Command line prompt (aka cmd.exe) that is distributed by default with windows is by far the worst implementation of a shell that i have ever seen (maybe the famous command.com is worse).

I cannot completely uninstall Windows XP this time period, so i installed cygwin to be a little more productive. Then the problem occured, cygwin uses by default the cmd interpreter. But the solution was found (thanks dimitris and panagiotis for the pointers), three alternative shells:

• Console (Open Source)
• Puttycyg (Open Source)
• Windows Powershell (Microsoft)

I tested Console and puttycyg. They are both ok to be honest :).