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.

A couple of years ago, no one would have thought that we'd be playing games inside our browsers. But thanks to the advancements team Google has made in the webspace, we can see that becoming a reality. Gaming in the browser is definitely not as advanced as it is on your $2000 Alienware rig. However, there are some enjoyable games you can download from the Google Chrome Webstore that will keep you entertained for hours.

The snappy browser from Google is available across all operating system platforms. Hence, these games can be enjoyed even on our Linux desktops where the gaming scenario is not that well. Moreover, thanks to the syncing capability of the browser, once you install a game, you won't have to install it again on you other machine.

So, if your unforgiving gamer self is popping your knuckles with anticipation, here are some of the best games you can install on your Google Chrome browser or Chromebook:

Unless you've been hiding under a rock for a decade or so, you must surely have heard about this amazing game. Angry Birds is perhaps the most popular puzzle video game of the decade selling over 12 million copies since its launch in 2009. The game, which was originally released for iOS has received mass popularity with players logging more than 1 million hours of game time each day.

The game starts with a small 2-minute tutorial and then you are thrown right into the action. Unlike other multiplayer games, this game involves you teaming up with other players instead of killing them. The enemy here is the evil Mad God and his dangerous warriors who'll make sure you won't win that easily.

On the graphics front, the game is designed in true retro style with 8-bit pixels showing throughout the game. Leveling up is simple; just kill as many enemies as possible and yeah, survive. If you're worried about the game getting repetitive after a while, you're mistaken. The game features some nasty boss fights at various levels in the game so that you won't get out so easily. Just download it and start your quest to become a great warrior.

Apple, with the launch of the universally coveted iPad, started a new trend in secondary computing devices. These gadgets, also known as post-PC devices, don't necessarily replace the desktop but they do a good job at complimenting it.

Netbooks, both Windows-based and Linux-based ones were already major players in this market before being overtaken by iPad and Android tablet computers. Venturing late into this domain came Google's highly anticipated Chromebooks, making the secondary device market even more competitive.

Today, let's compare three of the biggest players (excluding Android tablets) of this secondary computing device market --which are iPads, Windows-based netbooks and Chromebooks – and see how they stack up against each other:

The iPad comes with many features like video calling, full touch-screen interface, HD playback and more. These features are the USP of these little devices giving them an edge over standard desktops and laptops. This, however, doesn't mean that tablets outsmart the netbooks or even Chromebooks. Netbooks too have a lot of great features they can boast of. The presence of a physical keyboard is one big plus point. Furthermore, the ability to install any Operating System gives users a lot of choice. Let's take a look at a few features these three devices offer and compare them head-to-head:

Based on the table above, we can see that netbooks, be it Windows-based or Linux-based easily outsmart the iPad when it comes to features. There are some areas where the iPad wins, but it still fails to meet the requirements of a regular desktop user. This is simply due to the locked-down approach Apple has been taking towards its product design.

It cannot be argued that in terms of usability, having a physical keyboard is a huge advantage over a touch-screen UI. However, the iPad makes up for this deficiency thanks to its intuitive and easy-to-use UI. The icons and the applications are well laid-out as compared to the clunky interface Windows-based netbooks provide.

Windows XP and Windows 7 are operating systems designed specially for the desktop and using them on the tiny netbook's screen makes many applications look out of place. On the iPad, applications are specially designed for the device. Hence, they look and behave as they should, giving a huge edge in terms of usability.

Chromebooks on the other hand have the standard browser interface, which works great if you have a working connection, but as soon as you are offline, things kind of fall apart. Nevertheless, Chromebook's User interface is extremely simple especially for new users as it is devoid of any kind of unnecessary settings and options.

It's hard to decide who's the winner in this domain, but I'll have to give this one to the iPad simply for a User Interface that fits like a glove.

Apple's app store can boast of a huge number of quality applications, which users can download for a price or for free. Netbooks on the other hand don't have an app store, but are capable of running almost all of the 'essential' software applications that are out there. A Windows-based netbook or even a Linux-based one can help a user complete almost any task, that is, from creating a spreadsheet to finishing a quick drawing, without any compatibility issue whatsoever.

iPad's battery life is around 10 hours, netbooks on the other hand have different battery lives ranging anywhere from 3 hours to 13 hours. Chromebooks give around 8 hour of battery life, which is quite good but not as good as what iPad offers. The winner here, however, are netbooks, as a high quality netbook can give mind-blowing performance especially when coupled with netbook-specific Operating System.

To be honest, there is no real winner here. All the three devices satisfy the needs of different types of users. Even though it is a tie, netbooks slightly edge out both its competitors but their falling popularity may work against them in the future. So, we leave it for you to decide who wins this battle for the best secondary computing device.


