Scott on Writing

Musings on technical writing...

Programs You Can't Live Without

Scott Watermasysk recently posted an entry asking for CSS book recommendations, in part due to the phenomenal response to an entry of his asking about FTP program recommendations.  Reading through the FTP program recommendations there were a lot of posts that read, “Check out FTP program X, I use it everyday and couldn't live without it!”  This got me interested in a number of FTP clients I had never even heard about, and prompted me to check out their homepages and even download and try out a few.

The wheels in my head began to turn, and I though that if one little post asking for FTP client recommendations could generate enough great suggestions to introduce me to a number of new FTP clients, imagine what wealth of information could be obtained if I asked for general “can't live without“ programs.  I just might learn about numerous programs previously unbeknownst to me that become essential programs in my toolbox.

This entry, then, is my open request to the small handful of people who read my blog: What software programs (short of the obvious ones like Outlook, Visual Studio .NET, Word, etc.) can you not live without?  Here is my list:

(In April 2004 I posted a somewhat related entry: What Programs Do You Have Running 24x7?)

posted on Sunday, August 22, 2004 10:50 PM

Feedback

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/22/2004 11:00 PM Tim P

SharpReader. That's how I'm reading this post. :)

http://www.sharpreader.net

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 12:11 AM AjarnMark

Newsgator, CuteFTP, TOAD (for when I have to do Oracle stuff), SQL QA (of course), PhotoThumb, and SciTE (which allowed me to stop banging my head against the wall when it showed me that an extract file had a series of LFs where CRLFs were expected). Oh, and does my T-Mobile WiFi account that lets me work from Starbucks count?

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 1:12 AM Marcus Mac Innes

Compiling this list was as easy as looking down at my QuickLaunch taskbar...

Reflector, ZoneAlarm to spot and stop outbounded network access, XmlSpy for the obvious, ReSharper (full of bugs, but still on the list), LLBLGen Pro (http://www.llblgen.com), ISORecorder, Mozilla for tabbed browsing and lastly... Chris Sells' UrlRun (http://www.sellsbrothers.com/tools/#urlrun).

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 2:40 AM StevenG

TopStyle Pro, the daddy of CSS editors!
The Regulator, quick and easy way to test regular expressions.

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 4:19 AM Dan H

First things I install: ZoneAlarm, Ad-Aware, and Spybot Search & Destroy, along with some type of AV software, of course.

The newest things I can't live without are 2 things added to Outlook: NewsGator and LookOut.

A couple of other psuedo-dev tools I find myself using quite often are Offline Commander and ASPRunner. Offline Commander is greate for creating a HTML "walkthrough" of an existing dynamic site (built in ASP, etc) for use as a presentation where there may not be Internet access. ASPRunner is an inexpensive little tool that is easy to use to create down and dirty database admin-type pages. I can't speak for the .NET version of the tool, but I have used the ASP version for a couple of years now.

Finally, my Intranet (http://www.diggersolutions.com) for tracking client/project hours. Definitely couldn't live without that.

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 5:09 AM Rajeev Gopal

Well, here is mine:

GOLDEN (one from Bethic Software) for Oracle.
XMLSPY (for XML stuff)
ZoneAlarm (my cute little firewall)

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 5:41 AM Nevada Williford

I love Vim (http://www.vim.org) for any type of text editing. Working on Unix systems for a couple of years I really got hooked on the vi editor. I guess people either love it or hate it. After getting used to using a modal editor it's hard to use anything else.

That being said I do the vast majority of my .NET coding in the xanadu of IDE's, Visual Studio .NET 2003. I know VS gets a lot of complaints for many different reasons. (I avoid the HTML Designer like the plague).

But honestly, VS is loaded with some great features that are not only cool, but can save you a lot of time as well. I only wish VS had a "vi mode" built-in for hardcore text editing. :-)

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 5:49 AM LuanMikeVu

Codewright visual editor in VI mode!
FileZilla
Gvim (on Sco/Xwindows)
ping & TraceRoute
Palm Apps on my Treo600/Samgsungi500

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 7:14 AM Milan Negovan

I can't live without Desktop Sidebar (http://www.desktopsidebar.com/). You can stuff it with a lot of useful tools. Here's a screenshot of my desktop: http://www.aspnetresources.com/images/desktop.png

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 8:23 AM Craig

I use MyIE2. It's Internet Explorer with the tabbed browsing. http://www.myie2.com/html_en/home.htm

# RE: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 11:20 AM Ryan Farley

TextPad - Text editor I would hate to give up. IMO far better than UltraEdit (http://www.textpad.com/)

RSS Bandit - Never a second without it open (http://www.rssbandit.org/)

UltraMon - If you use multiple monitors you'd be crazy/stupid/really missing out if you don't use UltraMon. It enhances the whole multiple monitor experience. I'd die without this one. (http://www.realtimesoft.com/ultramon/)

Milan mentioned SideBar. Since he mentioned that in his blog I've been hooked. I love that thing - although I might not like it so much if I only used a single monitor. I've developed a few custom panels for it already. (http://www.desktopsidebar.com/)

