If you are looking for a way to just send files over a local network then KDE Connect is available on the 3 platforms.
For the Windows client you can find a beta version on Microsoft Store using this link.
You might also want to check out KDE Connect.
Open source, entirely over the local network, no registration required, official support for Apple, Windows, Android and Linux devices.
KDE Connect. It started as a Linux add-on (KDE is the name of one of the most prominent desktops there), who is amazing for using your phone in the computer. Now they released a beta for Windows and it's way better than Your Phone, there are functions who doesn't work yet (like using your phone cam in the PC), but the "core" functionality works wonders.
>answering iMessage from my laptop/getting phone notifications on my laptop, and using airdrop to send files from my phone to my laptop. Are there any Linux features I can use to replace these?
Well, if you're also switching from iOS to Android, there's KDEconnect/GSconnect/ZorinConnect
>is there a way to wirelessly connect a linux laptop to an airplay device?
Not that I know of, unfortunately. Apple is being pretty tight on that. I looked into it to use it at work, but no dice. :c
>Firefox seems to be the way people go, but does anyone use anything else?
I use Vivaldi. S'awesome. I especially love the side panel where I can have useful websites in mobile format. The interface just makes a lot of sense. It's also fully compatible with the chrome web store.
>I'd heard something about linux in general not liking things like Teleparty or using high quality Netflix streams?
I haven't experienced that, is that a thing? Can someone share their experience?
You will be able to use KDE Connect which is a very nice way of connecting your phone to your computer.
For context steamdeck ships with KDE as it’s Linux desktop environment of choice. You could use kde connect on other Linux environments as well, and Windows (beta).
KDE-Connect. I've been using it for a while and its great. It's open source, available on F-Droid (also pretty sure it's on google play) and baked directly into KDE. Also on other desktop environments but your mileage may vary. You can share the clipboard, files, get notifications, remote input, etc. It's also TLS encrypted from end to end.
Try KDE Connect. Or the Gnome version GS connect, there are also more forks that can do the same job that connects to your android phone. I currently use Windows and even Samsung Flow works wonders for me. The Your Phone app from Microsoft seems too much and acomplishes so little.
You can download the iOS native port of KDE Connect from the App Store.
https://kdeconnect.kde.org/download.html
This, long time user of KDE Connect.
Don't be fooled by the names, KDE Connect works with any desktop environment on linux, and with Windows, other Android devices even with iOS and macOS.
Can be downloaded here https://kdeconnect.kde.org/download.html
Understandable, I run a fully encrypted storage on my unlimited Google Workspace for the most part.
There's KDE Connect that seems more friendly, which I've also never used.
I don't really know if you can transfer mutliple files via AirDrop, but there is apparently a reverse engineered version up on GitHub called OpenDrop
KDE Connect for phone integration (file transfer, remote input, notifications etc). Useful when having Deck docked or connected to TV for gaming with a controll or watching a movie.
Yes. You can see and reply to SMS text messages, Slack channel messages, and WhatsApp messages. Maybe more, but those are the ones I use. It also does a lot more than just that, e.g. using your phone as a touchpad to interact with your computer, streaming media from your phone, transfer files, et al. Here's the website for the project. Also note you could just install this one thing in your regular desktop without installing all of KDE, but I haven't personally tried that.
If you are liking shell scripting in bash, you might also want to check out zsh and especially om-my-zsh! I spend a fair bit of time in the terminal and after adopting zsh I would never go back because of all the productivity tools available in it (plus it's pretty).
If your device is an Android, Linux or Windows device, take a look at KDE Connect. Although there is an iOS version, it isn't up to par with the Android. I can't say about the macOS version, however.
Except Android File Transfer is a Google product so most of its inadequacies is partly due to how its developed.
That said, the reason its even needed on macOS is because macOS doesn't support MTP which was originally a Windows proprietary protocol to help transfer media files to mobile devices.
So OP can use alternatives such as the open source OpenMTP or go with something like KDE Connect
KDE is a Linux desktop project, and KDE Connect is part of their desktop environnment
yes, it is Linux software ported to windows, it indeed came to windows much later
linux is the first entry on the download options on their website
yup, this totally looks like something made for windows
KDE Connect will do what you're looking for. Devices need to be on same network and if you're using a VPN you may need to allow network sharing in the VPN app settings.
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Have fun!
As a free alternative, look into KDE Connect, a free tool for the K desktop environment used in multiple distros including Steam OS. https://kdeconnect.kde.org/
Install it on the deck and on your phone, and you can use your phone as a remote. I've been using it with my desktop PC for a few months now.
You can type on the phone's keyboard actively (send keypresses as they happen), send strings (for example, type/edit text on the phone and send all at once), or even send terminal commands.
It'll also display your phone notifications on the deck screen, control media, or help you locate your phone if it's on the same wifi network.
