8 Exciting Features of Linux Mint 12 "Lisa"

Linux Mint, which has effortlessly managed to usurp the top spot from Ubuntu (according to DistroWatch ranking), has just released its latest version. Codenamed “Lisa”, Linux Mint 12 is based on Ubuntu 11.10 and features a perfect blend of GNOME 3 and the newly designed Mint GNOME Shell Extensions (MGSE).

So, if you’re dying to know what’s in store for Linux Mint 12 "Lisa", here’s a list of some of the exciting features it comes packed with:

1. The Desktop

Unity and GNOME 3 both had their share of controversy. Both desktops were equally criticized for being difficult to use and sometimes, for being downright unusable. Keeping in mind these issues, Linux Mint 12 was built to cater the needs of many disgruntled users who were unsatisfied with the aforementioned desktops. Though Mint doesn’t bare the slightest of resemblance to Unity, nor to GNOME 3 for that matter, it does, however, include a blend of some of the best features you’ll find on those contentious desktops. For example, Mint loyalists will be relieved to find a revamped version of the popular Mint Menu.

Android Devices: To Root or Not To Root

Android, apart from being one of the most popular mobile operating systems around, is also an open source phenomenon in the making. The freedom that this Google-made marvel provides has opened up a thousand possibilities for developers and hackers to tinker around with the code. This, in turn has created a whole new world of ROMs and MODs that give users the features they miss on the default Android OS.

An essential rite of passage into this enticing-yet-wild world requires the users to "root" their device. So, what is this root thing after all? Is it dangerous? Is rooting your Android device worth it? Read on as we try to answer all your doubts in this article.

What is rooting?

If you’re a Linux user, you must have seen commands where we prefix ‘su’ or ‘sudo’. This means that we are entering those particular commands as a superuser or root. The concept of root user is somewhat similar to Administrator on Windows. A root user has all the privileges and can ask the system to do anything, even self-destruct, so to speak. Also, since your Ubuntu desktop and your Droid are based on the same Linux kernel, most of basic UNIX commands work everywhere. By gaining root access to your Android phone, you get to tweak your device any way you want to. You can change the CPU speed, delete apps, block ads everywhere, and do many more things which a non-rooted or “normal user” wouldn’t be able to do. For Apple users who still fail to grasp the concept can think of it as jailbreaking.

12 Things to Expect in Ubuntu 12.04 Precise Pangolin

Recently, at the Ubuntu Developer Summit in Orlando, Florida, Mark Shuttleworth, talked at great length about his plans and ambitions for the upcoming version of Ubuntu. Codenamed Precise Pangolin, Ubuntu 12.04 will be a Long-Term Support (LTS) release, and will come with a slew of interesting changes. Also, one can expect deeper Unity integration and perhaps some Wayland developments as well.

Precise Pangolin, according to Shuttleworth, will be – as the name implies – the most perfect Ubuntu release so far, making it ready for large-scale deployments.

Here's a list of all the goodness you can expect from Ubuntu 12.04 that will be released in late April next year:

7 Reasons Why Apple is More Evil than Microsoft

Thanks to the hard work and vision of Steve Jobs, Apple has managed to evolve from a mere cult to a mainstream phenomenon. Fanboys, celebrities, politicians and geeks who adore their products have exalted the billion-dollar company to a technological pseudoreligion. A silent witness to Apple's magnificent ascent from failure to stardom has been Microsoft.

Though Microsoft has been the traditional bad guy of the Silicon Valley, Apple has stealthily usurped that spot by its recent actions, most of which are a bit on the dark side. As a FOSS enthusiast I believe that Microsoft is overly competitive but so is Apple.

If you think that Apple is much less evil than Microsoft, read on as we give you 7 reasons that will make Redmond look slightly better than Cupertino.

Best Terminal Emulators for Android

If you happen to be one of those geeks who love to pull all-nighters writing endless lines of code, then the terminal must be like your second home. If sitting and staring at the dark black screen is hurting your back, then why not take a small break?

But hey, we know how your fingers would start itching once you move away from that beloved keyboard of yours. That's why we've compiled a list of some of the best terminal emulators for your Android devices. Once installed, you'll be able to continue tapping your favorite commands on your shell without breaking your back. These terminal emulators are also great if you want to impress your newbie friends with some bash tricks you might have learned while fixing your own desktop.

So, as the world moves from the desktop to the smartphone and tablet computer, here are some of the best terminal emulators for Android:

Top 5 Alternative Web Browsers for Ubuntu Linux

If you're tired of everyone talking about Chrome and Firefox, it's time to try out something new. Windows users already have tons of web browsers to choose from, but only a few of them are worth your time. Linux (particularly Ubuntu) on the other hand, doesn't offer that many choices. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't any quality browsers for our favorite distro. In fact, out of dozens of alternative browsers, we've chosen the best 5 so that you would be able visit our site from the browser you love rather than sticking to the mainstream ones.

