My favorite software

As of March 16th 2023, my favorite software (besides from Simple DNS Plus) is:

Software Development tools

• esbuild - https://esbuild.github.io 2022
  Build tool / bundler for JavaScript, CSS, etc.

• Visual Studio 2022 - https://www.visualstudio.com
  Great IDE.

• Visual Studio Code - https://code.visualstudio.com
  Great IDE - for web, markdown, and lightweight stuff.

• Fork - https://git-fork.com
  Nice GUI Git client.

• NuGet Package Explorer - https://github.com/NuGetPackageExplorer/NuGetPackageExplorer
  For creating and maintaining NuGet packages.

• WinMerge - http://winmerge.org
  Great tool for comparing text files.

• SQLite Studio - http://sqlitestudio.pl
  For managing SQLite databases.

• Eazfuscator.NET - http://www.gapotchenko.com/eazfuscator.net
  Obfuscator for .NET code. So much better and more affordable than Dotfuscator.

• Advanced Installer - http://www.caphyon.com
  Nice MSI installer builder.

• Axialis Icon Workshop - http://www.axialis.com
  Great for converting/creating software icons.

• Talend API Tester - from Chrome Web Store
  Great for testing HTTP APIs.

Software development components / libraries

• Floating UI - https://floating-ui.com 2022
  JavaScript library for "floating" pop-ups, dropdowns, etc.

• zlib.js - https://github.com/imaya/zlib.js 2022
  JavaScript library for "zipping" data.

• EPPlus Free - https://github.com/rimland/EPPlus
  .NET library for creating Excel spreadsheets.

• SQLite - https://www.sqlite.org
  The best embedded database.

• Bootstrap - https://getbootstrap.com
  CSS framework for quick prototyping etc.

• PhotoSwipe - https://photoswipe.com
  Nice JavaScript library to show photos.

• HiQPdf - http://www.hiqpdf.com
  .NET library for creating PDF files.

• MarkDig - https://github.com/lunet-io/markdig
  .NET library for converting markdown to HTML.

• ClearScript - https://github.com/microsoft/ClearScript
  .NET library for running JavaScript.

• Swagger UI - https://swagger.io/tools/swagger-ui
  For web API documentation.

• Node.js - https://nodejs.org 2022
  For running JavaScript code.

Server software

• Certify SSL Manager - https://certifytheweb.com
  Software to automate installation and renewal of free Let's Encrypt SSL certificates on IIS / Windows Server.
  Of course it has an option to authenticate via DNS by updating DNS records in Simple DNS Plus :-)

• Syncthing - https://syncthing.net
  For backup and syncing files between devices.

• SoftEther VPN - https://www.softether.org
  Nice VPN server software.

• SmarterTrack - https://www.smartertools.com/smartertrack
  Help desk software - self hosted on Windows/IIS. I have been using this on and off for many years, and keep coming back to it.

Desktop software / Utilities

• SyncBackPro / SyncBack Touch - https://www.2brightsparks.com New in 2023
  Great for backup / syncing files / web-site deployment.

• ClipClip - https://clipclip.com
  Clipboard manager / screen shots.

• Notion - https://notion.so
  Notes, kanban boards, etc.

• Discord - https://discord.com 2022
  Nice (free) service for internal chat / communication (replaced Slack).

• KeePass Password Safe - http://keepass.info
  Great (free) program for storing passwords.
  Storing the (encrypted) password database on DropBox makes it easy to sync between computers and my (Android) phone.

• 7-Zip - http://www.7-zip.org
  Great for working with zip files and other compressed file archives.
  I primarily use this because the built-in function for creating zip files in Windows 10 doesn't work with file names containing non-english characters.

• TightVNC - https://www.tightvnc.com
  For remote control of Windows "Home" edition computers. Also does file transfers.

• CutePDF Professional - http://www.cutepdf.com
  I mostly use it for scanning to PDF files, and for merging multiple PDF files into one.

• TreeSize Free - https://www.jam-software.com/treesize_free
  Figure out what is using all that hard disk space.

• VirtualBox - https://www.virtualbox.org
  Virtual machine software for the desktop.

Photo / Video stuff

• PaintShop Pro - https://www.paintshoppro.com
  This is just a great all round photo processing app.
  I have used various version of Adobe's Photoshop and Lightroom, Affinity Photo, and Capture One, and they are all great programs. But PaintShop Pro hits the sweet spot between price and features for me.