Have a Favorite Tool? Tell Me About It and Possibly Win $100

In last month's issue of Scripting Central (http://www.windowsitpro.com/Windows/Article/ArticleID/93087/93087.html), David Gray shared two freeware programs he created: WinDummy (which helps debug calls to external programs) and WWSimStatus (which lets you simulate any status code generated by an external program). Undoubtedly, many readers will find these utilities handy.

The Internet is home to many other free utilities that are also helpful to scripters. However, because the Internet is so vast, scripters often don't know about the various tools available. To help bring to light handy utilities that scripters might want to add to their scripting toolkit, Scripting Central is running a contest.

To participate, just send me an email message that includes a list of the utilities you often use in your scripting endeavors. Here are the conditions:

The utility must be freeware or shareware.

Because many people already know about the various Microsoft utilities, please don't include any Microsoft tools.

You must be able to use the utility in a script or code snippet (in any scripting language) or at the command line.

For each utility, please include the utility's title, where you can download the utility, and a short explanation of why you find the tool handy.

Don't put off sending me your list--I need to have it by Friday, September 15, at the very latest. After I receive your list of favorite utilities, your name will be entered in a drawing for $100.

In the October 6 issue of Scripting Central, I'll share the results with you. Equally important, I'll announce the lucky winner of the drawing.