Below a list of tools I use today. If you’re like me, you check them out and add the ones you like to your own toolbox.

Image courtesy of vectorolie / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Environment

Chocolatey, installation automation. I’ve written about it before on my blog. (See posts)
F.lux, it makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, on mac this is build into the OS
7-zip, the new standard in compressing files
DropBox, file share/sync between computers and the internet
Chrome, best browser today
AdBlock for Chrome, blocks adds in chrome

Productivity

Powershell, the automation solution from microsoft
RescueTime, background logging of where you spend your time
Wunderlist, task list on every platform
Wunderlist parser, convert a plain list of items into wunderlist items
IFTTT, automate the internet
Trello, collaboration tool that uses boards and cards. I’ve written some small automation scripts for my uses. (Post)
Pocket, my preferred read later list, available on all platforms
Evernote, remember everything. I use it for my GTD technique called The secret weapon.
1Password, my password is CTRL + \
Autohotkey, run macro’s on keyboard shortcuts like CTRL+ALT+5 types €

Development

Visual Studio 2017, the best IDE out there
NuGet, source of all the good in the world
Visual Studio Gallery, extend visual studio
Ghostdoc, CTRL+SHIFT+D to comment your code, that simple
Specflow, cucumber for .net for behavior driven development (BDD)
Just Decompile, see the code of .net assemblies
Fiddler, log http calls via this proxy
Wireshark, deep logging of network traffice
SourceTree, my preferred git tool with advanced branching support
Notepad++, notepad on steroids
BrowserStack, test webpages on any platform, live or automated
Selenium, webbrowser automation, also runs on browserstack
Sqlite studio, manage Sqlite files
Azure Storage Explorer, browse and manage Azure Storage
Snoop WPF, spy on WPF
Pester, test and mock framework for PowerShell.

Misc

ZoomIt, I use this in all my demos to zoom
Bit.ly, url shortener service
windirstat, see what is hogging your hard disk space
prey, install and forget, until you need it
Gifcam, screen recorder with animated gif support
Notebook fancontrol, see processor temperature and set the fan speed

Mac

Cyberduck, connect to anything
DaisyDisk, see what is hogging your hard disk space
Type2phone, make my mac a Bluetooth keyboard for iPad or AppleTV
Handbrake, convert movies
1Password, my password is ⌘ + \
Little snitch, monitor network traffic coming from your mac
HyperDock, preview windows from the dock
Alfred, spotlight replacement with lots of options
Parallels, the virtualisation solution for mac
Sublime Text, very complete text editor for code
Visual Studio Code, code editor for any platform
Gimp, freeware photo editor with all the bells and whistles you’ll need

iPhone/iPad

Tweetbot, easy twitter client with pocket integration
Workflow, automate tasks, like send ETA and navigate home
Spark, handles my e-mail and offers tasks like send to evernote or pocket
Pocket, I do my reading mostly on iPhone or iPad
Duet, use your iPad as an extra screen
Lightningtalktimer, timer app that changes appearance with time passed

Some of the tools cost money, some are free, some offer paid options. If it saves you time or improves your work, why not support the developer that made it possible?

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