I personally believe that there is great value in learning how to use and be proficient with the command line. It is a different way of working from the GUI ba

I personally believe that there is great value in learning how to use and be proficient with the command line. It is a different way of working from the GUI based systems that many computer users learn and primarily use. And it can be a very powerful and very quick way of working, as well. I would say install a simple, stripped down Linux distro on a computer and try to use it for everything. Necessity is the best motivator to learning in my experience. You can start off with Gnome, but if you want to force yourself to learn the command line better, install something more lightweight (like enlightenment, or openbox) and then figure out how to configure it and try and do work from there. If you don't have a box you can put Linux on and can use, find a super cheap Linux VPS (search around on lowendbox.com) and then follow a tutorial on setting up a simple server. Then you can do an email server, try using it as a torrentbox, etc. This may even be a better option, because it will be a place you can put up your other work. It's only a couple bucks a month, and once you've got things figured out, try doing more with it. Switch from Apache to nginx, for example. The key is simply spending time on the command line, then you will be able to get comfortable with it. Also, there are many, many great tricks that you can learn if you know someone who is good at using Unix command lines and shells simply by watching over their shoulder. Some of the most valuable tidbits I have learned have been when someone saw me do something the hard way, then taught me a better way to do it (it took me a long time before I learned about tab completion, for example).