Here’s my list of Windows apps I own and use every day (a lot more than 3):
http://www.kinook.com/blog/?page_id=14
I’m a big fan of CSDiff from ComponentSoftware.
http://www.componentsoftware.com/products/csdiff/download.htm
It’s a great DIFF program that presents your changes inline, rather than side-by-side. It’s different than traditional diff. I use this along with Winmerge.
iTunes is malware. I downloaded QuickTime, and I find that the automatic update for QuickTime keeps trying to install iTunes on my system. But I don’t want iTunes, I just want the frequent security fixes for QuickTime. Any app which installs itself is malware in my book.
As a former Mac partisan of some public prominence, I shocked many when after doing some Windows work I started to say Windows itself isn’t crap and it’s not impossible to build good applications for it. In fact, I said, what the Mac has going for it is primarily cultural; it’s the application developers who suck less. The crap ratio on the Mac really, honestly is a lot less than 90%, though as JA points out, that doesn’t mean there’s more good Mac software than there is Windows software. Whether it’s better to be a Windows partisan or a Mac partisan is, as always, a matter of what you need from a computer, but I think it’s a far better option to be a partisan for neither and focus on the quality of the apps you use.
Wow, I just finished reading those articles… There’s somebody who doesn’t know anything about what they’re preaching against. I don’t even know what flaws to point out in his argument, it’s just crazy!
One of the good OS X apps I’ve seen lately is iShowU ( http://shinywhitebox.com/home/home.html ), which is a lot cheaper than Snapz Pro X and offers a lot of the same options.
Not all of us Mac developers are driving Elises, though I’d take one if one were offered – certainly a trade up from a beat-up Golf.
Expresso and Regex Buddy? Try Regulazy and Regulator.
If you don’t like the mouse, you will love SlickRun (more than just app launcher).
Also, if you don’t have a PDA, Chaos Manager is very useful.
Kudos to Jeff.
Always check www.tinyapps.org for any utility first. The software is typically freeware, and most do not require any form of Windows installation.
I think the difference between Windows users and Mac users is that Mac users are using a product specifically designed for them, while Windows users are using the lowest common denominator.
Patrons of a high-end or niche restaurant are going to be more satisfied than an Applebee’s patron, but they have different missions. Applebee’s has to be accessible to a great number of people; the Canadian fried sushi restaturant doesn’t.
http://www.csoftlab.com/Diary.html for Advanced Diary - really nice diary software
http://www.fineprint.com/ for managing any print job
http://www.testdriven.net for doing Test Driven Development. It’s more expensive than $20 but still worth every penny.
Even for the “free” apps, please consider contribute some money to the author!
Beyond Compare is the mutt’s nuts.
Other must haves:
Source Insight
Notetab
Forte Agent
Small guys I’ve supported with my dollar:
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As we speak I’m using FeedDemon to read this. Great RSS feed reader.
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You could say I support the “smaller guy” because I also use Borland’s Delphi to write Win32 desktop apps.
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Winamp, and was using it even before AOL acquired it. Paid for the Pro version to get full-speed ripping and was worth every penny.
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WinAVI Video Converter does a great job of transcoding media.
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Mp3Tag is my music tagger of choice and it rocks.
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ColorCop for picking colors from anywhere on the screen, small, clean UI that does exactly what it’s suppost to and does it well.
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Snippet Compiler, serious one of the great .NET tools for playing around with bits of code.
Even though I’m a Linux bigot, I very quickly paid up for a few Windows apps that make my everyday life /so/ much better:
www.getright.com/ – sophisticated but easy download manager. I even use it on broadband.
www.musicmatch.com/ – great MP3 jukebox
Life is too short to not pay for wonderful software.
FAR Manager
http://farmanager.com/
Paid and registered not only at home, but also at my last two working places. I start my day by starting it, and end the day when closing it. I don’t even know how to use Windows Explorer anymore 
And if you cannot donate money for the application you like, maybe it is open source. Donate some time and add a feature, or fix a bug (and submit it, of course
Buzof (Annoying Windows Eliminator)
http://www.basta.com/ProdBuzof.htm
Directory Opus (Windows Explorer replacement - great! It also replaces (if you don’t have any better): picture viewer, audio player, ZIP archiver, file/folder synch tools, FTP client, File Renaming, and a lot more …
http://www.gpsoft.com.au/Intro.html
The highest compliment you can pay any piece of shareware software is to simply use it, because it’s worth using.
Just gave to Maxthon http://www.maxthon.com - Best browser (for me at least) and most used software. Been meaning to donate for a while.
Right on! I love it. In fact I just posted a love letter to Beyond Compare yesterday which fits the bill perfectly. I love it!
http://nancyfolsom.wordpress.com/2006/11/30/beyond-compare-isbeyond-compare/
(Like your blog a lot, thanks for writing it.)