Raspberry Pi, when first launched about two years ago, became an instant phenomenon. After all, who could have thought of a $35 computer that lets you browse the web and does most of your office work? What is even more surprising is the reception it got from average users. Usually, one would expect a bare-minimum $35 board computer that runs Linux to be popular only among developers or geeks. However, as many as 100,000 Raspberry Pi units were sold on the day of its launch eventually selling more than 2.5 million units till date.


Completely open-source, Raspberry Pi lets you do most of the basic tasks you'd normally do on a full-fledged desktop. You can browse the web, you can create documents, and you can even play music and watch videos. When it comes to desktop computers, Raspberry Pi is a veritable "Starter's Edition."  Since its inception, the project has made common computing available to parts of the world where owning a desktop was once considered a luxury. Moreover, it has also spurred a flurry of interesting projects that take this tiny superboard to a whole new level. If you are ready to show your creative, geeky side, then read on as we cover some of the best Raspberry Pi projects out there.


1. Turn Raspberry Pi into a Low-cost Coding Tutor for Kids

We've already covered a list of the best programming courses out there. However, as good as these courses are, learning programming can be a tough ordeal for kids who need a more hands-on approach to code. Instead of letting them mess up your production computer, you can buy them a little Raspberry Pi box, hook it up to a monitor, and let them code their heart away. A good programming language that's up to this task is Scratch that turns programming into an activity that's geared towards kids, making the whole process fun and enjoyable to them. In fact, this combination of Pi and Scratch can make programming accessible to places where kids who don't have the privilege of owning a computer, thus making it easy to spread knowledge everywhere.

2. Turn Raspberry Pi into a Media Center

Did you just say media center? Yep, there's a lot this little board can do that you won't usually expect it to do. What's great about Pi is that it supports 1080p out of the box with a tiny-but-powerful GPU running behind the scenes. Combine that with the Xbian project, you got a full-fledged media center on your hands. XBian is a small, fast and lightweight media center distribution that is designed for Raspberry Pi that brings the latest of XBMC to your mini-computer. It's a great, cheap investment if you're someone who likes watching a lot of movies.


3. Turn Raspberry Pi into a Car Computer

A very interesting blog post by developer Andrei Istodorescu shows you exactly how you can turn Pi into a PC that sits in your car. This means that you'll be able to watch your favorite movies or TV shows in your car. While that's a perfect idea for a romantic date, just make sure that you're not doing Game of Thrones marathons while driving. The blog post explains pretty much everything you need to do in order to install, configure, and get it up and running. The approximate cost of the parts requires comes down to about $200. However, as costly as that sounds, compared to the $25 board, it's a worthy investment for every geek who also loves her car.


4. Make a Wearable Raspberry Pi Computer

Envious of your Google Glass-sporting friends? Or maybe you're too privacy conscious to try the search giant's latest wearable. Whatever the case maybe, geeks and privacy enthusiasts can make use of Pi to create a DIY wearable that they can brag about to their friends who are busy drooling over Android Wear, Google Glass, and other wearables. While no way near perfect, this project can provide a full-powered desktop computer that you can use wherever you are. Even while walking. Although the cost of this project is about $400, it's a justified investment for every geek out there who wants to have a great learning experience.


5. Turn Raspberry Pi into a Universal Remote

Instructables has another cool guide on turning your Pi computer into a universal remote. Though you'll need some parts to get that working for you, those little investments are worth it if you're a lazy geek who loves to control everything from the couch. Also, it's a great learning experience for anyone who's interested in knowing more about the LIRC or tinkering with electronics. A bit tough to get working overnight, this project can be treated as a huge learning experience more than just a way to create a universal remote. You can also pair this off with XBMC and then create an ultimate media center with remote and everything at a very low cost.

The Nexus tablet range is once again in need of an overhaul. Nexus 7 and the now almost obsolete Nexus 10 are about to be replaced by newer models. What Google has in store for us, we don't know. However, rumors are hinting at a possible new segment of devices called Nexus 8. The 8.9-inch tablet will reportedly replace the popular Nexus 7 series of devices. As to how true the rumors are, it's too early to tell, but the word on the street is Google has indeed killed off both Nexus 7 and Nexus 10. This will be a huge step forward for Google as it would be directly competing with Apple's hugely popular iPad.

As with every die-hard Android fans, we too have our expectations from the rumored Nexus 8. Following are some of them:


1. 64-bit

Ever since Apple has upgraded its architecture to 64-bit, the Android fan club is dying to get their hands on devices built on the bleeding edge technology. Switching to the 64-bit architecture is a huge step forward not only for Android but also for the mobile landscape in general. Though this may cause a few hiccups, especially for developers, moving forward seems to be the best option for Google.


2. New Version of Android

Rumors have strongly hinted at Android 4.5 being introduced along with Nexus 8. Let's hope those rumors are true. Android 4.5, as many suggest, might bring about a much-anticipated design overhaul to the open-source operating system. Faint teases of the redesign can be seen on the recent update of Google Keep that features bright yellow colors on top. 


3. Waterproof

Though this is not a must-have, Samsung's Galaxy S5 has started a new trend of waterproof smartphones. While Samsung is known for coming up with unnecessary features, it does, however, gets the water resistant feature right on. In this day and age when mobiles and tablets have become a part of our daily life, having water resistance built-in is a huge bonus. Moreover, many people use their tablets to help their kids learn drawing and alphabets, for them, having water and dust resistant tablet is a huge feature to have.


