Ghostboard pixel Skip to content

FOSS Weekly #23.03: Unknown Linux Shells, Terminals, Code Editors and More

Apart from learning about various shells and terminal applications, read the interview with the creator of The Linux Cast podcast.

Google is tightening its noose around what emails it wants to show you instead of what you want to see.

Several readers notified me that FOSS Weekly emails are going to the spam directly and they have to retrieve the mail from spam manually.

If you are using Gmail, please add my email to your contacts list otherwise Google may start hiding it from your inbox. Don't fall prey to Google's tactics.

💬 In this week's issue:

  • Different shells and terminals to explore
  • Code editors, new and classics
  • Interview with The Linux Cast host Matthew Weber
  • And more Linux news, videos and memes

🗞 Linux News Round-up

Here is the selected news from the Linux world:

Making Content that Resonates: An Interview with ‘The Linux Cast’ Creator, Matthew Weber
A conversation with Matthew Weber, the mastermind behind ‘The Linux Cast’ YouTube channel.

🧠 What we’re thinking about

The FBI managed to trace a Tor user's real IP address, they wouldn't divulge how. We wonder how they were able to accomplish that.

How Did the FBI Get a Tor User’s IP Address?
The onion router is supposed to keep your web activity hidden from prying eyes. So how did the feds trace a Tor user to his grandmother’s house?
AWK programming language was initially developed in 1977 by Alfred Aho, Peter J. Weinberger, and Brian Kernighan. AWK takes its name from their respective initials. A for Aho, W for Weinberger and K for Kernighan.

🛒 Deal you should not miss

Whether you’re an engineer or an end user, you’ll get practical guides on topics including the Bash shell, cybersecurity operations, the power of UNIX, tools to improve your day-to-day programming, and much more. Plus, your purchase helps support Code for America!

Humble Tech Book Bundle: Linux and Sysadmin Tools by O’Reilly
We’ve teamed up with O’Reilly for our newest bundle. Get books like Bash Cookbook & Linux Pocket Guide. Plus, pay what you want & support charity!
Deal ends in a week

✨Shells, Terminals and Prompts

If you think terminal, shell and prompt are the same things, you should get familiar with the essentials.

19 Basic But Essential Linux Terminal Tips You Must Know
Learn some small, basic but often ignored things about the terminal. With the small tips, you should be able to use the terminal with slightly more efficiency.

Bash is so popular that it has become synonymous with shell. However, it is not the only shell out there. Apart from other popular ones like ksh, csh, zsh, here are some lesser-known shells.

Beyond Bash: 9 Lesser-Known Linux Shells and Their Capabilities
You probably already know about the popular shells like bash and zsh. Let us explore some interesting and unique shells.

And why just stop at shells? There are plenty of terminals as well.

Top 14 Terminal Emulators for Linux (With Extra Features or Amazing Looks)
Want a terminal that looks cool or has extra features? Here are the best Linux terminal emulators you can get.

Shells and terminals are done. How about customizing the prompt?

Starship: Open-Source Customizable Prompt for Any Shell
A cross-shell prompt that makes it easy to customize and configure the Linux terminal prompt if you care too much about the looks of your terminal.

🐧Linux learning resources

It is not easy to understand the cron job expression by heart. This little cheat sheet helps.

Crontab cheatsheet

In fact, there is an excellent online portal to create and understand cron expressions.

Crontab.guru - The cron schedule expression editor
An easy to use editor for crontab schedules.

📺 What we are watching

Even Linux creator Linus Torvalds thinks Debian is difficult to install. This is almost ten years old but it still makes me smile how he shares his struggle of maintaining multiple Linux machines in his family.


📱Application highlights

This is a promising new upcoming code editor.

Meet ecode: An Upcoming Modern, Lightweight Code Editor With a Brand New GUI Framework
A new exciting code editor is in the works, built on its own GUI framework.

It is difficult to include it in the list of best open source code editors at this stage. However, this is surely one of the upcoming code editors to watch out for.


🤣 Linux Humor

Linux users are Linux users even if they use it with WSL inside Windows, right?

Linux meme by itsfoss

❤️ Enjoying FOSS Weekly?

Forward it to Linux-using friends and encourage them to subscribe (hint: it's here).

Become a Pro member and show your support 🙏

Join the It's FOSS Community forum.

Something else? Share it with me by pressing the reply button.

Enjoy :)


Here's why you should opt for It's FOSS Plus Membership

  • Even the biggest players in the Linux world don't care about desktop Linux users. We do.
  • We don't put content behind paywall. Your support keeps it open for everyone. Think of it like 'pay it forward'.
  • Don't like ads? With the Plus membership, you get an ad-free reading experience.
  • When millions of AI-generated content is being published daily, you read and learn from real human Linux users.
  • It costs just $2 a month, less than the cost of your favorite burger.

Latest