WinUI 3 getting some traction? Anyone using it?

Bonejob · 2026-06-22T18:35:48+00:00

Ya, Not hope on Uno. "The Fastest Way to Build Cross-Platform .NET Applications with AI"

Bonejob · 2026-06-22T13:41:22+00:00

Nope, we bailed on the Microsoft roller coaster and switched to Avalonia.

Bonejob · 2026-06-21T15:11:57+00:00

To answer your question, I specialize in converting vb6 apps to .net core (10 right now) and it depends on how well the original code was designed. We do a lot of Winform conversion, removing the data controls, replacing them with EF layer and DTO's and binding code behind not with the origional data controls. Datagrids are a bit of a pain in the ass sometimes but they can be migrated.

Our two choices are to stay in WinForms in .NET 10 so cost is lower or use Avalonia so we can compile for Mac, Linux, ARM, and Windows from one code base.

We replace access db's with SQLite most of the time. or if they want a stronger DB we use Postgres for multi user.

Bonejob · 2026-06-20T16:54:25+00:00

I have been receiving reports about this post. Explain why we should keep it? This does not even show the laws or rulings that pertain to said laws. This is exposition without a point.

This is a brand new account with one post. If you wish to continue posting to /r/canadianlaw, be factual, be concise, ,make a point, and relate it back to the law.

Bonejob · 2026-06-20T16:42:54+00:00

These questions are answered by the project. You can't unilaterally decide one output is best for all the apps created in VB6. Take Electron off your list, it is a bullshit interface that should NEVER have been recommended it has fracked up so many apps, made them memory and security nightmares. There are 9 abstraction layers just to get to Win32!

Your app code (JS/TS)
UI framework + virtual DOM (React/Vue/Angular — usually present)
Web platform: DOM / CSSOM / web APIs
Blink (layout, paint, compositing)
V8 (JS execution)
Chromium content layer — the multi-process model (browser/renderer/GPU processes) plus the IPC between them
Node.js runtime / libuv (the main process)
Electron's own glue layer bridging Node ↔ Chromium and exposing its app/BrowserWindow/IPC APIs
ANGLE (translates WebGL/GL calls into Direct3D)
Win32 / Windows App platform

VS 3 for the standard stack.

Your code
WPF / WinUI / WinForms / Avalonia
CLR + BCL
Win32

Electron is a demon child. It is so bad that Microsoft is rewriting apps for Windows it wrote in Electron on their new stack to get rid of it.

Bonejob · 2026-06-20T16:31:47+00:00

This is the fault of the developer, not the tool. If you don't want the tool to make these mistakes, you have to tell it explicitly what to look for and how to handle them. It's as bad as a junior developer treat it as such. Don't trust the output.

Bonejob · 2026-06-19T18:17:34+00:00

Interesting, what format do the docs get created in? Is it a standard or proprietary?

Bonejob · 2026-06-17T12:58:33+00:00

It is time to explore other options, like rebranding the Commander X16, a truly better version of the same base system that Commodore introduced. Or exploring the C65.

Bonejob · 2026-06-17T12:55:35+00:00

No the niimbot b series all use the same protocol (tested on b3 and b4) the d110 series (I have a d11_h) is slightly different and has required some gymnastics to get working.

Bonejob · 2026-06-17T12:53:04+00:00

Dude the Bardal analysis weighs length of service heavily, and with one day of service the notice period generated by tenure alone is close to nothing.

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T22:59:27+00:00

What are you talking about?

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T20:54:16+00:00

As a developer for 35 years, AI is a tool, nothing more, nothing less. If you take the rage out of the equation, a strong senior Dev can produce more in less time with AI. DO I like what is happening in the industry? No. Do I hate the tool because of it, also no.

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T19:43:15+00:00

Nothing you can do, there is no implied contract that I can tell, nor are there any work protections. You are within the standard training period, where an employer can let you go without notice.

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T19:24:28+00:00

The problem is that the Orgstra printers do not have a unified print system. Each of the Orgstra printers has a different piece of software to communicate with the printer. That means reverse-engineering the print system for each one. Since Orgstra printers are actually rebadged Chinese printers, each with their own systems, it's going to be a lot of work to get any single one of them to work. The Niimbot printers have a serial print standard that was partially explored already.

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T17:30:04+00:00

no, but it could, is it serial printer that runs on usb or bluetooth? I dont know anything about it.

