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Friends, this is why we cant have nice things. A McLaren F1 was flipped down an embankment in Italy yesterday, and this video of the crashs aftermath is about as sad as when Old Yeller was shot.

According to Italys La Nazione, this one-off, red-on-white F1 was crashed during a four-F1 tour between the towns of Saline di Volterra and Pomarance in the province of Pisa. Its unclear what caused the driver to lose control and invert our British hero on a grassy hill, although as this is a McLaren F1, we wouldnt be remotely surprised if speed ended up being a factor.

YouTuber Marchettino, an Autoblog reader and well-known source of videos from Ferraris Fiorano test track, was on the scene to capture the video available below. The footage shows the McLaren accelerating away, only to cut away to the aftermath of the wreck. Emergency personnel were tasked with righting the stricken hypercar, a process that was accompanied by the cringe-worthy cracking of its Peter Stevens-designed bodywork. At least they had the decency to cover the crumpled Brit with its fitted black cover as they loaded it onto a flatbed, a fitting yet somehow disturbing visual.

According to reports, the driver and passenger were airlifted from the scene with non-lethal injuries, and both are recovering in a hospital. Given the rising worth and rarity of F1s, despite the extensive damage in evidence, we reckon that this wont be the last the world sees of this special car. Take a look below to view the video.

Current relations between Japan and China could be described with a number of different words, none of which have particularly good connotations â€" terse, hostile, threatening and tense would all fit the bill. The reasoning for the general sense of dislike between the two nations isnt really for these pages (look up the Senkaku Islands or Japans rule of China in World War II if you want a primer), but its effect on their respective populace and their car-buying habits is right in our wheelhouse.

This news of a Chinese teen running away from home because her parents were planning to buy a Honda is one of a number of auto-related examples of how tense Sino-Japanese relations are. The 14-year-old girl felt that her parents purchase of a Japanese car would be "helping the enemy with money from our own pockets," according to a recent story posted on the website RocketNews24. The girl left for three days until her parents finally relented and agreed not to buy the car.

According to the RocketNews24, Chinese commenters are supportive of the girls nationalism, with some continuing to support a boycott of Japanese products in the worlds most heavily populated country.

Call us optimistic, but it seems that a golden age of racing movies could be upon us once again. After classics like Le Mans and Grand Prix gave way to cheeseballs like Days of Thunder and Driven, the past few years have given us the epic documentary Senna and the recent blockbuster Rush. And the next great racing movie could be speeding around the corner.

That movie is called Go Like Hell, a film adaptation of the AJ Baime book about the epic showdown between Ford and Ferrari at Le Mans in the 1960s. Just a couple of months ago we brought you news that Tom Cruise had signed on to play Carroll Shelby, and now the buzz on the streets of Hollywood has it that Brad Pitt has signed on as well.

Just what roll Pitt would play in the movie remains to be seen, but he was reportedly first approached about the project when Michael Mann was in the directors chair. Now that Oblivion director Joseph Kosinki has taken over, Pitt has reportedly signed on the dotted line.

If youre in the market to lease a brand new car, youre probably dreading the day-long negotiations, the feeling of uncertainty and dealing with smooth-talking salespeople. For the last month, my husband and I have been experiencing all of those stressful scenarios. With my husbands current lease ending in five months, we wanted to shop for prices earlier rather than later. Last time, we made the mistake of waiting until the lease was over and then felt rushed into deciding on a new car. Since my husband knew which specific car model he wanted, our focus was entirely on price.

To make sure youre comfortable with the price you end up paying for your leased car, try these five steps that worked for us:

Timing. You often hear people talking about the best time of year to get a car. The truth is that you can get an amazing deal all throughout the year with a few tips. If youre currently in a lease situation, make sure you start looking for a car soon because you will have more insight into pricing and wont feel rushed. If you walk into the dealership a few days before the end of the month, the salespeople and manager will be more flexible in giving you a great deal to meet their monthly goals. For example, we were offered $369 plus tax at the beginning of the month but got $349 plus tax at the end of the month for the exact same car.

