Windows 10: PowerShell Core 6.0 is now available...

If you are a Windows PowerShell scripter, then you might be excited about Microsoft announcing the release of PowerShell Core 6.0.  For the first time in the scripting language’s ten-year history, it is now cross-platform (meaning the same script can run on Windows, MacOS, and Linux) and its open-source (so it is freely available to download or modify).

If you are a PowerShell scripter, this opens up new opportunities for managing heterogeneous environments (meaning multiple different types of OSs) with a single scripting language.
PowerShell is not the first or only open source cross-platform scripting environment that is currently available.  Python is a very mature scripting language that has a huge following right now.

Windows PowerShell vs. PowerShell Core

Here is the interesting news.  There are now two versions of PowerShell; there is the Windows and the Core version.  Windows PowerShell, which is the current version of PowerShell that is shipping with the OS today, is now being dropped in favor of PowerShell Core.

What this means is now that PowerShell Core 6.0 has been released, Microsoft will not be developing any new releases of Windows PowerShell.  All new development in the language will be done under PowerShell Core.


Downloading and Installing PowerShell Core

To download and install PowerShell Core, just select the link next to the OS you are using and follow the instructions on the page to install the software.

• Windows: https://aka.ms/getps6-windows
• MacOS: https://aka.ms/getps6-linux
• Linux: https://aka.ms/getps6-linux

Checking for the Meltdown and Spectre Intel CPU Flaws

You have probably already heard about the Meltdown and Spectre flaws in the Intel CPUs.  The flaw has existed in the chips since 1995.  This flaw also effects any OS that uses the Intel chips that are effected, so it's not just Windows, this also effects Linux and the MacOS.

To learn more, check out the article I just posted about how to check if your Windows computer is effected, "Meltdown and Spectre CPU Flaws".