Linux

I agree simple-scan is awesome.

I just like when I do an update and my computer uses less data...and its a bit faster. Thats happened a couple of times. Feels good.

Probably ComicTagger https://github.com/comictagger/comictagger

I had been holding onto ComicRack for years and really loved it for scraping and generating tags before adding to Komga. I was a happy camper when i found ComicTagger.

Neverball.

So gaming on Linux is obviously amazing now, but back in 2006 or so when I started using it, it was less than great. I probably tried every single game in the Ubuntu repos and Neverball entertained the hell out of me.

I spent hours rolling this shiny ball around. I loved Marble Madness on NES as a kid, so it was a natural fit.

A close second was Freeciv, as I had also grown up with a copy of Civilization.

Honorable mentions to Nesticle and Snes9x.

Bash. It has enabled me to automatize a lot of sh*t I wouldn't do just because it would take me a lot of time/efford to do. There's a LOT you can do with a few simple scripts, a few examples:

• Remove files I don't need (images, rip/conversion logs, empty folders...).
• Compress and optimize folders of photos recursively.
• Apply watermarks to photos recursively.
• Convert filetypes (flac2mp3, pdf2cbr, webm2mp3,web2jpg...).
• Configure input devices (keyboards, mouse, graphic tablets).
• Autorename files (spaces to _, . to _, _ to spaces...).
• Remove audio from videos recursively.
• Remove audio/subtitle tracks from videos.
• Download images/videos/audio from websites.
• Update appimages automatically.
• Update/cleanup system/repos.
• Use different theming for different applications.
• Mount iso/bin... images.
• Extract zip|rar|tar.gz|.... files automatically.
• Modify pdfs.
• Get the weather for my location.
• Get stats from my PCs to be shown in panel applet.
• Alias program names to ones of my choosing.
• Open CUPS config in firefox.
• Refresh font caches and other management tools I don't care to remember.
• Fix permissions.
• Make a backup.
• Restore a backup.
• Copy files safely (rsync).
• Change volume level.
• Install all the packages and configs I need to make the OS/apps behave/look the way I like.

...you name it...

...in most cases just by typing one word in the terminal. It was kind of a mindblow coming from the crappy window$ crappysystem eons ago.

What surprised me the most, also in part due to me not really being knowledgeable about software solutions in their respective industries, was the Unreal Engine (the editor that is) and Houdini being available on Linux. Tbf, at least in the vfx department it is apparently more common as most of the high profile software in that industry does have a native Linux version available.

What I appreciated the most though was software like Reaper and Renoise providing a (very good even) Linux-native version when I looked for a new DAW to learn, seeing most software in the audio industry not being very Linux-friendly.

Probably REAPER

Used to be Skype but MS just killed that so....

MagicQ

Vuescan.

I cannot recall any specific programs besides a game called Feudal Tactics, but I swear I've seen software while looking through EasyFlatpak that surprised me.