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

The release of Google’s famed Chrome OS has certainly been eagerly awaited by many people with much anticipation for what the new open source operating system can bring to the table. As certain leaks have shown up in the past, a notebook running Chrome OS can actually be up and running in about 10 seconds and can wake up from sleep mode in less. In short, if there were anything that can be synonymous with the operating system, it would be a lot of speed.

In fact, Kogan, an Australian computer manufacturer, went ahead and released the Kogan Agora Chromium laptop, the first notebook running the famed operating system a couple of months back to be touted as the world’s first Chrome OS notebook. Unfortunately, the specs of the Kogan Agora Chromium were so laughable that people did not line up to get one.

Samsung followed suit with the release of their Samsung Series 5 Notebook, also running Chrome OS. Although packing some decent specs, reviews of the Series 5 were mixed and certainly not what the company was expecting.

It is now the turn of Acer to supply the eagerly awaiting public with yet another notebook with Chrome OS with the release of their Acer AC700 Chromebook. Will it be different this time with Acer? What can the Acer AC700 Chromebook offer? Will it be as forgettable like the Kogan Agora Chromium? Join us as we take a closer look at the Acer AC700 Chromebook.

A quick look at the aesthetics of the AC700 Chromebook will remind you of Google’s website whenever you pull it up: it is so bare. Some people might even go so far in calling the notebook an ugly slab of black plastic, which coincidentally is the material mostly used in the AC700 Chromebook’s construction.

The AC700 Chromebook is very nondescript at 8.1 x 11.2 x 1 inch and based on my opinion went entirely against the promise of Acer that upon release, the AC700 Chromebook will have a sleek form factor. In the weight division, the AC700 Chromebook tips the scales at 3.2 pounds so it is light enough to carry around town. I guess Acer scrimped on the aesthetics of the device and instead focused on what is under the hood, which we will talk about shortly.

To power up its operation, the AC700 Chromebook relies on a dual-core Intel Atom N570 processor clocked at 1.66GHz. This is basically the same processor that powers the Samsung Series 5 notebooks. To complement the processor, the AC700 Chromebook has 2GB of DDR3 RAM for some speedy computing. The speed of the processes is enhanced further by the built-in 16GB SSD (Solid State Drive) to take care of your storage needs.

People might think that 16GB might not be enough. It sure is isn’t enough but we are talking about a notebook here that runs Chrome OS where most of the work gets done in the cloud, including the storage of files and documents. Having said that, the 16GB more often than not won’t see much use especially if people would opt to have their files safely reside in the cloud.

The AC700 Chromebook sports an 11.6-inch LED-backlit LCD that features Acer’s HD Widescreen CineCrystal technology for some HD goodness. We are expecting that the display of the notebook would have punchy colors that have lots of details along with good viewing angles and exceptional sunlight legibility.

The feature set of the AC700 Chromebook includes an HDMI port so you can connect your notebook to an HDTV. It also has 2 USB 2.0 ports along with a 1.3-megapixel webcam for your video chats. It also packs a 4-in-1 multi-card reader and has support for Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/using its InviLink Nplify adapter.

Because this notebook is running Chrome OS which basically depend on web-based applications and cloud-based storage, it will be able to boot in 10 seconds or less because the operating system doesn’t have bloated code which other more traditional operating systems heavily rely on.

In terms of battery life, the AC700 Chromebook has a 6-cell battery to power up its operations and according to Acer would last up to 6.5 hours of usage on a single charge before it dies out on you.

The Acer AC700 Chromebook may not have the looks and 8.5-hour battery life of the Samsung Series 5 notebook but edges it out in terms of price tag where it is expected to fetch a price of US$ 349.99. Come to think of it, that is definitely cheaper than most Android-based tablets currently available in the market.

As is the case, with the decent specs under its hood and the novelties offered by Chrome OS, the AC700 Chromebook will definitely be a hit. Could this spell out the decline in the tablet market? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.


Written by: Antonette Pineda, Tech Source’s gadget reviews and news correspondent.

Firefox 4 was another milestone for the Mozilla team. Of course, with the growing popularity of Chrome, Firefox’s admiration seems to have taken a downward trend. However, the record-holding browser isn’t going to back down. In its next version, that is Firefox 5, the veteran browser promises to bring along features that will put Firefox at par with Google Chrome.

Here are 9 such features that will make you reconsider if you’re planning to switch to Chrome. Or, if you’re a Chrome user already, who knows, you might as well go turn back to the fox.

If you love the little menu that sits on the top left corner of your Firefox 4 window, then, you have even more reasons to be excited. Firefox is planning to implement a new feature that will make a website behave more like an app. What this means is, when you create an app tab for a website -- let’s say Twitter -- the site, now an app, will have its very own dedicated menu. So, on the top left corner of your window you’ll be able to see not one but two drop down menus -- one for Twitter and other for Firefox. The Twitter menu will include quick shortcuts to the website like New Tweet, Replies and so on. Similar mock-ups have surfaced demonstrating the feature on various web sites like IMDB, CNN and others. For a quick sneak peek on how it looks like, visit this site.

