The Unofficial Google Shell
June 2, 2008 4:52 PM Subscribe
Hey, command-line nerds! You shell geeks over there! Switch over to your browser and go to goosh.org right now.
A couple things to try first (type everything after the ">"):
> place 6266 W Highway 290, Austin, TX 78735
> news mcclellan
> o 1
> web mcclellan
> images firefox fox
That's right, it's a command-line interface to Google in your browser. You're welcome.
A couple things to try first (type everything after the ">"):
> place 6266 W Highway 290, Austin, TX 78735
> news mcclellan
> o 1
> web mcclellan
> images firefox fox
That's right, it's a command-line interface to Google in your browser. You're welcome.
Needs vi mode.
posted by meehawl at 5:12 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by meehawl at 5:12 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Pretty slick. Really, they should have a Telnet interface, though.
posted by Kadin2048 at 5:12 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by Kadin2048 at 5:12 PM on June 2, 2008
Kadin2048, look at the image and map results. That wouldn't work in a Telnet session.
posted by sdodd at 5:20 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by sdodd at 5:20 PM on June 2, 2008
I think we all knew that GUIs were a passing fad.
posted by tkolar at 5:23 PM on June 2, 2008 [8 favorites]
posted by tkolar at 5:23 PM on June 2, 2008 [8 favorites]
Meh. I won't be impressed until they map google to an interface that uses cuneiforn on stone tablets.
posted by googly at 5:26 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by googly at 5:26 PM on June 2, 2008
I totally don't get it. Can someone explain for the morons in the house, please?
posted by serazin at 5:28 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by serazin at 5:28 PM on June 2, 2008
Very cool...
posted by schyler523 at 5:32 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by schyler523 at 5:32 PM on June 2, 2008
guest@goosh.org:/web> images firefox fox | wc -l
just returned a bunch of images
... pos..
posted by xorry at 5:34 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
just returned a bunch of images
... pos..
posted by xorry at 5:34 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Yeah it's a bit Slashdotted. An hour and a half ago I was using it and loving it because it was so much faster than native Google. Now it's taking about 30 seconds to get search results back to me. I'm hoping people will get bored with it. Also, it needs a green-on-black colour scheme.
posted by Jimbob at 5:43 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by Jimbob at 5:43 PM on June 2, 2008
Nice! Wish it displayed more than 4 results at a time, though. Also: press up the up arrow to access your previous commands and use tab to autocomplete :D
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 5:44 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 5:44 PM on June 2, 2008
Yeah, I should have provided more context for the non-nerds. Before it was common to have Graphical User Interfaces (the Window-Icon-Menu-Pointer metaphor) for interacting with computers, the norm was to issue commands by typing in a program's name along with arguments to modify its behavior. This dates back to teletypes -- that is, before computers had monitors. The program that received your input was called a "shell." Today that program runs in its own window on the screen and is called a terminal. The prompt, command, and its arguments are called "the command line."
A minority of computer users spend a significant percentage of their day issuing commands in a terminal window. While the disadvantages versus GUIs are obvious, the command line has some subtle advantages that may be difficult to appreciate without first gaining familiarity with that mode of interaction. This website brings some of those advantages to the one application/service I wish I could use from the command line: Google's search engine.
posted by sdodd at 5:52 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
A minority of computer users spend a significant percentage of their day issuing commands in a terminal window. While the disadvantages versus GUIs are obvious, the command line has some subtle advantages that may be difficult to appreciate without first gaining familiarity with that mode of interaction. This website brings some of those advantages to the one application/service I wish I could use from the command line: Google's search engine.
posted by sdodd at 5:52 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
A minority of computer users spend a significant percentage of their day life issuing commands in a terminal window.
posted by lukemeister at 5:59 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by lukemeister at 5:59 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
I had the pleasure once of logging into and working on an ancient PDP-11 hooked up to an actual line printer/teletype machine. The noise was deafening, and kind of sexy. This web page needs a sound effect option for maximum retro verisimilitude.
posted by meehawl at 6:07 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by meehawl at 6:07 PM on June 2, 2008
Yeah, xorry, integration with a local instance of bash would be cool, but integration with Yahoo Pipes or the equivalent is what's got me drooling. (Seeing as how the Pipes-and-Filters architectural pattern is maybe the chief advantage of the command line.)
posted by sdodd at 6:19 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by sdodd at 6:19 PM on June 2, 2008
Here's a browser based implementation of vi using javascript.
I'd love to see the mash-up of these two, but I don't think I'd know where to begin.
posted by hwestiii at 6:21 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
I'd love to see the mash-up of these two, but I don't think I'd know where to begin.
posted by hwestiii at 6:21 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
Ooops ... I tried to read my mail with the "rm" command and just deleted Google.
They got backups, right?
posted by RavinDave at 6:40 PM on June 2, 2008 [7 favorites]
They got backups, right?
posted by RavinDave at 6:40 PM on June 2, 2008 [7 favorites]
guest@goosh.org:/web> sudo porn
1) How To Hide Your Porn | Mac Geekery
You can just go in terminal, then change to Super User: sudo, then, move your “porn” folder to /var/root/ or /var. So everythine you need it, ...
http://www.macgeekery.com/tips/how_to_hide_your_porn
posted by quonsar at 6:44 PM on June 2, 2008 [3 favorites]
1) How To Hide Your Porn | Mac Geekery
You can just go in terminal, then change to Super User: sudo, then, move your “porn” folder to /var/root/ or /var. So everythine you need it, ...
http://www.macgeekery.com/tips/how_to_hide_your_porn
posted by quonsar at 6:44 PM on June 2, 2008 [3 favorites]
Jeez quonsar, don't tell everyone....
posted by pompomtom at 6:49 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by pompomtom at 6:49 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Ooh, ooh, ideafilter: load up Goosh in Mozilla Prism to make it seem even more terminal-like!
