We interview Ed Wilson, author of Windows PowerShell Step-by-Step and new Technet Scripting Guy. And as usual we've also got news, tips, resources and more.

News

This segment is brought to you by Idera:

Want to make Windows PowerShell easier than ever to learn and master? Checkout Idera's PowerShellPlus Professional Edition which is now available for download! The new version has vastly improved code completion and a slick interactive Learning Center. Go to www.idera.com/PodcastPeople to get your copy today!

• PowerShell boot camp coming up Feb 9-11 in Dallas, TX
• SAPIEN's got a Facebook group where they are giving out coupons
• Cool blog post about executing PowerShell commands from Linux and the iPhone
• Hyper-V PowerPack Updated  Poshoholic (release notes )

Interview

When it comes to scripting, youâre a warrior. But mighty warriors need mighty tools!

For awesome PowerShell scripting, nothing matches the might of Questâs PowerGUI. Versatile and easy to use, PowerGUI helps you build commanding scripts that leverage PowerShellâs strength across the enterprise. Now, ruling your domain is easier than ever.

Is your scripting might equal to the challenge? Put the power in your hands â download PowerGUI today.

Today's interview is with Ed Wilson, Scripting Guy and author from Microsoft

• Written 14 books
• His favorites:
  • Windows PowerShell Scripting Guide
  • Network monitoring & analysis
• JeffHicks : ## What is your next book going to be on?
  • PowerShell 2.0 step-by-step
• glnsize : ## why not all... what wouldn't you do in powershell
  • WinPE
• JeffHicks : ##How much writing can you get done in a week?
• Who is Craig?
  • Scripting Guys editor
• JeffHicks : ## What's your elevator speech to mgmt about the importance of automation and scripting?
  • allows you to be more successful with a smaller number of people
• What's coming in the Scripting Center?
  • Friday Quick Hits
  • Series of Excel automation articles
  • "AD week"
  • Perf monitoring
• ## (mow) any plans yet for scripting games 2009 ?
• The 3000 email backlog:
  • bsonposh : ## Can I help with the emails?
  • glnsize : ## so mows the unofficial powershell scripting guy.. any plans to make that officiial
  • meson : ## what about calling for guest posts to answer some of the questions?
  • sepeck-1 : # what about starting forum topics on the scripting site that more people could try and answer?
• Vbscript and PowerShell
  • JeffHicks : ##When do you think VBScript will disappear?
  • sepeck-1 : ## Have the scripting center examples gotten better?
  • meson : ## Has the scripting guys approach gone from a vbscript to powershell mentality to a powershell native mentality?
• JeffHicks : ## The  script center used to offer script content as a CHM file. Any plans for a new version?
• JeffHicks : ## or make it searchable ala PoshCode?
• meson : ## What about links to community resources on the technet site.
• Are .net forms in Posh the next HTA?
• Links:
  • PowerShell Step-by-Step
  • Technet Script Center Forum

Resources

Admin Script Editor (which recently received Windows IT Pro's top award) provides a true integrated scripting environment for PowerShell.  The guys at iTripoli haven't done a great job getting the word out about Admin Script Editor so to make up for it they are offering a 50% competitive discount.  Go to adminscripteditor.com to find out if you qualify.

• Script to use for patching
• Use Visio to create simple PowerShell scripts
• PowerShell and Objects

• .NET Format String Quick Reference
• The Official Scripting Guys Forum! : Scripting : Microsoft TechNet Forums

Tips

• Discover functions in PowerShell Scripts
• Neat tip for using Get-Type

Mailbox

"Hi Jonathan & Hal,

I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say how great the Powerscripting Podcast is. I'm a SysAdmin/Engineer and a confident VB scripter, and have been trying to get round to learning PowerShell properly for over a year, but never seem to have time! A colleague told me about your podcast and I've been listening in the car driving to and from work every day. I'm only up to episode 8 so far but it's proving to be a great way to supplement my learning without having to interrupt the day job - keep up the good work!

Also to let you know about a script I wrote today that you may find useful - it adds "Execute in PowerShell" options to .ps1 files' context menu so that it's easy to right-click and run a PowerShell script direct from Windows Explorer. It may be that someone else has already done this but I couldn't find anything with a bit of a Google... You can find the script at http://www.poshcode.org/664.

Thanks again and all the best.

Cheers,
Nigel"

Challenge

DB4O update

• Overview
• Prizes
• Forum thread

Today  we interview Susan Bradley, SBS MVP. We also bring you lots of new, tips and resources.

News

This segment is brought to you by Idera:

Want to make Windows PowerShell easier than ever to learn and master? Checkout Idera's PowerShellPlus Professional Edition which is now available for download! The new version has vastly improved code completion and a slick interactive Learning Center. Go to www.idera.com/PodcastPeople to get your copy today!

• Oisin gives us some info on new/changed cmdlets in the PDC build
• Dmitry gives us the full list of AD cmdlets in the PDC build
• Hal's got a survey up to get everyone's opinion on PowerShellCommunity.org's future show plans.

