Try to describe Hotwire, and you'll eventually wind up saying something that sounds like an oxymoron, like "command-line GUI," "graphical shell" or "GUI xterm." Well, that's pretty much what Hotwire is: something halfway between a text-based shell and a modern graphical user interface.

Now it’s time to discuss one of the most mysterious and confusing parts of Linux to a Windows user: the command line. To most Windows users the prospect of typing in what you want your computer to do is completely foreign and thus intimidating.

A very long time ago, computers didn’t have mice, icons or fancy graphics. Instead of an Operating System with a Graphical User Interface, there was the Command Line Interface. With it, you would issue commands to your computer in a text only environment that is not seen so often these days.

Translating a command line tool to a graphical interface usually means a loss of functionality. However, in the case of the newly released trowser text browser, while I wouldn't swear that the transition has retained all the functionality of the less command that it is intended to replace, I doubt that anyone short of an expert is likely to notice the difference

Imagine forgetting about gimp's interface and just using it. This alternative interaction for the Gnu Image Manipulation Program would allow for custom, and dynamic gestures to be created for all aspects of it's interface, similar to the way in which a command line interface is habit forming.

This article will tell you how to install and use Webmin, a web user interface mainly used for administering servers. If you are not a sysadmin, don't run away: Webmin can also be used on a single desktop too. You may struggle to remember all the command line operations to manage, say, run levels or various daemons and prefer to do it the GUI way.

If I am going to use Linux, I need to be able to get my work done on it without being confused. I am a very computer literate guy, but I am also a Windows guy. Linux is a different world, and quite frankly, I didn’t WANT it to be that different. If I have to open up Terminal and type anything into a command line, I’m angry.

I am personally a strong advocate of using the Command Line. However, I am coming from a more tech type of situation than some others do. For the 'average" user however, is the Command Line relevant to everyday use?

Linux has come a long way in the past two years. Today much of what needs to be done on a Linux machine can be done using a mouse and a little pointing and clicking. Occasionally, however, there are things that still require a little under-the-hood tinkering, where a rudimentary understanding of the command line comes in handy.