You do not need any specific software to be able to use the instructions in this book. Just use a modern Windows computer or Mac. You'll need the following tools as well, but it's completely up to you to choose the tool you like:
An FTP client, for instance, Filezilla.
Photo editing software for your images. Photoshop is often used, but expensive. Actually any editing tool that you know how to use should be able to deliver good results.
A text editor, such as Notepad++ (Windows) or Coda 2 (Mac).