4. A Little Less Understated Hardware Design

In the day and age where you have the shiny and metallic HTC One becoming a paragon of well-designed devices, the Nexus line seems rather understated. If you look at the metallic iPad or the shiny Lumia, Nexus 7 looked like just another tablet. While it had powerhouse features backing it, it was a rather okay-looking phone. We hope Google spices things up this time by bringing some sleek and shiny design elements to the Nexus line.


5. Very Affordable Price

One thing people love about the Nexus line is that it's a steal for its price. Nexus smartphones and tablets are damn cheap compared to the features that they come loaded with. We hope that Nexus 8 follows the same trend and comes with a very affordable price tag as well.


6. Great Speakers

An 8.9-inch device means that you'll be able to watch movies on it comfortably. More than movies, you've got your favorite YouTube running on your tablet in its full glory. This means that the Nexus 8 needs to have some really good speakers to make it a good media device. Google can surely take cue from HTC (or even collaborate with them) to come up with some great speakers that would make the Nexus 8 a treat to watch movies on.


7. Crystal Clear Display

The bigger the device the more crisper the display needs to be. Google needs to take great care in building a display that's suited both for reading as well as playing movies. The whites need to be white and the sharpness needs to be just right. Good luck, Google!


8. A Good Front-facing Camera

Though one rarely takes pictures with the back camera, it is sometimes useful for taking quick pictures. However, on an 8.9-inch or even an 8-inch tablet, the usage of such a feature is very rare. What users prefer more, in a big tablet, is that the front-facing camera should be of good quality. This helps them use the tablet for Skyping, Hangouts, or other means of video chatting. An 8MP front-facing HD camera would be a great way to make Hangouts even more delightful. Let's hope Google gets it right.

These days, most applications make use of your dedicated graphics card. Even running Ubuntu in its full glory requires you to have a decent graphics card. Oh and yeah, gaming is another area where you need to invest your hard-earned money into buying either an NVIDIA- or AMD- enabled laptop. The problem here is that graphic-intensive tasks, especially those that make full use of your graphics card consume a lot of your battery life. In fact, sometimes people feel that they'd be better off with a modest Intel graphics card.

Taking note of this problem, NVIDIA came up with an ingenious solution called NVIDIA Optimus. What Optimus does is that it dynamically switches between your onboard Intel graphics and your NVIDIA graphics card in order to save power. So, for example, when you're playing a game, Optimus will switch from Intel to NVIDIA so that you could have the best gaming experience. However, when you are working on that Excel Spreadsheet, Optimus makes sure that you are using your Intel graphics thus saving you a lot of power.

NVIDIA Optimus is already available on Windows with the default NVIDIA drivers set. On Linux, however, the Bumblebee project is responsible for bringing Optimus to your laptop. The following guide will help you get NVIDIA Optimus working on your Ubuntu desktop and hopefully make the most out of it. (This guide assumes that you have an Intel and an NVIDIA card on your laptop. For more information check the instruction manual accompanying your device).

Installing Bumblebee

Since the Bumblebee project is officially supported by Ubuntu, all you have to do is type in the following command in your terminal:

sudo apt-get install bumblebee bumblebee-nvidia

This will install the required drivers on your computer. Now, to run an application using NVIDIA drivers, all you have to do is type optirun before the app's name and enter it into the command line. Here's an example of how to run Firefox using Nvidia drivers:

optirun firefox 


Making the Most out of Bumblebee

To ensure that you can switch between your onboard graphics and your NVIDIA card anytime you want, all you need to do is install the Prime indicator applet for your desktop. Once installed, an indicator applet shows up that displays the graphics card that is currently in use. Upon clicking the icon, you can switch between the two cards. As simple as that.

To install Prime indicator on your Ubuntu computer, you'll have to add the Webupd8 ppa to your list of repositories. Enter the following commands to do that:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nilarimogard/webupd8
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install prime-indicator

For all the perfectionists out there, you can download the Bumblebee configurator from a PPA. This tool allows you to configure Bumblebee to your liking and even troubleshoot it in case something doesn't go away. Type in or paste the following commands to install the tool:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:alessandrofac93/bumblebee-config-gtk-dev
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install bumblebee-config-gui

Written by: Abhishek, a regular TechSource contributor and a long-time FOSS advocate.

Jeff Bezos is a man who loves to be misunderstood. Selling Kindle devices with little profits, the man behind the shopping company behemoth Amazon makes it look as if he has pulled some sort of a magic trick on his investors. The company takes so many risks; in fact, many rumors suggest that the company still isn't profitable; however, investors have been banking on Amazon for years. Much to every MBA's surprise, Bezos runs with a business model that's completely unique. He loves taking risks, and yes, he thinks out of the box.

Taking his famed consumer-first approach, last year Bezos unveiled an innovation that can be seen as the beginning of a new era of technology. The robot-driven future that we all dream about when we were kids is finally here as Amazon plans to bring drone-delivery to its customers. This means that instead of a human delivering your shipment, you will now have a drone flying right to your doorstep, dropping the box, and buzzing away to the Amazon warehouse. Amazon Prime Air, the shipping giant's move into robotics is designed to help cut the manual labor that is required to drop small objects like CDs or small computer parts.