Firefox 5 will mostly come bundled with F1, Mozilla’s new social sharing extension. The feature will allow a user to share any web page with their friends on Twitter, Facebook and other social networks. As of now, the extension works flawlessly and it is continuously improving. Having this feature in Firefox will definitely give it an edge over Chrome, which doesn’t have any such feature.

Syncing on Chrome is bit more obscure when contrasted with how it is on Firefox. Firefox 5 will further ramp up this feature so that you’ll be able to sync all your passwords, bookmarks, open tabs and more across desktop as well as mobile.

Hate opening a different browser just to login to your second account on a particular site? Thankfully, Mozilla has come up with a nifty solution to that problem. In Firefox 5, Mozilla will possibly include a new feature called identity manager. This will help users log into multiple accounts at once without logging out from either of them.

Details about this feature are sketchy but Firefox is planning to introduce an all new ‘New Tab’ page. We still don’t know how it will look like but it will definitely be better-looking than the one on Chrome.

Firefox 5 will include a small tweak, which will enable users to track the status of the file they’re uploading to a particular website. This is a huge gift for users who always want to know what’s going on behind the scenes.

Firefox 5 may include a built-in PDF viewer and Mp3 player. Chrome already has a native PDF reader, but having that feature in Firefox 5 will definitely make the competition tougher between the two browsers.

Keeping track of addons in Firefox 5 as well as updating them will become a lot easier. The latest version of Firefox will feature an all-new add-on selector, which will allow users to keep track of their installed extensions and plugins. Updating them will no longer be an ordeal as Mozilla aims to make this process easy and non-intrusive for all the users.

Firefox 5 will feature all new color-coded search boxes that will help users identify which search engine they’re currently using. For example, if Google is active, a little green bar saying ‘Google’ will be displayed adjacent to the search box. Similarly, there will be color codes for Bing (yellow) and Yahoo (aubergine) making search easier than ever.

With Firefox 5, Mozilla plans to bring back the users it has lost to Chrome and Chromium. This, of course, is no easy task, as Chrome is developing and growing at a breakneck speed. Also, that coupled with the release of Chromebooks, will give Chrome a major boost in the market share. Mozilla having ramped up its development cycle hopes to catch up with Chrome and more importantly, to retain its no 1 spot amongst the various browsers out there. By releasing Firefox 5, Mozilla may quickly reach this goal.

Google’s Chrome OS has been highly anticipated by people all over since its announcement. Manufacturers such as Samsung and Acer are trying their best to be the one company that gets the honor to first release a laptop or a netbook to the market that runs Chrome operating system.

What can we expect from the Agora Chromium laptop manufactured by Kogan? Will it become successful riding on the fact that it is the first? What does its spec sheet look like? Read on for the full details about the Kogan Agora Chromium laptop.

Measuring 29.0 x 19.5 x 2.56 cm, the Agora Chromium basically fits the typical notebook dimensions. It is thin and at its weight of 1.32 kg makes it a very portable and highly mobile device. It comes in black color and the construction is mostly made from plastic.

After checking out the spec sheet of the Agora Chromium, I thought I made a mistake. I thought I was going through a spec sheet of a notebook from around 2005. Why?

The Agora Chromium draws its power from an Intel Celeron (yes, no mistake here) SU2300 M ULV processor running at 1.30 GHz. The processor is complemented by a measly 1GB of DDR2 (what, no DDR3?) RAM. Sounds like a joke but Kogan claims that it is upgradable to 4GB.

For graphic matters, the Agora Chromium has an integrated Intel GS40 GPU which packs a 256MB shared memory and storage purposes is taken care of by a 30GB SATA SSD (at least, Kogan got something right here).

The Agora Chromium sports an 11.6-inch WXGA Widescreen HD LED display with a 1366 x 768 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. The quality of the display is expected to be average, same with its viewing angles. We can only hope that sunlight legibility will at least be above average as this notebook boasts of portability and high mobility.

The Agora Chromium packs the typical I/O options such as 3 USB 2.0 ports, a LAN port, even an HDMI port, which comes as a surprise. It also has a 3-in-1 card-reader that takes in SD, MMC and MS Pro cards. Bluetooth support is also standard along with Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n. It also packs a 1.3-megapixel webcam for video chats.

The only saving grace that the Agora Chromium brings to the table is that it runs an ultra-fast operating system. With the device being powered by the Chromium OS, not only does it boots up in 5 seconds or less, it also gives you the capability to store and save all your data in the cloud.

With cloud computing in mind, the Agora Chromium automatically connects to your network, be it wired or wireless, while booting up. As soon as you get booted up, you are already connected to the web. In the same manner, your settings, apps and documents are all resting safely in the cloud.

