Why is the Windows cmd.exe limited to 80 characters wide?

I love stretching my terminal on unix. What is the history or reason behind windows lame command line?

Solution 1:

It isn't. You can right click the title bar, select properties, and in the "Layout" tab alter the screen buffer size (line width and scrollback) and the window size (viewport size). If you started cmd from a shortcut, you can save these settings for future sessions.

Solution 2:

If you are mouse-phobic you can also just type this inside the cmd window:

mode <cols>,<lines>
mode 80,25
mode 120,50
etc.

Solution 3:

It's not limited.

1. Run cmd.exe
2. Click on the icon in the upper left hand of the screen.
3. Select Properties
4. Select the Layout tab.
5. Set the buffer and window widths to whatever you like.
6. Click OK
7. Select Save Properties for future...
8. Click OK.

You might want to check out Console. It's an open source app that lets you run multiple shells in a tabbed environment. You can also set the alpha-transparency of the shells.