The Complete Guide to EV Charging Stations in the Philippines (2026)

If range anxiety is the number one reason Filipinos hesitate to buy an electric vehicle, this guide is the antidote.

I'm writing this as someone who just bought a Tesla Model Y L from Bohol — an island with exactly zero Tesla Superchargers and a handful of third-party AC chargers scattered across malls. Before I committed a good amount of money to a car that runs on electricity, I needed to know exactly where I could charge it, how much it would cost, and whether the infrastructure could actually support EV ownership outside Metro Manila.

The answer, as of mid-2026, is: it's getting there. Fast. But you need to know where to look.

This guide covers every major EV charging network in the Philippines — Tesla Superchargers, ACMobility hubs, SM Supermalls, Megaworld, third-party operators, and the apps you need to find them all. I'll update it regularly as new stations come online.

The Numbers: Where We Stand

The Philippines currently has approximately 378 publicly mapped EV charging stations across 33+ cities. Of those, roughly 89 offer free charging (mostly at malls), while 261 charge a fee — typically ₱20–₱38 per kWh. The Department of Energy has set an ambitious target of 7,000 public charging stations nationwide by 2028.

The largest operators are ACMobility (96+ stations across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao), SM Supermalls (160+ chargers across 73 malls), and Solarius. Tesla operates its own exclusive Supercharger and Destination Charger network.

The reality: the vast majority of these stations are in Metro Manila and surrounding Luzon areas. Visayas and Mindanao are still severely underserved. If you live in the provinces, home charging isn't just convenient — it's essential.

Connector Types: Know Before You Go

Before we get into locations, you need to understand what plugs into your car. Most public stations in the Philippines use standardized connectors:

1. Type 2 (AC) — The most common connector for "destination charging" at malls and offices. Provides 7-22 kW. This is slow charging — expect 30-50 km of range per hour of charging. Good for topping up while you shop or eat.

2. CCS2 (DC Fast Charging) — The standard for rapid charging at dedicated hubs and highway stops. Provides 50-250 kW depending on the station. This is the fast stuff — potentially adding 120 km of range in 5-15 minutes on the fastest chargers.

3. GB/T — Used primarily by some Chinese-brand EVs. Less common at public stations. SM Bataan has one, and some BYD-specific locations support it.

4. Tesla Proprietary (via CCS2 adapter) — Tesla vehicles sold in the Philippines use the CCS2 standard, so they can plug into any CCS2 charger. Tesla Superchargers are exclusive to Tesla vehicles.

Most modern EVs sold in the Philippines (Tesla, BYD, Hyundai, Kia, BMW, Mercedes) support both Type 2 AC and CCS2 DC charging. If you're still deciding between the two most popular 6/7-seater EVs in the Philippine market, check out my Tesla Model Y L vs BYD Tang EV comparison. Either way, check your specific vehicle's port before heading out.

Tesla Superchargers and Destination Chargers

Tesla operates the fastest and most seamless charging experience in the Philippines — but it's exclusively for Tesla owners.

*Superchargers (250 kW DC · ₱19/kWh · Tesla only):

These are V4 Superchargers — plug in, automatic authentication via the Tesla app, automatic billing. No RFID cards, no third-party apps, no fumbling. 120 km of range in about 5 minutes.

Current locations (all Metro Manila):

1. Uptown Mall, BGC, Taguig — Tesla's first PH Supercharger, located near the Tesla Experience Centre

2. Shangri-La Plaza Mall, Mandaluyong — indoor parking access

3. SM Mall of Asia, Pasay — 4 V4 Superchargers at the South Wing along Ocean Boulevard, accessible 24/7 outdoors

4. Opus Mall, Bridgetowne, Quezon City — opened February 2026

Cost to fully charge a Tesla Model 3 RWD (513 km range): approximately ₱1,140.

*Destination Chargers (7-11 kW AC · ₱16/kWh · Tesla only):

Slower chargers designed for places where you'll be parked for hours — hotels, resorts, malls. Good for overnight top-ups.

Current locations:

1. Eastwood Mall, Quezon City

2. Venice Grand Canal Mall, McKinley Hill, Taguig

3. Okada Manila, Parañaque

4. Century City Mall, Makati

5. Vista Mall, Antipolo, Rizal

*Planned expansion for 2026: 

Tesla has confirmed plans for Supercharger stations in two Cebu locations, plus Clark, Baguio, Olongapo, and additional Taguig sites. When these go live, Tesla ownership outside NCR becomes significantly more practical — especially the Cebu stations, which would serve the entire Central Visayas region.

ACMobility / Greenstrum

ACMobility, part of the Ayala Group, operates the country's largest third-party EV charging network. Their chargers are open to all EV brands with CCS2 or Type 2 connectors.

The Philippine EV Spine

ACMobility's most ambitious project is building a nationwide charging corridor — from Luzon through Visayas to Mindanao — along major routes and highways. They're calling it the Philippine EV Spine, and it's the single most important infrastructure project for EV adoption outside Metro Manila.

*Key facts:

- 96+ stations across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (with 10+ more coming)

- DC fast chargers ranging from 60 kW to 240 kW (with 480 kW UltraFast chargers coming via Huawei partnership)

- Partnership with Shell to install chargers at 50 Shell stations nationwide

- Partnership with Huawei Digital Power for next-gen SuperFast (240 kW) and UltraFast (480 kW) chargers

- Mobile charging service "Power-on-Wheels" (POW) operating across all 16 NCR cities — a van comes to you and charges your car on-demand

*Key locations include:

- Multiple hubs across Makati (Corinthian, Legazpi Village)

- Taguig, Mandaluyong, BGC

- Lucena (supporting Manila-Bicol travel corridor)

- EcoOil Alabang and Total NLEX station

- Expanding to Cebu and Davao via Shell partnership

App: Use the Evro app to locate ACMobility stations, check availability, and pay. Evro is also the DOE-registered platform for finding accredited EV charging stations nationwide.

SM Supermalls

SM Prime Holdings is quietly building one of the largest EV charging networks in the country — and the best part? It's currently free.

*Key facts:

- 160+ chargers across 73 SM malls nationwide

- Mostly AC Type 2 at 7.4 kW, with select malls offering 80 kW DC fast chargers

- SM Mall of Asia also hosts Tesla's 250 kW Supercharger (Tesla-only)

- Free to use with a maximum charging time of 3 hours

- SM Baguio has a fast-charging hub for tourists preparing for the drive back to Manila

*Provincial SM locations with EV chargers include:

- SM Seaside City Cebu

- SM City Cebu

- SM City Baguio

- SM City Clark

- SM City Bataan (GB/T type — limited compatibility)

- More provincial locations rolling out

SM's free charging policy won't last forever, but while it does, it makes SM malls the most cost-effective charging stop for EV owners doing errands or road trips.

