Discover Hidden Linux Gems: ASCII Screensavers, pv Data Monitor, and Calendar

In this article we explore three lesser‑known but powerful Linux command‑line tools: termsaver , pv , and calendar .

Tool 1: Terminal Screensaver (termsaver)

termsaver provides ASCII screensavers that run directly in the terminal, offering options such as Matrix, a digital clock, Star Wars, and several NSFW screensavers.

randtxt – displays words in random places on screen

starwars – runs the Asciimation StarWars movie

urlfetcher – displays URL contents with typing animation

quotes4all – shows recent quotes from quotes4all.net

rssfeed – displays RSS feed information

matrix – matrix‑style screensaver

clock – digital clock

rfc – randomly displays RFC contents

jokes4all – recent jokes (NSFW)

asciiartfarts – ASCII images (NSFW)

programmer – source code typing animation

sysmon – graphical system monitor

Install it from Debian/Ubuntu package managers or download from termsaver.brunobraga.net for other distributions. Run termsaver -h to list all screensavers, then start one with termsaver <screenname> (e.g., termsaver matrix).

Tool 2: pv – Data Transfer Monitor

pv is a small yet useful utility that visualizes data copying progress, useful with rsync, tar, or any pipeline.

-p – progress bar -t – elapsed time -e – estimated time of completion -r – data rate -b – byte count

Example with rsync:

$ rsync -av /home/carla/ /media/carla/backup/ | pv

Example creating a tar archive: $ tar -czf - /file/path | pv > backup.tgz pv can also replay input with a typing effect:

$ echo "typing random stuff to pipe through pv" | pv -qL 8

Use man pv to explore all options and formatting features.

Tool 3: calendar – Text‑Based Calendars

The /usr/bin/calendar command (a BSD variant) displays various plain‑text calendars such as calendar.computer, calendar.discordian, calendar.music, and calendar.lotr. You can list upcoming events with:

$ calendar -f /usr/share/calendar/calendar.lotr -A 60

Sample output shows Lord of the Rings themed events for the next 60 days.

These calendars are simple text files, so you can create your own by copying an existing file and editing its contents. Consult man calendar for detailed instructions.

Exploring these utilities demonstrates how much useful functionality can be uncovered by browsing the filesystem and reading manual pages.