Cygwin has this cool command called cygstart, and I usually alias it as open.
alias open='cygstart'
Here are few things I use often:
# bring up Windows Explore with folder open
bash> open /cygdrive/c/temp
bash> open "$USERPROFILE"
# bring up browser on a url
bash> open http://google.com
# bring up any windows program by file extension
bash> open /cygdrive/c/my.docx
Because I use a Cygwin terminal shell a lot, I have many alias shortcuts to many different directories. The open . allows me to jump to any directory and starts the Windows Explore with that directory expanded quickly. You can see more options with open --help.
