Windows Gets a New Terminal (Linux Subsystem, PowerShell, CmdPrompt users will rejoice)

TechCrunch ^ | May 6, 2019 | Frederic Lardinois

[dayglored]

Windows 10 is getting a new terminal for command-line users, Microsoft announced at its Build developer conference today.

The new so-called “Windows Terminal” will launch in mid-June and promises to be a major update of the existing Windows Command Prompt and PowerShell experience. Indeed, it seems like the Terminal will essentially become the default environment for PowerShell, Command Prompt and Windows Subsystem for Linux users going forward.

The new terminal will feature faster GPU-accelerated text rending and “emoji-rich” fonts, because everything these days needs to support emojis, and those will sure help lighten up the command-line user experience. More importantly, though, the Windows Terminal will also support shortcuts, tabs, tear-away windows and theming, as well as extensions. It also will natively support Unicode and East Asian fonts.

The idea here, Microsoft says, is to “elevate the command-line user experience on Windows.”

The first preview of the new Windows Terminal is now available.

[dayglored]

It's about d@mn time. :-)

[dayglored]

Windows 10 has a new Terminal app (and there was much rejoicing)... PING!

You can find all the Windows Ping list threads with FR search: just search on keyword "windowspinglist".

[Innovative]

Whatever makes it better for the users is good.

[AndyTheBear]

Been using gitbash when I want a linux console on my windows machine for years now.

[Dr. Sivana]

The new terminal will feature faster GPU-accelerated text rending and “emoji-rich” fonts, because everything these days needs to support emojis, and those will sure help lighten up the command-line user experience.

Agh! Bad as it is, applications want to reinterpret my use of punctuation within parenthetical expressions as emojis and the WIndows command line never did that. I do not use emojis. I do use punctuation. ASCII and standard Unicode for me.

[Dr. Sivana]

Emojis? What, no one knows the alphabet any more, they just use smiley faces?

Give it another generation, and we will be back to hieroglyphics. Was Idiocracy prophetic?

[InABunkerUnderSF]

So... I can pay Microsoft $185 for Windows 10 with a really cool terminal emulator or I can spend half an hour downloading Linux Mint for free and use ssh?

[Rio]

BATch files... Did these not work in Win-10?

[dayglored]

> BATch files... Did these not work in Win-10?

Far as I know they work just like always, in the CMD Command Prompt shell.

[dayglored]

> So... I can pay Microsoft $185 for Windows 10 with a really cool terminal emulator or I can spend half an hour downloading Linux Mint for free and use ssh?

It does make one wonder, does it not?

[SecondAmendment]

Wake me up when Microsoft replaces Notepad with VI ...

[dayglored]

> Wake me up when Microsoft replaces Notepad with VI ...

LOL.

Emacs partisans arriving in 3...2...1...

[Callan]

will try gitbash - i used cygwin for years

[TChad]

BATch files... Did these not work in Win-10?

Batch files work in Windows 10.

[AndyTheBear]

Not sure how it compares to cygwin, just got it as a way to use git commands on my windows machine, but I am happy to have paths be in linux style the ability to use grep, find, ls and the other regular linux commands I am used to.

[freeandfreezing]

The new terminal will feature faster GPU-accelerated text rending...

I am glad they are using so much hardware to accelerate their bloated code. In the screenshot from the article their code reports over 1 second to load the user's preferences. That's pathetic. A typical Linux terminal window opens way faster than that.

[Paal Gulli]

Another futile attempt to out-Linux Linux.

[Paal Gulli]

"will try gitbash - i used cygwin for years"

Gnu-Win32 here. Still use it, got it on my Portable Apps thumb drive.