Table of Contents

- Welcome From The Chief Editor

1. HTPC: Organize Your Music With Kodi

2. The Multiple X-Screen Advantage

3. PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner

4. Inkscape Tutorial: Creating A Bubble

5. PCLinuxOS Family Member Spotlight: Orion

6. Create A Great Video With OpenShot

7. Game Zone: Cannon Brawl

8. Create Your Own Personal PCLinuxOS TShirt

9. Playing Android Angry Birds In PCLinuxOS With Arc Welder

10. ms_meme's Nook: The Clearness Of You

11. Tip Top Tips: Make A Simple Script For whois Inquiries

12. GIMP Tutorial: Graffiti Text

13. Encrypt Your Conversations Using the PCLOS-Talk Chat Server and Pidgin

14. PCLinuxOS Puzzled Partitions

15. Screenshot Showcase

Welcome From The Chief Editor

Radically Simple. That has been the PCLinuxOS slogan for as long as I can remember. There's a lot that can be said about the benefits of simplicity, too. Far too often, "people" tend to over-think "things." The end result is turning something simple into something incredibly difficult.

So ... how is PCLinuxOS "Radically Simple?"

To start with, PCLinuxOS is much easier and faster to install than any of the "commercial" operating systems. A full installation of PCLinuxOS (which typically includes software to get the most users set up and being productive, unless you install one of the "Mini" versions designed so that experienced users can install only those programs that they need) takes less than 30 minutes to accomplish. That time is decreased even more if you have a newer computer with a fast processor and ample amounts of RAM. A typical installation of Windows XP took an hour or more, and subsequent versions of Windows take even longer.

With the "commercial" operating systems, you are severely limited as far as what you can do once it is installed. Word processing or office suite? Forget about it. That will cost you a (another) hefty chunk of change. Graphics manipulation software? Nope. That, too, will impose on your finances and wallet. With PCLinuxOS, all of that (and much more) is included in an installation of any of the "full" versions.

Often times, the installation of the "latest and greatest" "commercial" operating system requires you to spend money on hardware upgrades ... and sometimes, even a new computer. PCLinuxOS runs on older hardware, as well as newer hardware. I currently have PCLinuxOS running on computers with Pentium III processors and 512MB RAM. They're not speed demons, but they get the "basic" tasks (chat, email, browsing the web) done just fine.

Radically Simple means that I don't have to go out and buy tons of "extra" programs to get the tasks I need to do done. Nope. I just launch the Synaptic package manager and install what I need, without having to even open my wallet or pocketbook.

It also means that I don't need to "buy" extra software to protect my computer from vicious computer viruses. PCLinuxOS, like all Linux distributions, is secure from all of that. Quite simply (there's that word again), there are NO viruses (virii?) that exist in the wild for Linux. Often times, antivirus programs for the "commercial" operating systems become their own virus of sorts, slowing down your system as it searches through an ever-expanding database of virus definitions.

PCLinuxOS also has some of the best -- if not the best -- hardware recognition of any Linux installer. Despite the gagillion different computer configurations, PCLinuxOS is typically able to install the proper drivers for most of them. It's rare that PCLinuxOS isn't able to properly detect and install the proper drivers. With the "commercial" operating systems, you can spend an incredible amount of time searching for (and trying to find) the proper drivers for your hardware -- if you can even find them at all. Even during the eight-plus years I've used PCLinuxOS, I've seen one of the best installers get better and better at hardware recognition.

Getting help with PCLinuxOS is easy and free. The most common way is via the PCLinuxOS forum. There, it's like one big, happy family, users helping other users. There are no "pay-as-you-go" help lines, no support "contracts," no subscriptions, no waiting forever on hold. Simply post your problem and wait for one of the more experienced users to come along and provide assistance. You usually don't have to wait long, either. Often times, the help is provided within an hour or less. PCLinuxOS users tend to be a rather resourceful bunch.

There is also no "phoning home" to PCLinuxOS Headquarters with details of your every move and use of the computer. With the "commercial" operating systems, this is becoming an ever-increasing concern. Not only will they phone home to the company headquarters with details about your email, which websites you've visited, etc., but they will also scan the files stored on your computer. If they, in their snooping, suspect that you've done something "illegal," they will notify the "authorities" and report you.

Yep. I'd say that PCLinuxOS lives up to its slogan, Radically Simple. To borrow from the guy who runs one of my favorite YouTube channels (hickok45) ... with PCLinuxOS, "life is good."

HTPC: Organize Your Music With Kodi

by Paul Arnote (parnote)

As I've mentioned before, Kodi is your one-stop multimedia solution. It can be used to manage video, pictures -- and your music collection.

Before we get started, you might want to go back and review the settings in the "Music" section of the HTPC: Getting Started With Kodi article (June 2015 issue of The PCLinuxOS Magazine). For example, in the screenshot above, you can tell Kodi what to do when you insert an audio CD. I have my copy of Kodi setup to automatically "rip" my audio CDs to MP3 files, stored on my computer. This way, I don't have to carry a ton of audio CDs with me (awkward, to say the least) when I travel. Instead, all of my favorite music is stored on my computer's hard drive.

Once you've stored some of your favorite CDs on your computer, the albums will appear at the top of the "Music" screen.

In the above screenshot, clicking on the "Peter Paul and Mary - The Best of Peter Paul and Mary" album (top right) causes the album to start playback. This is indicated by the playback icon (far left, with the speaker and note), the name of the album and track next to it, and the playback controls at the far right.