In addition to that, the Agora Chromium has access to tons of web-based apps from spreadsheets, photo-editors to games. Even if you are not online, most of these apps will still work so you can keep working at the same time.

It packs a 4-cell, 4600 mAh Polymer battery that gives you an approximate 3.5 hours of usage on a single charge until its juice gets fully squeezed out. Not a good indication especially if you have plans of bringing this notebook on the road. Should you decide to do so, never leave home without its power adapter.

The Kogan Agora Chromium laptop as I see it is a chunk of disappointment after disappointment. What can you expect for 349 Australian dollars in the first place? I think the only thing that this notebook has got going right is the fact that it is the first laptop that became available in the market that runs Google’s Chromium OS. At this point in time, it might be more prudent to wait for what Samsung and Acer Google Chromebooks have to offer instead of jumping the gun bringing the Kogan Agora Chromium laptop home.

The desktop market is at the precipice of change as Google recently announced their brand new laptop computer named Chromebook. The browser-based notebook stacks up very well against most of the modern netbooks and tablets as well. However, is a simple web-based laptop worth your 500 bucks? Wouldn’t it be better if you buy an iPad instead?

Let’s look at why you should be buying the Chromebook and why you shouldn’t.

Reasons to buy Chromebook:

Firefox 3 was pretty much ruling the web browser market until this little devil called Chrome came along. Initially, people were hesitant to try out a new browser. However, as news about its speed spread, Chrome quickly caught up with its competitors. There are 3 reasons people choose Google Chrome over Firefox, Safari, Opera and IE: speed, speed and speed. If you’ve tried out Google Chrome browser before and were awed by its remarkable speed, then Chromebook maybe worth your buck.

2. It’s virus free

Google Chrome OS, the operating system on which Chromebook runs, is a zillion times secure than Windows; well, at least for now. There is an extremely slim chance of viruses affecting the system as, technically speaking; there is no operating system in the Chromebook. It’s just a browser and the hardware doing all the magic. However, one can’t be completely sure about malwares affecting the OS as hackers might find a way into the Chrome app store. Let’s hope Google remains vigilant from the start.

If you’ve ever used Windows, you might be familiar with the terrible feeling you get when you lose all your data when formatting. Yes, we’ve all been there. However, Chromebook gets rid of that problem once and for all by putting the entire data on the cloud. This makes sure that no matter wherever you are all your data is there for you instantly.

Google’s app ecosystem is one of the most lucrative platforms for developers. Android itself has attracted many developers thanks to their less restrictive policies. And, with Google Chrome, the number of applications for the ‘Made in Googleland’ devices is just gonna go up and up.

Chromebook is great for people who are always on the move. It is lightweight, portable and it stays always in sync. If you have a desktop at home and are looking for something that would compliment that, then Chromebook is your choice.

If you are a full-fledged Chrome pro who knows every tiny feature and tricks that the browser ever added, then Chromebook is something that will take your Chrome addiction to the next level.

7. Best for web addicts

If the web is all you use on your computer, then Chromebook is made just for you. There is no need for the virus-ridden middleman that sits between you and the web browser. With Chromebook, it’s just you and the web.

Chromebook is great if you are just browsing the web. However, what about other tasks like say basic video editing? The problem with Google Chromebook is that it does only one thing, and no matter how well it does it, it just can’t be used for tasks that are to be done on a normal computer (be it PC, Mac or Linux). There are plenty of tasks that the browser-based computer won’t be able to perform. Thus, you can’t completely rely on it, no matter how Google markets it.

Although Google is way nicer than Microsoft or Apple, trusting Google completely with almost all your personal data seems a bit difficult. Google has not been the best company when it comes to safeguarding users’ privacy. Moreover, one can’t rule out the possibility of a Google employee looking at your private data. So, if you are a privacy paranoid, don't get a Chromebook and invest in a decent netbook or laptop computer with Linux pre-installed instead.

As mentioned before, Chromebook stores all the users’ data in the cloud. While this may seem like the next big thing, it’s not without its share of problems. To start with, the cloud may run into a variety of problems, like a hacker attack or something worse. And sometimes, the cloud may face downtime like Gmail did so many times, no one knows. Though many of these things might not happen, one can never be 100% sure about their data on the cloud.

You have your meticulously curated 100 GB music collection sitting somewhere safe in your hard drive. You’ve even made a back up of it on an external disk. Now, when you open your shiny new Chromebook, it turns out you can’t perform your daily head-banging rituals with it. How sad. If you love storing and accessing loads of data on your computer, Chromebook shouldn’t be on your buying list right now.

If you already own a tablet computer like the iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab, then buying a Chromebook won’t be a good investment. The same thing applies to all netbook owners who are happy with their devices.

