What are the tools you just can't live without.

[Joe Simes]

And tissues? :-\

The environment that nurtures creative programmers kills management and marketing types - and vice versa. - Orson Scott Card

[rnbergren]

Had never heard of Agent Ransack before. Interesting. I hate Winders search. http://www.mythicsoft.com/page.aspx?page=download&type=agentransack[^] For those who are interested.

To err is human to really mess up you need a computer

[rnbergren]

ah OneNote, Use it, forgot to mention it. Also, Evernote and Springpad come to mind. springpadit.com it is nearly as good as onenote, and works on more systems.

To err is human to really mess up you need a computer

[Bassam Abdul Baki]

A decent woman or an indecent one? :D

Web - BM - RSS - Math - LinkedIn

[Bassam Abdul Baki]

Get File Locator Pro. Totally worth it.

Web - BM - RSS - Math - LinkedIn

[wout de zeeuw]

7-zip GhostDoc Notepad++ Filezilla ftp client Inkscape Fiddler2 Expresso PowerISO

Wout

[M dHatter]

and pr0n

"I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones." Einstein "Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example." Mark Twain

[rnbergren]

I forgot to mention wget. I don't think I could live without that one.

To err is human to really mess up you need a computer

[Dan Neely]

Revolvers (and percussion cap antiques?) use a hammer to detonate the primer and fire the bullet.

3x12=36 2x12=24 1x12=12 0x12=18

[AspDotNetDev]

Towel.

[

S<T>::f(U) // Out of line.

](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/8yk3t00s(v=vs.71).aspx)

[PIEBALDconsult]

Getting attached to software that isn't likely to be pre-installed on a system you are likely to use is a bad idea. You should learn to make the most of the least. Having said that... Borland's command-line C/C++ MinGW C/C++ (the pre-compiler only really) ActivePerl QVTterm My command-line database (-agnostic) tool My XSLT utility A bottle of cheap tequila.

[dazfuller]

Hmm, for me it would have to be Bazaar VCS Process Hacker Google Chrome or Firefox with Firebug GNU on Windws (GoW) Python FreeCommander

[Jonas Hammarberg]

_Can_ live without but ... Total Commander 7-zip Boxer Process Explorer

[JulienV]

- PeaZip: free compressed files management - Paint .NET: Free image editor - inconfinder.com: site for finding icons - CD Burner XP: free CD/DVD burning application - Adobe Acrobat: Editing, signing, and publishing PDF files - Skype + PamFax: Communication with professionnel contacts - Documalis Free Scanner: Free application for scanning documents - File Renamer: free application for renaming multiple files - Filezilla : free application for FTP transfert - ComponentFactory Krypton Toolkit: Free controls for .NET software development - Subversion + TortoiseSVN: Free version control software - Paragon Backup and Recovery: Free disk imaging application - 2BrightSparks SyncBack: Free syncronization/backup tool - Daemon Tools Lite: Free ISO images manager - Devolutions RemoteDesktopManager: Free application for managing remote desktop connections - Inflectra SpiraTeam : Software quality management system (requirements, tests, incidents, etc)

[Spectre_001]

In addition to many of the tools mentioned in the other responces I ues Frhed (Free Hex Editor) to view the contents of binary files. And WinMerge as a stand alone text file comparison tool. Both are "Freeware".

Kevin Rucker, Application Programmer QSS Group, Inc. United States Coast Guard OSC Kevin.D.Rucker@uscg.mil "Programming is an art form that fights back." -- Chad Hower

[R Erasmus]

Word Web - Dictionary Convert - Converts Time - second, millisecond, etc. byte, megabyte, etc. Fast Stone Capture - Easy Print Screen App Hudson CI - Continuess Integration Beyond Compare - Compares files TextPad - In all its awesomeness Dia - A program for drawing structured diagrams. ( Freeware Visio ) Getright - Download Engine Bittorrent - Torrent Downloader Windows Media Player - For those long days Command Promt Advanced Renamer - Folder renamer VB Script - Automation CVS - Concurrent Versioning System Bugzilla - Log Bugs on Other: Cantata++ - Unit Testing Engine which runs on Eclipse Netbeans IDE - For my java plugin development Eclipse IDE - for my testing and C development work Doors

"Program testing can be used to show the presence of bugs, but never to show their absence." << please vote!! >>

[xiecsuk]

Isn't it amazing how quickly things deteriorate. And here's me thinking I was going to learn something. Roger Hampson

[Michael Kingsford Gray]

Visual Studio 2010 and 2008 (for PocketPC apps) SQL Server 2008 enterprise WinRar Snagit Thumbs+ InLage 4 + LaTeX Nero Adobe InDesign Office Pro Cool Edit Mozilla Thunderbird QuickPar TMPGEnc Pro

[dpminusa]

These are the most useful I have found. I have others that I use less frequently. I like to have several scanners. Each has strengths the others do not. I tried security essential but got tired of the fighting every time I installed another scanner. VirtualBox IZarc MalwareBytes SuperAntiSpyware SpyBot Spyware Doctor Glary Utilities Ccleaner Defraggler Recuva Macrium or DriveImageXML ImgBurn TrueCrypt ExtremeCopy Dependency Walker System Monitor System Internals I do have duct tape I borrowed from Red Green. But haven't need it since node.js came out.

"Courtesy is the product of a mature, disciplined mind ... ridicule is lack of the same - DPM"

[BubingaMan]

Resharper and Notepad++ immediatly come to mind...