Though the idea looks good on paper, it raises some serious concerns about privacy. Drones are flying in your backyard, equipped with a camera, thereby taking away your privacy. Though on the outside Prime Air looks like a technological marvel, it comes with its own flaws. Let's take a look on the pros and cons.



Why Amazon Prime Air is a Technological Leap

Prime Air is a great example of Amazon's consumer-oriented innovation. The company is well known to aggressively focus on delivering the best quality to its customers, and drone delivery is simply a by-product of that vision. Not only does it save time and labor for Amazon, it's also ensures that you get your product within just an hour. So, instead of running to the supermarket to buy a toothbrush, Amazon Air will fetch you your item using its robotic drone.

Furthermore, Prime Air also opens a gateway for other companies to innovate in robotics. Robotics is an area that has millions of enthusiasts. For them, drones going mainstream would be a good news as it will give them a good incentive to start innovating more. In other words, Prime Air is the innovation the tech industry needs.


Why Prime Air is a Privacy Concern

Every great technological boon comes with its share of flaws. Prime Air, since its announcement, has raised a lot of security concerns. Within days a bill was pushed hoping to protect the citizens from such "innovations." An excerpt from a speech by Republican member of Congress Ted Poe pretty much sums up what the controversy is about:

"The issue of concern, Mr. Speaker, is surveillance, not the delivery of packages. That includes surveillance of someone's backyard, snooping around with a drone, checking out a person's patio to see if that individual needs new patio furniture from the company. "

Furthermore, not only is the drone surveillance a potential privacy threat, it's also an object that can easily be hacked. Anyone with good computer skills can hack a drone and use it for their own personal gain. This is a big issue not only in terms of privacy but also in terms of security.


Will it work?

The FAA has some strict regulations about drones and Bezos will have a tough time getting them convinced that this is possible. Another problem with drones is that they can get stuck into branches thus delaying or having your shipment cancelled. Similarly, there are many problems Amazon needs to overcome in order to make this dream a reality. Though Bezos aims for 2015, we find it highly unlikely that it will be possible that soon. The controversy, however, raises a big issue, can the US government trust its citizen's safety and privacy in a company for the sake of innovation?

"One thing that I learned within the first couple of years of starting a company is that inventing and pioneering involves a willingness to be misunderstood for long periods of time." -- Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com

Google, despite the lukewarm responses it got towards its initial Chromebook endeavors, has fervently decided to stick with the web-based operating system. Recently, Google announced Chromebook 11, a device made by HP featuring some cool specs and the latest iteration of Chrome OS. Chromebooks, despite their lack of mainstream popularity, have gained a strong following, especially amongst Linux fans that admire the amazing design and compatibility these applications provide. Let's see if Chromebook 11 is really worth the hype or is it just another feeble attempt by Google towards their goals of world domination. 

Tech Specs

One of the best things about Google Chromebooks is that due to the lack of any heavy operating system, the user can get the full benefits of the specs inside a machine. The Chromebook 11 comes with 2GB of RAM, Samsung Exynos 5250 GAIA processor, and 16 GB SSD Hard disk. These are, by industry standards, specs you'll find on a smartphone. However, don't be fooled by the relatively low numbers in this department.

As we said before, the Chrome OS is one of the only few operating systems that can make full use of hardware. On the front side, you'll find a VGA camera and an 11.6-inch IPS display. Now, Google could have done a better job in the camera department here by providing at least a 1 MP camera. There are two USB ports and also a MicroUSB charging slot to help you connect the book to your other devices.

The specs, on paper at least, look good except for the poor VGA quality camera. If you are not much of a video chatter, this won't bother you at all.


Design

For a low-end device, the Chromebook 11 has a design that can easily be compared to Apple's line of laptop computers. A single glance at the new Chromebook gives you an idea that Google has put a lot of attention into making this device. It is made of smooth, glossy white plastic, and has a thin multi-colored strip running across the laptop lid. The keyboard too looks good with a nice chicklet layout thus making it immune to dust. Furthermore, you'll find that the keyboard has an almost premium feel to it. In other words, you won't feel as if you are using a low-end device. The keyboard is very solid thus making it a great tool for writers.

The design is probably the strongest part about the Chromebook 11. If we had to pick one area where the laptop does an exceptional job, it would be the way it is built and the way it feels in the hands of the user.

Operating System

Chrome OS is basically a web browser sitting on your hardware. There's nothing but your beloved Chrome giving you the best of the web. This, however, doesn't match up to the famed "pure Google experience" that Android users boast of. This is merely your Chrome browser backed by great hardware. The OS itself isn't that stable. You'll come across many bugs, most of which aren't that harmful. However, from a minimalistic barebones device, we expected much more.

Chrome OS still needs a lot of work before it can compete with heavyweights like Apple’ Mac OS X and Microsoft’s Windows.


Performance

The performance is one area where Chromebook 11 falls behind. As we told you when we discussed the specs, the Chrome OS is perfect for low-end devices. However, that's not the case here. Chromebook 11 suffers from many performance lags and bugs. One of the main issues is that watching HD videos isn't such a smooth experience many times. As soon as you watch a full HD video, you might find that it lags a bit and the audio stutters as well. Otherwise, the performance is okay. However, the issues do leave a lot to be desired, especially from a Google device that was meant to use Google products like YouTube.

Despite the lightness of the Chrome OS, the performance is quite sub-par. This, coupled with the bugs in the OS, makes you rethink twice before purchasing.