Don’t get tired of watching angry hamsters with light-sabers? Or cats jamming on a piano? Then, it’s a good time to admit that you’re a YouTube addict. Don’t worry though, you’ll find plenty of other people suffering from this problem (including me…shhh!). So, to feed your hypnotized mind, here’s a list of some cool Google Chrome extensions that will take your YouTube addiction to the next level.

We’ve already talked about all the cool YouTube movies. And, if you’re already heading out to grab that huge bowl of popcorn, then wait up and take a look at this plug-in first. Turn off the Lights is a Google Chrome extension that does exactly what it says – it turns off the lights when you’re watching a YouTube video. This means, you won’t be seeing any of those flashy adverts that surround a video. Furthermore, the extension comes with a lot of options which you can configure. Say for example, you want to change the opacity; then, you can do that easily by going to the extension’s option page. You can also configure which parts of the video page get dimmed. The coolest option however, is the one that dims the lights automatically once the video starts. Grab the extension HERE.

If you don’t like dimming the lights and still want a way out of those ugly adverts, then Ad block is the plug-in for you. Ad block is an extension that blocks all kinds of adverts; including the text ones, thus making browsing clean and less distractive. The hugely popular extension is available for other browsers as well. For now, the link for the Chrome one can be found HERE.

There are lots of nice videos on YouTube. Some of them deserve to be bookmarked and watched more than once. And, some others deserve to be played again and again endlessly till you get tired of watching them. For such videos, Auto Replay is a great extension. All it does is, it replays the video once it ends. What’s more, the extension also comes with an option to place a delay before the video starts playing again. Download it HERE.

This is another great extension that promises a distraction-free YouTube experience. Window Expander when enabled fills the entire window with the video thus eliminating all the distractions from the page. This is different from full screen viewing, as it doesn’t take up the whole screen. You can grab the extension HERE.

This is one of the best extensions when it comes to ameliorating the overall YouTube experience. Magic Actions comes with most of the aforementioned features plus a few more, thus making it a complete package. According to the site here’s what it does:

“The Magic Actions for YouTube™ will help you to change speaker volume by scrolling mouse wheel, watch videos at highest possible quality using AutoHD feature, 1-click Cinema Mode, expand videos to Full window size, manage whether or not the initial video will auto play when the player loads, replay a video again and again, and more!”

The extension might be a bit heavy for folks who don’t want all the features. In that case, users can try out any of the extensions mentioned before. Nevertheless, you can get the original extension HERE.

This one is especially for users who watch a lot of music videos on YouTube. When installed, it places a small button besides Chrome’s address bar. Now, whenever you’re watching a music video on YouTube, the extension finds lyrics for the video and when it’s done it changes the button’s icon indicating that it has found the lyrics. All you have to do is click on the button to view the video’s lyrics. You may download the extension HERE.

This is another great extension for music junkies scrounging for their favorite songs on YouTube. Scrobble to last.fm simply scrobbles the song data of the music video you’re watching to your last.fm profile. Note that, it only scrobbles a music video if its title is in an Artist-Track format. You can get the Last.fm Scrobbler extension HERE.

Tired of those trolling comments while you enjoy Rebecca Black belting out that chart-topping Friday number? Same here, that’s why I use the Remove comments extension for Chrome. It’s certified Troll-free and works for almost any video! Download it HERE.

This nifty little extension makes up for a feature that YouTube has been missing for so long. Whenever you hover over a video on say Dailymotion, you get a thumbnail preview of the contents of the video. YouTube thumbs adds the same functionality to our good old YouTube. A perfect tool to avoid getting Rickrolled again. Get YouTube Thumbs HERE.

This is an unofficial extension but it still deserves a worthy mention on this list. Easy YouTube Video Downloader allows downloading any YouTube video by placing a small ‘Download’ button at the bottom of the video. Videos can then be downloaded in various formats like 360P flv, 480P flv, HD mp4 and even MP3. Get Easy YouTube Video Downloader HERE.

P.S: Please note that downloading videos from YouTube is against their policy and might also be illegal.

It’s been a while since we wrote something about the fastest browser in the world, Google Chrome. Even though the soon-to-be-OS browser comes with one of the simplest UIs around, there are quite a few tricks that you can learn to get the most out of it.

Here’s a look at some of the coolest and most useful Google Chrome tricks that you should know:

A petty annoyance users face after installing Google Chrome or Chromium is the absence of a dedicated ‘Home’ button on the toolbar. Almost all the major browsers have that button; however, Google sticking to its minimalist policy decided to leave it out. Don’t fret though as you can easily enable it by following these steps:

Click the Wrench icon -> Go to Options/Preferences -> Check the checkbox that says ‘Show Home Button’ and you’re done. Alternatively you can open your default homepage using the combination Alt+Home.

