My last company had two primary software products. The one customers always opted for was the green-screen version, like something out of 1989 with an AS400 backend. Funny thing is, the backend was IBM’s latest version of the 400. :)
Had a couple of customer service and tech support jobs in the 90s using such systems. Once you get the hang of the menu tree, you can haul ass through tasks. When our customers would go for the GUI product, they’d immediately revert back to the green screen.
Somehow that book shakes me on each read. Not like I don’t know what to expect and if you described the plot to me it wouldn’t sound scary at all. But it is.