Skype - Best VOIP app I've ever used. I love it and get better sound quality than when I use a regular phone. I use it with people I work with in different parts of the country. (http://www.skype.com/)

Any tool from SysInternals - File Monitor, Registry Monitor, Process Explorer, Debug Output Viewer, etc. These come in handy troubleshooting apps. (http://www.sysinterals.com/)

The Regulator - Roy Osherve's awesome tool for creating regular expressions (http://royo.is-a-geek.com/iserializable/regulator/)

Interactive XPath Expression Builder - Aaron Skonnard's tool for evaluating the results of a XPath expression against an XML document. (http://www.pluralsight.com/tools.aspx)

Nero Burning ROM - CD/DVD burning software. Nothing else comes close IMO. (http://www.nero.com/)

Winamp - Gotta have the tunes playing, and no better player (http://www.winamp.com/)

And then there's the more known stuff: Visual Studio (of course), Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer, Wise for Windows Installer.

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 11:56 AM Alex

Reflector, SharpReader, TortoiseSVN, Winamp

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 2:03 PM ReallyVirtual

EditPlus
www.editplus.com

Does Google bar count? How about minesweeper? :-)

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 3:20 PM Brian Broom

I'll second xmlspy (especially since the "home" version is now free). I have used it mainly for xslt. Once you setup a xslt and xml file pair, you can hit F10 and redo the transform. Not quite debugging, but a quicker cycle. It also has a xsd designer that I haven't used at all, so can't vouch for it.

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 4:29 PM John

SlickRun, KatMouse (scroll any window under the mouse regardless whether in focus), CyberArticle (save any web page), Gaim (open source instant messenger), 1Time (countdown clock, timer), SnagIt, NetAnts

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 6:32 PM Milan Negovan

I've thought about it some more and have to add Unreal Tournament 2004. It's back on my computer. Somebody heeeeeeeeeelp! :)

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 6:40 PM irkregent

Some of my "gotta haves":
Proxomitron web filtering; I won't surf without it.
RunIt, freeware quick-launch tool (http://www.magister-lex.at/RUNit/). Easy to get to (by slamming the mouse against a screen border) but stays out of the way when not needed. Better than all the other such tools I've tried.
MouseImp (seemingly abandonware, search for it on Google), allows right-mouse-button click-and-drag scrolling on most scrollable Windows widgets. This is a definite gotta-have for me. Far more intuitive than a normal mouse scroll wheel. (Unfortunately, does not work with the non-native controls used in Mozilla projects and Opera.)
SlickRun (http://www.bayden.com/SlickRun/), a quasi-command line that eliminates a whole lot of mousing and clicking around.
PaneKiller (http://www.maddogsw.com/panekiller/), an awesome Windows Start Menu replacement tool. Well worth the $10 registration.

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 7:51 PM Chris Gastin

Ant - http://ant.apache.org/
Eclipse - http://www.eclipse.org/
Putty - http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/


Ok I am a java geek.

Chris Gastin
chris[at]gastin.com

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/23/2004 9:06 PM Josh Thuya

These are the ones:

- TextPad
- NDoc
- Reflector
- Resourcer
- FxCop
- More importantly Opera (the best browser, Complete with RSS reader, email client, tab browsing, popup blocker, etc.)
- Skype (www.skype.com) and
- XMLSpy

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/25/2004 4:28 AM Rob Williams

to second a few...

SharpReader
Regulator

and to add a couple...

Pixie - www.nattyware.com/pixie.html (this is an awesome super lightweight color grabber)
ITunes

and as an aside...

desktop sidebar... Windows Codename Longhorn anyone...?

# Is Asp.Net Toolbox dead? 8/25/2004 6:46 AM Big Jim in STL

One of the *sites* I thought I couldn't live without was

http://www.aspnettoolbox.com/

It appears to be dead. Scott, did you maintain this site, and if so, is it truly gone?

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/25/2004 8:07 AM Scott Mitchell

Big Jim, I changed the URL to http://www.dotnettoolbox.com quite a while ago... So just use that. :-)

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 8/25/2004 5:01 PM Darren Neimke

Notepad, IE, IM, VS

# Thanks! 8/26/2004 5:47 AM Big Jim in STL

Thanks for the update. I must have missed the original post about DotNetToolbox. I refer new folks coming in to our team to that site for a look at what you need in order to develop ASP.Net pages - FxCop, Data Access and Exception blocks, etc.

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 9/1/2004 11:55 PM Brian

LookOut http://www.lookoutsoft.com/Lookout/download.html

The best tool I've downloaded it a LONG time. It seems to be about 100x faster than Outlook's built in search feature.

Trillian Pro www.trillian.cc

Firefox when I need to actually read something after 14 hours of looking at a monitor Ctrl-+ anyone?

Time Warner Cable TV and Broadband

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 9/2/2004 10:49 AM Arif Khan

Now that we have received so many suggestions regarding the programs that are a necessity, how about a post regarding 'websites' that are an intrinsic part of one's daily life?

