I know it doesn’t tick the boxes but there technicality is a Microsoft made, open source, alternative to Explorer. The original File Manager for Windows 3.1 and it is still seeing active development. Just thought to bring it to attention for a bit of nostalgic fun but I actually find myself using it a fair bit.
vscode extension that summarizes Java’s exceptions for me so that I can easily find what’s wrong and which line caused it instead of scrolling through 100 lines of exception/error stack.
Mapping software that can give directions the way human navigator would.
When I’m driving in my own city, my mapping software should be intelligent enough to know that I am aware of most of the roads; it can track me.
I don’t need to hear
“Keep straight on Highway 101 West signs for Highway 101 West for 300m, then take exit 104 South signs for Highway 104 South, take exit 104A South signs for 104 South, merge onto Highway 104 South signs for 104 South. Go straight on Highway 104 South for 400m then take the left lane and turn left on route 40 Eastbound signs for route 40. Boodle-ding you are on the correct route. In 200m turn left onto route 40 Eastbound signs for route 40 Eastbound. Turn left onto route 40 Eastbound signs for route 40 Eastbound.”
… When what is needed in a realistic sense is the following:
“In 300m take the exit to 104 Southbound then after 400 m, turn left at the first set of lights onto route 40”
That would be a meaningful improvement. I moved - basically sight unseen - a year ago to a new town. Day one I needed every bit of turn by turn. Now, if I’m headed to any of the four or five places I bother to go, I just set up the map as a CYA and a simple “yep, make that turn you’re planning on” would be sufficient.
Then there’s a 90 minute trip i make every two weeks, that I know fairly well but not like I’d know a daily drive. The first hour is “Jump on 74 west, take exit for 57 south, and go a ways”. That part I have down cold obv.
After I get onto hwy 36 tho, damned if I can remember where the (poorly marked) left turn onto CR 1300 is.
Better still would be an adaptive mode. Leave me tf alone with my CCR playlist until I’m within a couple miles of that poorly marked turn. THEN help me out with a gentle reminder.
The hour or so of instructions prior to that point are wasted and would be pretty easy for AI to figure out I don’t need help on that part.
Sadly, that description was motivated by a direct experience I had a few days ago with Google maps.
But I’ve definitely had that other experience as well, where the next leg of the trip is to go straight for 20 minutes, and Google Maps chimes-in every 30 seconds to remind me to stay straight.
The most recent meaningful upgrade I have seen in the software is that instead of deciding to either play each piece of audio through the phone speaker or the Bluetooth, quite at random, it will now play things through the Bluetooth. Livin’ in 2024.
There was this small project long ago where you could organize all your desktop data in mindmap like 3d galaxies. It was really beautiful, but I can’t remember it’s name, nor have I found something similar again for modern operating systems.
Or whenever using your credit card online. The pro version would be that it turns off functions successively depending on your BAC. At some point the only unblocked function would be to call a cab to go home.
It would be really nice to have a parametric 3D modeling software solution that was on the same level as Blender or KiCAD. Every time I try FreeCAD I end up moping out pretty quickly.
FreeCAD in its vanilla state (without tweaks) is pain in the butt in term of usability, it’s still bit “hard” to recommend for casual user when they are coming from commercial like Autodesk Inventor, Solidworks and such.
Recently Ondsel Team created sort of modules for FreeCAD which also marketed as standalone product that lets you to make it functions like Fusion 360 in term of cloud connectivity, their free tier also good even better than Fusion 360 Hobbyist License. They also contribute toward FreeCAD upstream for some general improvement though some of them are exclusive on their own implementation.
The day FreeCAD 1.0 dropped, I definitely going to try it out because I’m stuck on Fusion (needed for collaboratory work) ever since graduated from college.
Yeah, I was taught using NX and coincidentally also use it at my current job, but I have dabbled in almost all of the other commercially available platforms and so far FreeCAD took the longest for me to “pickup” as it were.
You are probably already aware but there is OpenSCAD which allows you to model via programming rather than by UI. Not really an apples to apples equivalent but I find it decently interesting. I do wish there was something a little more more overtly friendly to beginners like Fusion360 though.
To be honest, it is first time I discover OpenSCAD, probably due to its nature modeling by programming rather than visually.
Logically you do want to model by visually especially when it’s more complex geometry and perhaps that’s reason why you may seeing them less getting recommended in general when something like BricsCAD (Education license), OnShape exists.
I agree Fusion 360 (on Windows) with Free Hobbyist/Personal license is good start to learn CAD modelling for free though as year went by the Hobbyist license becoming stricter and limited in term of policy which raising red flag for hobbyist, not to mention Autodesk also converting users lifetime license into subscription without any notice is enough reason to stay away unless your job provides you those CAD program licenses.
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