Clicking on the "Artists" subcategory will allow you to select from the songs of a particular artist that are stored on your hard drive.

Selecting the "Albums" subcategory allows you to select individual albums for playback that are stored on your computer's hard drive.

Choosing the "Songs" subcategory will list all of the songs stored on your computer in the directory you've told Kodi to look for music.

Click on the "Files" subcategory and all of the MP3 files stored on your computer will be displayed in alphabetical and ascending numerical order. Clicking on a filename will start the playback of that file.

Selecting the "Library" subcategory will bring up a screen like the screenshot above. Select the category that most closely represents what you want to listen to from the list, and then further narrow your selection on the subsequent screens.

But the "Music" section allows you to do more than just listen to music that you've stored on your computer's hard drive. You can also listen to thousands -- yes, I said thousands -- of online streaming radio stations from all around the world, right over the internet.

To get started, select the "Add-ons" subcategory. You should see a screen similar to the one shown above. Click on the "Get more..." selection.

Scroll through the list to find the add-ons you want to add to Kodi.

Click on each add-on that you want to use. The "Add-on Information" window will be displayed (as above). From there, you can choose to install, configure, update, launch, enable or rollback the selected add-on. You can also view the changelog for the selected add-on. If you change your mind about adding a particular add-on, click on the "X" in the upper right corner of the "Add-on Information" window.

I chose to add the SHOUTcast2, IceCast, Sky.fm, Pandora and NPR add-ons. Your selections will most likely be different, based on your preferences.

Select the add-on you want to use from the list of installed add-ons. Many of them will have additional selections to choose from.

There literally are thousands of selections to be made, and something for everyone's tastes. For example, the IceCast add-on literally just gives you a long list of what seems to be a largely unsorted list of stations (which makes it difficult to find things you might be interested in listening to). The SHOUTcast2 add-on goes an extra step by sorting your choices into categories. Select the category you want to listen to, then make your selection from a sorted list of available stations.

In the screenshot above, I selected the "Talk" category in SHOUTcast2, and then selected an old time radio mystery and adventure streaming radio station. Up came the "Casey, Crime Photographer - Key Witness" old time radio episode.

Once you find a station (or stations) you like, you can add them to your "Favorites" list, to make it easier to tune to them again later. Just right click on the station in the list, and choose "Add to My Stations" from the dialog box that opens. Then, when you launch the add-on again, just choose "My Stations" from the list, and your favorite radio stations will be listed there.

Summary

As you can see, Kodi goes a LONG way in helping you organize your music, along with catering to your every listening whim and pleasure (via the streaming content). While this article doesn't cover everything that Kodi is capable of doing to satisfy your music listening desires, it should go a long way in helping to get you started.

The Multiple X-Screen Advantage

by Beta1

The article title is so obviously biased, please indulge me while I enumerate some advantages, with words more informative than instructive. It is all summed up by "I like real estate," and more than I can usually afford.

So what is it then? It is having two independent copies of your desktop, one on each screen, each with however many sub desktops you need. Just make sure you have the same number of desktops on each screen eg 1 and 1, 4 and 4. I have only recently found that having unmatched numbers of desktops on each screen gives KDE problems at boot and accessing files, as you can see in my post at http://www.pclinuxos.com/forum/index.php/topic,133763.0.html

I'll give you some background. In 1999, while feeling my way into computing by pressing the "Start" button and watching what happened next, I soon found the limitations of a single screen with the eternal travel between task bar, maximize, minimise, menu and "Huh? where did that go?" It was on "that" OS, but I found a program that set up two screens as a single large desktop with multiple desktops, sort of. I persisted in this shade of clumsy until a Linux system became available that I had a chance of slipping into without too big a step out of the known comfort zone. Later, I read a rumor about a guy named Tex starting up. I changed my OS again, and have never left.

This change saw me with two assorted monitors, CRT and LCD, with no program to organize things and who knew how Linux worked. Thus came about my introduction to xorg.conf, buried in the root of things.

With much studying and an xorg.conf copy stashed safely, I played until I got it right. Actually, it is not difficult as long as your attention to detail is exact. There are many websites offering in-depth instruction. If you run an Nvidia card, you can easily set it up with Nvidia Display Settings. The advantage of one large screen is obvious: you have room to spread out.

The multiple desktops per screen that we all know and love then became easy to implement, and in that I saw a chance to expand the real estate in a way that gives immense flexibility. The essence of this revolves around the observation that most of us tend to set and use the various applications in certain predictable ways. For example, I run full screen DigiKam on screen 1 as my main photo asset management program, but it's not my favoured tool for image manipulation. So on screen 2 desktop 1 might have Lightzone running, desktop 2 could have an old favourite of mine, Photo Impact, running in a virtual machine, another desktop with ,b>Panorama, and yet another for the media I am listening to as I ponder what to do next. Each desktop is set up to just how I need for that application. It is easy to flick between desktops on one screen to tweak this and that, while DigiKam remains in front of me keeping track of all the goings on.

Another example might be working on a website creation with one screen and on the other screen various desktops with ancillary programs such as graphics, file management, browser, and FTP manager. Again the essence being not losing track of the "main" application while being able to flick through multiple service applications. There can be endless combinations with custom launchers on the various desktops with your own useful combinations of programs most used.

So, are there any drawbacks to separate X-screens?