Megaworld Lifestyle Malls

Megaworld's "Park, Charge, Drive" program provides charging stations across its lifestyle mall portfolio. These stations welcome all types of electric-powered vehicles — cars, bikes, and scooters.

Locations include:

- Eastwood City, Quezon City

- McKinley Hill and Venice Grand Canal Mall, Taguig

- Newport City, Pasay

- Lucky Chinatown, Manila

- Various Megaworld township developments

Other Networks and Operators

1. Solarius EV Charging — Independent operator with stations at hotels and commercial centers, primarily in Cebu and Metro Manila. Citadines Cebu City has a Solarius 7 kW Type 2 charger.

2. V-GREEN / VinFast — Partnered with BDO Unibank, rolling out chargers at SM Supermalls and planning expansion across Alfamart outlets.

3. Phoenix Petroleum — Entered the EV charging market through a V-GREEN partnership, with sites under construction in Luzon and expansion planned for Cebu and Davao.

4. Hotel and resort chargers — Increasingly, hotels are installing EV chargers as an amenity. In Cebu, Quest Hotel and Conference Center (Archbishop Reyes Avenue) offers 7 kW charging for guests. Check with your hotel before booking if you're road-tripping.

The Visayas Situation (An Honest Assessment):

Since I live in Bohol and just bought an EV, I need to be honest about the state of charging in the Visayas as of mid-2026.

* Cebu has the best Visayas infrastructure

SM Seaside City, SM City Cebu, Ayala Center Cebu, GMall of Cebu, Quest Hotel, Citadines, Landers Cebu, Vibo Place, and BYD Il Corso all have chargers — mostly 7 kW AC. ACMobility's Shell partnership is adding DC fast chargers. Tesla's planned Cebu Superchargers would be a game-changer when they arrive.

* Bohol has minimal public charging infrastructure

If you own an EV here, you are charging at home. Period. My solar panel setup produces more than enough energy for daily driving needs — I wrote about why my solar + Starlink setup gave me the confidence to go electric — but for any trip beyond the island, you're planning around ferry schedules to Cebu and its charging network.

Bacolod has a handful of mapped stations, including some at BTH Building. Iloilo and Dumaguete have even less. Tacloban and the Eastern Visayas are essentially uncharted territory for EVs.

The DOE's 7,000-station target for 2028 needs to prioritize these underserved areas, and ACMobility's Philippine EV Spine project is the most promising development for regional connectivity. But right now, honest advice: if you live in the Visayas outside of Cebu City, home charging capability is non-negotiable for EV ownership.

Home Charging: The 90% Solution

Here's the reality most EV guides don't emphasize enough: approximately 90% of EV charging happens at home. Public charging stations matter for road trips and emergencies, but your daily driving is overwhelmingly covered by plugging in overnight.

* Level 1 (standard household outlet): Provides about 6-8 km of range per hour. Slow, but if you drive 30-50 km daily and charge overnight for 8-10 hours, that's 48-80 km — more than enough.

* Level 2 (dedicated wall connector, 7-22 kW): Provides 30-100+ km of range per hour. This is what most EV owners install at home. A Tesla Wall Connector or third-party EVSE unit costs ₱15,000-₱50,000 plus installation. Greenstrum (ACMobility's subsidiary) offers professional home installation.

Solar charging

 If you have rooftop solar panels, your EV charging cost approaches zero. My solar setup generates more than enough for daily driving — part of the solar + Starlink + Tesla ecosystem I've been building at home in Bohol. With average Philippine electricity at ₱11-₱13 per kWh, even without solar, charging at home costs roughly ₱550-₱780 for a full Tesla Model Y L charge (681 km range) — compared to ₱4,000-₱5,000+ for the equivalent distance in gasoline with today's oil crisis prices.

Essential Apps for EV Charging in the Philippines:

1. Evro — The DOE-accredited platform for finding registered EV charging stations nationwide. Shows ACMobility stations and partner locations. Handles payments.

2. Tesla App — For Tesla owners. Locates Superchargers and Destination Chargers, shows stall availability in real-time, handles automatic payment, and lets you monitor your charge remotely. As someone who develops apps, I can say the Tesla app is one of the best-designed automotive apps out there.

3. PlugShare — Community-driven global EV charging map. Users report station status, add photos, and review chargers. Useful for finding third-party and independent stations the official apps might miss.

4. Google Maps — Search "EV charging station" and Google Maps now shows nearby options with basic details. Not always up-to-date, but good for quick lookups.

5. Electromaps — International EV charging database with 27+ Philippines stations listed, including some not found on other apps.

Tips for EV Charging in the Philippines:

1. Always confirm before you go. Apps and databases can be outdated. A charger that shows "available" online might be offline, occupied, or out of service. Call ahead for critical charging stops on road trips.

2. Bring an adapter. Some stations use Type 2 while others use CCS2 or GB/T. Carrying a Type 2 to CCS2 adapter gives you maximum flexibility. Check your vehicle's compatibility before buying.

3. Charge at malls while they’re free. SM's free 3-hour charging policy is essentially free fuel. Take advantage while it lasts.

4. Plan road trips with buffer. Don't plan to arrive at your next charger with 5% battery. Assume 20-30% less range than the rated WLTP figure (Philippine heat, air conditioning, hills, and driving style all affect real-world range). Leave a 20% buffer minimum.

5. Join Filipino EV communities. Facebook groups like "Tesla Philippines Owners" and "EV Philippines" are goldmines for real-time information about charger status, new station openings, and road trip routes tested by actual owners. Community knowledge fills the gaps that apps can't.

6. Home charging is your foundation. If you're considering an EV in the Philippines, invest in a Level 2 home charger. Public infrastructure is improving rapidly, but your home outlet is the one charger you can always count on.

What's Coming:

The next 12-24 months should transform the Philippine EV charging landscape:

1. Tesla Cebu Superchargers — the most anticipated expansion for Visayas EV owners

2. CMobility x Shell — 50 Shell stations getting chargers across Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao

3. ACMobility x Huawei — 240 kW SuperFast and 480 kW UltraFast chargers arriving at key locations

4. SM Supermalls — 50+ additional chargers planned, expanding provincial coverage

5. Phoenix Petroleum — Cebu and Davao expansion in progress

DOE target: 7,000 stations by 2028 — requires massive acceleration from the current 378, but government incentives and private investment are aligned. 

The Philippines is still in the early chapters of its EV story. The infrastructure isn't perfect — especially outside Luzon. But it's improving at a pace that should give prospective EV buyers genuine confidence — part of the broader wave of technological transformation reshaping how we live, work, and travel. Two years ago, there were barely 100 public chargers in the country. Today there are nearly 400. By 2028, the government wants 7,000.

