Created 4 February 2007, last updated 12 May 2009

This is a summary of the various pieces of software I regularly use. For the most part, links here are to blog posts I’ve written about them, but some links are direct to the software page.

Windows

I use Windows, primarily out of familiarity and habit. Here are extras I use to augment Windows:

• Cygwin, for adding dozens of useful Unix utilities.
• John’s Background Switcher, for displaying pretty pictures on my desktop.
• TaskSwitchXP improves the Alt-Tab behavior so you can see what program you are switching to.
• Taskbar Shuffle lets me rearrange my taskbar icons.
• Launchy is an unobtrusive launcher similar to Quicksilver.
• TweakUI gives you a bunch of control panels Windows doesn’t provide.
• DisplayFusion provides nice support for multiple monitors.
• SpeedFan monitors CPU temperatures.
• AutoHotkey remaps keys to change the compromises on laptop keyboards.
• SpyBot is great at finding and eradicating malware of all sorts.
• SpaceMonger is a tree map showing where your disk space is going.
• TrueCrypt provides encrypted mountable disks.

Special mention to Sysinternals’ tools, which are always the Cadillac in their class:

• Process Explorer is a Task Manager on steroids.
• Autoruns shows you what will run when you start Windows.
• Process Monitor tracks file and registry access in real time.

Internet

For surfing, I use Mozilla Firefox, with these add-ons:

• Greasemonkey for writing extension scripts for other people’s sites.
• Tab Mix Plus adds more options to how browser tabs work.
• SwitchProxy makes living with proxies easier.
• Download Statusbar puts download progress in the status bar instead of a dialog.

While developing web sites, these Firefox add-ons are great:

• Firebug is an amazing in-browser debugger.
• TamperData lets you inspect and modify HTTP requests and responses.
• YSlow analyzes pages and recommends changes to improve their speed.
• Web Developer adds a huge number of helpful utilities.
• Remove Cookies for Site helps while testing.

My other communication tools:

• Thunderbird for email.
• Bloglines for reading RSS feeds.
• Pidgin for instant messaging.
• Twhirl for following Twitter.
• FileZilla for FTP transfers.
• PuTTY for secure terminals.

Development

Tools I use for writing software:

• Python as language of choice.
• Subversion for legacy source control.
• Mercurial for new source control, especially with Bitbucket project hosting.
• Beyond Compare, an impeccable file comparison tool.
• Komodo Edit for lightweight text editing.

Graphics

My go-to apps for graphics work:

• GIMP for graphics editing.
• Lightroom for photo storage and tweaking.
• @icon sushi for manipulating Windows icons.
• CoolRuler, a handy pop-up pixel ruler.
• ZoomPlus, a well-executed screen magnifier, with measurement and clipboard support.

Toys

Little doodads that don’t do anything useful, but I enjoy having on hand:

• Golly, an amazing implementation of Conway’s Game of Life.
• Xaos, a realtime fractal zoomer.
• Aptus, my own Mandelbrot renderer.
• Chaoscope, a strange attractor display program.

See also

• My blog, where many reviews of other tools appear from time to time.