There is a lot to cover, but the title sums it up. I stopped keeping my photos in the cloud because of money and privacy reasons, but at the same time I couldn’t find a nice software that wasn’t a web app or an Electron web app that would run on iPhones and iPads, and would let me browse the library without headaches.

So I built Raza Photos. Completely written in modern Swift 6, requiring the latest Apple frameworks, needing at least macOS and iOS 26 (sorry), with no Internet connectivity, no telemetry, no phoning home, no ads, no subscriptions, no accounts.

You import the photo folders you want the Mac app. It safely indexes the metadata, leaves the photos exactly where they are, and uses Bonjour to advertise itself on your local network. You can start or stop the server if you want to use the app by yourself or publish the library to the whole family. When you open Raza Photos on any iPhone, iPad, or Mac in the house, it instantly discovers the server. If you have multiple Macs hosting libraries, it finds them all and shows a complete library, with deduplicated filters.

You can browse, filter by date, location, people, albums and events, and you can even edit metadata from iOS while on the couch. The changes can go back to the original files as XMP/EXIF, without touching the image pixels. You can add countries and cities to photos that have GPS data and you can browse them all on a map. Face detection is done locally on the device.

The app is free for now, but it will be a one time purchase of around 20 USD. In the future I plan to add photo transfer from iOS to the Mac server, so you can backup your photos or migrate them away from iCloud. I also plan more photo management features like date taken conflict resolution and better face detection. And I also plan to extract a Swift headless server for Linux which you could put on a NAS, but I am a just solo dev, so bug fixes and features will come at a slower pace. I also plan a video app and a music app with the same features.

It seems like Firefox crashes all the time on macOS. When you exist (⌘+Q) it says it crashed and wants to send a report back to Mozilla. I just realised I've been doing that for the 3 years I've been a Mac user, and Mozilla still can't be arsed to fix the problem. I'm beginning to think their code is not well ported to ARM64 and they don't care enough to fix it.

So now I'm wondering if one of the Firefox clones, which would be built from source, might be better ported to macOS.

Yes, I could use Safari, and I don't hate it, but I've been using Firefox since it was called Firebird, so like 20-25 years? Safari is completely different. My biggest gripe is that it doesn't support free ad blockers, but I did pay for Wipr2 so that should alleviate the issue. There are ad blocking options on Safari, but I don't think they're quite as good as uBlock Origin on Firefox.

Hey, folks,

My laptop broke the other day, and I need a replacement asap. But here's the rub: I despise windows. I've been a full time fedora user on my main device for a decade now, and I run Ubuntu on my desktop that I rarely touch because it's ooooold. I am not a techy person. At all. I'm an idiot, actually. I use Linux because it's cheaper, it keeps my aging hardware alive longer, and because politically I align pretty well with the idea of FOSS. And because I absolutely hate windows. I don't even like KDE, because it reminds me of windows. Cinnamon? Too much like windows! Lol. I love my workflow in gnome, I love that it's shiny and pretty and looks nice. And for the most part, I'm a browser based user. I rarely have cause to do much outside of the browser, except for sail the seas for some audiobooks. Even my papers for school are written in Google docs.

But also, on my desktop or a secondary device, I don't mind having to fiddle with things and get them working, I enjoy it. It makes me feel like I have actual tech skills when I absolutely do not. But on the device I use for school I just want something that works and I never have to think about. I feel like a traitor to the cause even considering it, but I think I want to get a used m1 air. I've never used a Mac before, though. I used an iPhone once, for about 10-15 minutes, and I hated it. But, like, of course I did. It was completely different, and incapable of doing the thing I wanted it to do.

How painful is the Linux to Mac transition? If I'm using an android phone, an Ubuntu desktop, and a MacBook, how awful is everything going to be to switch between devices? Am I going to regret this purchase, or, worse yet, become an apple fan boy and abandon my glorious FOSS devices forever?

Please assist

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/46206569

Looking to purchase an old cheap macbook air 2018 just as a spare laptop but i understand it has T2 chip which may not go well. Just wondering if anyone here has already tried Linux in this macs and is it in a usable state?

cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/46979109

Is anyone aware of a good open source app blocking app for Mac?

I'm having a hard time finding something that's not proprietary from a general search.

What I'm looking for is one where you can block apps for a set duration. For example: You're studying and you want to block access to chat apps, Ice Cubes for Mastodon, etc for, say, an hour.

I've found browser extensions to block specific websites and the one I use is great. But, looking for one for the apps themselves.