If you're on the fence about going electric, the charging network is no longer the reason to wait. It's growing. And for those of us already in, every new station that opens is one more reason to smile as we silently drive past the gas station.

— Jun

Note:

*This guide will be updated as new charging stations open. If you know of a station not listed here — especially in the Visayas or Mindanao — drop a comment or reach out. Let's build this resource together.*

How I Built a Local AI Hub Using Free and Open Source Software on My Old Mac Mini

I’m going to tell you something that would have sounded absolutely insane five years ago: I’m running artificial intelligence on a computer the size of a lunch box, it works offline, my data never leaves my house, and it costs me nothing beyond the electricity to keep it running.

No monthly subscription. No API fees. No sending my private documents to some server farm in Virginia. Just me, a Mac Mini M1, and a free and open-source software called Ollama that has quietly become one of the most important pieces of software I’ve used — and I say that as someone who has been reviewing software on this site since 2007.

If you’ve been curious about running AI locally but thought you needed a $5,000 GPU rig and a computer science degree, this post is for you. I’m going to walk you through exactly how I set up my local AI hub, what I use it for, and why I think every tech enthusiast should consider doing the same.

Why Local AI? Why Now?

Let me give you some context. Like most people, I’ve been using cloud-based AI tools — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini — and they’re incredible. But there are situations where sending your data to a cloud service isn’t ideal.

When I’m working on business documents for my offline ventures, I don’t necessarily want those financial projections living on someone else’s server. When I’m brainstorming ideas for my apps, I’d rather keep those early concepts private. When I’m processing data for my web projects, I want the flexibility to run queries without worrying about rate limits, usage caps, or monthly bills that scale with every prompt.

The privacy argument alone is compelling, but it’s not the only reason. Local AI is also fast — there’s no network latency, no waiting for servers, no “we’re experiencing high demand” messages. It works offline, which means I can use it on a plane, in a coffee shop with terrible Wi-Fi, or during one of those delightful Philippine internet outages that build character.

And perhaps most importantly for a guy who has been writing about free and open-source software for nearly two decades: local AI puts the power back in your hands. You own the hardware, you own the model weights, and there are no terms of service to violate. That’s the open-source philosophy I’ve been preaching since my Linux days, applied to the most transformative technology of our generation.

What You Need (Less Than You Think)

Here’s my setup:

Hardware: Mac Mini M1 (8GB Unified Memory)

That’s it. That’s the hardware. No dedicated GPU. No server rack. No liquid cooling. An old Mac Mini M1 — the base model with just 8GB of RAM — that I bought a few years ago and that sits quietly on my living room table consuming roughly the same power as a light bulb.

Now, let me be upfront: 8GB is the bare minimum for local AI. It’s not ideal. After macOS takes its share of memory (roughly 3-4GB for the operating system and background processes), you’re left with about 4-5GB of usable space for AI models. That means the popular 7B and 8B parameter models that most guides recommend are either too tight to run comfortably or will cause constant memory pressure and slowdowns on my machine. I learned this the hard way after watching my Mac Mini struggle and swap memory like it was reliving its Intel days.

But here’s the thing — you don’t need the biggest models to get genuinely useful results. The smaller models, in the 1B to 3.8B parameter range, run beautifully on 8GB machines. They’re fast, responsive, and for many everyday tasks, surprisingly capable. Are they as good as GPT-4 or Claude? Not even close. But for quick drafts, summarization, code snippets, brainstorming, and general Q&A, they get the job done without sending a single byte of your data to the cloud.

The secret sauce that makes even my base model Mac Mini viable is Apple Silicon’s unified memory architecture. Unlike traditional PCs where the CPU and GPU have separate memory pools, the M1’s unified memory means the GPU can directly access whatever RAM is available for AI inference. Even with just 8GB, the M1’s efficiency means small models can generate tokens at 30-60+ tokens per second — fast enough that responses feel nearly instant.

Could you do this on a Windows PC or a Linux machine? Absolutely. If you have a desktop with an NVIDIA GPU (even a used RTX 3060 for around $150), you’d get excellent performance with even bigger models. But for Mac users with older Apple Silicon hardware gathering dust, Ollama gives that machine a second life.

Minimum specs to get started:

Any Apple Silicon Mac (M1 or newer) with 8GB of RAM can run small models (1B-3.8B parameters). Think of these as quick, lightweight assistants good for summarization, simple coding help, and general Q&A. With 16GB, things get significantly better — you can comfortably run 7B-8B models at good speed and even some 14B models. With 32GB or more, you’re in serious territory — running models that rival cloud-based services for many tasks.

On the PC side, 16GB of system RAM plus a GPU with at least 8GB of VRAM is the sweet spot. More VRAM means bigger, better models.

Installing Ollama: Easier Than Installing Most Apps

Ollama is the foundation of my local AI setup. It’s a free and open-source tool that handles downloading, managing, and running large language models with absurd simplicity. If you can type a command into a terminal, you can run local AI.

Step 1: Install Ollama

On Mac, you have two options. The easiest is to download the app directly from ollama.com. (). Download the DMG, drag it to Applications, and launch. Done.

If you prefer Homebrew (and if you’re a developer, you probably do):

    brew install ollama

On Linux:

    curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh

On Windows, simply download the installer from the Ollama website.

That’s the entire installation. No Python environment management. No dependency hell. No CUDA driver nightmares. It just works.

Step 2: Pull Your First Model

Open your terminal and type:

    ollama pull llama3.2:3b

This downloads Meta’s Llama 3.2 3B model — one of the best small open-source language models available and the sweet spot for 8GB machines. It’s about 2GB on disk and runs comfortably without choking your system.

If you want something even lighter to start with:

    ollama pull phi4-mini

Microsoft’s Phi-4 Mini (3.8B parameters) is another excellent choice for 8GB systems — strong instruction following and surprisingly good at code for its size.

Step 3: Start Chatting

    ollama run llama3.2:3b

That’s it. You now have a local AI assistant running entirely on your machine. Ask it questions, have it summarize text, help with code, draft emails — whatever you need. Type your prompt, get a response. No account required. No internet required after the initial download.

The first time I ran this and got a coherent, helpful response from a model running entirely on my Mac Mini, I had the same feeling I had back in 2007 when I first booted Ubuntu and realized an entire operating system could be free. That feeling of “wait, this actually works, and it’s free?” — that’s the open-source magic I’ve been chasing for nearly 20 years.

The Models I Actually Use on 8GB

Ollama gives you access to a growing library of models. Here are the ones that work well on my 8GB Mac Mini and what I use them for:

1. Llama 3.2 3B — My go-to daily driver. This is the model I reach for most often. For a 3B model, the quality is genuinely impressive — it handles summarization, drafting, general Q&A, and brainstorming surprisingly well. On my M1, it runs at roughly 30-50 tokens per second, which means responses feel nearly instant. It’s the perfect balance of quality and speed for an 8GB machine.