Google has revolutionized web browsing by merging the address bar and the search box into a neat little feature called the Omnibar. This Omnibar can be used in two ways --- Typing in the address say www.junauza.com which will take you to our site, and typing in TechSource that will perform a query for the same term on Google. To avoid confusion between searches and addresses, use a question mark before the term to perform a plain search. This is useful if you are performing ambiguous queries like ‘example.com’ on Google. If you’re more of a keyboard person, then Pressing Ctrl+L anywhere on the page will put focus on the Omnibar allowing you to type the address/query. Similarly, pressing Ctrl+K anywhere on the page will help you perform a search query through the Omni bar. Note that, the searches made through the Omnibar will depend on which search engine you select as your default one in Chrome.

If you accidently close an important tab, you’ll realize that there is no conspicuous option to recover it, except by going to history (Ctrl+H). This trouble can be avoided by remembering a simple shortcut that quickly recovers the most recently closed tab. Just press the combo Ctrl+Shift+T anywhere and you’ll get your tab back.

Google comes with a private browsing mode that can prove to be indispensable when using a public computer. This browsing mode titled ‘incognito mode’ allows you to browse as usual but without recording any of your data. This means no cache, no cookies and no history. The option can easily be enabled using the wrench menu. But hey, why take so much trouble when you can use a quick shortcut? Just press Ctrl+Shift+N anywhere on the page and a new window will pop up. Any sites you visit using that window will not be cached or recorded. Please note that Incognito mode doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to evade ISP and Government monitoring.

If you have too many tabs open at the same time, cycling through them can be quite a drag. Using Chrome’s built-in shortcuts you can efficiently address that problem. Just press Ctrl+Tab to cycle through the tabs from left to right. To cycle in other direction, simply use Ctrl+Shift+Tab. However, if you want to access a specific tab, you can always use Ctrl + the tab number. For example, you can open the 2nd tab from the right using the combo Ctrl + 2.

Any person who has used a Windows computer long enough will never forget killing those dreaded process that slowed the PC down. Even though the rocket fast Chrome rarely slows down, its extensions tend to freeze sometimes. This in turn, slows down the whole browser. Chrome provides a smart way to handle this problem by providing a Task Manager for the browser itself. To access it, just use the combo Shift+Escape and a familiar-looking task manager opens up. Check the stats for the plug-in that hog memory the most and kill it by selecting it and pressing the End Process button. Also, it is important to remember that too many Google Chrome extensions will slow down the browser eventually. Even though Google Chrome is faster than Firefox, it cannot effectively handle too many plugins at once, which Firefox can.

The oh-so-awesome Omnibar comes with another great feature that will make your browsing hugely productive. Normally, say if you want to search Amazon for that cool Kung-fu book you want to buy – you’d type Amazon.com in the address bar, search for the book and learn Kung-fu the normal way. If you want to a quicker way to do the same process, try using Chrome’s Omnibar. Google Chrome comes with a nifty little feature that allows you to search within various sites from the Omnibar itself. Try typing Youtube, then press tab. Now any query you enter here will search the YouTube site not Google. Cool huh?

You can also try adding TechSource to the list by going to the Manage Search Engines (Wrench -> Options -> Manage Search Engines) menu. Here, you’ll see 3 entry fields at the bottom. In the leftmost field enter the word ‘Techsource’ without quotes. In the adjacent field, enter the keyword Techsource or TS whatever you’re comfortable with. Then, in the rightmost field enter this link http://www.junauza.com/search?q= and you’re done! Now whenever you want to search TechSource, press Ctrl+L followed by the keyword (Techsource or TS) then Tab to search our site.

P.S: Whenever you visit a site and search its contents, the site gets added automatically to Chrome’s list of search engines. The above example is just to explain the process of adding sites as search engines.

Google Chrome’s download manager is somewhat different from the one that Firefox offers. Many users who are new to Chrome don’t like it at first as it doesn’t offer a separate window to manage downloads. However, Chrome does come with a dedicated download manager, which can be easily accessed by opening the Wrench menu and clicking on “Downloads”. The download manager will open in a new Tab, showing a list of currently running downloads as well as completed ones. The same menu can be accessed using the shortcut Ctrl+J.

The back/forward buttons are a standard offering when it comes to all web browsers. However, sometimes we may need to jump back/forward more than one step. Google Chrome allows a great way to view the previously visited 4-5 links for particular tab. All you have to do is right-click on the back/forward button and a list of recently visited pages will drop down. At the bottom, there will also be a link to your complete browsing History. The History menu can also be accessed using the shortcut Ctrl+H.

This is another feature that is relatively unknown amongst many Chrome users. It is possible to download any image you find on Google Chrome by simply dragging and dropping onto the Desktop. The process is simple and saves some valuable time if you download images a lot.

Tell us more: Do you know any cool Chrome tricks like the ones mentioned above? If so, share it with the world by using the comments section below.

As Google Chrome OS nears a grand release, everyone is excited about a brand new operating system entering the monopolized desktop market. On the other hand, Mark Shuttleworth has set a target of 200 million Ubuntu users in the next four years. With Ubuntu 11.04 ‘Natty Narwhal’ not being as good as expected, Shuttleworth’s plans, if not impossible, may seem a bit too ambitious.