The main drawback is that you cannot drag windows between monitors. However, if you have a preferred way of doing things, a "system," this is rarely an issue. It's the "predictable usage" thing I mentioned. I note that for those of us with occasionally less than tidy minds and methods, myself included, it seems way more productive.

Another small drawback I found was if I wanted to start an application via keystrokes (e.g. CTRL/ESC to bring up the system monitor), it will only work on the main monitor. Icons and menus work normally, however. Prior to the KDE4.xxx series, everything used to just work. Sigh.

Another quirk on my setup, (this may not apply to anyone else), is that the second monitor/screen does not seem to support separate widgets/wallpapers on each desktop. It is not a bother really. To work around the limitation, I assign a slideshow on that screen/desktop/s for changing scenery. Individual desktops are still recognized, and it all might be unique to me, and much is, or so I am told.

So are there any advantages other than vast areas of very practical real estate? Well, yes there are, and what I found is that it's possibly something for lower spec machines.

During a recent foray back into a single desktop across 2 monitors my ram usage went up, as measured just after login and before starting any programs. It clearly showed in my case that separate X-screens used around 300mb LESS ram than a single desktop stretched over both monitors. Everything was also noticeably slower with some screen tearing, particularly inside virtual machines.

I suspect this is due to my possibly borderline video card trying to drive a 3840x1200 desktop with only 1GB of video RAM. However two 1920x1200 monitors with separate X-screens is a totally different story, and both run at a very snappy pace with no problems. YMMV, of course.

Most important is the fact that World of Goo runs perfectly full screen on a single desktop/monitor, whereas across two screens it doesn't. With two screens, some sort of split personality thing seems to be going on, even after trying all the hacks. So what better reason does one need!

The minimum equipment would be 2 monitors of any sort, a video card with two outputs, (and they can be a combination of output types eg VGA and DVI), or two separate video cards. I have successfully run two lower spec cards pirated from assorted machines and driving disparate monitors.

The set up in PCLinuxOS is much the same as any other Linux OS. One method is to directly edit the xorg.config file that is found in /etc/X11/ (as root), with a simple text editor and many instructions to be found in the web. If you go this route, save a copy of your xorg.conf where you can get at it via a live CD. I found that rather useful. In the case of Nvidia video cards, use the supplied Display Settings program as root. Untick Xinerama and adjust the basic monitor parameters according to what you have, then click "save to X configuration File"

If you wish, when you log in you can also fine tune settings like gamma, brightness, vibrance to suit each screen, and they will be saved locally, unique to that user.

That's it then. Give it a go, and you will never look back.

PCLinuxOS Recipe Corner

Mexican Chorizo Breakfast Bake

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb bulk chorizo sausage

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed

2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)

¾ cup Original Bisquick™ mix **

1 ½ cups milk

3 eggs

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Sliced fresh avocado, chopped fresh tomato, salsa, hot sauce, lime wedges, if desired

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 400º F. In 10-inch cast-iron skillet, cook chorizo, onion and garlic over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until chorizo is no longer pink and onion is tender; drain.

2. Reserve ¾ cup of the black beans; stir remaining black beans in to chorizo mixture in skillet along with 1 cup of the cheese.

3. In medium bowl, stir Bisquick mix, milk and eggs until blended. Pour over mixture in skillet. Top with reserved black beans and remaining 1 cup cheese.

4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Top with chopped cilantro. Serve with remaining ingredients.

5. Make-Ahead Directions: Make as directed through step 3. Cover and refrigerate up to 12 hours. Uncover, and bake as directed in step 4.

** See our Bisquick recipe here http://recipes.dm-enterprises.net/?p=recipe&recipe=289

Inkscape Tutorial: Creating A Bubble

By Khadis

Well, I have just got inspired to create a bubble illustration on Inkscape after seeing many bubble-style wallpapers. So, I tried to create my own bubble. Let's go!

Open up your Inkscape and draw a circle of any size. Give it no fill and a stroke with a color you like. I chose green as the stroke color.

Set the stroke width as wide as you like. Just ensure that it is thick. Then, make it blur using the blur effect in Fill and Stroke Panel (Shift + Ctrl + F).

Create a new ellipse and put it above the previous blurry circle. Give it the same color as the stroke color of the previous circle, but set the stroke to none. Adjust the size to match your preferred size.

Now, set the color to transparent. Use Edit paths by nodes tool (F2) to change the direction and the distance of the transparency.

Duplicate the blurry circle by pressing Ctrl + D. Remove the blur effect (set the blur effect back to 0). Make sure that this new circle is above all of the other objects. Click this circle and press Home button on your keyboard if you are unsure.

Now, press Ctrl + A to select all objects and then, go to menu Objects > Clip > Set. Finally, add a small white ellipse like in the following picture. You can rotate this white ellipse to make it look nicer. Blur the small ellipse, and you are finished.

You can also change the bubble color, as well as the stroke and the gradient of the ellipse. As this bubble-shape is not only representing a bubble itself, but also a water/rain drop, later, you can test the "realistic level" of your creation by putting it in front of a textured background.

PCLinuxOS Family Member Spotlight: Orion

as told to Smileeb

Let's see ... ah, my English might need correction, as I'm not a native speaker.

I'm 34 years old, not married, but not alone either. I have a normal, pretty decent life. I work as a security agent, and occasionally do some hours in construction branch: building, ceramic tiles, etc.

I live in the suburbs of a small town in Romania. It's a pretty quiet, natural place, with lots of vegetation.

