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Thanks to applications like Firefox, Thunderbird, and OpenOffice. org, you can do most of your work without leaving the convenience of the graphical environment. But that doesn’t mean that point-and-click is the only way to productive daily computing. In fact, there are quite a few commandline productivity tools that you can use to perform many common tasks, such as reading email, keeping track of your appointments, and checking RSS feeds.

Switching to command-line applications might seem like a step backward, but it makes sense for several reasons. The first reason is speed: Even the most advanced command-line tools require only a fraction of the system resources consumed by their graphical equivalents. Also, because command-line applications don’t include any visual embellishments, such as buttons and toolbars, they provide a distraction-free work environment and fit small screens better. Efficiency is another important factor. Most command-line applications can be controlled using just a handful of keyboard shortcuts, and once you've mastered them, you can work faster than with any graphical application.

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