Many people believe that Chrome OS’s release can further hamper Ubuntu’s stagnating growth. However, if we consider the recent desktop trends, and if everything goes well for Google, Chrome OS might actually be the magic boost Ubuntu so desperately needs. Here’s why:

As far as the marriage of desktop and the cloud is concerned, Ubuntu has rapidly managed to get an upper hand over its competitors. With the introduction of UbuntuOne, a cloud or online data backup service tightly integrated with the desktop, Ubuntu gives the cloud-curious crowd one good reason to switch. Now, when Google releases Chrome OS, the cloud will certainly become the next big thing. There will be many Windows and Mac users who’ll be fascinated by the concept of desktop-cloud integration. But of course, not all of them can switch to Chrome OS, as it’s not as powerful as their desktop or even laptop. They would want something that will work on their own computer yet give them the full cloud experience. Here’s where Ubuntu can fetch a lot of users. With Windows 8 not ready yet, and Mac OS’s grand cloud plans not being concrete, the only cloud-integrated free OS left is Ubuntu. All Canonical has to do is to market UbuntuOne as a service in the best way possible. Or, maybe they can ready a Windows and Mac OS version of Ubuntu One soon enough so that they can pitch it as an Open Source Dropbox alternative. As of now, UbuntuOne works only on Ubuntu and Chrome.

The Web is the future:

If Google is to be believed, everything in the future is going to be web-based. This means, the core operating system will become less and less significant as we move forward in time. Well that’s good, but won’t that be bad for the Linux desktop? Surprisingly, the answer is no. Google Chrome will come with applications that will sync between the Chrome OS as well as the browser. And, as soon as the OS releases, developers will rush in to make apps for it that are alternatives for the time-honored Windows ones. This in turn, will provide users a great reason to try out other Operating Systems out there, one of them being Linux. Thus by taking applications to the web platform, Google evades another longstanding dilemma of the desktop world that is application compatibility. Users would be able to access applications like Google Docs, Springpad and many others from any device, be it a PC, Chrome OS or Linux.

We’ve already talked about the many problems Linux faces right now. One of those problems is the public perception that Linux isn’t a user-friendly operating system and that it is centered around geeks and hackers. However, with the success of Android, Google has managed, to an extent though, to convince users about the power or advantages of using Linux. If Google Chrome OS does succeed, the doubts about Linux and its ability to deliver on desktop platforms will be wiped clean. This itself could give a huge boost to the Linux community.

Many people who have been using Windows for a long time are always looking for solutions that will address their security issues. Viruses and Malwares have been the most frustrating things Windows users have to deal with. With the release of Google Chrome, there will be yet another Operating System that is more secure and less complex than Windows. Thus Google Chrome in a way will give users a good reason to break free from the Microsoft shackles that bind them every time. This will definitely benefit Linux users, because people who are sticklers for all-things Microsoft will, for the first time, move out of their self-imposed cage. Once these users start roaming around in the OS wilderness, they’re sure to stumble upon Linux distros like Fedora and Ubuntu. Let’s just hope they do.

Conclusions:

So, how do you think will Chrome OS affect Linux or even Windows and Macs? Join in on this discussion using the comments section below.

A few weeks ago, we did an in-depth review of Ubuntu 11.04 when compared with Fedora 15. One of the interesting little features we missed was Quicklists in Unity. Quicklists allow users to access common menus, or perform common tasks within a program by right-clicking the launcher icon. The feature is very much similar to Jump Lists in Windows 7, which could be accessed by right-clicking the Windows task bar. Applications, like Browsers and Media Players use these Jump Lists to let the user access documents and tasks associated with the current application. Unity on the other hand being freshly baked from the oven, there aren't many applications that take advantage of the Quicklist features. Here's a quick tip that will let you enable Quicklists for both Google Chrome and Firefox.

Google Chrome and Chromium don't support Quicklists by default; however, with a little tweaking the feature can be enabled to support incognito mode. Here's the whole process in 2 easy steps.

Step 1: Backup - Open the terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and type in the following code:

Step 2: Then, type the following line in the terminal:

Step 3: Now that the file is opened, paste the following code at the end of the file. When done, press Ctrl+S and close the window.

Using Firefox:

Anyways, enough talk, here's how to get it in 4 easy steps:

Step 1: Backup the file..

sudo cp /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop.backup

sudo gedit /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop

Step 3: Apparently, Firefox already supports the New Window quick list item. So, find the code that begins with a line that looks like this:

X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=NewWindow;

This line will be followed by some code. Now, delete the line and the lines below it.

Step 4: Add following code to the file, press Ctrl+S and exit.

