Prof. Powershell

Class Dismissed

After his long tenure here at MCPmag.com, Prof. PowerShell says goodbye.

• By Jeffery Hicks
• 10/14/2014

I have been writing this column since the very first days of PowerShell way back in2006. I don't have an accurate count but I've probably written at least 350 articles, which I hope you have found useful and enjoyable. PowerShell has come incredibly far since those early v1 days. I've tried to use Prof. PowerShell to educate, entertain and evangelize.

In the early days, PowerShell showed much promise and began calling to many IT Pros. In v2, PowerShell remoting made it truly ready for the enterprise. PowerShell v3 brought us the wonderful world of CIM cmdlets and extensions to the language such as PowerShell Workflow. Then, with the arrival of PowerShell v4 we got a taste of Desired State Configuration (DSC). Now, PowerShell 5.0 is knocking at the door and promises even more exciting prospects for IT Pros. PowerShell v5 will continue us down that road to the day when you can manage everything in your organization with PowerShell from the comfort of your desk or the beach in Cancun. And what you manage might not even have to be running Windows! In the beginning PowerShell was a Microsoft-only product, but now many vendors offer PowerShell support for their products making it truly the only management tool you need to learn.

I've enjoyed teaching PowerShell to you through this column, and as you've probably guessed by the tone, this is a farewell article. Prof. PowerShell is retiring and I'm going to assume the title Prof. PowerShell, Emeritus. I have outlasted several editors and a number of other people at MCPMag.com and it is time to move on. This is the end of the line for Prof. PowerShell, but not for me. I will continue to be an active voice in the PowerShell and IT Pro community, but I will be focusing my online content projects at the Petri IT Knowledgebase. I will also continue to create courseware for Pluralsight and speak at conferences like TechMentor and the PowerShell Summit. And of course my private PowerShell consulting and training will continue. I can be contacted via my blog.

The existing Prof. PowerShell content will remain here, but it is my understanding that MCPMag.com will retire this column after I leave. However, that doesn't mean the end of PowerShell here. No, no, no. PowerShell is too big and important a topic to ignore. You can expect to see something replace this column. I don't know what form it will take but I have recommended a few PowerShell authors and experts to carry on and continue to bring you valuable and interesting material.

I'd like to thank all of the editors I've worked with over the years and to all of you for reading this column. I appreciate the comments you've left and enjoyed meeting some of you in person at conferences and classes. Even though I'll no longer be keeping office hours here, you can find me online in a number of locations:

• Twitter
• Google Plus
• Blog
• LinkedIn

It was not an easy decision to say goodbye to Prof. PowerShell but I trust you will be in good hands with whatever comes next at MCPMag.com. Again, a sincere thank you for all of your support through the years. Good luck to all of you. Class dismissed.