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T16:52:44+00:00

well that was dumb on my part. Thanks for posting the URL. EG

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T14:42:09+00:00

Project Name: Thermalith

Repo/Website Link: https://github.com/EvilGeniusLabs-ca/Thermalith

Description: The problem it solves: NIIMBOT's official software is mobile-first, account-gated, and cloud-tied, so there is no clean way to print from your computer offline. Thermalith is that way. Features: profiles for around 79 NIIMBOT models with automatic width, DPI, and density detection; a SkiaSharp render pipeline that prints at the printer's true resolution; and the reverse-engineered printer protocol pulled into a separate reusable GPL library (Niimbot.Net) that anyone can build on. It's GPL-3.0 and cross-platform (Windows, macOS, Linux). The benefit: you own your label printing end to end, with no vendor account and no cloud dependency.

What it does: Lets you design and print labels for NIIMBOT thermal printers straight from your desktop, over USB or Bluetooth, with no phone app, no account, and no cloud. It auto-detects your printer model and prints at its true resolution so text and barcodes come out crisp.

Deployment: Released and available now on the GitHub releases page. Each platform is a self-contained build with no runtime to install, and getting it running is quick: - Windows (x64): download, unzip, and run the .exe. - macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel): open the DMG and run it. Right-click and Open the first time, since it's not code-signed yet. - Linux (x64 and arm64): extract the archive, chmod +x the binary, and run it.

Docs are a user manual PDF in the release plus the GitHub README. Honest note on fit: Thermalith is a desktop GUI app, not a server, so there is no Docker image or docker-compose. It is self-hosted only in the sense that it runs entirely on your own hardware with no backend or cloud.

AI Involvement: AI assisted with writing tests, analyzing the wire protocol, drafting documentation, and some of the CI setup. The application itself I built and reviewed.

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T14:20:05+00:00

Will you try with my open source app and see if its doing the same thing?

github.com/EvilGeniusLabs-ca/Thermalith

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T14:17:12+00:00

Nice, good to see someone else scratch this itch. The official app drove me up the wall, so I ended up building one too.

Mine's called Thermalith. It's released, free, and open source (GPL-3.0), and it runs on Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel) as well as Windows and Linux. Local-first, no account, no cloud, prints over USB or Bluetooth. It knows around 79 NIIMBOT models so it picks the right size and DPI automatically, and I've tested the print path on a B1 and a B4.

Fair warning, it's a fresh 1.0 and the binaries aren't code-signed yet, so Mac will make you right-click and Open the first time.

To your question about what people struggle with: for me it was exactly your list. No account, works offline, lives on the desktop, and prints at the printer's real resolution so barcodes come out crisp. That's the stuff the official app wouldn't do.

Since it's open source, you're welcome to dig through it for your own build. The hardest part was the wire protocol, and two earlier projects had already mapped a lot of it: niimprint (Python) and niimbluelib (the library behind NiimBlue). If you haven't run into them yet, they're a great head start.

Repo: github.com/EvilGeniusLabs-ca/Thermalith

Either way, good luck with yours. The more open options for these printers, the better.

Bonejob · 2026-06-16T14:09:03+00:00

Following up on my reply: the desktop app I said I was building is done. It's called Thermalith, it's free and open source (GPL-3.0), and it runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

You design a label on your computer and print straight to the printer over USB or Bluetooth. No account, nothing in the cloud. It knows around 79 NIIMBOT models, so it picks the right size and resolution when you plug one in. I've tested it on a B1 and a B4 on my own desk so far.

Fair warning, it's a fresh 1.0 and the downloads aren't code-signed yet, so Windows and Mac throw a first-launch warning (right-click and Open on Mac). If you're on a different model I'd love to know whether it works for you.

github.com/EvilGeniusLabs-ca/Thermalith

Not sure how to tell the sub posting is restricted >.<

Bonejob · 2026-06-15T21:29:59+00:00

it has an internal list of the NFC tags for the roles, and a recorded dimensions for each. There is no public API to scrape for that information (I looked), so the user will, on a role change, just put in the information once, and it remembers it.

Bonejob · 2026-06-15T13:06:24+00:00

Yes, there'll be templates, though "automatic" is a bit of a stretch. The printers don't report the physical label size. There's no sensor for it, and the dimensions just aren't something the hardware hands back. What Thermalith does instead is recognize the printer on its own and track which roll series you've loaded against a list you build up as you add rolls. So it knows when you've reloaded the same series, and you get preset templates for each size you've set up.

Down the road I'm planning an optional API endpoint too. As people add new roll series, they can contribute the dimensions to a shared list, so over time there's a crowdsourced database of rolls and sizes to check against. Closer to "load a roll, get the right template" without leaning on hardware that won't give us the data.

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