Visual Studio 2008 delivers on Microsoft's vision of enabling developers and development teams to rapidly create connected applications with compelling user experiences for Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, mobile devices and the Web. Beta 2 is here!

A user interface design tool for creating rich graphical interfaces for web and desktop applications that blend the features of these two types of applications. Expression Blend is itself written using the .NET Framework 3.0 and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Expression Blend is effectively an interactive, WYSIWYG front-end for designing XAML-based interfaces for WPF and Silverlight (Blend version 2.0 onwards).

The goal of the Subversion project is to build a version control system that is a compelling replacement for CVS in the open source community. Additional tools I use and recommend: TortoiseSVN graphical interface and AnkhSVN add-in for Visual Studio.

For a person raised with the earliest versions of DOS and Norton Commander, the only choice to feel comfortable is an orthodox file manager, Total Commander. Some features include a built-in FTP client, file compare, archive file navigation, and a multi-rename tool.

Unofficial TotalCmd page

Miranda IM is a smaller, faster, easier instant messenger with support for multiple protocols. Miranda IM is designed to be resource efficient and easy to use while still providing many features including support for AIM, Jabber, ICQ, IRC, MSN, Yahoo, and more. Supplemented by hundreds of plugins and other content, Miranda IM is very flexible and provides many avenues for customisation.

A popular email client that allows to work with unlimited number of the mailboxes, has powerful sorting filters, fully customizable message templates, Mail Dispatcher and many more other features.

I use the Bayes Filter Plugin that resolves the problem of spam for good.

The award-winning Web browser is now faster, more secure, and fully customizable to your online life. With Firefox 2, we've added powerful new features that make your online experience even better.

I use numerous Firefox plugins, among which I especially recommend Flashblock, Mouse Gestures and Download Statusbar.

XnView is a multi-platform software used for viewing, converting and manipulating graphic files. It supports more than 400 image file formats, is free of charge for private usage and easy to use.

Foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include full Unicode support, ReplayGain support and native support for several popular audio formats.

SourceForge.net is the world's largest Open Source software development web site, hosting more than 100k projects and over 1M registered users with a centralized resource for managing projects, issues, communications, and code.

The leading online community for game developers of all levels, from the green beginner to the seasoned industry veteran. Over 350k registered members, frequently updated developer news, thousands of articles, amazingly active forums.

Microsoft .NET Framework Community (Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Workflow Foundation, Windows Cardspace).