• Nivot Ink - Changes from CTP2 in PowerShell 2.0 in the Windows 7 M3 âPDCâ Build

• TechEd EMEA wrap up: noble musings: PowerShell at TechEd EMEA 2008 IT Professionals

Interview

This segment is brought to you by Quest Software

When it comes to scripting, youâre a warrior. But mighty warriors need mighty tools!

For awesome PowerShell scripting, nothing matches the might of Questâs PowerGUI. Versatile and easy to use, PowerGUI helps you build commanding scripts that leverage PowerShellâs strength across the enterprise. Now, ruling your domain is easier than ever.

Is your scripting might equal to the challenge? Put the power in your hands â download PowerGUI today. We had a great show with Susan Bradley.  Go check her out at sbsdiva.com. Resources What can you really do with PowerShell?  With Admin Script Editor the question becomes what can't you do with PowerShell?  Besides all the advanced code generating tools this is the only tool offering a true PowerShell Forms Designer.  To illustrate what can be done the guys at iTripoli created a full-featured MP3/Podcast player written entirely in PowerShell and delivered as a single script.  Check it out at adminscripteditor.com/player.

• One more video from TechEd, this is Dmitry Sotnikov's speaker idol video.
• Joel Bennett has been kind enough tolink to all of the videos of the powershell sessions from TechEd EMEA.
• Dmitry posted the Quest connect session he did about PowerShell AdCmdlets and PowerGUI

• Jonathan Medd's panel discussion at TechEd EMEA was videotaped! PowerShell V2 Tech Talk from TechEd EMEA (video)
  

• PrimalScript Samples | SAPIEN Technologies

• David Mohundro - Simple PowerShell script to generate thumbnails

Tips

• Listener Steven wanted us to highlight how to build functions which can be used in a pipeline. Hal wrote a script a while ago called Select-Alive which serves as a good example.
• Hal's bud Marcus thought 'find /i "stuff" *.*' was easy until he learned more about select-string
• Hal posted a script for creating RSS feeds from PowerShell

Challenge / Book Giveaway

• We still have a couple of books left.  If you'd like to win a copy of one of Lee Holmes books, simply leave us feedback on iTunes, Podcast Alley, or on your own blog. We have four books to giveaway! Send an email to feedback@powerscripting.net letting us know where to see your review.

• Time for the PowerShell Challenge update on db4o.

"While trying to find a solution to a problem that popped up at work, I stumbled upon an open-source dotnet object-oriented database called Db4o.  It is intended to be used as an embedded database in programs where some persistent storage is needed, but instead of storing data in related tables, it stores objects.

I've tried to access the functions via reflection, but I am just learning Powershell and I don't know if this is the right technique.  I haven't gotten very far.

I was wondering if you or someone else who listens to the show could take a look at it, and see if it can be useful as an object store in powershell scripts."

Today we interview Lee Holmes, author of Windows PowerShell Cookbook and developer on the PowerShell team.  And as usual weâve also got news, tips, resources and more.

News

When it comes to scripting, youâre a warrior. But mighty warriors need mighty tools!

For awesome PowerShell scripting, nothing matches the might of Questâs PowerGUI. Versatile and easy to use, PowerGUI helps you build commanding scripts that leverage PowerShellâs strength across the enterprise. Now, ruling your domain is easier than ever.

Is your scripting might equal to the challenge? Put the power in your hands â download PowerGUI today.

• We finally have some release schedule information  for PowerShell v2 from Dmitry
• Sapien has released PrimalForms  
• The stakes have risen for our PowerShell Challenge with DB4o! - Community News : db4o Powershell Provider Challenge - with prizes
• Marco Shaw is holding a PowerShell Virtual User Group meeting on Nov 13th at 12PM EST

InterviewAdmin Script Editor (which recently received Windows IT Proâs top award) provides a true integrated scripting environment for PowerShell.  Advanced features include an integrated PowerShell debugger, advanced code generating tools for Active Directory, Databases, XML files and more.  Letâs not forget about the exclusive PowerShell forms designer.  Come see for yourselfâ Admin Script Editor v3.5 is availble for a 45 day trial at AdminScriptEditor.com.

We had a great interview with Lee Holmes, be sure to listen. You can find his blog at leeholmes.com/blog, and also check out his books!

Resources

This segment is brought to you by Idera:

Want to make Windows PowerShell easier than ever to learn and master? Checkout Ideraâs PowerShellPlus Professional Edition which is now available for download! The new version has vastly improved code completion and a slick interactive Learning Center. Go to www.idera.com/PodcastPeople to get your copy today!
 

• Jonathan Medd posted a cool panel discussion on the Get-Scripting Podcast Ep4
• Dr. Tobias Weltner is doing an online powershell book
• It looks like Microsoft is starting to do some PowerShell training
• /\/\o\/\/ noticed that The Scripting Guys are putting out some new PowerShell content
• PowerShell Posters - search for PowerShell
• Jeffreyâs talk from PDC: ES24: Using PowerShell To Create Manageable Web Services

Gotcha

• Gotcha: MS Data Protection Manager cmdlets donât support -Confirm:$false - Marco Shaw to the rescue! Setting $ConfirmPreference = ânoneâ prevents the prompt when that is desirable.

