Survive one day on linux without terminal

[wambagilles]

linux users will say everything like linux is not more only for geeks, but the reality remains, who in this forum have already used his Linux computer for a week without opening a terminal?... me even one day, i can not!

[disabledaccount]

??? That's easy - configure Your system, then let it work for years :)
Some of my friends are using linux desktop for months without opening terminal, because they don't know what it is.... (and if there's any problem they just call me :) )

[GSF1200S]

linux users will say everything like linux is not more only for geeks, but the reality remains, who in this forum have already used his Linux computer for a week without opening a terminal?... me even one day, i can not!

Considering your post count and the way you are blanket-labeling linux users, you are probably a troll and this is your flame-bait.

That said, perhaps thats because we ENJOY using the terminal? I have actually gone a week plenty of times when I was busy with school and "Linux" needed to get out of my way- it does that fine. However, so many things are quicker and easier with the command line (especially using bash aliases) that avoidance of its capacity is only at the users loss..

Do you use air conditioning in your house? Yes you say.. Strange the Romans didnt use air conditioning. "The Romans didnt have air-conditioning." Windows doesnt have a terminal that can do half what the Linux command line can.

[matt_symes]

1. Survive one day on linux without terminal
2. Survive one day on linux using nothing but the terminal.

Both are very possible and easy if you now how to.

You can even use both during a session if you want to.

Use the best tool for the job, or the one you are most comfortable with.

Sorry OP, but i think this is a ridiculous title for a thread.

EDIT:


Windows doesnt have a terminal that can do half what the Linux command line can.

Powershell is not too bad.

This thread is flame bate though.

[Vahe Nersesian]

Actually i have astonished from your title "linux without terminal"
any linux distribution cannot be optimally used without terminal, for example when the any program is not in the UbuntuSoftwareCenter you have to use the terminal for searching, and installing. Beside that you need to use from time-to-time apt-get autoclean and apt-get remove to clean your system. And a lot of fun with linux terminal!!!:)

[doorknob60]

I guess I could do that, but that would be too painful. I would much rather go one day without X, now that sounds fun :D

Not that it's not possible though, my parents use Linux and have never even touched the terminal, and one of my brothers uses Linux and almost never touches it as well. Just for me though, I prefer using the terminal for a lot of things.

[raja.genupula]

it could be possible , but some what difficult for programmers . they need it while building their programs into pkg's .

[wambagilles]

any linux distribution cannot be optimally used without terminal, for example when the any program is not in the UbuntuSoftwareCenter you have to use the terminal for searching, and installing. Beside that you need to use from time-to-time apt-get autoclean and apt-get remove to clean your system.

that's right there are tons of stuff that can only be accomplished through command line!
meanwhile it is still possible to use the system without terminal, but in that it is very painful, i can't even imagine how those who don't know terminal manage, sure they are just using they computer for basic tasks!

[Kromgol]

Running Arch, i couldn't do that. Not as of this moment at least. I haven't even configured the Openbox menu properly for a few months, so i do pretty much everything through the terminal or my hotkeys.

It would suck tbh.

[nothingspecial]

My wife has been using Ubuntu since 2007 and has never opened a terminal. That's kind of the whole point of Ubuntu. Silly question really.

[Paqman]

who in this forum have already used his Linux computer for a week without opening a terminal?... me even one day, i can not!

Easy. I can't think of anything I do every day that I'd have to use the terminal for. I can think of a couple that I might do in the terminal because it's expedient, but none that I'd have to. A lot of admin tasks like configuring ufw or GRUB will have a GUI available if you want it.



when the any program is not in the UbuntuSoftwareCenter you have to use the terminal for searching, and installing.

The next best options after the official repos are .debs, PPAs or 3rd party repos, none of which require use of the terminal.

[Paqman]

My wife has been using Ubuntu since 2007 and has never opened a terminal. That's kind of the whole point of Ubuntu. Silly question really.

This. Only geeks feel the need to open the terminal. Same on Windows and OS X, btw.

Linux has traditionally emphasised terminal use more than other OSes because it's predominantly a server OS and most of the early adopters were transferring skills they used in administering servers. So it's been considered 1337 to use the terminal, because that's what people who used it professionally did.