I am still waiting for steamdeack but https://kdeconnect.kde.org/ will be my choice for this task.
Works pretty good for me between my android phone and my Linux desktop.
I checked and it has also ios app and windows application.
Linux have KDEConnect. You can connect your phone (Android and iOS) to your desktop and you can share files between them, use the phone as touchpad, presentation control, notification share and more.. If you want read after it: https://kdeconnect.kde.org/
KDE Connect being available on iOS means that, not only can you connect your desktop to your phone, but also all your other KDE Connect-enabled devices (other computers, tablets, etc.) for easy file transfers; remote mouse control; remote control of presentation slides; synchronized clipboard and pasteboard.
KDE Connect now works on most major platforms, including Linux, Windows, Android, iOS, and (experimentally) on macOS, allowing you to hook up all your devices seamlessly. This is huge for both users and the project.
Use kdeconnect
Has all the features you need. Is cross platform and works like a charm. Only caveat is that you need to be on the same network. Try it out, have been using it for 3+ years on Linux and recently it got a proper windows release and I've yet to find something that can replace it. Pushbullet is similar, but it uses internet to get stuff done, plus a lot of essential functionality like say dark mode and message replies are locked behind a monthly subscription.
Ah, great question, I'll add that to the OP.
It's an app to enable easy file transfer between devices (eg: Steam Deck, phone, whatever other computer you have), as well as get your phone notifications on your desktop, etc. See https://kdeconnect.kde.org/ for more details.
If your Mac can read/write SD cards, that can be used to transfer files.
There’s a good chance you can just link it to other devices vial USB-cable. (Not sure, though.)
The Deck comes with the KDE desktop environment. This means that KDE Connect should be available, though it may need to be installed first. It lets you connect various devices including sending files. There seems to be a macOS build, though it is called "early release version". Not sure how well the Mac version works…
Here’s the website for further reading: https://kdeconnect.kde.org/download.html
KDE Connect Integration across devices using WiFi with feature like: - Shared clipboard - Share files and URLs - Virtual touchpad - Notifications sync - Multimedia remote control
Work best using linux especially KDE Plasma DE, decent on Windows, I haven't test it on Mac.
I use it on my Windows machine at home, and various Linux boxes. It even works on OSX, but is in alpha stage on there. But nevertheless its the first thing i set up whenever setting up a new pc or when switching to a new smartphone. There is a beta version available on Iphone as well.
https://kdeconnect.kde.org/download.html
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On windows it is also available on the Windows Store built into 10 and 11.
Both are under active development. I would guess the KDE team is bigger, but there scope is larger too, I'm thinking of things like KDE Connect.
One Linux install can have both. You select your desktop environment at login. Install them both. For most distros, like Linux Mint and Kubuntu, you install the second desktop environment after you install the main system with it's default desktop.
They both offer a lot of customization, although I think KDE Plasma has more. In fact you could probably make KDE Plasma look exactly like Cinnamon.
Kde Connect will allow you to do some features for your phone and devices, including sending sms's on your computer via your phone. https://kdeconnect.kde.org/
You can use signal, and is available on flatpak https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.signal.Signal
You can always use Web apps for WhatsApp/ messenger
Software I like but may not be fully endorsed by the Linux community are: Video editors: olive, kdenlive Photo editing: gimp/glimpse, Keith Office suite: WPS Office, free office, Google docs. Mediaplayers: VLC, MPV, Strawberry, clementine Text Editors: Kate, atom, notepadqq Other: timeshift (won't be needed on steamOS 3.0), Rsync, syncthing, deluge, sonarr, radarr, jellyfin, kodi
Things I've found useful on linux. Give a google if you want to know more.
Symlinks
Mergerfs
Using htop, vim/nano. These can be life savers when you only have access to the terminal and your trying to fix your system, but steamOS being immutable should hopefully help the system not break at all.
I like KDE Connect when the devices are on the same network. Works across the various platforms.
Whenever I want to share a file or a few files, I just go into my file manager or gallery, select the files, and use the Share function to end it to the other device.
I Use KDE Connect on Kubuntu to send links and other stuff between my devices, if you are on Windows, I think KDE connect also has Windows builds.
It depends heavily on convenience and transfer speed.
I primarily use KDE Connect, which works surprisingly well on windows. I've set it up to store received files in my Donwload directories.
When I want to transfer larger volumes of data, I use a cable. The transfer speed over USB 3.0 is significantly faster than over WiFi.
Don't panic. Imagine your phone being able to type on your PC, become a touch pad, send files directly to your PC, and music on your PC pausing when your phone rings, all across the local network
Free and open source. Yes, works with Windows.
https://kdeconnect.kde.org/
>Phone notifications. Everywhere. Get all your phone notifications instantly synced to your desktop, so that you never miss that critical message. Directly reply to text messages from the computer without having to pick up your smartphone.