Challenge / Book Giveaway

• If youâd like to win a copy of one of Lee Holmes books, simply leave us feedback on iTunes, Podcast Alley, or on your own blog. We have four books to giveaway! Send an email to feedback@powerscripting.net letting us know where to see your review.

• Donât forget our challenge from two shows ago.  If you submit a solution, weâll feature it on the show and the website, and youâll get a little something for your trouble.  :)  Here is the email from Dale which we forgot to put in last weekâs show notes:

 

âWhile trying to find a solution to a problem that popped up at work, I stumbled upon an open-source dotnet object-oriented database called Db4o.  It is intended to be used as an embedded database in programs where some persistent storage is needed, but instead of storing data in related tables, it stores objects.
 
  Iâve tried to access the functions via reflection, but I am just learning Powershell and I donât know if this is the right technique.  I havenât gotten very far.
 
  I was wondering if you or someone else who listens to the show could take a look at it, and see if it can be useful as an object store in powershell scripts.â

Today we have MVP Systems in the house to talk about JAMS.  And we have a TON of news from PDC to report!

News

 

 

This segment is brought to you by Idera.
Want to make Windows PowerShell easier than ever to learn and master? Checkout Idera's PowerShellPlus Professional Edition which is now available for download! The new version has vastly improved code completion and a slick interactive Learning Center. Go to www.idera.com/PodcastPeople to get your copy today!

 

• Wow! Were do we start? How about 574 cmdlets
  
• Rumor: IBM will be providing cmdlets for hardware management
• Powershell will be installed by default on Windows Server 2008 R2 and W7
• TechEd Barcelona is coming up next week and several MVPs will be there

InterviewThe news is brought to you by iTripoli.What can you really do with PowerShell?  With Admin Script Editor the question becomes what can't you do with PowerShell?  Besides all the advanced code generating tools this is the only tool offering a true PowerShell Forms Designer.  To illustrate what can be done the guys at iTripoli created a full-featured MP3/Podcast player written entirely in PowerShell and delivered as a single script.  Check it out at adminscripteditor.com/player.Today we are interviewing Scott and John from MVP Systems (http://www.mvpsi.com) to talk about the PowerShell support in JAMS, their flagship batch scheduling product.Here are a few questions which were asked by our wonderful Ustream audience:

JAMS

• meson : ## What is the cost of the product or what is the customer base small/middle/enterprise/etc?
• http://www.mvpsi.com
• glnsize : ##are these task's or is there an agent
• trac3r726 : ## Any Reporting with charts for Management?
• glnsize : ## soon to be psremoting/wsman?
• ## any way to send jobs to run on server core, perhaps for speed/reliability?

 

SAAS

• rfoust : ## how does saasmonitor scale?
• rfoust : ## can it integrate w/ existing monitoring for a central dashboard?
• rfoust : ## can you do user-experience monitoring, like adding a jmeter script or something?

Resources

 

 

This segment is brought to you by Quest:Quest Software is offering Powerscripting Podcast listeners a free copy of Jeffery Hicks new book, Managing Active Directory with Windows PowerShell: TFM from Sapien Press. Visit quest.com/powerscripting to register for your copy, before they run out. While youâre there download their free graphical user interface, script editor and Active Directory commands.

 

 

• 10 Cool Things to do with the Powershell (12 min video) - This demo shows some of the neat things you can do with PowerShell with regards to server administration. There are 10 demos you can run through ranging from simple queries for services to enumerating information in Active Directory. Some of the scripts use lists of computers, some prompt for a computername. Each script shows a different thing you can do with PowerShell to quickly create administration scripts.
• Precision Computing - Introduction to PowerShell Presentation
• PowerShell Code Repository - Compare-AD - A set of functions (and sample code using them) to create snapshots of user accounts in the current Active Directory domain save them in an xml file, and then compare live AD environment against that XML
• VMware: VI Toolkit (for Windows): Not Another Suite of Scripts!
• PoshRSS - is a web application for creating RSS feeds from PowerShell. The output of any PowerShell command/script is displayed as an RSS feed. The primary goal of PoshRSS is to provide system administrations the ability to leverage PowerShell + RSS to aggregate system information across many systems.

 

Challenge

Don't forget our challenge from last week.  If you submit a solution, we'll feature it on the show and the website, and you'll get a little something for your trouble.  :)  Here is the email from Dale which we forgot to put in last week's show notes:

 

"While trying to find a solution to a problem that popped up at work, I stumbled upon an open-source dotnet object-oriented database called Db4o.  It is intended to be used as an embedded database in programs where some persistent storage is needed, but instead of storing data in related tables, it stores objects.
 
  I've tried to access the functions via reflection, but I am just learning Powershell and I don't know if this is the right technique.  I haven't gotten very far.
 
  I was wondering if you or someone else who listens to the show could take a look at it, and see if it can be useful as an object store in powershell scripts."