Fences

Fences allows you to create panels on your desktop that you can make scroll-able, hidden, etc.

allows you to rearrange your desktop easily

http://www.stardock.com/products/fences/

Notepad ++

notepad on Developer steroids - gives formatting color codes and multiple tab interface

http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

Unlocker

very simple - unlocker figures out why a file is inaccessible and then tries to unlock it if you wish

http://www.emptyloop.com/unlocker/