Windows Administration at the Command Line

5

Figure 1.1

Task Manager only
provides a partial view
of the applications
running on your
system.

Figure 1.2

TaskList provides a
complete picture of
the applications run-
ning on your system.

The command line makes a wealth of powerful tools available. For example, you can discover
the exact address for a Web site you visit frequently, so you can avoid making assumptions about
emails that enter your inbox with an address, rather than human readable Web site name. On days
when access to the Web sites you visit seems especially slow, you can use command line utilities to
detect whether your local ISP is the problem or the problem is somewhere else that your ISP can't
control before you call to complain. You can also use command line tools to locate local resources
or those on a network. In fact, command line utilities can help you learn more about your system
than you might think is possible.
The command line is important because it frees you from the constraints of the GUI that was
supposed to make your life easier. Sure, you don't want to use the command line for everything,
but it's good to know about the command line when you want to perform tasks quickly or you need
low-level information about your system. The command line does require that you learn something
about your machine, but this short section should have already demonstrated that you need the
additional information the command line provides to keep your system safe and functioning fully.