I use msysgit for git on windows, and if I need terminal on local machine I also use that shell, I almost always have one instance of that running.

When I need a real shell I can connect to VPS on internets or the local one I run inside a Virtualbox.

I use shell on windows other than Git so rarely that I never really bothered with it, most of the time I just connect to a real unix system :P

It’s rare for me to develop in Windows these days, instead leaving it to the only thing it’s any good at: playing games. When I do need to code in Windows, for the last couple years I haven’t actually used Cygwin. And it’s all thanks to the Git folks.

As you had mentioned yourself, I reach for msysgit, which includes all the dev tools needed to build Git. This is by far the easiest way to install a barebones first-class unix development environment on Windows. I also use the official (i.e. non-cygwin) w32 build of Emacs, which, if the PATH is set up for it, automatically integrates with the msysgit stuff. Missing programs I can either get from GnuWin32 or port/compile myself within the msysgit environment. Over the years I’ve actually sloppily ported a few programs — most recently pbzip2 — to Windows this way, though I unfortunately I haven’t bothered to publish any patches. The result is usually pretty messy since it’s merely secondary to some other goal.

Ever since I stopped using Cygwin I haven’t bothered with any terminal emulators other than the pathetic Windows terminal emulator. If I was spending more time in Windows I’d probably check into the two that you mentioned.

@ Maximus:

Oh shit, I must have missed it. That sounds perfect. I’m going to check it out and amend the post. Thanks for the tip. :)

Just run powershell inside of conemu. You can actually run a lot of programs, including gui tools, inside conemu.

Your “only real gripe” is not a gripe at all. Because ConEmu supports “App distinct” settings, and you may set up any suitable palette (and much more) to any running (active) application. Set up light theme for vim.exe and enjoy ;)

One more thing. ConEmu supports xterm-256 color extension. You may try with vim zenburn color scheme or anything else. Implementation may be not perfect, but seems to be working.