Shop around. Sounds like a given, right? Youd be surprised how many people walk into a dealership and get so wrapped around those dealers fingers that they end up walking out with a new car at the first place they go to. Try to follow the three dealership rule. Make sure you go to at least three dealerships and work out the pricing so that you can compare. Being a good consumer is all about researching and comparing prices. Why pay more if you dont have too?

Scan your offers. Make sure you walk into a dealership with a fully-charged phone. Almost all dealers will come to you with a price sheet which outlines the price and your monthly payments, including taxes, along with the model and make of car. When you get some alone time, take a picture of it or use a scanning app on your phone to capture it. This can be your biggest bargaining tool when you go to other dealerships because once they see the numbers they will try to beat it.

Walk out. If youre not happy with the deal the dealership offers you, dont waste your time. Just stand up and walk out. When the dealership knows that you are not happy with the deal, they will either try to get the manager for a final attempt or a, "Sorry, we couldnt help you" exchange. Once you make the decision to walk out, be prepared for multiple follow-ups by the dealership. Since they know you already want the car, its an easier sell to work with you on your pricing rather trying to convince Joe-Shmoe whos just shopping around with five different makes in mind. They will try to negotiate via phone and email to get you the best price possible.

Try smaller leasing companies. After taking steps one though four, if you still dont have the right price for the car of your dreams, give a smaller leasing company a try. Theyre not a dealership. They work for you. They will do the haggling for you, kind of like real estate agents for the automotive industry. You tell them the make and model and price you would like to get for the car and off they go. Once they have a good price, they will come back to you and you just have to say "yes" or "no!"

Following these tips will help ensure you take out a lease that you feel good about, and that youre driving a car that you love.

Susan Yoo-Lee is the editor of Savings.com personal finance blog and founder of Mommas in the House blog.

Hyundai is expanding a recall we reported on a few weeks back regarding some 2009 to 2012 Genesis Sedans. In our earlier post we mentioned some 40,000 units were affected, but that only 27,500 were covered under the original, voluntary recall.

Now, the recall has grown, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with Hyundai asking the owners of 43,500 affected vehicles to report in for service. The issue relates to brake fluid that doesnt prevent corrosion of the hydraulic electronic control unit, a problem that has led to 23 complains, a documented crash for one owner and another owner losing control of their vehicle.

Owners of the affected sedans are being notified by Hyundai and asked to report to dealers to have the brake fluid replaced. Naturally, the work will be done free of charge. Take a look below for the official NHTSA bulletin.

I was just reminiscing about the many great games Ive thoroughly enjoyed playing on iOS, which collectively have turned Apples platform into one that somehow (and surprisingly) managed to surpass the venerable Commodore 64, much-missed Dreamcast and rather wonderful Nintendo DS in my affections.


Of late, youd be forgiven for thinking that iOS has no good games at all. On reading opinion pieces online, youre probably now imagining iOS as some kind of post-apocalyptic gaming wasteland, where the slowly rotting form of Sonic the Hedgehog begs passers-by for money, before being crushed to death by the dual horrors of EAs in-app-purchase juggernaut and a tsunami of mediocrity.

This time round, Dungeon Keeper and Flappy Bird are at the forefront of everyones minds. The former is apparently EA seeing just how far it can push the concept of freemium gaming before angry gamers snap and march on EA HQ, in order to batter the companys accountants to death with obsolete (but now suddenly rather usefully heavy) original iPads.

The line of thinking was apparently this: take a much-loved classic game, add as many timers and hateful roadblocks as possible, then send out lots of press releases saying how AMAZING and FREE and AMAZING it is, carefully avoiding highlighting the broken gameplay and hateful in-app purchase system.

Flappy Bird?

And then theres Flappy Bird, a one-thumb survival game that appears to have time-travelled from the early days of the App Store when most games were rubbish. If youve not yet played Flappy Bird, the aim is to... Actually, forget about it; just dont play the game, because its awful.

And given its maker is even threatening to pull Flappy Bird from stores, you wont actually be able to play the game soon even if you wanted to.

Flappy Bird stormed the App Store as the equivalent of a novelty summer pop-chart single. Its Mr. Blobby in app form.

