Command Line

Last Modified: Sep 1, 2024

In the introduction to his how-to guide for The Linux Command Line, William Shots makes a great point about how modern computers hide an awful lot from us, and in the case of Operating Systems like Windows, you have these incredibly powerful machines that are filled with bloat, tracking, and just nonsense, and then 90% of your time is spent clicking and dragging and scrolling.

So, while the command line seems antiquated (and tbh, I wouldn't want to be using it full time for absolutely everything) I also see the command line as a political tool for opening a dialogue between oneself, and one's understanding of what a computer is, and how they fit into our daily lives.

I've been using the command line quite a lot in the past couple of years, because I don't like the idea of interacting with a resource on a daily basis and not knowing how it works, and also, I am an efficiency enthusiast (this is sometimes referred to as 'lazy'). I mainly use the command line to run scripts, but learning about the command line has given me a greater appreciation for how powerful home computers are, and its capabilities for reducing menial tasks.