We have all types of weather here, sometimes extreme: hot summers, beautiful springs with lots of blossomed trees, and cold winters with snow. I love my home, and I find the harmony and peace I need here after work.

I think I'm pretty handy with tools, and when I don't know something, I just try and experiment. After all, your whole life is a experiment play, in my opinion. We're here to learn, or to rediscover something.

I'm a high school graduate. I love to travel, so when I have money, I put some gas in my vehicle, and go 100 miles to drink a coffee. Hahaha.

I discovered PCLinuxOS back in 2007 by accident, just browsing the Internet. Believe it or not, PCLinuxOS was my first Linux distro! I remember looking at it, seeing it so alien, but so darn cool. A whole world of virgin territory was in front of me. So I began learning, messing around, and after all these years, it's still the number one (distro), though I have tried so many others since then.

I lurked for a long time on the forum before signing in, and after doing that, I'm not sorry. I found very nice people, always ready to help. It's all feeling very cosy, like home, a virtual one.

Well, that's about it. I'll send you some photos via email, I guess. Thanks!

PCLinuxOS Family Member Spotlight is an exclusive, monthly column by smileeb, featuring PCLinuxOS forum members. This column will allow "the rest of us" to get to know our forum family members better, and will give those featured an opportunity to share their PCLinuxOS story with the rest of the world.

If you would like to be featured in PCLinuxOS Family Member Spotlight, please send a private message to smileeb in the PCLinuxOS forum expressing your interest.

Create A Great Video With OpenShot

by Meemaw

My brother goes on vacation every year. When he returned recently, he posted a video slideshow (with music!) to showcase his best vacation photos. When I asked him what he used to make the video presentation, he told me it was OpenShot. (My brother uses Linux, too.)

OpenShot 1.4.3 is in our repo. I installed it the same day he told me about it. It will most likely be listed under the Video section of your menu. When you first open it, the following window appears:

You will see three sections. The top left section is where you view the files you have imported for your project. The top right section is your preview window, and the bottom section is your timeline. This is where you will place your files in the order you want them, and generally build your show.The sections can be resized, if you wish, by grabbing and moving the dotted line at the center of each section border (see arrows below).

OpenShot is easy to use! Your first step is to import the photos you want to use. You can choose File > Import Images, or open your file manager, choose the images you want, then drag & drop them into the upper left part of the window under the tab that says "Project Files". If you already have music planned, you can also import an audio file at the same time. This will give you an audio track for your slideshow.

You will notice in the window that there are already two tracks down in your timeline. Tracks are kind of like layers. If you place two images in the same position on the timeline, but in different tracks, you will essentially be placing them on top of each other, and you will see them both at the same time. While that can have its benefits, you will not do it all the time. Rather, you will want to space them out along the timeline so each one is seen alone. This is easier with more than one track. I imported several images from one of my vacations, along with an audio file, then I placed the audio file on track 1 (at the bottom) and added another track. Now I have two tracks in which to arrange my images. My plan is to fade from one to the other, so I am going to overlap the ends of the images. It can be done on one track, but it's easier if you use two.

Beneath your project file window is an editing toolbar.

Hovering your mouse over them will tell you what each one is. From left to right, the tools are:

Add Track - You can click the plus sign to add a track to your project. Alternately, you can right click one of the existing tracks, and a menu will appear letting you add or remove a track from your project or move that track up or down.

Selection - The selection arrow is your main tool, used to move your files around.

Razor Tool - If you are inserting a video clip and only want to use part of it, you can use the scissors to trim it down to the piece you want.

Resize Tool - The default viewing time for each slideshow clip is 5 seconds, but if you want it to last longer, you can use the resize tool (double-headed arrow) and increase the length of the clip on the timeline.

Snapping Tool - This is the magnet you see in the toolbar, and it is a button that is clicked on or off. In the image above it is on. When your clips are in one track and you move one close to another, they will snap together end to end. This eliminates any gap in your slideshow.

Add Marker - During your editing, you might want to view from a specific place. This tool allows you to place a marker at that spot so you can get to it easily. You can add as many markers as you wish.

Previous Marker and Next Marker - If you have more than one marker, these tools will help you navigate through them.

Zoom In and Out with Slider - On the right side of the window is a slider with a plus on one end and minus on the other end. This affects the time gradient at the top of your timeline. The default is eight seconds, but if you want to look closer you can zoom in and the number increments at the top will change, allowing you to be more accurate.

Files/images can be added one at a time, or you can add many files together. Select the files you want to add by holding the CTRL key and clicking on them, or choose a series by clicking the first file, holding the SHIFT key and clicking the last. Right click on the chosen files and select Add to Timeline. The following window will appear:

The timeline has time in minutes and seconds, but to tell this window a start time where you want the files added, you must convert it to seconds. Also notice that the window has choices for the top and bottom track, but when I added the three files you see, they were all added to the same track (Track 3). It's easier than dragging them one at-a-time, however, and you can arrange them from there.

This window also has choices for Fade and Transition, so let's talk about those.

Fade is just what it sounds like: the photo fades from view or, as it's coming into view, changes from transparent to a normal photo. If you have your project set to fade in and out, the progression of images will look similar to this:

In the Add to Timeline window, you will have choices to have no fade, fade in, fade out or both, and with the time setting, you can choose the speed at which it fades. If you chose to add each image separately, you can right-click each one and designate fade in, fade out, or both, and whether it is fast or slow. All of my images in this project were set (individually) to fade in and out fast.