So what went wrong? This: Mutant Mudds. Death Ray Manta. Contre Jour. Monsters Ate My Condo. Forget Me Not. Pivvot. QatQi. Slingshot Racing. Dark Nebula 2. Super Hexagon. Beat Sneak Bandit. Mos Speedrun. Device 6. World Of Goo. Zen Bound 2. Blackbar. Stickets. Beyond Ynth. Edge. HungryMaster. Monsters Valley…

All great games, but youve probably barely heard of any of them. Thats because most - SHOCK! - require up-front payment (albeit only an amount akin to buying an 8-bit game. On cassette. In 1985), rather than pretending to be free and then throwing up roadblocks that you can skip by buying a Stupidful of Gems.

Also, many of these titles are by indies, who lack the resources of an EA, and so their amazing efforts often go unnoticed. And then Apple merrily bleats about the latest freemium tat, giving it an Editors Choice, while the cream of iOS gaming goes largely unnoticed.

Fundamentally, though, this is all YOUR fault. Yes, YOU. The iOS app ecosystem has gotten to the point where too many people want something for nothing. They expected games to be cheap, and now they expect them to be free and updated forever, because developers can apparently survive on a diet of air.
Furthermore, people are suckers when hooked, meaning theyll abruptly forget about their miserly nature and happily shovel money into a game putting up roadblocks, like a crazed gambler laughing like a maniac at a casino slot machine.

So, how to fix things. First, Apples probably not going to do anything. The company has never had a clue about gaming, and its not about to find one down the back of the sofa.

Secondly, hideous exploitative freemium titles arent going anywhere, especially when companies are making money hand over fist, bank accounts swelling as countless gamers try to eke some enjoyment from the trudgefest theyve invested so heavily in.

The only solution is to start shouting louder about genuinely great games, and recognising that paying a few quid upfront for a title beats paying nothing initially and then getting mugged shortly afterwards.

Alongside, punish the bad games by ignoring them; if a game erects arbitrary barriers because a publisher decided the best way to make money was to literally stop people playing it, then play something else. Invest in developers who care about you having a great user experience and an entertaining time, not those who merely see you as a wallet on legs.

Naturally, that all sounds a bit grass-roots, and it could amount to a drop in the ocean; but that might just be enough to stop iOS gaming sliding into a cesspit that it cannot escape from. And if you want a starting point, check out the dozens of games already mentioned on this page.

The first image of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo has leaked online, showing the smartphone next to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3.

According to the last piece of info we gleaned from the ever-churning Apple rumour mill, the company hadnt decided if it will upgrade its popular iPad mini with a Retina display.


In what is admittedly a speculation-raising twist, reports on Friday suggested that Apple will give buyers of the 7.9-inch iPad mini 2 the option of snapping up both Retina and lower-res non-Retina equipped models.

In its report, Taiwans reputable Economic Daily News (via Electronista) has claimed a shortage of Retina display panels means a potential Q4 2013 release has been scrapped in favour of an early 2014 arrival.

A report from earlier this week suggested that it was the decision over screen resolution itself could cause delays, but either way, it doesnt seem like the iPad mini 2 will arrive much before Christmas.

Will it, wont it?

The long-running saga over whether Apple would launch a sequel with a higher resolution display has been going since the day the company initially announced the device in October 2012.

The relatively lo-res 1024 x 768 resolution was by far the most criticised feature of an otherwise widely-liked device, which sold by the truckload amid stiff competition from the likes of the Google Nexus 7.

Recent speculation has also suggested that the second-gen device would have a faster A6X processor, a touchscreen bezel or even no bezel, and, if a Retina display is on-board, a slightly thicker profile.

When will we see the new iPad mini 2 (or 2s), and what features will it/they include? Apple as yet to confirm even a single refresh to its smaller slate let alone a pair, so until we get official word were sure to hear everything from the plausible to the utterly implausible. Thats OK though - at least well be entertained.

Perhaps youve treated yourself to a brand new Nexus 5, or youre eagerly awaiting the moment when the latest flavour of Android hits your handset. However you get hold of Android 4.4 KitKat, youll notice some new features to get to grips with -- if theyre not all to your taste, heres how to undo the changes Google is keen to force upon you.

