Why does AI tell you to use Terminal so much?

Re:Why does AI tell you to use Terminal so much? by ErroneousBosh on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @05:12AM (#47333315)

I go into the shop, I walk up to the counter, and I say "Can I have a 1/2" drive T50 Torx bit please", and the person behind the counter says "Yes of course" and we go over to the small expensive tools cabinet and get one out.

I don't go into the shop and wander about until I find something that looks like it, then stand there pointing things going "THAT!" until someone figures out what I mean.

And now I have a T50 Torx bit that I can stick on a ratchet with a long extension and get the passenger seat out of the Range Rover so I can retrieve my daughter's favourite necklace from where it's gotten entangled with the wiring to the gearbox and suspension ECUs in a place where I can see it with a dentist's mirror but can't actually get a grabber onto to fish it out, worse luck.

So that's my afternoon sorted then. Because we're not just hacking on computers round here.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why does AI tell you to use Terminal so much? by relaxing on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @06:42AM (#47333903)

On the other hand, if you went and browsed the visual interface, you might discover you could purchase a 1/2” drive to 1/4” hex adapter, thereby opening up the possibility of using the entire set of impact driver bits you already own.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why does AI tell you to use Terminal so much? by ErroneousBosh on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @09:17AM (#47335182)

That doesn't solve the problem I have, because I already have a 1/4" ratchet and I don't have a 1/4" T50 bit.

Furthermore, a T50 bit with 1/4" drive would just snap instantly. If the bit didn't break, you'd twist the end off the extension bar.

I have a specific problem, which I already know how to solve, which has a specific solution, for which I need a specific component.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why does AI tell you to use Terminal so much? by relaxing on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @07:25PM (#47343913)

Nonsense. They make T50 bits for regular impact drivers and they don’t immediately self-destruct.

Anyway the point was about the discoverability factor of user interfaces.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Why does AI tell you to use Terminal so much? by ErroneousBosh on Wednesday March 11, 2026 @08:00PM (#47344327)

So why would a 1/2" to 1/4" adaptor help, then?

Consider that to crack the seat bolts free initially, I need to use a metre long breaker bar to get them moving, and I need to torque them down to something ridiculous on refitting.

[ Parent | on HN ]