[einsteinx2]

> Microsoft says that entering the command "shutdown /s /t 0" at the command prompt will, in fact, force your PC to turn off, whether it wants to or not.

Wow how the tables have turned…the argument used to be you used Windows instead of Linux because on Linux you might occasionally have to use the scary terminal to fix an issue haha.

[terminalbraid]

Microsoft has been issuing fixes like this with alarmingly increasing frequency.

[0x000xca0xfe]

It's part of their secret strategy to turn oldschool Windows dinosaurs into enthusiastic Linux power users. Next they'll introduce middle click pasting.

[sandworm101]

Because all of Microsoft's people secretly use linux on thier machines.

(No joke. This is a thing. It means when something goes catastrophically wrong with windows, the people in position to fix the problem will still be able to function.)

[wang_li]

CI/CD baby! Deliver early, deliver often, fix it later.

[itopaloglu83]

They’re at the last step of their enshittification process, where the focus is to extract money from everyone, not to ship a good product or fix things.

[lousken]

Year of the linux desktop

Year of the windows cli

[loloquwowndueo]

You can always just pull the power cord too, or long-press the power button on a laptop.

[SoftTalker]

Pulling the power cord on a laptop won't shut it down, it will just start using the battery.

Some desktop PCs have a physical power switch on the power supply, usually next to where the power cord plugs in. But it is becoming more rare. Every $0.50 they can save in costs is added to the bottom line.

[dylan604]

Don't PSUs have a physical rocker switch for on/off?

[pmontra]

I understand the sarcasm but copy pasting a bash or powershell command is faster and less error prone than following the instructions to open menus, dialogs, tabs and clicking buttons, especially in deeply nested UIs.

[einsteinx2]

You’re preaching to the choir, I’m a heavy terminal user and I agree completely.

[g947o]

I don't see how a command line tool with 10 different flags is necessarily less "error prone" than UI. In fact, I have used many tools where a flag is confusing or has conflicts with another flag in an unexpected way, not to mention subtle issues like escaping.

[opan]

>the argument used to be you used Windows instead of Linux because on Linux you might occasionally have to use the scary terminal to fix an issue

This always annoys me because you're really handicapping yourself by ignoring the CLI on any OS. Sure I use it more heavily on GNU/Linux than I did on Windows as a kid, but that's because it's so good. If I'm ever in front of a Windows machine now I still like to have a terminal handy (and it's even better/more-familiar on macOS, of course), and I've learned things like "type is like cat", "robocopy is like rsync", "tasklist is kinda like ps and taskkill like kill/pkill" which help me to do things better on Windows than when I used it fulltime. I'm glad Microsoft invested more in the CLI with Windows Terminal, OpenSSH in the default install, winget, PowerShell, etc. I think it's better for everyone. I fear the CLI hate is spreading anti-intellectualism. Some people seem annoyed when they even have to use their keyboard instead of their mouse for something.

[ndsipa_pomu]

GUIs are great for when you're new to a bit of software as you can see the various options and get a feel for the possibilities. CLIs are nearly always more flexible once you've read the man page, but is a steeper learning path.

Automation/scripting is when CLIs really come into their own as otherwise you end up becoming a GUI click monkey. The best is when there's both a GUI and CLI (as long as they work the same way).

[whatevaa]

If CLIs functioned as LLM and you could talk freely with it, there would be no problem. In reality, CLIs are inconsistent and basically function as robotic interfaces, a lot of them not that far of programming.

[socialcommenter]

Can this be pasted into Win+R? That might give a novice user more confidence; pasting a short command that literally says "shutdown" into a small, easily identified text dialog box seems clear enough.

Small added benefit, presumably it's harder to accidentally run a multi-line multi-stage command because you had the wrong thing in your clipboard (I don't have my windows PC handy, but if you paste multiple lines into Win+R it doesn't execute anything, correct?)

[apublicfrog]

Yes. This is how I've been shutting down windows PCs for decades, as I don't want to use a mouse and start menu positioning varies:

Windows + R

(type) shutdown /s /t 0

Enter

The /t is a time flag and you can abort scheduled shutdowns with the /a flag. Handy if you know your Windows machine will be finished with a task in 10 or so minutes but you need to leave - just set a timer for 1800 seconds and Kazaa will be done with its download ;).

[throwa356262]

This is not new. Operating a windows machine has always included a bunch of magical commands. It's just that it has usually been in the registery. The cmd and powershell stuff is kind of a new direction.

Regarding Linux, I dont think most people need command line for normal work. Obviously the guy that runs an obscure dist in RAID-6 on his toaster would be different, but for most normal people just install Ubuntu and use it.

[mminer237]

I think this is an exception that proves the rule.

The average Windows user literally has no concept of a terminal. The average Linux user does indeed have to copy and paste terminal commands off the internet to fix issues or do seemingly ordinary customization frequently.

[nubinetwork]

Except its not a hard power off, it only tells windows to shut down... I've seen instances of windows hanging on both startup and shutdown, leaving me no other option but to hard power off the machine (because nobody uses a reset button anymore).

[dylan604]

Does this bring the old Halt and Catch Fire command back as an option?

[1970-01-01]

Alt+F4 on the desktop does the same thing, but does it with a neat UI. No scary CLI needed.

Edit - it's Alt+F4.

[steve1977]

Windows always had a command line. I remember I used to do remote stuff via CLI even back on NT 4.0