I've been using Linux for a very long time, and from day 1, the terminal window and command-line interface (CLI) have been an integral part of my work. At the same time, I've learned that it's OK ...

To start the terminal where you will type most of the commands you can press Ctrl + Alt + T. Alternatively, you can look for the Terminal Icon or app inside of your Linux distro.

The first will update our list of installable software, and if that works successfully, denoted by using “&&” to chain the commands together, then it will run the upgrade on our Linux machine.

When you're working with the command line, you'll want a terminal app that either makes the job easier or is awesome enough that you don't mind using it. Here are my five favorite options.

When I first switched to Linux from Windows, I was intimidated by the terminal. The black screen with its blinking cursor seemed archaic compared to Windows' polished GUI.

Plus: Forty Linux terminal commands. And great extensions for Google's Chrome browser Forge.mil and the US military The US military has become more and more interested in open source software.