Transitions are another way to change from one slide image to the next, and even add a bit more drama to your video. At the top of your project image list, you will see two more tabs: Transitions and Effects. There are 55 transitions in the window. Many are similar to the transitions you use in LibreOffice Impress, if you create presentations. You can assign any of them to individual slides, or from the Add to Timeline window, you can assign the same one to as many slides as you want. As with presentations, it's usually a good idea to stick with only one or two transitions, so your presentation has continuity. The following example is the Star2 transition.

When you get your slides arranged and your fade and/or transitions set, you can do two more things to make your video special. One is Effects (the third tab at the top of the image window), which allows you to assign a specific look to one or all of your images. For example, say you want to show one of your slides as a black & white photo instead of color. Instead of going into GIMP and changing it to a black & white photo, just add the greyscale effect to that slide and it will be done. A sepia effect is also included in the 55 effects in that tab. This is the distort effect.

If you haven't saved your project yet, you need to save it. OpenShot saves the files with the extension .osp. Before I saved mine, I deleted the third track, as I decided against an audio track.

Wow! I have my slides arranged, transitions and effects set… what else can I do? How about a title?

One of the menu items at the top is Title. When you click on it and choose New Title, the following window appears:

The top right dropdown has the title effects you can use (there are 34). Choose the title you want to use, then click on Create New Title. You can use the window to design your title, putting in the text you want, changing the font, font color and background. If you want something fancier, you can click Use Advanced Editor and Inkscape, if installed, will open and allow you to edit further. Your title will be placed into your image list and you can place it just like you have all other images.

The aim of this program is to let you export your slideshow as a movie. When you are finished editing and transitioning, save your work again, and click the red dot at the top of your program window to export your video file. You will see the following window:

Depending on the profile you pick (I chose All Formats), you will have a great many choices. I chose to export to MP4 and accept the defaults that appeared (DV/DVD NTSC in Video Profile, and Medium in Image Quality). I didn't do anything with the Advanced Settings tab, but if you know more about video creation than I do, you can probably tweak your video even more.

Please Note: As usual, the size of your images will have an effect on the size of your finished file. One of my slideshows has images straight from my camera (which takes photos at 3072 x 2048 px) and the finished file is over 125 MB! Resizing my images to 1200 x 900 made a big difference, and the files are still big enough that the picture quality remains good. This time, my finished video was 40 MB. You can view it here: http://youtu.be/VXIsgew6EDo

OpenShot has an online help file, located at http://www.openshotusers.com/help/1.3/en/. It gives much more detail than I have, and has a handy list of keyboard shortcuts for the various operations. I'm sure you can make an awesome video!

Game Zone: Cannon Brawl

by daiashi

About The Game

Description

Get ready to play the next evolution of the artillery genre! Cannon Brawl is an exciting mix of real time strategy and artillery gameplay. Command your airship to capture gold mines and build everything from cannons to lasers. Drop attack buildings from your airship, then pop into them to take skill shots at your opponent in real time.

History

Cannon Brawl was originally a tiny prototype which would become Cannon Brawl. Pete Angstadt entered it into the first Activision Independent Games Competition, fedexing the entry overnight just a few days before the deadline. Months and months later the results were announced and it took first place! Former Maxis partners in crime, Pete and Theresa quit their jobs to work full time on Cannon Brawl. They've been jamming on this game since July 2011 to make Cannon Brawl what it is today!

Features

1. Completely destructible terrain and many ways to destroy it

2. Full campaign mode with 20 missions, 10 puzzle levels, nightmare mode

3. 1 v 1 Local multiplayer

4. Online Multiplayer

5. 10+ Unlockable airships, each with their own unique perk

6. 7 Multiplayer maps

7. Choose from 15+ different weapons and defenses

8. 10+ Unlockable airships, each with their own unique perk

9. Keyboard and Gamepad support

This game is like the free online game Tanks but with all the bells and whistles - very enjoyable, to say the least. It kept me entertained, and that's saying something.

System requirements:

Fully updated PCLinuxOS and Steam

Hardware: >

Minimum:

OS: PCLinuxOS

Processor: Any with 2 or more cores

Memory: 2 GB RAM

Graphics: Any with at least 256 mb

Hard Drive: 1 GB available space

About The Company

Turtle Sandbox is based in San Francisco, California, USA. The team consists of:

Peter Angstadt

Design, Programming & Art

Theresa

Design, Programming & Art

Some Gameplay Screenshots

Getting It To Run

Install Steam (if you don't have it installed already), then start it. You will need to create a new account, if you do not already have one. Once you have Steam up and running, go to the store tab. Click on the Linux tab if you wish and search for the game. Click on and download the demo. If you have updated your system, including graphics drivers, you should be good to go.

Be aware that this download is close to 600 MB in size.

Cannon Brawl

Create Your Own Personal PCLinuxOS TShirt

by Michael Duffy (tuxlink)

I have used PCLinuxOS on and off for quite a few years, but now consider it my home. With that in mind, I recently discovered old t-shirt transfer sheets on my desk that I thought would make a great new t-shirt statement about my favorite Linux OS.

To continue with this project, you will need:

Your laptop or desktop computer (preferably with PCLinuxOS on it!)

A current version of Gimp or any graphics program you prefer.

A working connected inkjet printer.

A set of t-shirt transfer sheets.

T-shirt or shirts.

An electric iron.

A sharp pair of scissors.

A flat hard surfaced table.

A piece of cardboard or paper to protect the table surface.

