"Think of Windows as a superset of Linux, because that's basically what it is: All the techniques and utilities you use in Linux will translate directly if you use the same programs.
On the other hand, Windows provides many new and rich shortcuts and techniques not available in Linux. Some of my favorites are:
Use Win+R shortcut key, type in a program name (notepad), file path (c:\folder), network path (\server\share\folder) or web site address (www.xyz.com). In each case you get filename completion including a drop-down list of suggestions, and no command window is necessary. Use Windows Explorer as your command shell. Browse with the shortcut keys, use Win+R to get somewhere, and use shortcut keys to work with the files. Add programs such as editors and file viewers to your SendTo folder, each with unique prefix, so you activate the program with three keystrokes. For example, I always create a ""1 Notepad"" shortcut in SendTo every time I start working on a computer, so I can always do Shift-F10, N, 1 (or right-click, N, 1) to open any file in Notepad. Use Cut/Copy/Paste shortcut keys (Ctrl-C, Ctrl-X, Ctrl-V) to move and copy files and folders between directories. You can duplicate a file or folder within a single directory with the quick keystroke combo Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V. Use F2 to edit file names and Ctrl-F to find files
Various Linux GUIs have one or more of these abilities, but you cannot rely on them across various Linux installations. On the other hand, you can always do these things in any modern Windows (eg since Windows 2000), so you are free to focus on the problem at hand."
Launchy will give you very easy single-keystroke launching of applications. Regarding the command line things have got a lot better in terms of funtionality with XP SP3, Vista and 7. From my somewhat limited experience of the Linux prompt it seems that Linux works that way from the ground up, whereas Windows has always been a GUI and any command line functionality was largely a hangover from MS-DOS days. But now there's a 'headless' version of Windows Server it'll have to get a lot stronger in this respect.
"I have found that the cygwin toolkit is invaluable on windows. It gives you a nice linux like shell on top of the windows os.
The one thing that I would recommend with it though is running the rxvt terminal window instead of the normal command line window. That way you get better copy and paste support and also a more familiar, x-win like shell window."
AutoHotkey and Executor are two fantastic tools. Windows has a %PATH% too, use it. Try the registry key at [here] to make your own .bashrc style cmd config script, doskey is almost as good as bash's alias
Python and Perl both run on Windows, if you don't know either, learn one, they can do everything a .sh shell script can, and more. Grab either UnxUtils or Cygwin (Add it's \bin folder to your PATH, the tools are very good, it's just the bash emulator that's heavy and not-windows), because the default cmd toolset is rubbish. Also gets you vim and emacs, (both proper ports) depending on what your choice is (vim :))
With all this, I have a powerful command line (not quite bash-standard, but it's highly usable), and a powerful GUI. Meta-G to google the highlighted word, capslock to bring up firefox, global search with Everything, good multi-monitor support, KDE-style window movement, so on. Windows isn't perfect, but it's got a lot going for it."
Regarding running applications from Windows, Windows 7 supports searching for applications in your computer from start and executing it with one click.
