We send Valentines to these tools we love
Roses are red
Violets are blue
I'm sending my love
To my favorite tool.
Unity 3d Game Engine
Bill O'Toole, Customer Engagement
Unity3D is a game development engine. It has an asset store full of programming scripts and 3D models. If you're a programmer, but don't have an artist to create 3D models, you can purchase assets to bring a pleasing aethetic to you game. If you're an Artist, and don't have a programmer, you can buy frameworks developed by dedicated programmers. And the engine is written in my favorite programming language: C#!
Chainsaws
Evan Wright, Digital Marketing Manager
The first month I moved into my house, a tree fell on my neighbor's fence. I quickly upgraded from an axe to a large chainsaw to ensure that no more trees caused me neighborly dissonance. Needless to say, my yard has far fewer trees now, and the remaining ones know better than to fall down.
Ink to Code
Kelley Ricker, XAML Product Manager
Ink to Code disrupts the UI design process by turning your rough sketches of UI design into actual usable code. A designer can sketch out the basic design of a UI, and Ink to Code can translate it into XAML markup used for a UWP or Xamarin app. Right now it's only an early proof of concept of the idea (admittedly a very cool idea), but in the future this could drastically change how we approach designing UI.
K-Type Mechanical Keyboard
Christian Gaetano, Web Developer
As someone who loves to write not only code but also everything from technical blogs to short stories, I spend a lot of time clicking away at a keyboard. Even though mechanical keyboards are often associated with PC gaming these days, I'd argue that they're even more valuable for writers and developers. There's just something about the added tactile feedback that makes you feel that much closer to whatever it is you're creating. Forged from the feedback of the internet's biggest keyboard community, I think the K-Type offers the best build quality in an approachable format for any level of mechanical keyboard user.
Brain.FM (iOS and Web App)
Kurt Sterling, Account Manager
Brain.FM is, hands-down, the single best productivity tool I've ever used. These state-of-the-art bi-nural beats (electronic music) help keep me locked in and focused during those times of high productivity. I use the app every day to help me focus on the task at hand. Beyod productivity, there are options for Relaxation, Meditation, and Sleep. The Relaxation options are awesome for the drive home and for winding down at the end of the day.
Find & Replace in Visual Studio
Chris Bannon, Global Product Manager, Wijmo
One of the most satisfying things for me to do is to apply a huge set of changes across many projects and files. The Find & Replace tool in Visual Studio is perfect for doing it. You can filter the files by type, location and more. You can also use regex when searching for fragments in a file. I've applied some serious product-wide changes to Wijmo this way. And its really satisfying to get it configured and let VisualStudio do all of the tedious work for you.
Excel PivotTable & PivotChart
Eric Peng, Global Product Manager, ComponentOne
Pretty easy to summarize, analyze, explore, and present summary data by using variety visualizations. So that you can easily see comparisons and trends of your data from different perspectives.
Dremel MultiMax Oscillating Tool
Chris Karkowsky, Web Developer
As a new homeowner who's constantly renovating something, I use this tool with most every project. It can cut through galvanized fencing, sand doors, and pull up tile with ease. I have yet to find something it can't do.
Bulk Rename Utility
Jody Handley, Product Marketing Manager
I spend a lot of time building blogs, organizing images, and optimizing filenames. It's not glamorous, but the Bulk Rename Utility has all the bells and whistles: lowercase or uppercase. Prefixes and suffixes. Replace characters. Even the dreaded RegEx! I use it at least twice a week and I'd lead a far more annoyed life without it.
Side note: I originally wrote down White Noise App, and saw that Kurt had also suggested one. And then Find and Replace, which Chris Bannon also suggested. We're all alike on the inside, aren't we, folks?
Happy Valentine's, all! I hope all your tools bring you much joy and relaxation today.