2. Phi-4 Mini (3.8B) — My coding companion. Microsoft’s Phi-4 Mini punches well above its weight for code generation and technical tasks. When I’m working on my iOS apps or web projects and need a quick SwiftUI snippet, JSON formatting help, or a debugging nudge, this model delivers at around 15-20 tokens per second. It won’t replace Claude for complex architecture decisions, but for quick code help during focused development sessions, it’s remarkably useful.

3. Gemma 2B — My speedster for trivial tasks. Google’s smallest Gemma model is ultra-lightweight and blazing fast. I use it for simple reformatting, quick translations, and tasks where I just need a fast answer and don’t care about nuance. Think of it as the Puppy Linux of language models — tiny, fast, and gets the basics done.

4. Llama 3.2 1B — My offline emergency model. At just around 1.3GB, this model loads almost instantly and runs so fast it feels like autocomplete. The quality is basic, but when I need something working on minimal resources or want to run alongside other applications without memory pressure, it’s there.

Here’s the honest truth about running local AI on 8GB: you’re operating within constraints. Multi-turn conversations get noticeably weaker after several back-and-forth exchanges because the limited memory means shorter context windows. Complex reasoning tasks will sometimes produce mediocre results. And you’ll occasionally notice responses that are clearly “smaller model quality” compared to what you get from cloud services.

But for single-turn tasks — summarize this, draft that, reformat this JSON, explain this concept, help me with this code snippet — these small models are fast, private, and genuinely useful. It’s like having a competent junior assistant who works for free and never sleeps.

To switch between models, I just run a different command. Different models for different jobs — just like how I used to keep different Linux distros for different purposes back in my distro-hopping days.

Adding a Proper Interface: Open WebUI

Running Ollama from the terminal is fine for quick tasks, but for extended sessions, it gets clunky. You lose chat history, you can’t easily compare models, and scrolling through terminal output isn’t exactly a delightful user experience.

Enter Open WebUI — a free, open-source web interface that connects to Ollama and gives you a ChatGPT-like experience running entirely on your local machine.

If you have Docker installed, the setup is one command:

docker run -d -p 3000:8080 \

  -v open-webui:/app/backend/data \

  --name open-webui --restart always \

  ghcr.io/open-webui/open-webui:ollama

Open your browser, go to `http://localhost:3000`, create an account (this is local — nobody else sees it), and you’re in. Every model you’ve pulled with Ollama automatically appears in the interface.

Open WebUI is where the magic really happens. You get persistent chat history so you can pick up conversations where you left off. You can switch models mid-conversation to compare outputs. There are system prompt templates, temperature controls, and per-chat configuration settings. You can upload documents and use RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) to ask questions about your own files — PDFs, text documents, code files. It even supports web search integration, image generation, and voice input.

The interface looks and feels remarkably similar to ChatGPT, except everything is running on your own hardware. No cloud. No subscription. No data leaving your network.

I access Open WebUI from my Apple devices like my MacBook, my iPhone, and my iPad — all pointing to the Mac Mini sitting quietly on my living room table. It’s like having a private ChatGPT server for my household.

My Actual Workflows

Let me get specific about how I use this setup in real life, because “run AI locally” sounds cool in theory but means nothing without practical application.

1. For my blog (this site). When I’m researching topics for TechSource, I’ll dump my raw notes into a chat, ask the local model to identify the most interesting angles, suggest outlines, or flag gaps in my research. The model doesn’t write the posts for me — my writing voice is my own — but it’s an incredibly useful brainstorming partner.

2. For my iOS apps. I use Phi-4 Mini for quick SwiftUI help, JSON formatting, and debugging. Having a coding assistant that responds in under a second with no internet dependency is genuinely useful during focused development sessions.

3. For my offline businesses. I process business documents, draft communications, and analyze data without any of that information touching a third-party server. This is the use case where local AI’s privacy advantage matters most.

4. For website automation. I’ve built an automated pipeline that scrapes information from various sources and publishes curated content to my niche site. Ollama plays a role in processing and formatting that data. Having this run locally means the pipeline works even if my internet connection is spotty.

5. For learning. I feed technical articles, documentation, and research papers into the RAG system and then have conversations with the content. It’s like having a study partner who has perfect recall of everything you’ve uploaded.

How Does Local AI on 8GB Compare to ChatGPT and Claude?

I’m going to be honest with you, because that’s what TechSource has always been about.

On an 8GB machine running 3B models, local AI handles roughly 60-70% of the simple tasks I’d otherwise use cloud AI for. Summarization, quick drafts, code snippets, reformatting, basic Q&A — the small models get these done fast and privately.

For the remaining 30-40% — complex multi-step reasoning, nuanced creative writing, deep code architecture analysis, long conversations that require extensive context, and tasks requiring broad world knowledge — cloud models like Claude and GPT-4 are in a completely different league. There’s no sugarcoating this. My 3B model running locally isn’t competing with a 400B+ parameter model running on a data center full of A100 GPUs. That would be like comparing my Raspberry Pi to a supercomputer.

But that’s not the point. My approach is hybrid: local for privacy-sensitive work, quick tasks, and offline use. Cloud for complex, high-stakes tasks where quality matters more than privacy. The two complement each other perfectly. And if I ever upgrade to a Mac with 16GB or more RAM, those 7B-8B models become available and the quality gap narrows significantly.

What This Costs

Let’s do the math, because this is one of my favorite parts.

My setup costs:

Mac Mini M1 8GB (already owned and started to gather dust in my drawer): $0 additional cost. If buying used today, base M1 Mac Minis go for roughly $250-350 on resale markets — they’ve depreciated significantly, which makes them incredible value for a dedicated local AI server.

Ollama: Free, open-source.

Open WebUI: Free, open-source.

All AI models: Free, open-source.

Electricity: My Mac Mini draws about 20-39 watts during AI inference. Running it 8 hours a day costs roughly $2-3 per month in electricity.

Total monthly cost: About $3.

For comparison, ChatGPT Plus is $20/month. Claude Pro is $20/month. Running API calls at scale can easily cost $50-100+ per month depending on usage.

Even with the limitations of 8GB, my local setup handles enough daily tasks to reduce my reliance on paid subscriptions. Over a year, that adds up to meaningful savings — while giving me unlimited usage, complete privacy, and offline capability.

Tips I’ve Learned the Hard Way

After months of running this setup daily on constrained hardware, here are some practical lessons:

1. RAM is king. No, seriously.  On 8GB, every megabyte counts. Close unnecessary applications before running models. Safari with 20 tabs open and Xcode running simultaneously will leave almost nothing for Ollama. I’ve learned to treat my AI sessions like focused work blocks — close everything else, then chat.

