The Laksamana - official blog of M. Shahrim
08/11/2025
This article is the continuation of 2 other old posts
When was the last time you get frustrated at using conputer because the software you are using suck?
For instance, I hate web browsers or text editor that start out as useful, only to evolve into 'monsters' that demand computing power in exchange for free AI-powered feature that I didn't ask for.
Well, AI is unavoidable, but the software has changed so bad from the first day I install them.
Luckily, alternatives exist! Some are brand new, while others are the evolution toward becoming better.
Here are 4 new software that you should try:
| type | : | web browser |
| website | : | https://helium.computer |
Chrome sucks, so I migrated to Brave. But Brave sucks too. Then I met Helium and left the bloated browsers forever.
Helium is a trimmed-down Chromium and quite new. The first ever release for Windows-build was 15 August 2025.
Others have written about Helium as well.
| type | : | code editor |
| website | : | https://zed.dev |
Like most people, I use VSCode, and VSCode is a web browser repurposed into text editor.
But ever since Rust programming language grew in popularity and adoption, more and more new, competitive, and performant software emerge in the software market - from Linux drivers, game engines, network tools, and now to text editor.
Zed is a code editor written in Rust, with comparable feature vis-à-vis to VSCode. Initially there were only Mac and Linux version and I've only been able to try it after they release the Windows build last October.
| type | : | creative suite/desktop publishing (raster, vector) |
| website | : | https://www.affinity.studio |
If you're familiar with Photoshop, this is another new but actually not so new desktop publishing software.
Affinity has been around for years, competing with Adobe for market share. But with recent Canva acquisition of Serif (in 2024), Affinity is repacked into single freemium creative application.
I may still fond of CS5 era of Photoshop, but after giving Affinity Studio a shot, I must say, this is actually a great alternative.
| type | : | office suite |
| website | : | https://www.libreoffice.org/ |
Germany's state Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark's Ministry of Digitalization, and even Austria's millitary ditched Microsoft Office (or Office 365) for LibreOffice. These are no small attempts at achieving digital sovereignty.
LibreOffice is a free and open source office suite software that can compete head on with Microsoft Office 365.
It sucked during its early years - I've tried it, but with the release of version 25, LibreOffice is changing the game and catching up.
Oh by the way, as an IT guy, my advice, please do not use WPS.
Mohamad Shahrim
author of The Laksamana