A piece of cardboard to sit under the shirt during ironing.

One of the things I have noticed at PCLinuxOS is the huge wealth of graphic art talent. The logos, the wallpapers, the themes, etc. It's not just the fact there's a lot of it, but it's the high quality that catches my eye and makes me wish I had even a small amount of that very special talent. Before we go any further, let me thank each and every user who has ever created and uploaded any graphic art for the rest of us lucky PCLinuxOS users to enjoy and use. You artists are the driving force behind the cutting edge look and the professional impression that faces the outside world and are to be commended for your great work. Well done.

So with that in mind I started to look for and gather logos and banners, for use in printing onto the t-shirt transfer sheets. I started with a basic light colored gray t-shirt, that cost around $6.99 at a local clothing store. So, I bought three of them in case I made a mess of it. From experience of using this type of transfer material, it's best to use brighter colored shirts. White is perfect, but light grays work too. Because the transfer material is transparent and you'll be printing colored ink onto it, dark backgrounds don't allow some of the darker ink to show very well. So avoid black and dark colored shirts. The first thing I recommended is to wash and dry the shirts first before attempting to iron anything onto them. Doing this gives a greater chance of making your transfers last as long as possible.

The t-shirt transfer packet that I had purchased cost $9.99 and can range up as high as $20.00. They are available at most art supply and office stores. Mine had a set of directions in it that advised and instructed you through the various steps of creating your first t-shirt transfer. This packet contained ten sheets.

Before we look at that, let me first get some art samples that we want to print onto our shirt. One of the first samples I downloaded was the widely accepted logo of the Linux operating system, Tux the Penguin. This instantly recognizable piece of art was created by Larry Ewing. It is available everywhere on the Internet, but if you have trouble finding it, I have included a link to all the art files used here in the article. You can, of course, mix and match various pieces of art on the same shirt, i.e., large Tux on the back and a PCLinuxOS logo on the front. The possibilities are endless and only limited to your own imagination. Because I live in California and it's mostly very warm, I prefer not to place too much plastic based artwork on either my back or chest. But if you live somewhere cooler, you won't have that problem.

What we are going to create is a two-stage process. Gather and prepare the artwork, then iron the sample onto the shirt.

Firstly, any piece of art that has to be ironed onto a t-shirt has to be reversed. When you have decided which piece of art you want to use, open the file in your favorite photo editor, or graphics program. I used Gimp.

When you have your art on the screen in front of you, choose the option to flip it horizontally. If your artwork has text in it, it will instantly read backwards, i.e., TUX will be XUT. This is an important step as the side that you print on in your printer is the same surface that will end up on your shirt! Missing this step will have the immediate effect of bringing forth rather 'colorful' language as soon as you discover it. Trust me, I merrily skipped right on down that road and still have the useless piece of art to prove it! Note to self: Flip the artwork!!

Just before you hit print, let me add a few helpful tips here. I have discovered that using .svg files tend to size well and print out just as they look on my monitor. You can of course use any graphics file format you want, JPG, PNG, etc. If you use too small a file and try to resize it larger, it will obviously look pixelated, and therefore, the output quality will not be as good. If you use the .svg format, you can size your art to be large on the printed page, or just small enough to fit maybe on the pocket of a t-shirt. Either way, avoid small file sizes. The bigger the file, the more information contained therein, therefore the better the quality. I used both .svg and .png files for this article.

Lastly, this is just a personal tip that I have discovered from using my own hardware. I have an Epson Workforce 600 printer. I noticed when I print out my transfers using the default settings, they end up looking a little flat or faded. So, to add a little punch to them, I added some color 'saturation' to the art in my editor. I also chose to print using the 'best' or 'photo' quality setting on my printer and it has made a huge difference to my printouts. I'm guessing a little experimenting here with your own hardware will render the 'best' setting for you.

So now, we're ready with our printed out artwork ready for transferring to the shirt. The next step is to decide how much of the transfer needs to be removed. You can of course create a rectangular or square, or even a round piece of art for the shirt, but I wanted only the bare shape of the logo to be transferred. So I chose to cut away with a scissors the excess transfer material. Simply cut slowly and accurately around the edge of what you only need to show.

We can now move on to the second part of our process. Right now, you can follow the instructions that came with your set of transfer sheets, or you can use my general set of guidelines here. With your t-shirts cleaned and dried, your table cleared off and something laid across it to protect the surface from the iron , spread out the shirt on the table. (For the table protection, I used a sheet of thin cardboard the same size as the table with no seams or bumps in it. It must be smooth for the ironing process.) Set the iron to its hottest setting. (Do not put water into it, if it is a steam iron!) Place a piece of cardboard inside the shirt separating the front of the shirt from the back. Now iron the the front of the shirt until it is nice and smooth. This gets any wrinkles out and prepares the area for the transfer. Put down the iron, and with both hands place the transfer exactly where you want it to end up. This is where a second set of eyes will assure you have the transfer level and straight, so ask an assistant to verify. I only mention this because I have in the past, ironed on logos that looked like they were rolling off the horizon to the left or right! I promise you I was sober when attempting this!

So, with the transfer placed art side down, paper side up, where you want it, place the hot iron straight down into the center and work your way outward with a constant downward pressure. It is very important that you keep the iron moving, and it is very important that you share the same amount of heat and pressure to the whole logo. Let's keep in mind the iron is at its hottest setting, so you most likely only need at most 50-60 seconds of application. Keep an eye on the surrounding fabric that it does not burn or start to yellow. This will mean that you have exceeded the amount of time it takes to safely transfer the art to the shirt fabric. In my experience, I have never exceeded 60 seconds, even for a large transfer.

