I often enjoy trying out new software to see if it will improve my efficiency and productivity.

Currently, I develop with some very powerful tools. This article will outline the purpose of each, as well as highlight some pros and cons of the software I use for web development.

I use an Apple iMac (Intel) 24” glossy, 2.8 GHz Intel Core Duo. At a resolution of 1920 x 1200 px, I can have multiple windows open and usable. I also use a secondary Gateway 17” LCD display for even more space. This space is usually occupied by chat windows and FTP GUIs.

For text editing, I use TextMate. TextMate is by far my favorite application of all time. Its simplicity is priceless, and its robustness never ceases to amaze me. Every day I’m finding new stuff with TextMate that saves me hours and hours of time. Plus it’s just plain cool.

The native Terminal application for Mac OS X is great, too. Generally I’ll use this for SSH work and quick FTP transfers. I’m probably using the terminal for at least a few hours in a normal day. I highly recommend you check out the color scheme IR_Black, by InfiniteRed. There’s some instructions at the above link.

I use Panic’s Transmit for FTP transfers. By far Transmit is one of the favorites of all FTP-using Mac people.

In addition to the above development tools, I do dabble in the following applications:

• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Fireworks
• Firefox and the Web Developer Toolbar
• MAMP for a local environment