2. Smaller models, faster results.  Don’t try to squeeze a 7B model onto an 8GB machine. I tried. It technically loads, but the constant memory swapping makes it painfully slow and the system becomes unusable for anything else. Stick to 3B and under for a smooth experience. A fast 3B model that responds instantly is infinitely more useful than a struggling 7B model that takes 10 seconds per response while your fans sound like a jet engine.

3. The 60-70% rule. Your model file should be no more than 60-70% of your total available memory (after macOS takes its share). On 8GB, that means model files of about 2-3GB maximum. This leaves enough room for the operating system, the context window (KV cache), and Ollama’s overhead.

4. Set Ollama as a network service. By default, Ollama only accepts connections from the local machine. If you want other devices on your network to access it (like I do with my MacBook and iPad), set the environment variable `OLLAMA_HOST=0.0.0.0` to allow connections from your local network. Just don’t expose it to the internet without authentication.

5. Different models for different jobs. I keep three to four small models installed and use them contextually. Phi-4 Mini for code, Llama 3.2 3B for general tasks, and Gemma 2B for quick throwaway queries. Specialization matters, even at the small model tier.

6. Keep an eye on model updates. The open-source AI community moves incredibly fast. Small models are improving at a staggering rate — the best 3B model today is dramatically better than the best 3B model from even six months ago. Check Ollama’s library periodically for new models. Pulling an update is just `ollama pull model-name`.

7. Plan your upgrade path. If local AI clicks for you (and I think it will), the single best upgrade you can make is more RAM. A used Mac Mini M1 with 16GB runs 7B-8B models comfortably and the quality jump from 3B to 8B is enormous. Consider it the best investment in your local AI future.

The Bigger Picture: This Is the Open-Source Revolution, Again

I started this site in 2007 writing about Linux because I believed free and open-source software could change the world. It did — Linux now powers 100% of the world’s top 500 supercomputers, 77% of web servers, and roughly half of all cloud workloads.

Now I’m watching the same thing happen with AI. Open-source models like Llama, Mistral, Qwen, Phi, Gemma, and DeepSeek are making AI accessible to anyone with a decent computer. Tools like Ollama and Open WebUI are making it easy. The barriers are falling fast.

A few years ago, running a useful AI model required cloud infrastructure and enterprise budgets. Today, you can do it on an old Mac Mini with 8GB of RAM that costs less than a pair of sneakers on the secondhand market. That trajectory reminds me of the early days of Linux, when something that was once the domain of server rooms gradually became something anyone could run on their desktop.

The fact that I can run a functional AI assistant on the most basic Apple Silicon Mac — the cheapest, lowest-spec model they ever made with an M1 chip — tells you everything about where this technology is headed. If this is what’s possible on 8GB today, imagine what the next generation of small models will do on the same hardware a year from now.

If you’ve been reading TechSource since the Ubuntu days, you already understand why this matters. The same principles that made open-source software transformative — transparency, control, community, freedom — are now being applied to artificial intelligence. And just like with Linux, you don’t need anyone’s permission to get started.

Pull up a terminal. Install Ollama. Run your first model. Welcome to the revolution. It’s local, it’s private, it’s free, and it could talk to your Linux-powered robot soon :) 

For those of you who are curious, below is a photo of my old Mac Mini (named Murdoc) lying on my living room table, looking like a metal brick that does nothing:

Mac Mini (Murdoc)

— Jun

Health Is Wealth: Why I Chose a Smartwatch Over a Rolex

A few years ago, a friend of mine bought a Rolex Submariner. It cost him roughly the same as a decent used car. He showed it to me with the kind of pride usually reserved for newborn babies and championship trophies. It was beautiful, I’ll admit. The weight of it, the way it caught the light, the satisfying click of the rotating bezel — there’s a reason people have been obsessed with luxury watches for centuries.

He then asked me what I was wearing on my wrist. I looked down at my Garmin Fenix strapped on like a chunky piece of tactical gear and said, “This thing told me my VO2 max dropped because I skipped leg day.”

He wasn’t impressed. But here’s the thing — I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I was trying to stay alive and healthy. And between his $10,000+ timepiece and my sub-$1,000 smartwatch, one of us was getting real-time heart rate data, sleep quality scores, blood oxygen readings, training load analysis, and a gentle but firm nudge to stop sitting on the couch.

No disrespect to the Submariner. But it can’t do any of that. It sits there, looking gorgeous, being expensive, and telling you what time it is — which, let’s be honest, your phone already does for free.

Health Is Wealth (And I Mean That Literally)

I know “health is wealth” sounds like something your tita would embroider on a throw pillow. But after the last few years of my life, I don’t just believe it — I’ve lived it.

During my writing hiatus from this site, something shifted in me. I got serious about fitness. Not “I should probably walk more” serious. I mean genuinely, deeply, borderline-obsessively serious. I started running. Not the casual jog-around-the-block kind of running. The kind where you wake up at 4 AM, lace up in the dark, and question every life decision that led you to this moment — only to do it again the next day because you’re completely hooked.

Since my last post on this site, I have completed two full marathons and one ultramarathon.

Let me repeat that for the people in the back, because honestly, I still can’t believe it myself. An ultramarathon. That’s anything beyond the standard 42.195 kilometers of a regular marathon. My legs have covered distances that would make a GPS tracker file a formal complaint.

If you had told the 2019 version of me — the guy who wrote about smartwatches while sitting comfortably at his desk — that he would one day run beyond marathon distance, he would have laughed, closed his laptop, and gone back to reviewing Raspberry Pi accessories.

But here I am. And my smartwatches were there for every single kilometer.

My Smartwatch Journey: The Sequel

Long-time readers of TechSource might remember my 2019 article, The Essential Smartwatch: From Motorola MOTOACTV to Apple Watch, where I traced my wearable history from that bulky but lovable Motorola MOTOACTV ($300, shattered after one waist-high drop — rest in peace) to the original Pebble (great battery, terrible Bluetooth connection) to the Apple Watch Series 2 Nike+ that became my daily companion.

In that article, I wrote: *“I will probably stick to wearing smartwatches until my heart rate per minute goes zero.”*

Well, I’m still here, my heart rate is very much not zero (especially during hill repeats), and my smartwatch collection has evolved significantly since 2019. My current daily rotation consists of two watches that represent the best of two very different philosophies in wearable tech:

The Garmin Fenix is my dedicated running and outdoor watch. If the Apple Watch is a Swiss Army knife, the Garmin Fenix is a machete that also happens to have a heart rate sensor. It’s built for endurance athletes who need their watch to last longer than a weekend camping trip. Battery life? We’re talking weeks, not hours. During my ultramarathon, this thing tracked every step, every elevation change, every heart rate spike when I questioned why I voluntarily signed up for this — and it still had juice left at the finish line. The GPS accuracy is surgical. The training metrics (VO2 max, training load, recovery time, race predictor) have genuinely helped me become a better runner. It’s not the prettiest watch on the shelf, but when you’re 35 kilometers into a race and need to know if you’re about to bonk, aesthetics are the last thing on your mind.