Verdict

If you're looking for a decent laptop on which you can do your work, this is probably a very bad investment. Even as a second device, Chromebook 11 doesn't match up to the hype. However, if you are a writer, a Facebook junkie, or a tech hobbyist who want a very simple laptop, Chromebook might just be the machine you were waiting for.

Written by: Abhishek, a regular TechSource contributor and a long-time FOSS advocate.

You’re browsing a bunch of websites on your Android device. After a while, you stumble across an article you really like and you want to show it to your best friend in a nice printed form. But alas! You aren't connected to your printer! Well, that’s a bummer isn't it? Now you’ll have to send that article to your computer, then send it for printing - such a tedious task?

Well, not anymore. In this article we will be explaining to you how you can print any article or document on your Android device wirelessly. All you need to have is an Android device and a printer, and yeah, both should be connected to a Wi-Fi network. Once that is done and little nudges here and there, you’ll be printing everything from your phone wirelessly using your printer.

Another great thing about printing wirelessly is that it will even allow you to print photos you snap on your Android smartphone without any hassle. Furthermore, you can also set your printer up so that you can print your documents even while you aren't at home.

So, imagine you’re on holiday, you snap a bunch of pictures and you want them ready by the time you get home. No problem! Just send them to the cloud and they will automatically get printed by the time you reach home.

Enough of talk for now, here’s how to go about setting your Android device to print wirelessly:

Set up Google Cloud Print: Google cloud print lets you connect your printer to the cloud thereby allowing you to print your documents from any corner of the earth. Simply register your printer with your Google account and you’re done.

Head over to their website to get started. Once you are there, simply click on the ‘Try Now’ button and it will start detecting printers automatically. You can then register that device with Google Cloud Print and start printing instantly. Also, it is a good idea to check if your printer is cloud print ready using this list.

Install the Cloud Print app on your Android device: This app, once installed, will let you print all types of files from your smartphone or tablet. Cloud Print supports all the popular file types including pdf, jpg, jpeg, docx, ods, xls, xlsx, ppt, odp, txt, doc, and xps. What’s more, the free app also allows you to share your printer with friends. The app tightly integrates with the aforementioned Google Cloud Print service, thereby allowing you to print all your documents wirelessly.

Test your new service by printing a test page wirelessly.

If you’re using an HP printer, HP has their own cloud printing service called HP ePrint. You can use that one too; however, it’s much better to stick with Google Cloud Print as it integrates really well with other Google services. To start using HP ePrint, simply install their Android app and register your printer for their service.

Raspberry Pi, the $25 marvel has taken the tech community by storm. The single-board computer, developed in the UK by Raspberry Pi Foundation comes with a 700 MHz ARM processor, Videocore IV GPU, and 256 MB RAM (earlier it was 128 MB RAM). While those specs are nowhere near compared to what the latest laptops, or even the newest phones offer, it’s ridiculously low price point is what makes it so amazing. Another interesting thing about Raspberry Pi is the fact that it will come with a Linux-based operating system (like Picotux - smallest Linux computer) and will include some useful tools to help users learn programming.

The credit card-sized computer went on sale on 29th February, and immediately after the launch, their official websites crashed due to heavy traffic. Though not confirmed yet, rumors suggest that there have been over 2 million inquiries and pre-orders. As the Raspberry Pi has managed to create a much-needed disruption in the market, Linux lovers are basking in the glory of this newfound penguinian achievement. And we, Linux supporters to the very core, couldn't help but chime in and dish out our own market ideas for the low-cost prodigy.

So, if you’re as excited about it as we are, here are some of the best places where Raspberry Pi could be used:

One of the most revolutionary uses of Raspberry Pi would be in schools. With an extremely low price point, public schools as well as schools in developing countries can benefit from the new invention. Moreover, as it comes loaded with educational apps, it would be an economical as well as an effective way of introducing kids to programming.

The $25 price tag would make computing accessible for many people who can’t already afford to buy a computer. While the iPads and the iPhones sell like pancakes, people in developing countries struggle to even get a glimpse of what a real computer is like. To them, Raspberry Pi would be a great boon as will help them buy their first computer without burning a huge hole in their pocket.

If you’re an entrepreneur planning to start an Internet cafe in your area, you must watch out for Raspberry Pi. Not only will it save you from the huge costs of bootstrapping your business, it will also help you avoid having to deal with virus-ridden sluggish computers. That said, not all Internet cafes would be able to flaunt the mini masterpiece as some Internet users demand complimentary applications like Yahoo Messenger and Gtalk which are not available on Linux. However, a great workaround to that problem would be to introduce them to the web versions of their favorite apps.

Notice those huge Windows-ridden computers in library? Oh, they’re so slow and sometimes filled with viruses. Raspberry Pi can serve as a great alternative to those antiques by providing efficient, basic computing that is exactly what a place like a public library needs. Furthermore, having the little device placed alongside a stack of books would be a great idea to save some space.

Cost cutting is the buzzword recently; and, there are barely companies who don’t think of doing it. Government offices, or even private offices for that matter, spend thousands of dollars on employees’ computers thus adding to the already increasing budget. A great way to save money in this scenario would be to switch to the low-cost Raspberry Pi. Not only will it save lots of dollars, it will also make your desk a little roomier.

