Though my general OS of choice is Debian Linux, it’s not practical for everything. At my office, for instance, I run Windows to make use of most of my industry’s programs (which are not cross-compiled for multiple OSes). However, using Linux so often leaves me with a frustrating desire at times for something more powerful when I am in Windows, and craving certain tools. The more I began to think about this, the more deficient Windows became to me – and I longed for a solution outside of “Well, then go install Linux!” At times, that’s simply not an option.

At the same time, many Windows users don’t know what they’re missing if they’ve never worked with Linux – things like virtual desktops and command pipes have not even begun to find their way into Windows, and I can’t understand why. The development community has certainly not ignored them, though – so I’ve taken a few minutes to outline a few tools that a Windows user can make use of to help bring some power back to the desktop.

You may have never heard of or thought about these types of tools – they may very well be solutions looking for problems to an average user that has spent much of life in a Windows world. But I promise you – spend some time with a few of them (especially the virtual desktops!) and you’ll begin to find yourself integrating them into your workflow and hopefully being more productive because of it.