So, without further ado, here some of the best alternative web browsers for Ubuntu Linux:

Epiphany

Epiphany is a GNOME-based web browser that's both fun and simple to use. Sporting a well-designed interface, Epiphany complies with all the modern standards. The Epiphany Manifesto sums up the project goals as follows: Simplicity, Standards Compliance, and GNOME integration. Targeted towards non-technical users, Epiphany is incredibly fast and has been translated in over sixty languages. To make sure that you don't miss Firefox or Chrome, the open source web browser comes with support for extensions that add to existing functionality. Though there aren't that many add-ons to choose from, a few of them are particularly great. For example, Mouse Gestures, Tab Groups and Smart Bookmarks. Furthermore, if you care about how pages are displayed in the browser, don't worry as Epiphany scores a perfect 100/100 in Acid 3 tests.

How to Improve the Battery Life of Your Android Smartphone

We've already seen how Android stacks up against iOS when it comes to features. As much as we love our droids, one thing that always annoys an Android fan is the poor battery life. No matter how you use the phone, the battery always seems to run out way faster than you'd expect. When compared to its arch rival iOS, Android seems to consume much more battery, which, apart from fragmentation issues, is one of the biggest drawbacks of this platform.

So, is there any workaround to this issue? Yes there is. Here at TechSource, we've compiled a list of some hot tips that would help you improve the battery life of your droid so that when you come home tired from work, you won't have to rummage your house for that dreaded charger.

1. Find out what's killing the battery

The first step you need to do is check out which services and apps are consuming the battery. Go to Settings -> About Phone -> Battery Use and you'll see a list of apps and services that are taking up your battery. The services or apps displayed at the top are the ones consuming the most battery life. So, if at all there are some unimportant apps there, you might want to disable or uninstall them. Usually, the top 3 battery hogs are Display, Voice calls and WiFi.

Top 5 Photo Editors for Android

Editing photos on the desktop is easy as pie, thanks to great applications like GIMP and Photoshop. But what if you've just taken a snap on your beloved Android device and want to edit it on the go? Don't worry; it's not entirely impossible. Thanks to the openness of Android platform, dozens of apps have sprung up that let you edit your photos on the go.

Now, editing on the phone is not the same as editing on the desktop, so don't expect GIMP-like awesomeness from these apps. Having said that, these apps do suffice the photo-editing needs of almost all the phone users by adding essential effects which are both simple to apply and easy to learn. So, if you want to add some cool effects to your recently snapped holiday photos, read on as we cover the top 5 photo editors for Android.

Lenovo Mobile Enters the Philippine Market With a Barrage of New Phones

Lenovo, one of the world’s most leading PC makers, has now entered the Philippine market with its own range of low and medium range phones. Open Communications, Inc., Lenovo Mobile’s distributor in the Philippines, showcased its products to a group of bloggers last October 27, 2011 at Chateau 1771 in Greenbelt 5. Chim Serrano, business unit head of Open Communications, mentioned that their phones are feature-laden, fashionable, well-made, affordable, and will have distinct features that aren’t expected from the phones in their target market segment.

A video clip showed Lenovo Mobile’s stringent product quality testing to ensure that their software and hardware will perform well in normal day to day use. Another video clip shown described how Lenovo designs its products to reach and exceed international standards by having a multi-national design team and having actual consumer input during the design stage. After dinner, there was a presentation of the phones and their unique features.

For the initial launch, six phones were presented:

Best RSS Feed Readers for Android

While the world is going crazy about the recent changes in Google Reader, the debate over the relevance of RSS is still a hot topic among many techies. Many bloggers and even celebrities are moving away from the popular syndication format thanks to the dearth of decent RSS applications on the desktop and also due to the rapid surge in the use of social media. Even as the desktop sees a fall in the number of RSS readers, an opposite trend seems to be happening on the mobile front.

Every week new feed readers are popping up in the Android and Apple app stores that provide the same old syndication with a different twist. Furthermore, with added capabilities like syncing and sharing, these applications make content consumption a fun experience. While many of them are good enough just to 'do the job', there are only a very few which have transcended the concept of the traditional RSS reader.

So, if you've just purchased a new Android device and you're dying to read all the latest and the upcoming TechSource articles on it, read on as we list the absolute best feed readers for Android.

Why Ubuntu Should Just Focus on the Desktop Market

Recently, at UDS, it was announced that Ubuntu would soon be coming to tablets, and smartphones, and other devices. Come 2014, Ubuntu, the most mainstream Linux distribution around, will be battling major players like Android, iOS, and Windows for the mobile OS market share.

As exciting as it may sound to any Linux fan, it seems that this is simply one of the worst decisions Canonical has taken recently. Even though Ubuntu is struggling to cross the 1% desktop market share, Canonical is running around in multiple directions when they should focus on their core product, that is the desktop.

Here's why focusing on the desktop market might be beneficial for Ubuntu:

Tough task ahead

Before Unity came, Ubuntu was one of the most stable Linux distributions around. The modern desktop utopia that Unity promised only managed to disappoint its loyal followers. And although Ubuntu 11.10 managed to undo that damage to a certain extent, Unity still is one of the most contentious interfaces around. Let’s say by 2014, Canonical manages to make Unity stable enough to be called a perfect desktop, bringing the same experience on mobile will be another herculean task.

Why the Kindle Fire Might Burn the iPad

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.