The Apple Watch Ultra is my everyday smartwatch and my second running companion. Apple basically looked at the regular Apple Watch and said, “What if we made this, but for people who do extreme things?” The Ultra has the best display I’ve ever seen on a smartwatch — bright enough to read in direct Philippine sunlight, which is saying something. The health features are comprehensive: ECG, blood oxygen monitoring, sleep apnea detection, irregular heart rhythm notifications, and now high blood pressure alerts. The integration with my iPhone is seamless in a way that only Apple can pull off. I use it for notifications, calls, Apple Pay, music on my AirPods, meditation with the Breathe app, and yes — running. Its GPS has gotten remarkably accurate, and the battery life, while nowhere near the Garmin, has improved enough that I can get through a marathon without it dying on me.

Between the two, I’ve found the perfect combo. Garmin for serious training and races. Apple Watch Ultra for everything else and casual runs. It’s like having a pickup truck and a sedan — different tools for different jobs, both essential.

What Your Rolex Can’t Tell You

Let me be clear: I’m not here to trash luxury watches. They are works of art. The craftsmanship of a Patek Philippe or an Omega Speedmaster is genuinely awe-inspiring. The mechanical movements, the hand-finished components, the heritage — there’s a reason the luxury watch market is worth over $33 billion and growing. If you can afford one and it brings you joy, by all means, wear it proudly.

But let’s have an honest conversation about value.

A Rolex Submariner costs anywhere from $9,000 to $15,000 depending on the model and availability (good luck getting one without a waitlist, by the way). For that price, you get an exquisitely crafted timepiece that tells you the time, the date, and how deep underwater you are. That’s essentially it. It looks incredible doing those three things, but functionally, that’s the extent of it.

Now consider what a quality smartwatch under $1,000 can do: continuous heart rate monitoring that can detect atrial fibrillation before you even feel symptoms. Blood oxygen readings that might catch respiratory issues early. Sleep tracking that reveals patterns you never knew existed. ECG readings right from your wrist. Training load analysis that prevents overtraining injuries. GPS tracking accurate enough for navigation in remote areas. Fall detection that automatically calls emergency services. Satellite SOS messaging when you’re off the grid. Blood pressure trend monitoring. Stress tracking with guided breathing exercises. And, oh yeah — it also tells you the time.

The smartwatch market has reached roughly 455 million users worldwide. There’s a reason for that. These aren’t just gadgets anymore. They’re health instruments that happen to go on your wrist.

I’ve read stories of people whose Apple Watch detected an irregular heartbeat and sent them to the doctor, where they discovered a serious cardiac condition they had no idea about. That’s not a hypothetical — it’s happening regularly enough that cardiologists are starting to take smartwatch data seriously. There are runners who caught early signs of overtraining syndrome because their Garmin showed declining HRV trends over weeks. There are people with sleep apnea who had no clue until their watch flagged it.

Your Rolex will never do any of that. It will sit beautifully on your wrist, hold its value, maybe even appreciate over time — but it will never tap you on the wrist and say, “Hey, your heart just did something weird. You should get that checked out.”

The Marathon Runner’s Perspective

Running marathons and an ultramarathon fundamentally changed how I think about what I wear on my wrist. When you’re training for distances that take your body to its absolute limit, data isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity.

During my marathon training, my Garmin Fenix became my coach, my nutritionist’s assistant, and my ego-checker all in one. The training load feature told me when I was pushing too hard (often) and when I could push harder (rarely, because I was already pushing too hard). The recovery advisor gave me honest assessments of when I was ready for another hard session. The race predictor — while sometimes hilariously optimistic — gave me target paces to work toward.

During the actual races, having real-time data was invaluable. Heart rate zones kept me from going out too fast in the early kilometers (the number one mistake new marathoners make, and I speak from painful experience). Pace tracking helped me maintain consistency. And the GPS breadcrumb trail meant I always knew exactly where I was on the course, which is surprisingly reassuring when you’re deep into kilometer 38 and your brain starts suggesting that maybe you took a wrong turn and this road actually leads to nowhere.

My Apple Watch Ultra served double duty as my everyday health monitor. The sleep tracking helped me dial in my recovery during high-volume training weeks. The HRV trends gave me a general sense of whether my body was adapting or just surviving. And the heart health notifications gave me peace of mind that all this extreme exercise wasn’t secretly wrecking my cardiovascular system (spoiler: it wasn’t — running is good for you, in case you needed another reason).

Could I have run those marathons without a smartwatch? Of course. People ran marathons for decades before wearable tech existed. But would I have trained as efficiently, recovered as smartly, or avoided as many potential injuries? Absolutely not.

The Real Flex in 2026

There’s been a cultural shift happening, and I think it’s worth talking about. For decades, the ultimate wrist flex was a luxury mechanical watch. Wearing a Rolex or an AP Royal Oak signaled success, taste, and financial achievement. And to some extent, that’s still true in certain circles.

But increasingly, especially among younger professionals and the health-conscious crowd, the flex is shifting. Wearing a Garmin Fenix or an Apple Watch Ultra increasingly signals something different: that you take your health seriously, that you’re active, that you value function over fashion, and that you’re the kind of person who runs ultramarathons on weekends instead of just brunch.

I’m not saying one is better than the other as a status symbol. I’m saying the definition of “valuable” on your wrist is expanding. A $15,000 watch that holds its resale value is valuable in one sense. A $900 watch that catches a heart condition early or helps you train for a marathon without injury is valuable in a completely different — and arguably more important — sense.

Besides, luxury watchmakers are clearly paying attention. TAG Heuer has their Connected line. Louis Vuitton made a smartwatch. Even the traditional watch industry recognizes that people increasingly want their wrist wear to do more than look pretty and tick. The smartwatch market is projected to be worth over $218 billion by 2033. That’s not a fad. That’s a fundamental shift in what people expect from a timepiece.

My Wishlist for the Perfect Running Smartwatch

Since I’m a part-time tech blogger and it’s basically my civic duty to complain about things I want improved, here’s what I’m still waiting for:

1. Longer battery life on Apple Watch. 

The Ultra gets about 36-42 hours of normal use and roughly 14 hours with continuous GPS. For a marathon, that’s fine. For an ultra? You’re sweating — both literally and about battery percentage. Garmin’s weeks-long battery life puts Apple to shame here. The day Apple Watch hits even 5-day battery life, the Garmin might get nervous.