If companies like Canonical or Red Hat realize the potential of the Raspberry Pi, they could also come up with their own single-board computer. As fellow blogger Techlaze suggests: there is a huge market for Canonical in this department. A $100 or less single-board device with similar specs and a custom version Ubuntu -- using Unity 2D perhaps -- they could bring in some hard cash to Canonical’s waiting-to-be-filled coffers.

Ultrabooks, the much-touted ultra-slim laptop computers, which Intel announced with great pomp and expectations, have finally started making their presence felt. Recently showcased at CES 2012, these Macbook Air competitors, if successful, may revolutionize the tech world just as the tablets did. At this nascent stage though, not much can be said about them; however, we at TechSource do wish ultrabooks ran Ubuntu instead of Windows.

Ultrabooks, despite being slim and sleek in design, offer the users a complete desktop that’s both usable and powerful. That said, it would be wrong to pit them head-on against laptops or even tablets for that matter. Ultrabooks target a completely different audience, which is, oddly enough, a niche that Chromebooks have been trying to get into for a long time. Chromebooks, which we covered earlier, haven’t reached the pinnacle Google expected them to, nor have they managed to impress many customers, thus making room for competitors like Ultrabooks, and even tablet computers, to steal the show. But how does the relatively mature Chromebook stack up against the emerging Ultrabook? Let’s see.

Ultrabooks, though slim in design, provide the user with a powerful, performing desktop. For example, the recently announced Dell X13 Ultrabook: this slim beast is powered by i5 and i7 processors and comes with 128GB solid-state drive (SSD).

Chromebooks, on the other hand, are powered by Chrome OS. The breezy web browser is the only thing you’ll find on a Chromebook, thus making the whole operating system feel super fast. Unlike Windows, which tends to slow down after a while, Chromebooks would perform the same way (or even faster!) even after 2-3 years. The only thing slowing down these machines is your Internet connection.

It is thus quite obvious that Chromebooks outmatch Ultrabooks in the performance department. I know, that the i7 processor is definitely faster than the Intel Atom-powered Chromebooks, but that performance comes at almost 3-4 times the price of Chromebooks. For the $300 Chromebook, you almost get the same performance you get on an i5 device with Windows Vista on it.

The Dell Ultrabook costs $999 whereas Chromebooks cost as little as $300. Though, you can purchase low-end Ultrabooks at even lesser prices, the ever-dipping price point of the browser-based notebook steals the show.

Chrome, Chromebook’s raison d’etre is a powerful, nimble browser that makes the notebook work real fast despite its relatively low-end specs. That said, when you want to get something done, you can’t always rely on a browser-based computer. Sometimes, you need Windows, Mac, or Linux to run high-end applications like video editors, or even games. This is where Chromebook is still lagging behind. People can’t be on the web all the time, and they need something with which they could work offline. Ultrabooks, in this department, completely outsmart the struggling Chromebooks.

If you’ve seen Chromebook’s reviews, you must have noticed that the little browser-based notebook is quite well designed. The nicely styled keyboard, the smooth finish, and a brightly lit display are enough to make even a full-fledged laptop user go green with envy.

That said, Chromebook’s charm pales out when compared to the stylishly designed Ultrabooks. For example, the recently announced Envy Spectre by HP will make your gadget lust reach new heights. The i5-powered beast features a Gorilla Glass chassis (scratch-resistant) and has a 1600x900 Radiance Display. Similarly, most of the notebooks in this genre feature a shiny aluminum design along with a chiclet-style keyboard. Not only does this -- to a limit of course -- succeed at curing some seriously Mac-envy, it also makes the Ultrabook an attractive-yet-powerful gadget. The winner here undoubtedly is the shiny new Ultrabook.

Though Ultrabooks target a market similar to the one Google is targeting, it would be wrong to proclaim the slim gadget as a Chromebook-killer. Chromebook is, and perhaps always was, a niche product, especially for those who have successfully migrated their tech life to the web. For the rest, a good old netbook or even a laptop does the job. Ultrabooks, on the other hand target the whole laptop market; so, it is quite unlikely that the twain will ever be at loggerheads.

With millions of devices already sold, the iPad 2 merely reinforced Apple's position as the leader of the tablet market. While Apple is busy selling the latest iPhone 4S, Amazon is having a tough time keeping up with the insane demands for its upcoming tablet called Kindle Fire.

Touted as the iPad-killer, Amazon's Kindle Fire comes packed with almost the same amount of features as the iPad 2 but at an unbeatable price of $199. Many experts have predicted that once it is out, Kindle Fire might do to iPad what the Android did to the iPhone.

Here's why we, at Tech Source, believe that this Amazon's latest offering might make a huge dent in the tablet market by surpassing the dominant iPad 2.

Prices for iPad 2 start at $499. At $499, what you get is a Wi-Fi-enabled iPad 2 with two cameras. Amazon's Kindle Fire on the other hand, comes at an incredibly low price of $199, which itself, is its biggest selling point. I know, many people argue that the Kindle fire doesn't have camera or 3G, but folks, do we really need a camera on a tablet? People look ridiculous when they take pictures with their iPads.

