I wanted to learn linux for a long time but never had the initiative to do it. Then I switched to macs and was intrigued about using the terminal to get things done.

A bit later I ordered a webhost that offered limited ssh access. I played around with it and got comfortable with bash. A bit later I bought a VPS and set up my own operating system. That box is now being used for just about everything, it’s my “personal computing cloud”. ;)

With that being said, I don’t believe you can “learn linux” without ever touching the CLI. Yeah sure, you’ll be able to use it… but to really learn linux you have to embrace the commandline interface.