Windows PowerShell 1.0 is Here, Unix Style Shell Scripting Now Possible in XP & Vista

If you are one of those frustrated Linux or Unix geeks who is forced to work in a Windows only environment, Microsoft offers you a new and powerful Windows scripting language called PowerShell that brings Unix style shell scripting to Windows Vista as well as XP and Windows 2003 platforms.

The new language supports features like pipelines (dir | more), command line calculations (11gb/700mb or 2*2) and even recursive commands (get-process p* | stop-process) - something that you have either seen in Unix or third-party addons like MKS Toolkit or Cygwin Utilities.

Windows Powershell 1.0 was just announced at ITForum in Barcelona. It is free and available as a separate download for your Windows copy.

Alex of Windows Vista blog has a more simple definition of Powershell. He describes Powershell as "If you haven't heard of Windows PowerShell before, think of it as an integrated version of the Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) and VBScript."

Though the old MS-DOS style command prompt will still be available in Windows Vista, Powershell could ultimately replace cmd.exe as it matures in the hicoming months.

Download Windows Powershell for Windows XP

How to Download Contacts from Facebook To Outlook Address Book

Facebook users are not too pleased with the "walled garden" approach of Facebook. The reason is simple - while you can easily import your Outlook address book and GMail contacts into Facebook, the reverse path is closed. There's no "official" way to export your Facebook friends email addresses or contact phone numbers out as a CSV file so that you can sync the contacts data with Outlook, GMail or your BlackBerry. Some third-party Facebook hacks like "Facebook Sync" (for Mac) and "Facebook Downloader" (for Windows) did allow you to download your Facebook friends' names, emails, mobile phone number and profile photo to the desktop but they were quickly removed for violation of Facebook Terms of Use. How to Download Contacts from Facebook There are still some options to take Friends data outside the walls of Facebook wall. Facebook offers the Takeout option allowing you to download all Facebook data locally to the disk (include

Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts for Power Users

All features in Mozilla Firefox browser are accessible through the use of the keyboard. You can use shortcut keys to view and save Web pages, search the web, open new webpages, work with bookmarks, or find text on the current webpage. Some of the most common keyboard shortcuts in Mozilla Firefox are Ctrl+N (to open a new Firefox window), Ctrl+T (to open a new tab), Ctrl+F4 (to close the current tab) and Ctrl+S to save the current webpage. Mozilla Firefox supports many more powerful keyboard shortcuts. For instance, by pressing a simple key combination, you can manually delete autocomplete entries from the Firefox location bar or Web forms. I am sharing a list of my favorite Mozilla Firefox Keyboard Shortcuts that make web browsing with Firefox even more fun . And you also save your precious time as navigating through several layers of Firefox Toolbar menus is no longer necessary. 1. Web Search Ctrl+K moves the cursor to the Search Bar. You can then type in the terms you wish to fin

Digital Inspiration

Digital Inspiration is a popular tech blog by Amit Agarwal . Our popular Google Scripts include Gmail Mail Merge (send personalized emails with Gmail ), Document Studio (generate PDFs from Google Forms ) and File Upload Forms ( receive files in Google Drive). Also see Reverse Image Mobile Search , Online Speech Recognition and Website Screenshots , the most useful websites on the Internet.

Digital Inspiration

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