Another belated traditional post. I had not expected my perspective on best to change and adapt so much from year to year, yet it does.
Curiously this year I had probably lost more software titles in worthy list then I gained. With some I parted on good terms (MyDefrag is not needed for SSD), with others - not so much (FeedDemon was my favorite). Less time spent fixing computers means less repair tools. I also find myself more open to the web apps (doesn’t meant that my reservations against those are gone).
Dropbox had merged with my computer usage so much that it just feels like part of Windows. I have trouble remembering time when it wasn’t humming in tray. For me it is that perfect mix of new capabilities of cloud and whatever with respect for eternal concept of file system.
CCleaner remains that utility that just works and earns it fame in a world of alternatives that try do same, but mostly suck at that. It is as snappy as reliable as always.
Cobian Backuponly sees more usage by month for me. Powerful and reliable backup software - the only issue with such is coming up with yet another idea what and where is worth backing up. My latest addition is couple of multi-gigabyte folders on two week incremental schedule.
FlashFolder is eternal gem of underknown software. No other application had ever managed to save me as much time on wandering around hard drives.
Ketarin remains tricky toy to handle, but time spent figuring it out is one of the best investments I continuously make. I had only increased my usage of it to track even more software and make it automagically update many software titles. The magic of portable and command line.
Opera is still my browser of choice. Not all major features are my favorites and I had not been entirely appreciative of interface experimentation. Yet it is still powerful, convenient and customizable browser that I use for so many years.
PhpStorm is my new work multitool. It is one of those amazing products when you are not stuffed with features for the sake of features. You are saved with features and functionality made to make your experience as smooth and productive as possible.
Total Commander is that file management experience that had drowned in my brain and mated with some basic reflexes deep down there. For me dealing with files just does not get easier or better than this.
Uniform Server is the local web development stack. I have tried way more stacks than I wanted to and this was, is and probably will be for a long time the one that I genuinely like and enjoy doing my work on.