A tablet device is all about the content. You can make a cheap $200 Android tablet and sell it to say 10,000 people. But when you have to sell it to millions, the content becomes the prerogative. The iPad sold millions of devices because it managed to bring engaging content directly into the consumers' hands. In order to outmatch content like that, any competitor needs to have a huge repertoire of quality content. And, Amazon currently has more quality content than Apple. The Kindle Fire offers unlimited streaming of movies and music to its Prime customers. They've also announced high quality Whispersync-enabled magazines for the device, making it even more lucrative to the consumers. Furthermore, with millions of books to choose from, Kindle Fire also doubles up as a great reading device.

The Kindle Fire's price tag may be cheap, but that is no way reflected in the performance and build-quality of the device. The 7-inch tablet comes with a 1GHz dual-core processor, 512 MB RAM, and 8 GB of internal storage. The device has a solid Gorilla glass coating and it weighs only 14.6 ounces. The iPad 2 on the other hand, weighs 21.28 ounces, and has a 1GHz dual-core A5 processor. The specs in both the devices are almost the same; however, the price differs by as much as $300.

Apple has millions of apps in its App store but Kindle Fire, as of now, suffers from a dearth of quality apps. That may change however, as once the device is released, many app developers will definitely come up with some quality apps. Remember that Android too came in late, but now it has taken over Apple in the number of apps downloaded.

The Kindle Fire features a super fast web browser called Silk that crunches web pages using the cloud. The result is that pages load way faster than they would usually load on a normal browser like Safari or Chrome. Here too, Kindle Fire wins the round, because, after all, who doesn't love speed?

The Kindle Fire is the first tablet device that is completely cloud ready. If, at all, you run out of the 8GB space on your device, don't worry, you can store as much data as you want right into Amazon's cloud servers. Currently Amazon has no data caps or charges for this service.

Finally, Kindle Fire comes with the amazing Whispersync technology that syncs your data across all the devices you own. Imagine you are watching a TV show on your Kindle Fire and the battery runs out. You can then resume watching the show right where you left off from your computer using Amazon's streaming services. Apple's yet to come out with a match for this little marvel.

However, we here at TechSource believe that running Ubuntu 11.10 (or higher) on Ultrabooks might actually be more profitable. Here’s why:

Have you ever used an Intel desktop with Linux? If so, I’d wager that you rarely had any major issues with the drivers. This is because, unlike NVIDIA and ATI, Intel’s graphics drivers are open source, making Intel-based graphic cards a heaven to work with. Also, Intel has been making significant contributions to the open source world, thus making it a great chum of penguin. Ubuntu, which almost runs flawlessly on Intel desktops, will be a great contender for the OS spot on these lightweight monsters. If any of the Ultrabook manufacturers managed to see potential in Ubuntu 11.10, there are chances that it’ll make our dreams come true.

The Macbook Air costs around a $1000. Now, to beat a price like that, Intel has to do a lot of hard work, especially if it is serious about taking up 40% of the laptop market. Intel has announced that the Ultrabooks will be low-cost and may cost less than a $1000. If Intel somehow gets Ubuntu on its devices, they could save a lot of money. If manufacturers are planning to market it as a low-cost device, they should play hardball with Microsoft. With the “professional” versions of Windows 7 priced very high, they will have to make some tough choices as to which operating system they use. Of course, we know that Windows 7 is going to take the spot anyway, but some manufacturers can get innovative and use Ubuntu on them. Using Ubuntu will significantly lower the price making the product much more affordable.

If you’ve seen the latest screenshots of 11.10, it’s way different from the Unity we all whined about. The interface has changed a lot, and yes it looks quite classy so to speak. As far as the stability goes, only time will tell. Nevertheless, Unity is quickly maturing into something that can actually deliver in the tech market. Now is the perfect time to invest in Ubuntu.

Intel is currently eyeing Windows 8 that is yet to be released. Well, since it’s a Microsoft product, there are some pretty good chances that they’ll screw up badly this time. The new experimental UI, no matter how modern it is, might not go down well with many users. Ubuntu can become the perfect alternative to Windows 8, if somehow Canonical manages to make Unity stable enough for mass consumption.

With Android’s huge success, the tech industry has finally seen that Linux is something that can gain massive mainstream popularity. If the investors somehow manage to see things from this angle, Ubuntu could surely end up on an Ultrabook someday.

We all know that Linux can make a low-spec machine run like a marathon champ without making us pay a single penny. Manufacturers can make those i5 processors run to their full potential by putting Ubuntu on their devices. A normal user who has used Windows before might be pleasantly surprised at the performance capabilities of Ubuntu and Linux in general.

Ultrabooks will be released around the end of 2011, and many people have already dissed off the idea of them being a success. However, there are others who believe that Intel will pull it off and takeover most of the laptop market. Whatever the case maybe, we definitely want to see at least one manufacturer going with Ubuntu. I’ve got my fingers crossed!

One reason why the iPad has been so successful is due to the fact that its operating system (iOS) has one of the most easy-to-use user interfaces ever designed. So, no matter how great the hardware maybe, the operating system still matters a lot.

If Ubuntu wants to enter this market, it has to work hard on the UI area so that it feels just as good on a tablet as it feels on a desktop.

Here are some of the reasons that may make Ubuntu popular on tablets and some reasons it won’t.

* Familiarity

Ubuntu’s interface is a blend of two of the most popular desktops around. Windows or Mac users who’ve used Ubuntu usually experience a level of familiarity that makes their switch easier. While with the recent Ubuntu versions, the element of familiarity might have shifted more towards Mac than Windows, it’s nevertheless a great thing to have. Having a tablet that behaves more like a desktop might actually be quite appealing to a whole new userbase. Of course, with the newer versions like Natty and Oneiric, Ubuntu has made its UI more suited for mobile devices making it a good contender for tablets too.

