Once upon a time, using Linux without the terminal was unthinkable. Now? For average users, the terminal is totally optional.

For example, you can now run Linux GUI apps through the Windows Subsystem for Linux, instead of being limited to command line interfaces. There are also Task Manager improvements for Microsoft ...

[Adam] spent some time this weekend putting together an Ubuntu distro for his Beagleboard XM to give it the convenience of a GUI and a whole bunch of drivers to get a lot of stuff done.