2. Better smartwatch features on Garmin.

 Garmin’s fitness tracking is world-class, but its smartwatch experience still feels like it’s from 2019. The app ecosystem is limited, notifications are basic, and the touchscreen responsiveness could use work. Garmin knows it’s a sports watch first and a smartwatch second, but closing that gap would make it unstoppable.

3. Non-invasive glucose monitoring. 

This is the holy grail of wearable health tech. Several companies are working on it, and rumors have circulated about both Apple and Samsung exploring this. For the millions of people managing diabetes — and for athletes who want to optimize fueling during endurance events — real-time glucose data on the wrist would be revolutionary.

4. Better integration between watch ecosystems. 

I run two watches because neither does everything perfectly. In a dream world, the Garmin’s battery life and training metrics would merge with the Apple Watch’s smart features and health sensors into one device. Until then, I’ll keep looking like the tech equivalent of someone who carries two phones.

So, Should You Buy a Rolex or a Smartwatch?

If you have the budget for a Rolex and you genuinely love horology, buy the Rolex. Life’s too short to not enjoy beautiful things, and a well-made mechanical watch is undeniably a work of art. Just know what you’re getting: a gorgeous conversation starter that tells time.

But if you’re asking me what’s more *valuable* — as in, what provides more tangible benefit to your actual life — the answer is the smartwatch, and it’s not even close. For under $1,000, you get a personal health monitor, fitness coach, communication device, navigation tool, and potential life-saver strapped to your wrist. That’s not marketing hype. That’s what these devices actually do, every single day.

Health is wealth. I didn’t fully understand that until I started running seriously, started pushing my body to its limits, and started relying on the data from my wrist to do it safely and effectively. My Garmin Fenix and Apple Watch Ultra have been with me through training runs at dawn, marathon finish lines, and one very long ultramarathon that I’m still not entirely sure I completed voluntarily.

My traditional watches? They’re still in my closet. Right where I left them in 2011 when I bought my first MOTOACTV. They look nice. They don’t do anything.

In the old article, I wrote that I’d stick to wearing smartwatches until my heart rate hits zero. After two marathons and an ultra, that statement is even more true today. Although, if my smartwatch has anything to say about it, that heart rate is going to stay well above zero for a very long time.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a training run to get to. My Garmin is already judging me for sitting this long.

— Jun

TechSource in the Age of AI

Hello (again, again) world! 

If you’re reading this, congratulations — you are either one of the most patient humans on the internet, or you accidentally stumbled here while googling “tech blogs that ghost their readers.” Either way, welcome. You are appreciated. 

To my loyal subscribers, followers, and random visitors who have this site bookmarked after all these years — I am deeply sorry for disappearing. Again. I know, I know. This is starting to feel like that friend who keeps saying “we should hang out soon” and then vanishes for four years. Except in my case, it’s been roughly that long since my last post.

For me, here’s something wild to think about (or to be grateful for): www.junauza.com will turn 20 years old next year. Two decades. This site has been online since 2007. To put that in perspective, when I wrote my first post, the iPhone had been announced, “cloud” was something in the sky, and people were debating whether blogs were a thing. I started this site when Twitter was a baby, Android didn’t exist yet, and Bitcoin was an idea brewing in Satoshi Nakamoto’s mysterious brain.

Twenty years. That’s older than most TikTok creators. Let that sink in. I am getting older. 

*What’s New Around Here?

If you’re a returning visitor, the first thing you’ll notice is the fresh new look. We did a full redesign — cleaner, simpler, and way more readable on mobile. No more cluttered sidebars, no more widgets from 2012 that load slower than a Windows Vista laptop - just clean content and a pleasant reading experience.

Oh, and the ads? Gone. Wiped out. Eliminated. We are now running an ad-free site. No popups ambushing you when you’re trying to read a paragraph. No auto-play video ads making your phone speaker blast some random product at full volume while you’re in a quiet coffee shop. None of that. This is now a pure, distraction-free zone.

You may have noticed the new title and description: Tech Source — persistent tech curiosity since 2007. I think that captures what this site has always been about. I’ve always been curious about technology, and that curiosity hasn’t faded one bit. If anything, it’s gotten worse. In a good way.

*Where Have I Been?

Great question. Let me give you the honest answer without writing an entire autobiography.

Offline Businesses

After I stopped posting, I spent a significant amount of time and energy on offline ventures. Running physical businesses is a whole different beast compared to managing a blog. There’s no “Ctrl+Z” in real life when things go wrong, and things go wrong a lot. But it’s been a rewarding learning experience — one that taught me patience, resilience, and the importance of knowing when to step away from the screen.

Health and Wellness

I made a conscious decision to invest more time in my physical and mental health. I got serious about fitness, cleaned up my diet, and started paying more attention to what my body was actually telling me instead of ignoring every signal like a human version of “dismiss all notifications.” Getting older has a way of reminding you that your body isn’t a machine — well, it is, but it’s the kind that needs regular maintenance, quality fuel, and the occasional software update.

Family Time 

I spent more quality time with my family, which is something I wouldn’t trade for any amount of site traffic or page views. Kids grow up fast. Like, terrifyingly fast. One moment you’re teaching them how to hold a spoon, and the next they’re explaining to you what a meme is.

Traveling

I also did a bit of traveling when I could. There’s something about visiting new places that recharges your creative battery in ways that no amount of coffee or YouTube tutorials can replicate. Seeing how technology is being adopted differently across various places gave me fresh perspectives that I’m excited to share with you.

iOS App Development

For those who’ve been following my journey, I’ve been deep in the trenches of iOS development. Building apps with SwiftUI, experimenting with different concepts for niche market, and losing sleep over Auto Layout constraints and App Store review guidelines. More on this in future posts — I’ve got stories, tips, and a few cautionary tales to share.

*Why Come Back Now?

Because we are living in the most exciting era of technology in human history, and I physically cannot keep all of this to myself anymore.

Think about it. When I last posted regularly, ChatGPT didn’t exist. Generative AI was an academic curiosity. Self-driving cars were a “someday” proposition. Bitcoin was fighting for legitimacy. Now? AI can write code, generate art, compose music, and have eerily intelligent conversations (hello from the other side). Electric vehicles are everywhere. Crypto has survived multiple “deaths” and keeps coming back like a villain in a Marvel movie. Humanoid robots are walking around like it’s the most normal thing in the world. We are living in the future and I want to write about it.

*The Road Ahead

Moving forward, my goal is to post at least once a week. No more year-long sabbaticals. No more disappearing acts. I’ve set the bar at weekly because I want to prioritize quality over quantity. Each post should either teach you something, make you think, or at least, not put you to sleep.