* It’s free

Maybe I couldn’t think of a more obvious reason but having something that’s free is a great thing for both consumers and manufacturers. Ubuntu being free can be installed on any tablet device, including Galaxy Tab (see video) thus making it a great OS for small-time manufacturers who are waiting eagerly to break in to the tablet market. With little tweaks, indie companies could sell completely functional tablet computers to millions of Linux users worldwide.

* No trouble of patents (hopefully)

Apple has been chasing Google with a knife since they first heard about Galaxy Tab. One of the reasons Apple sued them is because they think that Android copied iOS’s patented UI. Of course, with Ubuntu, that won’t be a big problem since Ubuntu has a completely unique and open UI, which so far hasn’t managed to violate any patents. Having an Ubuntu-powered tablet will save a small-time gadget manufacturer a million-dollar lawsuit and the trouble of visiting court every day.

* Unity

As contentious Ubuntu’s new Unity UI may be, it has definitely managed to strike a chord amongst users who were looking for a more unified interface that would work across all devices. As Unity keeps maturing, it will certainly be great to have one user interface across all devices. To add to the fun, Ubuntu already has built-in syncing capabilities that would make things easier for users who own multiple devices. One can only imagine how great it would feel having the same interface across all devices you own.

* Not yet mainstream

Go out on the street, find a random person and ask him/her if they’ve ever heard of Ubuntu. Chances are, 95% of the time their response will be negative. Even though we are very much aware how powerful Linux is, the average user is wary of trusting anything that’s new. Adding to that, the belief that ‘Linux is for geeks’ is still dogmatically widespread amongst the technical users and non-technical ones alike.

* Lack of apps

Even though it might seem quite tempting to own an Ubuntu-powered tablet, the lack of apps will surely be one of the biggest issues. Both Android and iOS, have millions of apps which is completely different market in itself. These apps let the users add to existing functionality of the operating system making the user experience even more engaging. For Ubuntu, as of now, the lack of quality apps doesn’t make it as enviable as an iPad or a Galaxy Tab.

* Manufacturers

Ubuntu, if at all ever decides to enter the tablet market, will face the same problems it has faced on the desktop front. The lack of manufacturers who are ready to invest in a tablet that’s powered by Ubuntu is not that hard to predict. Maybe Dell can make an investment on this front, but the chances are slim.

What do you think of Ubuntu running on tablets? Will it work? Will it fail? Just let us know what you think using the comments section below.

Ubuntu, slowly but steadily, is gaining prominence in the Microsoft-dominated world of desktop, laptop and netbook computers. While this gradual rise may not be enough for your next-door Joe to switch to Ubuntu, it does however give the devoted Linux user some decent choice while buying his or her new laptop.

Recently, laptops and netbooks have started showing up in the market and are pre-loaded with Ubuntu. Though this may not be any different than buying a Windows-based laptop and replacing the OS with Ubuntu, it does offer a few advantages. Buying an Ubuntu-powered PC allows you to overcome the initial hiccups many new Linux users face, which are mainly related to hardware incompatibilities.

So, if you are planning to purchase an affordable but capable Ubuntu-powered laptop, here are some nice ones you can add to your wish list:

This is one of the most popular computer companies when it comes to making Ubuntu-powered machines. For about a year or so, they have been designing computers especially for Ubuntu and to be honest, they are actually quite good at it. System 76 makes sure that you have a completely functional Ubuntu desktop from the moment you first boot the device. They sell netbooks, laptops, servers and desktops that are reasonably priced with professional tech support included.

Being a Linux-centric company, you are offered a lot of choices while buying a System 76 computer. For example, if you are planning on buying a 15 inch laptop, you get to choose the amount of processing power, memory and disk space you want in there. You also get to choose to include a laptop bag as well as add extra warranty, battery and AC car adapter. By default, you get a one year limited warranty with full technical support.

Every System 76 laptop, desktop or netbook ships with the latest version of Ubuntu with Flash pre-installed. And mind you, every piece of hardware in that machine works flawlessly with Ubuntu. What's more, they are the folks that manufacture the world's most powerful Ubuntu device, which is Serval Professional. System 76 currently ships in UK, US and Canada. Shipping is done usually within 10 days from order. Prices might be slightly over your budget but don't forget that you get full technical support with it.

Kogan is an Australian company that has been manufacturing consumer electronics for quite a while. In the FOSS community, they are well known for making low-priced Linux-based netbooks and laptops. We've already reviewed their Chromium-based laptop before and we've been quite disappointed by it.

However, the latest offering from the Aussie consumer electronics giant manages to impress us quite a lot. The 12-inch laptop comes with 1GB DDR2 RAM (expandable to 4 GB), 250 GB Hard Disk and a 1.3GHz Intel Pentium Processor. The specifications are nowhere near the high-end computers that are in the market today. But, being a budget laptop, we cannot complain. Priced at just 350 USD, this little device comes with the latest version of Ubuntu pre-installed. Even though the 3.5-hour battery life leaves a lot to be desired, a fully functional low-cost laptop might appeal to the Tuxians looking for a decent secondary device.

