different devices, that's completely doable.Syncthing is officially available on every major desktop OS.
However, if you’re on Android, you’ll need to use Syncthing-fork—a third-party fork that's actively maintained and optimized for Android.Whereas, on iPhones, there's Möbius Sync, which runs Syncthing under the hood but it's proprietary and paid.Where Syncthing really shines is if you use a lot of local-first apps.
Most open source apps—KeePassXC for passwords, Logseq for notes, Super Productivity for tasks—store their data as files on your device.That's great for privacy, but it means cross-device access is a problem.Syncthing solves that completely.
You just sync the folder where the app stores its data, and suddenly your notes, tasks, and passwords are on every device without any of those apps needing their own cloud sync.If you only set up one app this weekend, I’d highly recommend Syncthing.I use it constantly, and it's genuinely one of those tools that makes you wonder how you managed without it.
Download Syncthing Related This common file syncing mistake can cost you your data File syncing seems simple, but misunderstandings can lead to lost or overwritten data.Here's what most people get wrong.Posts By Rich Hein Glow Read rendered, beautified Markdown right from the terminal If you spend a lot of time in the terminal, editing files with something like nano or micro, you’re probably familiar with how much of a pain it can be to read and edit Markdown files in their raw form.
The syntax that's supposed to make things organized—headers, bold text, tables , hyperlinks—just clutters everything up when it's unrendered.The more formatting a file has, the harder it is to actually read.Glow addresses this specific problem.
You can use it to render any Markdown file directly in the terminal—complete with proper headers, colored text, actual tables, the whole thing.It makes heavily formatted Markdown files genuinely readable without having to leave the terminal or open a graphical Markdown editor.You can also use it to browse your Markdown files.
If you just type glow in a directory, it opens a TUI (Terminal User Interface) showing all the Markdown files in that directory.You can navigate through them with arrow keys or even search for a specific one if you already know its name.That said, the one thing to know is that Glow is only a Markdown viewer, not an editor.
You can't edit the file in its rendered state.But a simple workaround is to open a split terminal, with the file open in nano on one side and Glow rendering it on the other.It works well enough for me.
Check out its GitHub page for installation instructions.Related I install these Linux terminal apps on every system Here's how I make every Linux terminal feel like home.Posts 7 By David Delony Speech Note A Wayland-compatible transcription tool I'm a professional writer, but I genuinely hate typing.
Part of it is because I'm a slow typist, but the bigger issue is wrist pain.As such, I've always leaned on speech-to-text tools, and Speech Note is one of the best implementations I've found, especially if live transcription is what you're after.The interface is pretty simple and intuitive.
You press a button, start talking, and your words appear right in the app window.But it does more than just transcription.You can also paste text into it and have it read back to you using text-to-speech.
There's a translation feature too—speak into it or paste text, and it'll translate it into whatever language you want.Furthermore, since everything happens inside the app window itself, Speech Note doesn't need to touch your clipboard or communicate with other apps.That makes it perfect for modern distros running Wayland, where communication between two apps can get messy.
Now, to start transcribing, you'll first need to download a local AI transcription model—which you can easily manage from within the app.The accuracy and speed depend on which model you run.In my experience, FasterWhisper large-v3-turbo hits the best balance, but the more powerful the model, the more GPU power it needs to run at a useful speed.
On my RTX 3060, it's fast enough to be practical.If you're on integrated graphics or a weaker GPU, transcriptions will take noticeably longer.So whether this tool works for you day-to-day really comes down to your hardware or your patience level.
Speech Note is available as a Flatpak.Download it here.Related I always install these 7 Flatpak apps on my Linux PCs Make your Linux system awesome with these seven Flatpaks.
Posts 6 By Dibakar Ghosh Come back next week.I’ll have more useful apps to share.This series runs every weekend, and the goal is always the same: three apps you can actually try before Monday.
Some weeks the picks are flashy, this week I had some quiet workhorses.Next week, I’m planning to share something “powerful.” See you then.Kubuntu Focus M2 Gen 6 8 Operating System Kubuntu 24.04 LTS CPU Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX (2.7GHz up to 5.4GHz) This laptop is purpose-built for developers and professionals who want a Kubuntu Linux-powered portable workstation and gaming platform.
It features an Intel processor capable of hitting 5.4GHz and both integrated graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA 5070 Ti GPU for when you need extra power for machine learning or games.$2895 at Kubuntu Focus Expand Collapse
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