Scott Hanselman's 2014 Ultimate Developer and Power Users Tool List for Windows

Scott Hanselman groups the utilities he uses most into categories such as core Windows tools, developer software, browser add-ins, launchers, low-level utilities, and tools for bloggers. He also points out that Windows 8.1 includes many features that used to require extra utilities.

Reading notes

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• The list is meant to cover utilities he uses regularly and says he would not recommend tools he does not use constantly.
• Chocolatey, Boxstarter, TeraCopy, AutoHotKey, 7-Zip, Dropbox, and Windows Live Writer are among the core tools he highlights.
• He says Windows 8 and 8.1 already include things like antivirus, firewall, partition manager, ISO mounting, startup management, multiple-monitor taskbars, and virtual machine creation.
• The Windows 8 store section includes apps such as OneNote, Google for Windows 8, Bing Translator, Comixology, Fresh Paint, Movie Moments, and TuneIn Radio.
• The .NET developer section covers PowerShell, LINQPad, MarkdownPad 2, scriptcs, Web Essentials, GitHub for Windows, dotPeek, ILSpy, ReSharper, Fiddler, Postman, WinMerge or Beyond Compare, NuGet, and related tools.
• The launchers section mentions SlickRun, SlimKeys, Promptu, Enso, Colibri, and Launchy, but notes he is personally using Windows 8.1 and no longer relies on a third-party launcher.
• The low-level section includes boot discs, Sysinternals tools, Wireshark, Process Explorer, cURL, HandBrake, and other diagnostic or recovery utilities.
• He also lists web tools and bookmarklets for testing, design, search, validation, and browser debugging, plus feed readers, writing tools, and Chrome extensions.