[ve4cib]

When I first started using Linux (circa Ubuntu 5.04) and knew pretty much zilch about the command-line aside from a few basic commands like cd, ls, mkdir, rm, and nano/pico/vi/emacs (and how to use specific compilers/interpreters requires for courses at university, e.g. gcc, g++, javac) I basically never used the command-line for anything. And I got along pretty well.

It's only after I'd been using Linux exclusively for six months to a year that I started using the terminal more often. I could probably go back to not using the terminal, but I just don't see the point anymore. I have a lot of little command-line tools I use often enough that it would be inconvenient to wrap them in GUIs.

A terminal emulator, like any other program, is a tool to be used when and if it suits your needs. Using it or not using it is more of a preference than anything.

[FreeTheBee]

I can't. I have no display manager installed, so I boot into a cli :)

[CraigPaleo]

Easy. I can't think of anything I do every day that I'd have to use the terminal for. I can think of a couple that I might do in the terminal because it's expedient, but none that I'd have to. A lot of admin tasks like configuring ufw or GRUB will have a GUI available if you want it.


The next best options after the official repos are .debs, PPAs or 3rd party repos, none of which require use of the terminal.

This. If I do use it, it's usually to copy and paste code to add PPAs. It's more expedient to add them via the terminal than a package manager.


that's right there are tons of stuff that can only be accomplished through command line!
meanwhile it is still possible to use the system without terminal, but in that it is very painful, i can't even imagine how those who don't know terminal manage, sure they are just using they computer for basic tasks!

My computer does everything I need it to without having to use the terminal. Are you a programmer?

[mkendall]

The two most frequently used cli commands I use, by an overwhelming majority:

mogrify -resize 75%x75% *
oggenc -q 6 *.flac

See those asterisks? That's why I use the command line. I could gui programs, but this is far more efficient. So, go a day without the cli? Easy. I can't remember the last time I had to use it.

Wait, that's not true. My third most common command is:

ln [file]

I don't know how to set up symbolic links with a gui. But I don't set them up on a monthly basis, let alone daily.

[Paqman]

I don't know how to set up symbolic links with a gui.

For Nautilus: ctrl-shift click and drag

[Nayar]

I am a new linux user. I can perfectly use Ubuntu and Kubuntu without the terminal for at least 1 week.

[NCLI]

that's right there are tons of stuff that can only be accomplished through command line!
meanwhile it is still possible to use the system without terminal, but in that it is very painful, i can't even imagine how those who don't know terminal manage, sure they are just using they computer for basic tasks!
Basic tasks like using it?

Actually i have astonished from your title "linux without terminal"
any linux distribution cannot be optimally used without terminal, for example when the any program is not in the UbuntuSoftwareCenter you have to use the terminal for searching, and installing.
Can you provide any examples of applications only available through apt-get?

Even if they aren't in the Software Center, which I doubt, they'll still be in Synaptic.


Beside that you need to use from time-to-time apt-get autoclean and apt-get remove to clean your system.
There are plenty of GUI tools to accomplish these tasks. Besides, they're hardly necessary.


And a lot of fun with linux terminal!!!:)
Only thing we can agree on ;)

[Simian Man]

If I couldn't use a terminal in Linux, I wouldn't use it at all and would use Windows exclusively. The scriptability of Linux and plethora of command line programs available is the whole reason I use it.

[foxmulder881]

Sure, it can be done. But what's the point when it's one of the main reasons I use Linux in the first place.

[el_koraco]

My sister doesn't even know how to use a torrent client, much less a terminal. She still gets by.

[wewantutopia]

Haven't used it in months, so... yeah.

[cgroza]

I don't know about other distros, but in Ubuntu you could survive months without it relatively easy.

Those who use it know it's faster than the GUI way so they just do it. I can't remember the last time I moved a file using nautilus.

I use it because I like it, not because I have to, and I don't have to.

[forrestcupp]

linux users will say everything like linux is not more only for geeks, but the reality remains, who in this forum have already used his Linux computer for a week without opening a terminal?... me even one day, i can not!
Are we allowed to use a graphical IDE to program a GUI interface to run terminal commands? :)

Honestly, I hardly ever use the terminal when I'm in Linux. I like the fact that it's there when I need it. But compared to when I first started using Linux, you can do almost anything you need to in a GUI.

[MasterNetra]

linux users will say everything like linux is not more only for geeks, but the reality remains, who in this forum have already used his Linux computer for a week without opening a terminal?... me even one day, i can not!

