How to...
...Develop in your own Namespace
Start by making one or more Packages in your Namespace (e.g: /MYNS/Tools). Prefix every Object you create with your Namespace and assign it to one of your Packages. Here's the rub: When you try to transport it will check dependencies and will refuse you if you have referred to any Object not guaranteed to exist in any (not your particular) target System. This means you can only refer to SAP standard Objects (e.g: DATA LV_CARR_ID TYPE S_CARR_ID.) and your own Objects (e.g: ... IMPORTING IV_ABCDE TYPE /MYNS/ABCDE...). You cannot refer to Customer namespace Objects (e.g: CALL FUNCTION Z_JUNK_CREATEFROMDATA...) or other people's Namesace Objects (e.g: LV_LOCAL = /YOURNS/CLASS=>SV_ATTRIBUTE.) I learned this in 4.6C but I'm sure it still applies in 7.0.
...Liven up the MaxDB Icon in SAP Management Console
Look at https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/sdn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/6837 which tells you how to use the MaxDB Database Manager. In the SDN Subscription system you can only start it separately from SAP Management Console but the NW 7.0 Test Drive SAP MC has a version of it built in. You access it by clicking on the blue cylinder icon. Microsoft Management Console can start a web based application but MaxDB Database Manager is a Windows App. The previous version of MaxDB (7.5) had a WebTools application but it's not included in 7.6 yet. Google "MaxDB WebTools" to see a bunch of independent warnings of a security vulnerability, which I ignored. MaxDB WebTools is a web server that runs as a Windows service. You can configure it to start automatically. Once it's running, SAP Management Console will log into it.
Go to http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/maxdb/7.5.00.html and download the MaxDB 7.5 installer (94mb) to any drive on your SDN Subscription server. Get the documentation also. Read the WebTools part. Unzip the installer using "to here". Double-click on "SDBINST.exe". A DOS box will open and prompt you. Enter "8" for Web Tools. It will find the the right spot under the sapdb folder and install itself. The documentation will tell you how to start the service the first time. It says to edit the registry but there are two ".reg" files in sapdb\programs\web\config that do it for you. You probably only need "wa.reg" to make it work. You may still have to change the auto-start flag in the registry or in Windows services to get it to start by itself. Or you can start it yourself each time you reboot.
...Make WinHelp (.chm) show up
After Windows 2003 SP1 there's a security setting in the Registry you need to change to be able to see anything but the menus in HTMLHelp (fka WinHelp). See Note 857216 which refers to Microsoft KB article 896054. The answer in the end is to apply the registry patch in file saphelpfix.reg. Microsoft says editing the registry is dangerous but every install program does it. Download the file from here https://share.adobe.com/adc/document.do?docid=2d1c245e-9a37-11dc-8fe2-d702873d34e2 and double-click it. XP seems to have the problem also.
...Trick the Portal into thinking you have IE6
The Portal throws loads of errors if you run it in Explorer 7. There's a registry patch to improve the situation. Download the file from here https://share.adobe.com/adc/document.do?docid=db20131e-9e40-11dc-8fe2-d702873d34e2 and double-click it. I believe there's an OSS Note that explains this but I don't know its number.