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 6:52 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 6:52 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
Do I have to link to Dave's Quick Search Deskbar again?
posted by Chuckles at 7:00 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by Chuckles at 7:00 PM on June 2, 2008
Yeah, Chuckles, the Deskbar (and similar apps) only launch a search, they don't display the results inline. Being able to scroll up to previous results is really nice -- it breaks the browser history in a useful way. The Goosh integration with the browser is arguably better; e.g., "> o 1" opens a new tab.
posted by sdodd at 7:08 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by sdodd at 7:08 PM on June 2, 2008
Oh me oh my this is fun. How do you get more than four results?
posted by middleclasstool at 7:11 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by middleclasstool at 7:11 PM on June 2, 2008
Ah, "more!"
posted by middleclasstool at 7:14 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by middleclasstool at 7:14 PM on June 2, 2008
This is just terrific. I'm going to start using the Internet again.
posted by gum at 8:20 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by gum at 8:20 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
If I can get my gmail in elm... well I don't know what I'd do.
posted by jessamyn at 8:21 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 8:21 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
This is awesome. Somebody ought to put a web page front end on this thing.
posted by king walnut at 8:28 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by king walnut at 8:28 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
I honestly don't see the point in command-line access via HTML. Maybe if it was a VT100 terminal, or something...
posted by blue_beetle at 9:31 PM on June 2, 2008
posted by blue_beetle at 9:31 PM on June 2, 2008
"If I can get my gmail in elm... well I don't know what I'd do."
Elm Millennium Edition has POP and IMAP support. Or you could just use regular Elm and fetchmail, which is how people did POP in the olden days anyway.
"I honestly don't see the point in command-line access via HTML"
Yeah. I was hoping there'd be a source tarball of an actually useful utility, but instead it's just another nifty browser toy. That's a shame.
"w3m http://www.google.com/search?q=$1"
Hm. I'm getting an idea, but I hate writing SOAP code. Decisions, decisions.
posted by majick at 9:57 PM on June 2, 2008
Elm Millennium Edition has POP and IMAP support. Or you could just use regular Elm and fetchmail, which is how people did POP in the olden days anyway.
"I honestly don't see the point in command-line access via HTML"
Yeah. I was hoping there'd be a source tarball of an actually useful utility, but instead it's just another nifty browser toy. That's a shame.
"w3m http://www.google.com/search?q=$1"
Hm. I'm getting an idea, but I hate writing SOAP code. Decisions, decisions.
posted by majick at 9:57 PM on June 2, 2008
Needs Commodore interface.
LOAD "BAR JOKES",8,1
posted by chips ahoy at 10:00 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
LOAD "BAR JOKES",8,1
posted by chips ahoy at 10:00 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
LOADINGposted by majick at 10:16 PM on June 2, 2008 [2 favorites]
READY.
LIST
0 GOOGLE/64
11 "AHAJOKES.COM " PRG
7 "DREAMHAVEN.ORG " PRG
42 "COMEDY-ZONE.NET " PRG
585 BLOCKS FREE.
READY.
Anyone know what the commands for the different languages are?
t jp en 頭の滝オフしてほしい does not result in anything.
posted by Archers of Loaf at 11:01 PM on June 2, 2008
t jp en 頭の滝オフしてほしい does not result in anything.
posted by Archers of Loaf at 11:01 PM on June 2, 2008
In the beginning was the command line.
Also a little later.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:03 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Also a little later.
posted by Pope Guilty at 11:03 PM on June 2, 2008 [1 favorite]
Hmm - but it doesn't give me the one thing GUIs and Web 2.0 never quite can: simple composition of simple tools.
posted by freebird at 12:03 AM on June 3, 2008
posted by freebird at 12:03 AM on June 3, 2008
I am totally underwhelmed.
posted by SciencePunk at 1:46 AM on June 3, 2008
posted by SciencePunk at 1:46 AM on June 3, 2008
hmmmm.... I like CLI's, I use them daily, and I'm just not getting a thrill out of this. There's stuff a GUI, even a mostly textual GUI like Google's page, is just plain good at. If it included scripting functions, incorporated regular expressions, etc it might be more nifty, but basically its identical to using google's front page, except you only see four results at a time.
posted by sotonohito at 4:14 AM on June 3, 2008
posted by sotonohito at 4:14 AM on June 3, 2008
I couldn't get Japanese translations to work either. The examples show you're using the syntax correctly, Archers, and stuff like t en de translate me to german works. Maybe jp isn't the right switch for Japanese or it isn't supported?
posted by no_moniker at 10:00 AM on June 3, 2008
posted by no_moniker at 10:00 AM on June 3, 2008
Turns out the Japanese is ja not jp. Using that works.
posted by no_moniker at 10:06 AM on June 3, 2008
posted by no_moniker at 10:06 AM on June 3, 2008
I'm experimenting with this as my start page for a while. Thanks.
posted by nthdegx at 2:51 PM on June 3, 2008
posted by nthdegx at 2:51 PM on June 3, 2008
« Older Drawing Rock Music | Crap, I'm hungry. Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by maudlin at 4:55 PM on June 2, 2008 [7 favorites]