Load up a current 8.1 with classic shell (old menu), clover (explorer replacement), conemu (terminal replacement) and git extensions (which include gnu32 tools, bash, ssh etc) ... you can set bash to your default terminal in conemu even.

Works pretty well, if you need more, have a virtual or real linux machine running in the background and ssh to it for shell related bits. Or go farther into the rabbit hole with cygwin, but I don't find that I need that much myself, I have in the past though.

I don't care much about the next Microsoft OS which is coming out. I am irritable that the new Pro is not out yet.

If someone had told me 2 years ago that I wouldn't give a damn about MSFT software and would care about MSFT H/W i would have wondered what they were smoking.