CH, it is quite different than it is in DOS.
There are quite a few people that use Linux like me that rarely use X-windows. I run a local apache web server. I build all my pages on my local machine, test them and then upload them to my website. Most of the stuff that I do there is absolutely no way that I can do in a GUI. There are just no applications for it. I really don't consider it a macho thing (okay maybe a little) but it is easier and much more powerful.
With that in mind, why is there even a desktop gui in Linux? Well it is an attempt to make Linux a little easier to use. I really first got interested in Linux at a computer show. Some Linux nerds had a booth setup and were burning and selling copies of Mandrake 7.0 for a $3 donation. The had several machines setup and I had never seen a desktop as impressive as Mandrakes. So I got a copy and installed it on my computer and in about 45min was running Linux. Been kind of hooked ever since. I did most things at the desktop, played some games, burned some CD's, surfed the Internet, pretty cool stuff. Then when I started doing websites, I had an actual project to setup Apache, MYSQL, PHP, and Samba. After some frustration, they were all running properly (though I am occasionally lacking a module or two).
Now there are those people that see making Linux easier to use as not neccessarily a good thing. In particular, Corel came out with their version of Linux that was quite easy to install. It also did not use a root password and had other things that made it quite despised in the Linux community. I think that you will probably see Linux splitting along Server/Desktop lines in the future. You are already seeing several distros with Corporate versions. Mandrake has optional root password in some of their versions. Windows for the most part is still easier to use, since it is familar and most programs and software works.
CH, please don't consider this a personal attack on your views. It's just some information from others that have been there.
Hey, what can I say. I have a 3-month old son that has kind of gotten into Linux already.
