Free Brushes For GIMP

GIMP (short for GNU Image Manipulation Program) has to be one of the best graphics editors for Linux that I have came across. A lot of people that I know choose not to use GIMP and prefer Photoshop, due to the wide range of downloadable brushes, and extra add-ons etc.

What they do not realise is that there are thousands of downloadable brushes that are also available for GIMP too. Below are a collection of some of the best ones that I find myself using.

To download the following brush sets, simply click on the image to download the ZIP file. To install them, just copy the contents of the ZIP file into your GIMP Brushes directory (~/.gimp-2.6/brushes/)

Download: GIMP Edge


Download: Grunge - Set 3


Download: Urban Scrawl


Download: Inner Universe

If you would like to add any of your own personal favourites to this list, then please leave them in the comments below, and I'll add them to the list!

Gweled: A Bejewels Clone For Ubuntu

Gweled is a free version of the popular game "Bejewels" that is available for Linux. If you have never played the game before, the idea is to swap around the jewels to make a chain of three or more. I have to warn you all, this is a very addictive game!

To install, you will need to add the correct repository, then install the correct package:

apt-add-repository ppa:dnax88/gweled
apt-get update
apt-get install gweled

This game has three different modes: Normal - You play until you've ran out of moves. Timed - The aim is to score as many points before the timer runs out. And Endless - Play until you get bored!

How good are you? Have a play on Timed, and post your high-score!

Google Chrome Wallpapers

Are you a fan of Google chrome? Yeah, who isn't! With these wallpapers, you can spice up your PC with a touch of Google. Clicking on one of the below wallpapers will take you to the full sized image.



Image From: Wallpaper4Me.com

Image From: hd-wallpapers.com


Image From: indexwalpapers-blog.blogspot.com

If you're more of a Firefox fan, then why not take a look at our Firefox Wallpapers post? If you have any other wallpapers that you would like to add to this collection, then please leave a link to them in a comment!

Nyan Cat Telnet

This must be the best thing since towel.blinkenlights.nl! The most loveable (Or most hated?) cat is now here via telnet. Simply open up your terminal, and enter the following command:

telnet miku.acm.uiuc.edu

This is known to work in the classic Gnome Terminal, xTerm, Terminator & PuTTY. Or, if you prefer net cat, the following command will also work:

nc -v miku.acm.uiuc.edu 23

Pretty neat huh? If you would like to know how this is done, you can check the source code out on Github. Have fun!

Merry Christmas!

To all of you that celebrate, Merry Christmas! If you are still not in the Christmas spirit yet, then maybe the following wallpapers might help!













If a wallpaper for your computer just isn't enough then why not try out a fancy little application called Xsnow. Read my post last year to find out how to install and run: Xmas Xsnow!

Merry Christmas to all of my readers!

YouTube-HTML5-ifier For Google Chrome

Google Chrome Beta has been out for a few weeks now for Linux, and after a lot of playing around with it, it has soon become my most used browser. The only problem I could ever find with it is the large CPU usage when using any flash applications. Browsing websites such as Youtube and watching videos on there was a bit of a painful, and slow task - Until I came across the Youtube HTML5-ifier.





This useful extension contains a script which replaces the standard Flash based videos on Youtube with the new HTML5 video tag. These video will require much less CPU power. Not only using less CPU power, it automatically attempts to play in the best possible format (HD if available). The only down side to this extension so far is that any videos that are embedded on sites other then Youtube will still use the old Flash based player, and annotations will not be displayed for any videos. However, this extension is still in development, and the developer is currently working on these issues.

To download this extension, visit: Youtube HTML5-ifier

Install Backtrack Applications On Your Ubuntu

Backtrack is one of the most top rated Live Linux Distributions (meaning you can run straight from the CD). Backtrack is focused on penetration testing, and comes pre-packed with many applications to analyse and test your LAN, Wifi, Bluetooth... the list continues.

I have often had a play around with Backtrack, and find the tools and applications very useful. However, with the free storage space on my laptop is becoming ever more limited, and I have no room to install it under a Virtual Machine. The below instructions will show you how you can install all of the Backtrack applications on your current Ubuntu installation.

Add the following line to your /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://repo.offensive-security.com/dist/bt4 binary/

Now to import the Backtrack GPG key and to update the sources:

wget http://repo.offensive-security.com/dist/bt4/binary/public-key && sudo apt-key add public-key && sudo apt-get update

Fantastic! Now we have all the new Backtrack applications ready to install. You can find these applications in your Synaptic Package Manager, under the sections BackTrack - Web (for example). If you are wanting to install all of the new applications quickly, you can run the following command:

links -dump http://repo.offensive-security.com/dist/bt4/binary/ | awk '{print $3}' | grep -i deb | cut -d . -f 1 > backtrack.txt

This command will use the links text browser to grab a complete list of packages and store them into the file backtrack.txt. Each application will then be installed one by one. Be warned! There are 182 applications listed within the text file that you make. This may take some time downloading, all depending on how fast your internet connection is.