People keep asking about my fancy bash prompt (I've been using it since the mid-90's). So, here it is.

Malcolm's $PS1 prompt

.-(malcolm@djelibeybi 15:19:34) ~
`--> echo $PS1
\n\[\033[35m\].-(\[\033[33m\]\u@\h \[\033[36m\]\t\[\033[35m\]) \[\033[0m\]\w\n\[\033[35m\]\`-->\[\033[0m\]

I should note that in my .bashrc file, I enter the information like this:

   # My fancy two-line, colored prompt
   e=\\\033
   export PS1="\n\[$e[35m\].-(\[$e[33m\]\u@\h \[$e[36m\]\t\[$e[35m\])\[$e[0m\]\w\n\[$e[35m\]\\\`-->\[$e[0m\] "

The $e variable is the escape character for ANSI terminal sequences. The wikipedia page for ANSI sequences is comprehensive, but a better summary for designing your own prompt might be http://ascii-table.com/ansi-escape-sequences.php