Addendum: you don't even have to be on the same network if you set each of them up on...
> Yggdrasil is an early-stage implementation of a fully end-to-end encrypted IPv6 network. It is lightweight, self-arranging, supported on multiple platforms, and allows pretty much any IPv6-capable application to communicate securely with other Yggdrasil nodes. Yggdrasil does not require you to have IPv6 Internet connectivity - it also works over IPv4.
https://yggdrasil-network.github.io/
[Users like you provide all of the content and decide, through voting, what's good and what's junk.]
I've looked at KDE Connect but ... it seems like there's a whole lot more hoobajoob to get that to work than anything. Looking at the main page for it, SMS isn't even mentioned... 🤨 Unless I'm missing something?
There is also KDE Connect. They have a Windows version in addition to the Linux version. With that, you can remotely adjust your PC's volume/skip tracks/pause etc, control the mouse on the screen, transfer files to your PC via wireless, browse files on the Android device and also map commands which you can use in the app to control your PC. . For the PC side, you can make your phone ring in case you lost it at home (inside the couch for example), transfer files, see battery level, respond to SMS remotely (This was recently fixed with an update), and plenty more.
I use this on my Linux Desktop and also my daughter uses it with her phone and her Windows 10 desktop with no issues.
I am using KDE connect to achieve this. But I think it does not support Windows. KDE connect is a very useful app it has many more features like notification sync etc. Also it is open source.
Update: It seems it support Windows, but the latest build is 2 year old, so I am not sure if it actively developed https://kdeconnect.kde.org/download.html
>You can delete the files from the cloud provider once they are downloaded locally.
I don't want any cloud provider to have my photos (for example), even if only briefly (which I'm not sure can be guaranteed). If I want to share a specific file online for whatever reason I can do so but I don't want every file that I ever transfer from my phone to the laptop or vice-versa to have to go online first.
>Secondly, if you have an iPhone and a Mac
I don't have any Apple product.
>I believe Google and/or Microsoft are working on something similar for Android and Windows PCs. I haven't heard anything widely available yet, but it's promising that it's being worked on.
I found KDE Connect, which is available on F-Droid, but I'm not sure how similar it is.
>I will admit, file transferring is arguably the last bastion for needing to plug in a phone. As soon as there is a reliable wireless alternative to that for ALL devices (and not just Apple devices), I think we'll see wide adoption of portless phones.
You're probably right, I'm just not convinced that for me the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages. I still use the 3.5mm jack on my LG G3, which I chose (twice) in part because of it.
Ich kann KDE Connect empfehlen. Ist zwar mit Windows etwas hakelig und muss dort manchmal neu gestartet werden weil es im Hintergrund abstürzt, dafür ist es auf Linux und Android umso stabiler. Damit kann man einfach die Zwischenablage zwischen den Geräten teilen oder Dateien direkt per WLAN hin und her schieben. Und vieles mehr.
If you jave an android, https://kdeconnect.kde.org/
That is more simple than setting up MPD servers and RDP clients and other crap.
You don't need to have KDE Plasma on your laptop to have KDE Connect. You just need to have the apropiate software and app on your phone.
>https://kdeconnect.kde.org/download.html
KDE Connect provides a set of features to integrate your workflow across devices:
> - Shared clipboard: copy and paste between your devices. - Share files and URLs to your computer from any app. - Get notifications for incoming calls and SMS messages on your PC. - Virtual touchpad: Use your phone screen as your computer's touchpad. - Notifications sync: Read your Android notifications from the desktop. - Multimedia remote control: Use your phone as a remote for Linux media players. - WiFi connection: no USB wire or bluetooth needed. - End-to-end TLS encryption: your information is safe.
If you happen to use Linux, there's KDE Connect . It's a small daemon on your desktop (doesn't have to be KDE) and an Android app, one of the many features is a ring my phone function, which I use regularly, but there are many other useful things like clipboard sharing or sending files directly to the phone. There's also a Windows and MacOS version, but afaik those are not quite feature complete. KDE Connect is one of those little gems I can't live without anymore. Caveat: both phone and desktop need to be connected to the same local network, so it's only useful when you misplaced your phone somewhere around your home.
I don't think there are such things, but you can drop the idea into somewhere the developers can see and discuses. If it is worth, someone would implement it.
https://kdeconnect.kde.org/users.html
PS: why not just copy-paste the text, it is just a few more clicks.
Actually nvm, I found something.
To defend myself I was looking at the main <code>kde.org</code> site under Products > applications and I found nothing for Windows.
In the search engine I just found KDEconnect through bluestacks and a bunch of scammy looking sites.
Just then I found <code>kdeconnect.kde.org</code> and it's there.
Once again, sorry for bothering you.
They apparently have an early release windows version.. Should be worth a look, my phone's been integrated into my file browser on my PC for a while, surprises me Windows hasn't done the same.