We need to go back! Back to the terminal!

A screenshot from Back To The Future. Doc has Marty and his girlfriend in the car, and is saying "GUI? Where we're going, we don't need GUI!"

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Hard disagree.

GUIs made computers/operating systems accessible. In fact, I would argue that we need even less command line in Linux distributions for the most common tasks and even those beyond that. The hardcore Linux fan won't agree, I guess, but IMO that's one of the ongoing needs in Linux accessibility and wider acceptance.

Good example is YasT in OpenSuse. A GUI for much of the stuff other distributions require knowledge of terminal commands, though it really is for Sys. Admins.

Mint and its big daddy Ubuntu have done well for the average user. I hope that this trend will continue and companies will support Linux better than they are now.
- We need to get normies on Linux. Full stop.
  
  We did get normies on Linux. 70% of people use an Android phone. That's Linux.
  
  Linux can be dead easy to use, and normies can get used to it. It's just a matter of the technology and the brand, both of which Valve seems to be working on lately. Linux is happening.
- Every few years I buy a new computer and then install a fresh copy of whatever UI friendly distro that the community is gushing over. Each time has seen significant improvements but each time I'm spending my time in the terminal.
  
  I'm not even a normie. I run Synology with docker containers. I operate my own website. I just don't wanna be in the terminal just to play my PC games.
  
  I think the problem is that it's just easier to explain what to do for someone having a problem by telling them to paste a line of text into the terminal. Having to walk a user through gui navigation is a pain.
  
  That means, though, that anyone getting help to get gud at Linux is going to mostly be leaning terminal commands.
- Drag agrees with you. Drag just had a funny conversation recently about a particular Linux tool that had a desktop version and a CLI version, and drag was asked which drag wanted. Drag would personally prefer to use it on the CLI, though drag is glad the GUI exists. And then this meme popped into drag's head.
  
  Such a bizarrely stupid social experiment.
  
  Are you referring to yourself in the third person?
unpopular opinion: notepad is easier to use than vi
- Well, a bicycle is easier to use than an F16... there is a reason
- Not if notepad isn't installed.
  
  Edit: Relatedly, I took the time to learn vi because it's usually installed already.
  
  Nano is easier for beginners. Nano is similar to a curses version of notepad. Nano is also not installed and the server admins of the server you're shelling into may not be pleased with you installing it.
- At least Nano comes pre-installed on most machines (I think at least)
Imagine if the terminal in the 80s has had a line with auto-completion below the prompt.
- Or a clipboard with notepad in a second window for quick reference. The amount of one-off commands and single use script kiddie code I had transcribed in my marble composition notebook was staggering.
  
  What window? I was talking about DOS.
So do you pronounce it 'gooey' or 'jewey'?
- Gesus Christ, the gif guy was gust trolling with that pronunciation.
  
  I hope
- Ghe Oo Ee
- Ask the weirdos that pronounce it "jif" and watch their heads explode. They both start with "graphical".
  
  I'm not sure I get the gist of your argument
- Jewey, yes
Alright, we get it. You like VIM.
- Vim is a TUI, that's basically the same, they should be writing that config file using echo, sed and redirects!
  
  ed is the standard editor for a reason
I've been using Linux since around 1998. Back then it was fair to say that the command line was occasionally needed. I personally prefer the command line because it is much more powerful, and I can do so much more with it. Shockingly, I do not use Arch. (I'm on Gentoo.)

But, I also maintain an Xubuntu computer for my wife. I haven't needed the command line for it ever that I can recall. I log in occasionally and it pops up a GUI prompt for me to install updates. GUI updater comes up, and a GUI sudo dialog elevates my permissions. Everything is updated through GUI. Everything my wife needs to do (including occasionally adding or updating a wifi connection) is done through the GUI.

(Don't get me started on their stupid mix of snaps and debs, though. That is a huge pet peeve.)

Re: command line - have you ever seen a person try to move a bunch of 1 type of file from one dir to another in MS Windows Explorer file manager? Best case scenario, they know to ctrl-click to select several non-sequential files. Worst case, they drag and drop each file individually. In the command line, just do 'cp *jpg ../destination-dir/'.
My first thought when I saw this pic was "Are they talking to their computers in the future? GenAI 'interface'?" That would truly replace CLI for many of the most complex tasks.

58 comments