When your application time is up and you're confident that you have a good adhesion, set the iron down somewhere safe away from the shirt. This is the next important step. Allow the transfer time to cool. When I am making more than one shirt, I will carefully pick up the shirt and lay it down on another flat surface allowing me to work on the next shirt. Be careful here too, not to touch the transfer. It will still be very hot from the application effort. There is no minimum drying or cooling time. Let it cool off as long as you can. I have left shirts cool off for a long as an hour or so to aid in the next step. When you are confident that the transfer is now cool to the touch, place it back onto a flat surface. You now need to remove the backing paper covering the art.

This is done by carefully peeling from one corner slowly and progressively until you remove it all. I find it best to try to start at a sharp corner with a fingernail. If you do not have fingernails (you know who you are!) and you have stubby fat fingers like me, gently use a flat tweezers to get a grip and work slowly. Make sure you only have a grip on the paper and not the shirt fabric. This should now reveal your new artwork on the shirt ready be worn with pride. One last tip I will add here is when you wash and dry the shirts for their first few washes, turn them inside out so the transfer gets a little bit of protection during the washing process. Enjoy your new PCLinuxOS t-shirt and I look forward to seeing lots of new photos of successful attempts at this fun project.

Here are links to all the artwork files used.

http://myphotos.mypclinuxos.com/images/tuxlink/newtux.png

http://myphotos.mypclinuxos.com/images/tuxlink/56410capsulapclinuxos.png

http://myphotos.mypclinuxos.com/images/tuxlink/2ilkhfa.png

"NewTux" by Larry Ewing. Licensed under Attribution via Wikimedia Commons -

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NewTux.svg#/media/File:NewTux.svg

Playing Android Angry Birds In PCLinuxOS With Arc Welder

by Alessandro Ebersol (Agent Smith)

Last month, I wrote about how to play Android Angry Birds on PCLinuxOS. Now I will write about how to play (or run) Android applications on PCLinuxOS with the Arc Welder, another method.

Arc Welder - What is it?

The Archon runtime was an unofficial project by developers outside of Google. In April 2015, Google launched the official extension, named Arc Welder. Arc Welder is an extension that enables the execution of Android apps like Google Chrome applications, much like the Archon runtime, only officially by Google this time.

Arc Welder - How to Get it?

If you look for Arc Welder in the Chrome webstore, you will not find it. We have to look for it elsewhere. It is in https://developer.chrome.com/apps/getstarted_arc, since the extension is aimed at developers.

By accessing this link: http://goo.gl/gAn0Xh, you can download and install the extension in Google Chrome. But get ready, because it's a big download. It's much bigger than the 11MB's file size that it claims to be.

I have the Arc Welder. And now ?

It will be installed as a Chrome application, with an entry in the start menu. Then, with the Arc Welder working, just follow the steps below.

1. Get APK's on your computer. In the previous article, I discussed how and where to get the APK's.

2. Click on Arc Welder.

3. Click on the "+" icon to add your APK.

4. An open file dialog will appear.

5. Point to the APK you want to install (in this case, Angry Birds).

6. A configuration dialog will appear.

7. In Angry Birds case, the options should be: Landscape, Tablet, Clipboard access Yes

8. Click Launch App and an entry in the start menu will be created, as Google Chrome Apps > Angry Birds.

Limitations of Arc Welder

The limitations of Arc Welder are as follows: Only one APK application can be installed at a time, and installed applications do not have access to your computer's file system (as opposed to the Archon runtime applications, which can access the computer's file system and exchange information between applications and the computer.)

So now, have fun playing Angry Birds (or other compatible games) with this other method, which is simpler.

ms_meme's Nook: The Clearness Of You

MP3                     OGG

Tip Top Tips: Make A Simple Script For whois Inquiries

Editor's Note: Editor's Note: Tip Top Tips is a new monthly column in The PCLinuxOS Magazine. Each month, we will feature -- and possibly even expand upon -- one tip from the PCLinuxOS forum. The magazine will not accept independent tip submissions specifically intended for inclusion in the Tip Top Tips column. Rather, if you have a tip, share it in the PCLinuxOS forum's "Tips & Tricks" section. Your tip just may be selected for publication in The PCLinuxOS Magazine.

This month's tip is from PCLinuxOS forum member trytip.

This is a small GUI script that uses zenity and whois to display the whois information about websites you visit. Before you get started, check Synaptic and make sure you have both of these installed. If either of them is not installed, you will need to install them.

Just in case you're unfamiliar with it, here is a definition of the command whois:

WHOIS (pronounced as the phrase who is) is a query and response protocol that is widely used for querying databases that store the registered users or assignees of an Internet resource, such as a domain name, an IP address block, or an autonomous system, but is also used for a wider range of other information. (Source: Wikipedia)

Create a new text file on your desktop, and name it whois. Copy this code, open your whois text file, paste it in, then save and exit. Right click on the new whois text/script, and make it executable, via Properties. (Editor's Note: I named my text/script whois-check.sh, to avoid any possible naming conflicts/issues with the actual whois utility. For your convenience, you can download the script here. Strip the "txt" file extension from the file, and set the file as "executable.")