Just a thought.....

# Web Sites Can't You Live Without 9/2/2004 8:53 PM Scott on Writing

# Programs I can't live without 9/3/2004 3:13 PM ISerializable

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 9/4/2004 1:43 PM Karl

Firefox for decent browsing
Paint Shop Pro for web graphics & photos
Context for editing
AVG and Zone Alarm for security
SmartFTP for ease of use

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 9/8/2004 8:27 AM Churm

a couple here that most of u probably don't know yet, but i love these, and they ALL run from my USB Stick (except for Mambo):

Pears, the best opensource Python-based newsreader
http://come.to/project5

To-Do Manager, the best opensource Python-based to do list app:
http://todo-manager.sourceforge.net/

Snippets text database for code snippets
http://www.softcircuits.com/snippets/

Mambo, my fav opensource - LAMP web content management system:
http://mamboforge.net/



# RSS Feeds You Can't Live Without 9/23/2004 9:18 AM Scott on Writing

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 1/7/2005 1:52 AM Omar Al Zabir

Total Commander - Since 1998, it has changed my life. I have forgotten how to use Windows Explorer. This program makes anyone at least 3X more productive than before.

http://www.ghisler.com

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 3/4/2005 6:35 AM confused.brit

<b>notepad</b> - quicker then finding a pen on those tech support etc calls
<b>trillian</b> -though the current version is bug city on my pc
<b>realplayer</b>
<b>Nero burning ROM </b>
<b>wallmaster </b> -changes my wallpaper every 1/2 hr so i dont get bored while im staring into space trying to think (hard task indeed)
<b>photoimpression 4</b> nice graphics editing program - limited by the fact it cant edit gifs
<b>spyware guard</b> although the liveupdate doesnt work this appears to block the spyware
<b>ad-aware</b> just to varify the above is Still working!!!

# Scott Hanselman's Recommended Tools 6/28/2005 9:58 PM Scott on Writing

# re: Programs You Can't Live Without 9/6/2005 5:52 AM J

To Nevada Williford: (I hope you will forgive the (shameless) plug) - I also couldn't live w/o a vi-mode inside Visual Studio .NET and took the straight route: ViEmu is a (commercial) add-in that provides vi/vim emulation inside Visual Studio. You can check it and download a free trial at http://www.ngedit.com/viemu.html

Best!

# ambien 2/12/2006 1:31 AM Sakojew

Great place to visit! It was interesting.

Title:  
Name:  
Url:
Protected by Clearscreen.SharpHIPEnter the code you see:
Comments   

My Links

Ads Via DevMavens

Archives

Post Categories

 

I am a Microsoft MVP for ASP.NET.
I am an ASPInsider.
<March 2010>
SMTWTFS
28123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031123
45678910

Comment Stats

DayTotal% of Total
Sunday 2056.8%
Monday 42514.1%
Tuesday 51917.2%
Wednesday 55618.4%
Thursday 58019.2%
Friday 54718.1%
Saturday 1886.2%
Total 3020100.0%

Hour1Total% of Total
12:00 AM 782.6%
1:00 AM 812.7%
2:00 AM 682.3%
3:00 AM 822.7%
4:00 AM 692.3%
5:00 AM 1264.2%
6:00 AM 1193.9%
7:00 AM 1816.0%
8:00 AM 1926.4%
9:00 AM 1585.2%
10:00 AM 1886.2%
11:00 AM 1936.4%
12:00 PM 2016.7%
1:00 PM 1846.1%
2:00 PM 1695.6%
3:00 PM 1354.5%
4:00 PM 1153.8%
5:00 PM 1073.5%
6:00 PM 1013.3%
7:00 PM 1073.5%
8:00 PM 923.0%
9:00 PM 882.9%
10:00 PM 913.0%
11:00 PM 953.1%
Total 3020100.0%

Comments by Blog Entry Date/Time

Day Entry MadeAvg.Total
Sunday 5.00160
Monday 4.80384
Tuesday 4.04477
Wednesday 7.39680
Thursday 6.26676
Friday 5.07466
Saturday 4.78177
Total 5.403020

Hour1 Entry MadeAvg.Total
12:00 AM 5.2937
1:00 AM 1.002
5:00 AM 0.000
7:00 AM 3.8550
8:00 AM 3.72134
9:00 AM 6.06297
10:00 AM 5.63276
11:00 AM 4.22194
12:00 PM 6.16351
1:00 PM 3.09133
2:00 PM 4.89230
3:00 PM 7.67322
4:00 PM 4.00108
5:00 PM 6.07170
6:00 PM 4.64116
7:00 PM 8.95188
8:00 PM 8.63164
9:00 PM 5.00115
10:00 PM 6.31101
11:00 PM 4.5732
Total 5.403020

Learn More About Comment Stats
1 - All times GMT -8...


Blog Stats

Favorite Web Sites

My Books

My MSDN Articles