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Goosh: A Command Shell For Google, By Gosh

At first I thought this was a nerdy joke, but I played with it a couple of minutes and by gosh it looks useful: Goosh is a Unix-like command line for Google. Type in any of about 20 commands, and Goosh returns the output from Google. Type web microsoft and Goosh returns search results on the Web for Microsoft, ordered by number -- enter any number to go to the corresponding Web page. wiki microsoft returns a Wikipedia search, video Microsoft returns a video search, and so forth.

You can add Goosh to the Firefox search box, making it even better and more useful. Via Sidelights

If Goosh isn't enough for you, try YubNub, which extends the command-line metaphor to the entire Internet, letting you search Google, Wikipedia, CNN, AllMusic.com, ESPN, and more. Where Goosh has about 20 commands, YubNub has more than 400 pages of commands, at about 50 commands per page, which is, in statistical terms, a lot. YubNub can even be used to run Goosh.

Back in the early '90s, you'd see these raging flamewars about which was better: the command-line interface or the graphical user interface. Inevitably, these would devolve into personal attacks on the mentality of the people who preferred one or another. Thank goodness those silly arguments are done with. The fact is, a text-based interface is good for some things, a graphical interface good for others. Goosh and YubNub are examples of interfaces that combine the best of text-based and graphical interfaces; you can use the text-based interface of Goosh to access the graphical wonders of the Web.

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