This is a laptop manufactured by a company called Genesi and is targeted towards developers and advanced users. The sleek 10.1-inch laptop comes with an 800Mhz A8 ARM Cortex processor, 16GB NAND Flash, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It comes loaded with Ubuntu 10.10 ‘Maverick Meerkat’ and weighs about 2 lbs. Like Kogan Agora Laptop, Efika MX is not a full-fledged performance machine. However, if you're looking for something really affordable then this is your best bet. Efika costs only 200 USD and can be ordered from the Genesi website.

These are two new devices, which were recently showcased at CES 2011. Manufactured by a Chinese company called Nufront, these laptop computers run the latest version of Ubuntu. One is 10-inch and the other is a 14-inch laptop, both sporting a dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor. The 10-inch version comes with full-size VGA, two USB ports, HDMI output, and an SD card. The 14-inch one comes with 3 USB ports, built-in Ethernet, HDMI and hi-res screen. Both the devices are expected to land in the market soon. On the pricing front, expect the devices to be cheaper than the ones with Windows. So, if you are planning to get a good secondary device, you might want to wait for these. Apart from running Ubuntu, Nufront also plans to launch devices running Android operating systems.

Here's a video demonstrating the main Nufront products, which were showcased at CES 2011:

Although the Tegra 2 chip with integrated dual-core processor has recently been released, NVIDIA is already poised to announce its successor at the Mobile World Congress next month. According to Mike Rayfield of NVIDIA, Tegra 3 may incorporate a quad-core processor with main focus of supporting Android smartphones and tablet PCs.

Described as computer on a chip, Tegra is packed with a built-in ARM architecture CPU, GPU, northbridge, southbridge, and memory controller. Since it is designed for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the chip is energy efficient but powerful enough to handle demanding tasks and applications.

A good number of tablet computers and smartphones from top hardware manufacturers are already powered by Tegra 2, and most of which are scheduled for release this Q1. NVIDIA Tegra 2 is equipped with a Dual-core ARM Cortex-A9 CPU (1 GHz, 1MB L2 Cache), Ultra-low power (ULP) GeForce GPU, and 1080p video playback processor.

The next generation iPad and iPhone is said to feature a powerful dual-core processor. For Android to beat these two immensely popular handhelds, it must run on a more powerful hardware. Utilizing NVIDIA Tegra 3 with quad-core processor could easily give Android devices the edge over those made by Apple.

2010 can be easily considered as the year of tablet computers. It started with the release of the Apple iPad back in April that caused a massive appetite for tablets among consumers. The demand was so high that the market for netbook PC slowed down and manufacturers were scrambling to create their own tablet as a result. We could also say that 2010 is the year of Android smartphones. This year, Android ha eclipsed iPhone's popularity and has taken the lead in smartphone OS marketshare in the U.S.

Since we are talking about smartphones and tablet computers, here are our most popular gadget-related posts of 2010 (in no particular order):

The Cisco Cius is an enterprise-ready, Android-based tablet computer created by Cisco Systems. It was announced on June 29th at Cisco Live 2010 and will be released to consumers around the first quarter of 2011.

If you are looking for very affordable Android tablet computers, then you should check out this post. I have gathered several iPad-like tablet computers that are sold for as low as USD99.

The HTC Desire was among the first consumer devices to offer a large, full-color AMOLED display. It runs the Android operating system (version 2.2 'Froyo'). It is very similar to the Nexus One in terms of internal or hardware features.

The Avaya Flare is a high-end Android-based tablet computer that is primarily designed for business conferencing. It is equipped with unified communications software created by Avaya and offers Aura Conferencing and the Linux-based Avaya Aura Messaging software.

Available either with a single panel 14.1-inch touchscreen or with dual 14.1-inch touchscreens, the Kno Linux-based textbook tablet can be used as an electronic textbook, eBook reader, notebook, and web browser among others.

Formerly known as the Mini 5, the Dell Streak is a smartphone/tablet computer that runs Android operating system. It comes with a huge 5-inch capacitive touchscreen display that is capable of 800 x 480 pixel resolution.

The Samsung Galaxy S was the first Android smartphone to be certified for DivX HD and was considered as the thinnest Android phone at the time of release. It utilizes PowerVR graphics processor -considered as the fastest graphics-processing unit in any Android phone to date.

Shogo is a Linux-powered tablet PC created by Realease, a Hong Kong-based platform provider. It has a 10-inch capacitive touchscreen and is available in two models: one is equipped with a Freescale i.MX37 (ARM 11) processor; the other model features a Freescale i.MX51 (ARM Cortex A8) processor.

The ASUS Eee PC 1015PE is a sleek and environment-friendly mini notebook computer that was awarded as the Best Choice in the Green ICT category. This is because of its superb energy efficiency, eco-friendly materials and packaging, and for using substantially reduced levels of hazardous materials during its production.

The Motorola Droid X is an Android-based smartphone has a large and stunning 4.3-inch touchscreen display. It is equipped with an 8-megapixel camera with 4x digital zoom, auto focus, dual LED flash, mechanical shutter capable of 1/1000a, and can record 720p HD videos at 24fps.

John Carl P. Villanueva made a list of some of the latest Android-powered tablet PCs. Some of the tablets that he has included have the potential to beat the Apple iPad.

This December, Google released the "still-unfinished" Chrome OS laptop computer. Dubbed as the Cr-48 (refers to an isotope of chromium), the 12-inch notebook is available as a test unit only and is not for sale.