We have found that we can develop for both unix and win32 without using Cygwin by judicious platform-specific implementation couched in Design Patterns. Put this in your path. Put this in your path after the batch files. Make the command line useful. Make several shortcuts to different sizes of command prompts.
Small print is useful for long makefile compiles while large print is easier for file manipulation.
In the command prompt properties, turn on Insert Mode and Quickedit. Make the height of the screen buffer 1000. In a lab environment, change the Start Menu and Taskbar properties to display a logoff menu. Set explorer options to show file extensions, hidden files, and all file types. Set the NetTime service to Automatic and give it ntp0.cornell.edu.