I have gone plenty of days without using the terminal, even weeks. So I dunno what your talking about. Terminal use is a occasional thing for me. Things I need or want done can easily be done in the GUI.

And as for the whole having to get some apps through terminal only is utter crap whatever software center doesn't show, Synaptic will. And Synaptic is installed by default so no, that argument is fail. Additionally one might think you need to use terminal to install the Medibuntu repo's but not really if you want to just install Ubuntu-Tweak (which they have .debs) and in their sources they have Medibuntu as a option to choose from. I forget which category its in off hand though. Granted though its quicker to just copy and paste the stuff from Medibuntu into terminal. Also PPA's can be added via Synaptic > Repositories >Other Software>Add..., or if you enabled the menu item "software sources" in the menu you obviously skip the Synaptic/Repository part.

[undecim]

I did that yesterday

And last week, just for fun, I spent some time on a virtual console to do all my work.

[julio_cortez]

Terminal use is a occasional thing for me. Things I need or want done can easily be done in the GUI.This.

I usually use Terminal only for setting the system up and for retrieving and installing software or updates, and quite for nothing more.

Then, everything I need just needs the GUI. I know, some things are best done with a CLI but for what I use Linux for (browsing, data storing, spreadsheet and word processor, listening to music) the GUI is more than enough.

[FlameReaper]

I can survive one day without the terminal.

Because I can.

I rarely go on a TTY session (as in no GUI) unless if I feel like ridiculing onlookers.

Also, because I can.

[forrestcupp]

The question is, can the terminal in Linux survive one day without Chuck Norris. ;)

[Linuxratty]

linux users will say everything like linux is not more only for geeks, but the reality remains, who in this forum have already used his Linux computer for a week without opening a terminal?... me even one day, i can not!

I can,and I do...I can go for months without using it.
I mainly use it to launch a Mahjong game.
That being said,I'm glad it is there when I need to do that special something.

[Elfy]

The question is, can the terminal in Linux survive one day without Chuck Norris. ;)
No.

[el_koraco]

when a root user types su -, he gets a prompt:

chuck@norris:#

[wojox]

If I couldn't use a terminal in Linux, I wouldn't use it at all and would use Windows exclusively. The scriptability of Linux and plethora of command line programs available is the whole reason I use it.

:popcorn: Exactly



The question is, can the terminal in Linux survive one day without Chuck Norris. ;)

Either the kernel would panic or the terminal would segfault. :P

[wambagilles]

The question is, can the terminal in Linux survive one day without Chuck Norris. ;)

what is it?

[Elfy]

The terminal is sort of terminally sort of thing - you can type things in there to control the universe.

[DZ*]

Chuck Norris commands line interfaces by just staring at them

[Linuxratty]

The terminal is sort of terminally sort of thing - you can type things in there to control the universe.

So very true and the op insinuates using the terminal is a bad thing..Not so Grasshopper,not so.


(\ /)
(O.o)
(> <)

[Random_Dude]

My sister doesn't even know how to use a torrent client, much less a terminal. She still gets by.

I'm combining the power of the two by using rTorrent. :D

Surviving without a terminal is pretty easy, the other way around might be harder.
Considering that you are using the computer to watch youtube videos, and not configuring remote servers.

I'm trying use the command line more often. I found the rename command to be quite useful in organizing my music files.

Cheers :cool:

[cgroza]

I hate the "Poor you, you are using a terminal!!!" attitude.

[Dustin2128]

I'd easier go a day without x than a day without the terminal.

[Random_Dude]

I'd easier go a day without x than a day without the terminal.

For work reasons, or do you spend you computer leisure time in the terminal?

[Dustin2128]

For work reasons, or do you spend you computer leisure time in the terminal?
Both.

[MooPi]

It isn't possible on my system because I doing almost everything from terminal. I play and record my video and music from terminal.Update and install and monitor from terminal. So Id have to really modify things just to work without terminal.

[ninjaaron]

I wasn't really a geek when I started using Ubuntu, so I did it all the time. Probably use a terminal every day now, but I could easily go with out it if I actually did what I was supposed to be doing (doing homework and checking emails, etc). I just use the terminal for tweaky-hacky stuff; testing scripts, messing with system stuff, and occasionally for installing software, adding ppa's and updating, but I am perfectly comfortable doing all of that from the GUI.

