Download Pick: Windows Powershell

Microsoft at TechEd 2006 announced the general availability of Windows Powershell. A powerful scripting language.
SEE:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/management/powershell/default.mspx

Here is a quote from Bill Laing:

Windows PowerShell is a new command-line shell and scripting language that helps IT professionals achieve greater productivity, more easily control system administration and accelerate automation, and does not require a background in programming. Another major benefit to customers is that it works with existing scripts such as VBScript and Perl, and IT infrastructures including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and future operating-system versions – including Windows Server "Longhorn" – thereby offering long-term investment protection to customers.

A number of other Microsoft products work with Windows PowerShell to improve efficiency and productivity, including Exchange Server 2007, System Center Operations Manager 2007, System Center Data Protection Manager V2 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager. We are also seeing partners adopting Windows PowerShell including FullArmor, /n Software, PowerGadgets and Quest Software.

We've heard positive feedback from customers so far, and we're pleased to have a customer – MySpace – attending IT Forum this year to share their experience. Allen Hurff, vice president of engineering at MySpace, has said that the benefit of adopting Windows PowerShell is that ad-hoc tasks that used to take the company upwards of 10 minutes can now run in five seconds or less, all the while providing better reporting, greatly-increased accuracy and much less manual labor.

Windows PowerShell can be downloaded today at www.microsoft.com/powershell/download.

Microsoft also announced the release candidate for Windows 2003 Service Pack 2 at the show.