X-Ayatana-Desktop-Shortcuts=NewWindow;PrivateToggle;ProfileMgr;Safe-Mode;

[NewWindow Shortcut Group]

Name=Open a New Window

Name[ast]=Abrir una ventana nueva

Name[bn]=Abrir una ventana nueva

Name[ca]=Obre una finestra nova

Name[da]=Åbn et nyt vindue

Name[de]=Ein neues Fenster öffnen

Name[es]=Abrir una ventana nueva

Name[fi]=Avaa uusi ikkuna

Name[fr]=Ouvrir une nouvelle fenêtre

Name[gl]=Abrir unha nova xanela

Name[he]=פתיחת חלון חדש

Name[hr]=Otvori novi prozor

Name[hu]=Új ablak nyitása

Name[it]=Apri una nuova finestra

Name[ja]=新しいウィンドウを開く

Name[ku]=Paceyeke nû veke

Name[lt]=Atverti naują langą

Name[nl]=Nieuw venster openen

Name[ro]=Deschide o fereastră nouă

Name[ru]=Открыть новое окно

Name[sv]=Öppna ett nytt fönster

Name[ug]=يېڭى كۆزنەك ئېچىش

Name[uk]=Відкрити нове вікно

Name[zh_CN]=新建窗口

Name[zh_TW]=開啟新視窗

Exec=firefox -new-window about:blank

TargetEnvironment=Unity

[Safe-Mode Shortcut Group]

Name=Safe-Mode

Exec=firefox -safe-mode

TargetEnvironment=Unity

[PrivateToggle Shortcut Group]

Name=Enable/Disabe Private Mode

Exec=firefox -private-toggle

TargetEnvironment=Unity

[ProfileMgr Shortcut Group]

Name=Start Profile Manager

Exec=firefox -ProfileManager

TargetEnvironment=Unity

Finally, if all goes well, the menu will look like this:

Menu doesn't show up:

If the menu doesn't show up, remove the launcher from the Unity bar by right-clicking and unchecking the option titled “Keep in Launcher”. Then search for the program and drag it to the Unity bar again. The Quicklist should be visible by now.

If something goes wrong, type the following commands. These commands will restore the original ‘.desktop’ files and delete the modified ones, taking things back to normal.

For Google Chrome:

sudo rm -rf /usr/share/applications/google-chrome.desktop

sudo mv /usr/share/applications/google-chrome.desktop.backup /usr/share/applications/google-chrome.desktop

For Firefox:

sudo rm -rf /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop

sudo mv /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop.backup /usr/share/applications/firefox.desktop

After sharing with you a few of my favorite Google Chrome productivity web applications, I would like to showcase here some of the best and fresh-looking free news apps that can be found at the web store. These news apps offer readers an enhanced and pleasant way to view news articles using the web browser as they feature unique and better reading environment than what's provided on standard web sites.

Without further ado, here are some noteworthy free Chrome web apps under 'News & Weather' category:

The New York Times app is the first news app I've installed on Chrome. It is currently the most popular news app with over 180,000 users and counting. It is actually an HTML5 application that offers customizable appearance, offline reading capabilities, news alerts, and some slick slide animation.

NPR for Chrome allows you to enjoy the NPR site in magazine style. It is one of the most full-featured news apps available. Aside from news, NPR for Chrome covers Arts & Life and Music content. It also provides hourly newscasts, station finder, and sharing features among others. Using NPR for Chrome, it is possible to listen to your favorite radio stations while scanning for news to read.

The official Huffington Post Chrome app is all you'll ever need if you want frequently updated content be it news, opinions, and blogs. It is designed to be a super fast news experience. The HuffingtonPost app allows users to share articles to social networking sites or via email. It has an easy-to-use interface and often uses engaging images.

The Sports Illustrated Snapshot is an ideal app for all the sports enthusiasts out there. It features excellent and rare photos from the latest major sporting events and from the Sports Illustrated archives. The app allows you to create your own channels around your favorite teams or sports. It also provides up-to-the-minute news, scores and standings.

Salon for Chrome is like a clean and lean version of salon.com. As they say, it's a fast and addictive way to keep up with Salon’s award-winning news and pop culture coverage. What I like most about Salon for Chrome is how quickly it loads. It has a simple and intuitive interface, enabling you to easily and instantly browse and find your preferred content. Plus, it automatically updates news stories as soon they are published without the need to click on the refresh button.

There are still other excellent Chrome web apps for news that you may choose, so feel free to explore the web store. After checking out your favorite news apps, feel free to share them with us via comment.

10 Fresh and Awesome Google Chrome Themes: When Google Chrome was still at version 3.0, a very limited number of themes were available. During that time, we have showcased here our top ten favorite Chrome themes and shared with you a quick tip on installing and uninstalling Chrome themes.

Today, there are already tons of cool Google Chrome themes or skins at hand that can be instantly and easily downloaded and installed from the Chrome web store.