The Tools I Use

Update

This is a nice snapshot of the tools I used in 2012. Going forward visit the Uses page to see the most up-to-date list of apps, websites, and other tools I prefer to use on a day-to-day basis.

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I have written a post like this before, but that was 2009 and I was using Windows 7. I have since switched to Linux and then OSX, so I figured it would be a good time to visit the topic again.

Here are the applications and tools I use:

• PyCharm: I spend the majority of my days in this application. For a long time I wasn't a fan of IDE's, but this one does so much for me and makes me a better programmer. I can't imagine working without it now.
• Chrome: My browser of tools. I guess really this is the most used app on my computer. I love the developer tools as well. It took me a while to give up Firebug, but once I did, there has been no reason to open other browsers.
• iTerm2: I prefer this terminal app to the default in OSX.
• Tower: I jump back and forth between GUI and CLI for git, but I'll be honest, I'm a GUI kind of guy and I love using tower - especially for reviewing code changes before I commit.
• DiffMerge: This is the merge tool I have integrated with Tower. It makes merging conflicts so much easier. Until BeyondCompare becomes available for the Mac, this is the best I could find.
• PgAdmin3, Base, Sequel Pro: GUI tools for working with databases.
• LimeChat: For all my IRC communication.
• Adium: For instant messaging (Google Talk mainly)
• Tweetbot: Yes, I bought a twitter client. It is that good.
• Jing: For quickly making screenshots and screencasts under 5 minutes to use add clarity to Trac & YouTrack tickets.
• Camtasia or ScreenFlow: For more professional screencasts. (Camtasia for Mac is not nearly as good as Camtasia for Windows)
• Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Pixelmator: Image editing tools as needed.
• Optimal Layout: To help manage my window layout.
• MySpeed: For speeding up online videos.
• Dropbox: If you use more than one computer you should have a dropbox account.
• Evernote: I use it, but not as much as everyone raves about it.
• Picasa: For managing all my personal photos. Love that I have the same experience on Windows, Linux & Mac.

There are other apps, but nothing I use enough to write home about.

Also, there are web apps I use quite frequently that should also get a shout out:

• Inzolo: My virtual envelope system of budgeting. I wouldn't generally toot my own horn, but I use this almost daily. I may be moving to a new budgeting system soon though ;)
• BitBucket: Not quite as popular as GitHub, but I love that they have free private repos! Plus they seem to be improving month after month. No regrets moving all my private repos here.
• GitHub: Our Git repository of choice at work.
• StackOverflow: Generally I find the answers to programming questions here first.
• Then there are the old standbys: Gmail, Google, YouTube, Facebook, etc.