title: How can I fork two programs to the background using one line of bash and possibly an ampersand?
body: <p>I have two programs that run indefinitely.  I know I can fork one to the background then run the other by typing this at the command line:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt; program1 &amp;
  &gt; program2 &amp;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>However, I'm lazy and don't want to hit enter, I just want to run them both immediately.  But bash complains when I do this:</p>
  
  <pre><code>&gt; program1 &amp;; program2 &amp;
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>How can I run them both at the same time?</p>