[BrokenKingpin]

linux users will say everything like linux is not more only for geeks, but the reality remains, who in this forum have already used his Linux computer for a week without opening a terminal?... me even one day, i can not!
What the hell are you doing with your PC on a day to day basis? I cannot understand this at all. Once you configure your machine, you shouldn't need the command line for much (unless you just prefer to to GUI apps).

There are a few things I do from the command line in Linux when setting up the machine (same with Windows too), and then I rarely need to touch it. Even then I could probably find GUI app alternatives for setting up samaba shares and mounting additional disks.

[magmon]

I can get my laptop all set up without ever once opening terminal. Games and non-repo software included. Getdeb and quick google searches for .debs usually eliminate the need for the terminal. If anything, I should practice using it more.

[MrNatewood]

The only daily use I have for the terminal is SSH-related work stuff. On the weekends I rarely touch it for anything(once a month would be a good estimate).

I would say that for most uses it is an option. You really don't have to use it for anything routine. Sometimes I'll apt-get/equo because it feels faster but I can still use a GUI. The main difference (again for most use cases, and all "normal" uses) is that unlike in Windows you have the option to do stuff in a more "geeky" way. Nowadays a GUI exists for almost everything.

[Barrucadu]

If you can't even use Ubuntu for a mere day without needing to use the terminal, you're probably doing something wrong.

[CraigPaleo]

I can,and I do...I can go for months without using it.
I mainly use it to launch a Mahjong game.
That being said,I'm glad it is there when I need to do that special something.

Doesn't it show up in your launcher? I haven't had that problem myself but I've read of fixes if that be the case. Or, do you launch it that way just because you want to?

[uRock]

linux users will say everything like linux is not more only for geeks, but the reality remains, who in this forum have already used his Linux computer for a week without opening a terminal?... me even one day, i can not!

I'd do it quite often now that I have a launcher, which runs a script, to convert all of my .m4v files to .mpg.

[omns]

What the hell are you doing with your PC on a day to day basis? I cannot understand this at all.
That's such an Ubuntu centric point of view. Many people use the terminal everyday for all sorts of tasks.

I usually have a terminal open all day, everyday. At the moment it's chugging away on a statusnet client and downloading with wget. The Ubuntu way isn't the only way to do things.

[CraigPaleo]

I suppose the path of least resistance is subjective.

[chili555]

My wife has been using Ubuntu since 2007 and has never opened a terminal. That's kind of the whole point of Ubuntu. Silly question really.Mrs. Chili never uses the terminal; she doesn't even know what or where it is. She loves her System 76 running 10.04LTS!

[Danny Dubya]

Hrm. There's nothing that I've done in the terminal, that I absolutely had to do within it, past the initial install phase. Just a matter of certain small tasks being faster or being logged in remotely.

[wolfen69]

I'd like to see any of you survive one day without a computer. Now that would be something. ;)

[CraigPaleo]

I'd like to see any of you survive one day without a computer. Now that would be something. ;)

I'd get by with an abacus if it had Internet connectivity. :P

[jal]

I went without internet connect for nearly 3 days once.
The withdrawal is fierce...

[WinterMadness]

i rarely use the command line, ive gone longer than a week

[Witch Lady]

If you can't even use Ubuntu for a mere day without needing to use the terminal, you're probably doing something wrong.

I use terminal everyday. Shutdown and I go to sleep with the sounds of music ;)

[msandoy]

If you can't even use Ubuntu for a mere day without needing to use the terminal, you're probably doing something wrong.

I could make a link on my desktop to my bash scrips for various tunnels and whatnot, but I prefer to have the terminal open, so I can monitor any output in case of failures. I constantly have at least one terminal open.

My wife on the other hand, have never opened a terminal, and she has been using linux for 7 years now. She is what I would classify as an average user, and I'm kind of a semi advanced user. And yes, I do use the terminal just for the fun of it. :-)

[wewantutopia]

I'd like to see any of you survive one day without a computer. Now that would be something. ;)

It's called camping (or any other fun outdoor activity). Good times, true story! ;)

[Famicube64]

Absolutely not. I always use the terminal on Linux and the PowerShell on Windows. It makes me feel like a 1337 H4X0RZ.

[Primefalcon]

My brother in law has never ever used a terminal, I doubt he could. and he still gets by....

[ScionicSpectre]

I'm on Arch, and I haven't opened a terminal in weeks. And I'm also fully updated (check out appset-qt).