Here’s what you can expect from TechSource moving forward:

Artificial Intelligence — This is the big one. AI is reshaping everything from how we work to how we create to how we search the internet. I’ll be covering the latest developments, practical applications, tools worth trying, and the occasional existential crisis about whether our robot overlords are friendly or not.

Electric Vehicles — I’m fascinated by the EV revolution. From Tesla’s latest moves to what’s happening with BYD, Rivian, and the dozens of new players entering the market, there’s no shortage of things to talk about. Range anxiety is soo 2020.

Cryptocurrency and Blockchain — You may remember my posts about Bitcoin from way back. I ran a full Lightning node on a Raspberry Pi, wrote about the Bitcoin revolution, and geeked out about blockchain technology before it was cool. That enthusiasm hasn’t gone anywhere. Expect honest takes on crypto markets, DeFi developments, and blockchain projects that matter (and a few that don’t but are entertaining).

Biohacking and Health Tech — This is a personal passion of mine. The intersection of technology and human biology is producing some incredible breakthroughs. From wearables that track your sleep and HRV to supplements backed by science to longevity research that might help us all live longer and better — I want to explore all of it.

Gadgets and Hardware — Because most of us geeks get unreasonably excited about unboxing a new piece of tech. Smartphones, laptops, Raspberry Pi projects, smart home devices — if it has a chip in it and does something cool, it’s exciting.

Software and Tools — From productivity apps to development tools to open-source gems that deserve more attention. My Linux roots run deep, and my love for good software hasn’t changed.

Tech Startups — The startup world is wild right now, with AI lowering the barrier to entry for building products. I’ll be keeping an eye on interesting companies, innovative products, and founders who are building the future.

Sustainable Energy — Solar, wind, battery storage, nuclear fusion progress, and everything in between. The energy transition is one of the most important stories of our time, and it doesn’t get nearly enough attention in mainstream tech coverage.

Stock Market and Investing — I’m not a financial advisor and I won’t pretend to be one. But I do follow the markets, especially tech stocks, and I think there’s value in sharing observations, analysis, and the occasional “I can’t believe that just happened” moment. As always, do your own research.

My App Development Journey — I’ve been building iOS apps for a while now, and I want to share more about that journey. The wins, the frustrations, the bug that took three days to fix and turned out to be a missing comma. Real talk from the trenches of indie app development.

A Bit of Spirituality — Technology is amazing, but it can’t answer every question. I’ve found that maintaining some form of spiritual practice — whether it’s meditation, reflection, or just stepping away from the noise — is essential for staying grounded in a world that moves at the speed of a fiber optic cable. I’ll sprinkle in some thoughts on this from time to time.

Random Tech Musings — Sometimes I just have thoughts. About technology, about the internet, about why we still can’t get printers to work reliably in 2026. These will be the fun, unstructured posts where I riff on whatever’s on my mind.

*A Few Final Thoughts

This site has been through multiple redesigns, topic shifts, contributor changes, and extended hiatuses. But the core has always remained the same — a genuine curiosity about technology and a desire to share that curiosity with others.

I started TechSource as a young tech enthusiast from a small province in the Philippines, who wanted to write about Linux and open-source software. Nearly two decades later, I’m that same guy — with a broader set of interests, more life experiences, and much lesser hair ego.

The tech landscape has changed dramatically since 2007. But one thing that hasn’t changed is the excitement I feel when I discover something new, understand how something works, or find a piece of technology that genuinely makes life better. That excitement is what built this site, and it’s what will keep it going.

If you’re still around after all that — thank you. Whether you’ve been following since the Linux distro review days or you found this site five minutes ago, I appreciate you. Let’s make the next chapter of TechSource the best one yet.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have about a hundred drafts to finish and a weekly posting schedule to keep.

See you next week (or year).

— Jun

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ First Impressions

I have always been curious about the tiny computer called Raspberry Pi but I didn’t have the time or opportunity to buy one until now. I got the latest version (Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+) along with bundled accessories from AliExpress for $65. I think it was a good deal considering what I got which I will explain to you later on. But before that and for your convenience, here are some quick facts about Raspberry Pi that I got from Wikipedia:

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+

* The Raspberry Pi is a series of small single-board computers developed in the United Kingdom by the Raspberry Pi Foundation

* It aims to promote teaching of basic computer science in schools and in developing countries.

* The original model became far more popular than anticipated, selling outside its target market for uses such as robotics.

* According to the Raspberry Pi Foundation, more than 5 million Raspberry Pis were sold by February 2015, making it the best-selling British computer.

* In March 2018, sales reached 19 million.

* On the CPU level, the first generation Raspberry Pi is similar to a 300 MHz Pentium II of 1997–99. While its graphical capabilities are roughly equivalent to the performance of the Xbox of 2001.

* More info about Raspberry Pi including tech specs can be found HERE


First Impressions

I have only seen a Raspberry Pi in photos before so I was quite in awe of its size when I finally opened the box. It measures just 85.60mm by 56.5mm or around 3 by 2 inches.

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ beside my iPhone 6 and glasses for size comparison

As I said, I got the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ rather cheap since it is bundled with a case, power cord, 32GB micro SD card + adapter, HDMI cable, heatsink, USB cable, and 3.5 inch touchscreen display. It is loaded with a 1.4 GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 processor, 1 GB RAM, gigabit Ethernet, on-board dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, Power over Ethernet (PoE) feature, and USB and network boot capabilities.

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ running Raspbian OS

The first thing that I did after unboxing the package was placed the Raspberry Pi inside the included plastic case. The plastic case needs to be assembled and it didn’t come with instructions so I had to figure it out myself. Next, I searched on Google on how to install an OS into my Raspberry Pi. So, I downloaded Raspbian, a Debian-based OS highly optimized for the Raspberry Pi and installed it. On my next post I will be sharing with you more about Raspbian and will guide you on how to install it and give you tips on some of the things that I did after installation.

Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ setup alongside my iPad Pro

As you can see from the photos above, I now have a full-pledged desktop powered by a tiny computer. I connected my Raspberry Pi to my 13-inch HD display and it runs smoothly without lag or graphics issues. I also connected a wireless mini keyboard with built-in touchpad and an external hard drive to complete the setup. As of now, I am using my Raspberry Pi as file and VNC server (set up my iPad Pro as VNC viewer). I also intend to use it for testing Linux distros and for doing a bit of Python programming.

As I’ve said, my next post will be all about installing and setting up Raspbian on Raspberry Pi so watch out.   

5 of the Best Raspberry Pi Projects Out There

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.

8 Things We Expect from the Rumored Google Nexus 8

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.

How to Get NVIDIA Optimus Working on Ubuntu Linux

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.

Amazon Drone Delivery: Technological Leap or Privacy Invasion?

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

HP Chromebook 11 Review

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.