Michael Holtzman discusses the advantages of using Visual Studio Code (VS Code) for developing JavaScript projects, particularly those involving Gatsby.js, and offers various tips, tricks, and extensions to enhance productivity. He emphasizes the importance of extensions like ESLint and Prettier for code linting and formatting, which streamline the development process by ensuring adherence to existing code standards. Holtzman also highlights the capabilities of VS Code's built-in debugger, which can be enhanced by the Debugger for Chrome extension, allowing for more effective runtime debugging. While the focus is on Gatsby.js, the practices and configurations mentioned are applicable to any modern JavaScript web project. Holtzman encourages developers to explore the VS Code Extensions Marketplace for additional plugins and to contribute to open issues on GitHub, leveraging the techniques shared to ease the authoring of fixes and new features.