There are, of course, times when typing something is much less time-consuming and requires far less movement and cognitive mapping than opening a utility for the same action. If you know a command line program well enough, it's tempting to use it when you know it'll save time or provide a bit more flexibility.

Imagine trying to to fit all the options available to FFMPEG into a single GUI slab and not confusing everyone... (you'll take that challenge??)

Also, on Ubuntu, I haven't needed to open a terminal since 9.10. As far as I know, the only thing you would need the terminal for is installing DVD encryption libraries for playing back commercial DVDs, and I'm sure that's easier now than it was back then (I'm not a big ripper/DVD watcher, but I explored Linux to death and couldn't find a CLI necessity anywhere else).

[Linuxratty]

Doesn't it show up in your launcher? I haven't had that problem myself but I've read of fixes if that be the case. Or, do you launch it that way just because you want to?

No.
Well I would not mind having it on my launcher,but I'm just not that proficient.

[walt.smith1960]

Mrs. Chili never uses the terminal; she doesn't even know what or where it is. She loves her System 76 running 10.04LTS!

Same. She is familiar with Thunderbird, Firefox and various shopping sites though :D

[jwbrase]

When I first started using Ubuntu, I didn't even know where the terminal was. I went at least several days, if not a week, without using it. In that time, I found a graphical way to do something that, AFAIK, you can only do through the terminal in Windows: Namely, pinging.

[wolfen69]

The terminal is just another tool to me. I don't think of GUI and terminal as 2 different things. I use what is the best for me at the time.

You know what really grinds my gears? People that complain about using the terminal to do something simple and can't be bothered, but they have no problem typing 100's or even 1000's of words per day on forums, emails, work, texting, etc. You mean to tell me that sudo apt-get clean is a horrifying experience? Get real.

[3Miro]

You know what really grinds my gears? People that complain about using the terminal to do something simple and can't be bothered, but they have no problem typing 100's or even 1000's of words per day on forums, emails, work, texting, etc. You mean to tell me that sudo apt-get clean is a horrifying experience? Get real.

+1

In windows you have the garbage DOS and the little better GUI.

In Linux you have BOTH a fully functional Terminal and GUI.

[cariboo]

Absolutely not. I always use the terminal on Linux and the PowerShell on Windows. It makes me feel like a 1337 H4X0RZ.

I think this is the real reason most people use a terminal all the time.

[Quadunit404]

I think this is the real reason most people use a terminal all the time.

Just throw in the Mission Impossible (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYhNHhxN0A), put on a pair of sunglasses and you're good to go! :D

...and from this point onward every time I use the Terminal I'm doing all that.

[jwbrase]

You know what really grinds my gears? People that complain about using the terminal to do something simple and can't be bothered, but they have no problem typing 100's or even 1000's of words per day on forums, emails, work, texting, etc. You mean to tell me that sudo apt-get clean is a horrifying experience? Get real.

I think it's more knowing/remembering *what* to type that scares them. GUI's are generally a lot more self-documenting than CLI's, and are subject to xkcd 627 (http://xkcd.com/627/), whereas only the Google branch of that flowchart applies to CLI's. I use the CLI fairly frequently, and am not at all intimidated by it, but I do find myself having to fall back on man, apropos, and Google more often than I'd even typically even glance at a help file for a GUI based program. It doesn't bother me, but I could see how it would intimidate some people.

[t.rei]

Survive one day in windows without working graphics-driver?

No really, unless I'm programming or debugging something I hardly ever open the terminal. Most certainly not for the same kind of work you'd do on windows.

A day of browsing, chatting, mailing, updateing the system, writing documents, reading pdf, watching movies, listening to music,... what would you use the terminal for? (Unless you -being a poweruser- use it because it is more efficient in some cases)

[MBybee]

Survive one day in windows without working graphics-driver?

No really, unless I'm programming or debugging something I hardly ever open the terminal. Most certainly not for the same kind of work you'd do on windows.

A day of browsing, chatting, mailing, updateing the system, writing documents, reading pdf, watching movies, listening to music,... what would you use the terminal for? (Unless you -being a poweruser- use it because it is more efficient in some cases)

I have spent a few days not using the terminal - but usually because I wasn't working or anything on those days. It was just playing games or listening to music or something.

My job is 99% CLI based.