As far as getting work done on the computer (I’m taking the computer for granted and not counting it as a tool, although for it all to come together it’s worth noting I use an Apple MacBookPro with 4GB of RAM) my top applications are:

1. Eclipse: my favorite Java IDE with a good set of plugins (JBoss Tools, MyEclipseIDE, WTP, Mylyn, and others)
2. iGTD:  a great GTD task manager for the Mac.  I use it for work, personal projects, home errands, etc…  I used to use KinklessGTD in OmniOutliner, but now I swear by iGTD.  The upcoming Omni Focus will have to bring something amazing to the table to get to me to pay to switch.
3. SSH/SCP/Terminal: I manage and deploy to many servers.  Being able to SSH into them and move files securely is critical.  I’m handy with the command line, bash scripting, and all that, so I end up doing things that way often.
4. Emacs: I can handle vi, but when I’m on a remote server making changes or looking through files trying to figure something out, Emacs is my favorite tool for the job.
5. Safari: I spend a lot of time on the web researching, reading, and looking at the applications I’m building.  I also use Camino, but Safari 3 is my favorite browser and is always open.
6. Adium: I love staying in touch with my friends, family, and co-workers.  Adium lets me keep in touch on AIM, Yahoo, MSN, GTalk, and more in a very nice application.
7. iTunes: Music helps me get into the zone and keeps me happy.  Plus I like to watch the occasional TV show:)
8. Pages: as an architect I often have to generate documentation around projects.  I also write letters (yes the non-e-mail kind).  Pages is a great word processor and making professional looking easy to read documents is a snap.
9. JBoss: JBoss is a fantastic application server.  It’s free, open source, fast, and powerful.
10. Postgres: Postgres is a database with all the great attributes I listed for JBoss.  I used to use MySQL but at the time I switched it was lacking many critical features (sub-selects, foreign keys, etc..).  After using postgres for a while, I haven’t looked back.

Those are the applications that I have running on my laptop basically 24/7 and I use each of them every single day.

What are yours?  I’m not trying to get into an emacs versus vi flamewar, but I’d like to hear about what applications get you through your day a little easier.

Just add this to your ~/.emacs file:

(setq auto-mode-alist
(append
'(("\\.war\\'" . archive-mode))
'(("\\.ear\\'" . archive-mode))
'(("\\.sar\\'" . archive-mode))
auto-mode-alist))

And you’ll get something that look like this:

emacs hudson.war