Exploring the Command Line Interface
My formal education spanned the 1990s and 2000s, which meant computer use was predominantly through a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and Microsoft products. I just caught the end of using Acorns and MS-DOS which demanded at least some commands to be passed through a Command Line Interface (CLI).
Today, as I browse the internet to find information, I find there are too many distracting pop-ups and adverts. I find it helpful to use plug-ins that re-display the main content of the page in a stripped way. 'Mercury Reader' for Chrome and 'Reader' for Firefox are recommended. I also dabble with 'GNU LibreJS' to disable and enable JavaScript for specific sites.
There are text-based browsers too such as 'lynx' and 'elinks' on a Linux distribution. The former is more advanced and still developed. Use of lynx has got me interested in accessing Linux through a CLI in a tty terminal. There are six terminals on a Linux distribution, accessed by typing Ctrl+Alt+F1... 6. Typing Ctrl+Alt+F7 will return you to the GUI. I find the CLI challenging and interesting. They change how I view and use the computer and internet.
"We lack adequate images," to quote Werner Herzog, I think from the film 'Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe'. He meant we are bombarded by cheap images because of their ubiquity and intent. This was in the 1980s I believe, but the sentiment is as true now as ever. The modern computer and internet are ever-more graphic. But they should not be. Deep down it is text in files. Symbols being read and written. Surfing through a CLI filters out cheap images. It requires you to imagine and savour images that you need, that have value.
Alastair Clarke
24 August, 2019