Tools

[This page really needs to be updated. A lot has happened since I first wrote it. I don’t own a Mac anymore and I have 40 odd items in my ‘NewPC’ folder on my NAS.]

Inspired by Scott Hanselman the below is a list of the (few) tools, utilities and programs I would not be without. It is a mix of Windows and Mac tools as I use a Mac at home and mostly Windows professionally.

  • All the tools from Sysinternals. I especially use Process Explorer and ZoomIt, but they are all great.
  • .NET Reflector. You know it. Great tool for e.g. static analysis and tons of other stuff.
  • ReSharper. Haven’t really used ReSharper all that much, but I really like it and it is a definite productivity boost. There is also CodeRush which does the same; and is free, if I understand correctly.
  • NDepend. Amazing utility that does dependency analysis on .NET applications.
  • Regulator. Really great tool by Roy Osherove for doing RegEx. Syntax highlighting and lots of other features.
  • TrueCrypt. Free open-source encryption software for Windows and Mac. You can encrypt whole partitions or create virtual encrypted disks. A very nice feature is the ability to create hidden volumes (steganography).
  • Password Safe. Keep your passwords securely encrypted on your computer. A secure password is, almost be definition, impossible to remember. Don’t try to; use Password Safe instead. Designed by Bruce Schneier.
  • Fiddler. Different from WireShark, Fiddler can sniff SSL trafic. Install both, though.
  • Windows Live Writer. Does not really need any presentation. I primarily use it when pasting code into the blog-posts
  • EditPlus and Notepad2. These are two really great text editors and something you cannot live without. EditPlus costs money, where Notepad2 is free.
    • I am now using Notepad++. Really great editor and it had a base64-decoder, which I needed.
  • FileZilla. Really nice FTP client for the Mac.
    • I have recently begun to use Cyberduck. A really nice client for FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Cloud Files and Amazon S3.
  • Delicious Library. Best catalog software around. Did a blog post about it. It is for the Mac, but then again, is that not what people are using these days?
  • MacTex. I admit it: I love TeX or rather LaTeX and through out university I did all my papers and my master thesis using LaTeX. Now I’m on the Mac and here you use MacTex. Best distribution around. Not that I’m writing a lot of scientific papers these days, but why should that stop you from having the software. Just in case …
  • WMware Fusion. Run Windows on your Mac. I know it sounds like a contradiction of terms, but I still use Visual Studio and home banking and other stuff that only works under Windows. The solution is Fusion – at the time of writing in version 3. Instead of being irritated about it, I just enjoy Windows on my 24″ iMac.
  • QuickSilver must be the coolest app for the Mac OS. It lets you reach any program, folder or file in a few keystrokes.
  • Snippet Compiler. Excellent tool that compiles snippets. Versions available up until .NET 3.5
  • Ammyy. Required tool if you do collaboration across mutiple geographical locations. Also great for helping the elder generation in the family with their computer problems.
  • Dropbox. Simple and elegant file/sync tool. Sync files between computers and mobil devices.
  • IDrive. Online backup. Features include automatic backup, true archiving, versioning, continous backup, mapped drive backup and more. Works for both Windows and Mac and exists in a Lite-version for the iPhone.
  • Evernote. “Remember everything” they say in the add, and it is true. Put in thoughts, ideas, inspiration, things to remember, … Enter text or snap a photo and search both later.
  • LINQPad. Tired of SQL Management Studio? Use LINQPad instead. Support for C# 3.0 and .NET 3.5.
  • mRemote. Great remote control software if you need to access a lot of servers.
  • TestDriven.NET. The Zero Friction Unit Testing Add-In for Microsoft Visual Studio. Support for all the major unit testing frameworks.

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