It's nothing new - in fact the command line interface implemented at Goosh.org harks back to the days somewhere between the fall from grace of the punched card and the rise to fame (or infamy) of the GUI. But I was rather struck by Goosh because it recognises Google for what it is - a command-line interface with a thin veneer of GUI on top.

Google has long been known for the (almost fanatical) simplicity of its front page, which hides an ever-increasing range of services. Some put its success down to this every bit as much as to its famous PageRank algorithms (for there are many), and AdSense service.

Learning any command line syntax is like learning to snowboard - you have to get through those first few days of pain to really 'get it' and start to have fun. Once you do this, the benefits of the command line start to reveal themselves: you can often do more, and do it more quickly than in a QUI, with less rick of RSI. For me Goosh is still slightly the wrong side of the pain barrier - I suspect I'll find myself sticking to the GUI for now. But if one of the promises that command line interface hold out over GUIs - that of enabling an actual conversation - I could be tempted in future to switch.