Configuring Console 2 and bash with cygwin on Windows XP

One of my biggest issues with Windows XP has always been with cmd.exe. To make Windows XP much more enjoyable to use (from a command-line perspective), two excellent applications can be installed:

Cygwin: http://www.cygwin.com
Console 2: http://sourceforge.net/projects/console/files/

Once cygwin is set up and you've installed any other necessary applications (e.g. vim etc), open Console 2 and select Settings > Tabs. Create a new tab (e.g. "Bash") and for the Shell: input set the following:

C:\cygwin\bin\bash.exe --login -i

You should now be able to use Console 2 to create new bash sessions by going to: File > New Tab > Bash

For a great file manager replacement, I'd also recommend installing KDE 4 for Windows:
http://windows.kde.org/
And using Dolphin.