If you want more information about zenity, check here: https://help.gnome.org/users/zenity/stable/

When you enter the name of the site you want to query whois information about, simply enter "google.com" or "pclinuxos.com" or "pclosmag.com" (without the quotes, of course). There is no need to type "http," the slashes, or "www" when entering the name.

By the way, it also works with IP addresses.

GIMP Tutorial: Graffiti Text

by Meemaw

I saw a neat tutorial not long ago that featured another text effect to make graffiti. You will need two things: some sort of image to put your graffiti on (I’m going to use a brick wall or wood siding), and some sort of font that looks like it could have been made by a spray paint can. I have a font called A.C.M.E. Secret Agent, and another called Style Wars, and you may see either of them. While I hate to see graffiti on walls, train cars or other property, painting graffiti in GIMP is allowable, and very fun!

Open the background you want to use in GIMP. Click on the Text tool and choose your desired font, then type your graffiti.

With your layer still chosen, right-click the text layer (in the Layers dialog) and select Alpha to Selection. Duplicate the text layer and send it under the original text layer. Click on Select > Grow. In the window that appears, you will see the number 1, but you want the layer you are growing to be larger. I used 15, but use whatever looks good to you.

While your grown text is still selected, choose a couple of colors for it - one light and one darker. Click on the Blend tool, choosing Normal Mode, gradient FG to BG, and Shape to Linear. Draw a line from top to bottom to create the gradient. Click on Select > None.

Go back to your original (black) text layer, and do the same steps again. You will right-click and choose Alpha to Selection in your Layers dialog again, then duplicate the layer and send that layer down a layer. This time, however, when you choose Select > Grow, change your setting to about one fourth of the original setting. I used 15 the first time, so I changed the second setting to 4. Choose two more colors, and create the gradient just as you did before. Click Select > None, then merge this layer down onto the other color layer.

So, now we have our graffiti, but it just looks like a text box created in front of an image of a brick wall. Let’s fix that. Choose your original (black) text, then right-click the layer again and choose Alpha to Selection. Change your gradient colors to gray and a darker gray, and draw your gradient line so the lighter gray is on the top. Now, go to Filters > Map > Bump Map. You will see a dropdown with your layers in it. Click on the dropdown and choose your brick wall layer. Change the Depth setting to 10, then click OK. You should notice that the paint now looks as if it is painted on the brick.

Since this is supposed to be black paint, we need to darken it back, so click on Colors > Brightness and Contrast. Set the Brightness down to about -115 and the Contrast up to about 40, but you can play with these until you like them.

Now, choose your color layer and repeat the process without changing the gradient colors (Alpha to Selection, Filters > Map > Bump Map, choose brick wall layer, check to make sure Depth is 10, then OK.)

We can merge the text layers down, but it isn't necessary.

As a finishing touch (because graffiti writers aren't satisfied with just text - they always seem to paint a little more). Create another transparent layer, then, using your choice of brush, do some "wall painting". Use different brushes to sprinkle in some paint splatters and other effects to make it look more realistic. Using the same steps as before, finish with your Bump Map to make it look like this “paint” is also on the brick. Export your finished product.

Encrypt Your Conversations Using the PCLOS-Talk Chat Server and Pidgin

by YouCanToo

You can encrypt your conversations while using the PCLOS-Talk chat server and Pidgin.

There are just a few simple requirements:

1. You are using Pidgin Internet Messenger.

2. You have the plugin "pidgin-encryption" installed.

3. You have a PCLOS-Talk account.

Assuming that you have Pidgin already installed, open Synaptic and install the plugin called "pidgin-encryption."

When you are done in Pidgin, you need to go to Tools > Plugins and enable it (check mark it).

Once that is done, you need to restart Pidgin. Upon restarting, you need to accept the certificate, if asked to, and then Pidgin will start as normal.

When chatting with a person, you will see a lock symbol at the top of the chat window and it will appear unlocked. Click it.

Then, click on the "Enable Encryption" button that appears. Now you are encrypted when chatting with that person.

You will need to repeat the enable encryption with anyone else that you want to have a encrypted chat with. They also must be using the pidgin-encryption plugin.

If you try to chat with someone without encryption you will see this message being sent:

Your message will not be sent until they enable encryption on their side. To chat with anyone that isn't using encryption, you will need to click on the padlock icon and click on "disable encryption" to communicate with them.

Additional Notes:

If you would always like to use encryption with your chat buddy, you can turn on the "auto encryption" feature. To turn on "auto encryption," right click on your buddy's name in your Buddy window, and click on Turn Auto-Encrypt On. Now, every time you chat with this buddy, your conversations will be automatically encrypted.

To turn off auto-encryption, simply click Turn Auto-Encryption Off.

PCLinuxOS Puzzled Partitions

Scrappler

Possible 243, average score 170

Download Puzzle Solutions Here!

Sudoku

Download Puzzle Solutions Here!

Crossword

Download Puzzle Solutions Here!

WordFind

Download Puzzle Solutions Here!

Screenshot Showcase

Posted by Archangle, August 19, 2015, running KDE

Posted by fransesco_bat, August 28, 2015, running KDE

Posted by jogurmen, August 15, 2015, running KDE

Posted by JohnW_57, August 28, 2015, running MATE

Posted by OnlyHuman, August 13, 2015, running e17

Posted by Orion, August 14, 2015, running Xfce

Posted by Snap, August 18, 2015, running Openbox

Posted by Texstar, August 03, 2015, running KDE

Posted by trytip, August 28, 2015, running KDE

Posted by Yankee, August 01, 2015, running LXDE