How to set up a new Mac mini with Tahoe 26.1 for the best possible privacy.

What settings should I turn off, what do you recommend for the vest privacy on a mac M4 ?

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/42330116

in this inaugural post to [email protected] we'll disable discrete graphics on a Macbook Pro and make the thing run exclusively off the Intel graphics.

reasons aplenty; 2010/11 models have their share of failed GPUs. those can be disabled with this trick and you get a fully functional machine that would otherwise necessitate a costly repair or it'd be thrown out, due to its age.

GPU and/or GMUX failures continued on post-2012 retina models; folks used those anemically cooled laptops for gaming, with predictable consequences.

finally, if you want to switch to linux, the discrete graphics complicates your life significantly.

this method works on all the models listed in the subject; if you know it works on other ones, please let me know and I'll add it.

the only downside, you'll lose video out as it's connected to discrete graphics.

so, boot off a macOS installer or your existing macOS partition, open the terminal and go:

nvram GfxMode=4 (prepend with sudo if it's from an interactive shell)

(todo: how to add the EFI variable from linux)

and reboot. that's it, your discrete graphics is gone. it's not present in lspci output, system report, etc. not only that, it's no longer drawing power netting you a cooler system and longer battery life.

there were earlier versions of this with some GRUB shenanigans followed by some kext/systemd magic, but thanks to the awesome folks at macrumors that's no longer needed.

I'm running macOS 18 and since I depend on dark mode, macOS 26 seems like a step backwards for my eye sensitivity.

So I'd like to stay on 18 for as long as it receives security updates and consider upgrade options some time later. Do the ISOs tend to remain available? Because my understanding is that when it comes to iOS, if you miss the last chance to upgrade, you're stuck with whatever you have.

Hi - I'm just a little frustrated with the amount of bugs in macOS 26 and I hope 26.1 will fix some of these. This is my list so far:

• Random window shadows on apps in the background. Clears up if you leave it or if you click on it.
• When unlocking the desktop, sometimes I see the desktop for a fraction of a second and is then returned to the lock screen. And can then unlock it successfully. Using Apple Watch.
• Dock and App switcher UI just disappears and so far the only solution is to restart the computer. Experiencing this right now and my Desktop 1 & 2 are gone but I now have Desktop 3???
• Small glitches in graphics, that clears up again like the window shadows

I discovered it by accident today, but it’s been there for a year already. The context, as usual, depends on where you last clicked/tabbed/etc. the focus to.

Relatedly, to keep track of hotkeys I used to use Cheatsheet and later KeyCue, but now there’s an open source alternative, KeyClu. There’s also Karabiner Elements for keyboard customization.

Not long ago I made a post asking about using Homebrew and Applite (a GUI “App Store” for Homebrew Casks) with some questions about the potential for new users getting a better “App Store.” Fortunately, after some testing, I can confirm that this might be a viable solution for most people!

I just migrated nearly my entire setup from apps installed online on respective websites over to Homebrew, and I’m glad I did. Things are working well, and I was even able to update my Application Sheet to have a column for Homebrew casks to quickly reproduce Brewfiles for future setups. Now, I’m looking into some “Quick Setup Brewfiles” for my tech support clients! For instance, a “Xdobe Setup Pack” might consist of GIMP, Darktable, Inkscape, a link to Photopea, and DaVinci Resolve. I also have my Google Sheet linked of my app recommendations, and am glad to explain any to anyone here! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pSsLcM4lVnqGt68yu-GgKFApOJBv2aIzMmUs_8iT_2c/edit?usp=drivesdk

As for the actual setup process, my goal was to remove as many elements of the CLI and any other potentially “technical” things that could be off-putting to non-techs. The process as of now is as follows. Please recommend any additional improvements as they come to mind!

1. Install Homebrew from the website’s pkg installer https://brew.sh/
2. Install the Command-Line Tools (automatically prompted by Homebrew)
3. (Optionally) add Brew to path. Users generally SHOULD do this, but Applite may not force you to, and the goal is to not have to interact with the CLI
4. Install Applite via the website (could also be done via Homebrew CLI, but again, goal is to avoid it) https://aerolite.dev/applite
5. Import my Brewfiles and/or search for apps

P.S. Yes, my apps have a tagging system. This is also for tech support and organization. I’d highly recommend this anyone who frequently helps others’ setups or modifies your own!

• Blue tags are for App Store apps.
• Green tags are for web apps.
• Orange tags are for Homebrew apps.
• Purple tags are for apps from anywhere else online.
• System apps have no tags.

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!

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