1. Replace Hangouts as the default SMS app

Hangouts is now Googles all-encompassing messaging solution, covering Web chats, SMS and MMS. Much like iMessage, however, the experience is not quite as smooth and user-friendly as it should be. This being Android, you can set any app you like as the default SMS handler. First of all, download a new app from Google Play -- Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS are two of the most popular choices, but there are plenty to pick from.

Next, choose your default app from Settings > More > Default SMS app -- Hangouts will gracefully relinquish its text messaging duties and stick to instant messaging instead. Make sure you configure the notifications of your new app accordingly to avoid missing any important texts (or getting multiple notifications for every SMS).

2. Reclaim your home screens

KitKat brazenly installs Google Now as the default left-hand home screen (making it one swipe away from your main home screen). There are two ways to get rid of it: one is to switch off Google Now entirely. Tap the menu button (three vertical dots) underneath all of your cards, choose Settings and then turn off Google Now. This means you wont be able to access Google Now from anywhere -- itll be gone completely from your phone or tablet unless you enable it again at a later date.

The other option is to install an alternative launcher. In the same way Android lets you install alternatives for texting, browsing, playing music and doing anything else, you can choose a different app to handle home screen and app-launching tasks. Most of these launchers are free and simple to use, and you can easily uninstall them again if you change your mind: Nova, Apexand Themer are among the most popular options, while KitKat Launchermimics the KitKat look without the Google Now panel. All of these apps have prominent options to enable you to set them as the default launcher on your device. If you install multiple launchers, Android adds a new Home option to the Settings app to help you manage them more easily.

3. Turn off Caller ID

When someone calls you who isnt in your contacts list, KitKat tries to work out who it is, primarily by scanning phone numbers for nearby places on Google Maps. Starting from next year, it will be able to identify individuals too, if those people have agreed to let Google associate their mobile number with their Google+ page and identity.

If you dont want Google to try and identify whos ringing you, open the Settings page from the Dialer app, tap Caller ID by Google and switch it off. The setting to stop people finding you through your mobile number is on the Web: log into your Google Account page, click the View option by the Phone numbers heading, and untick the option to help people find you.

4. Enable lock screen widgets

For variety, heres how to bring back a feature that KitKat disables rather than the other way around. The lock screen widgets popular with many users are switched off by default in Android 4.4, which means you cant immediately add handy widgets for tasks, emails and such-like to the lock screen (though the swipe-right camera shortcut is still in place).

Bringing them back isnt difficult. Choose Settings > Security and then tick Enable widgets -- this refers to the lock screen widgets rather than the standard widgets you add to your home screens. With the feature enabled again, you can swipe in from the left edge of the lock screen to add the widgets of your choice.

5. Not okay, Google

At the moment, shouting "OK, Google" to launch the search function on your KitKat device only works if you have your language set to US English. Presumably it will eventually roll out to UK English in due course.

If you dont want to have the feature available (it can use up battery life for one thing, and be hijacked by a passer-by for another) head to your Google Now Settings page. Untick the Hotword detection option and your handset is then immune from an "OK, Google" call to action.

The sky was falling last week when it emerged that there was a major security hole that could mean 900 million Android devices could be vulnerable to hack attacks - but Google has now rolled out a patch.


It was quite a dramatic state of affairs, with security firm Bluebox reckoning that 99 per cent of Android handsets were vulnerable - there was the potential for nefarious devs to modify app update code.

That would mean that users could be merrily installing what appears to be a legit app update, but is actually riddled with nasty code courtesy of nefarious developers.

Patchwork

However, Google has been working to close the hole since February and has now succeeded.
Exactly when youll get the update will depend on your phone make, with individual manufacturers responsible for rolling out the update.

Samsung owners are quids in though, as Google confirmed to ZDNet that "a patch has been provided to our partners" with "some OEMs, like Samsung… already shipping the fix to Android devices".

Google says that its been a bit of a storm in a teacup though, adding, "We have not seen any evidence of exploitation in Google Play or other app stores via our security scanning tools. Google Play scans for this issue - and Verify Apps provides protection for Android users who download apps to their devices outside of Play."

Motorola has hinted buyers will be able to customise the design and hardware specs of the still mysterious Moto X handset in a new advert scheduled to appear in U.S. newspapers over the 4th of July holiday.


In a new ad, revealed by AdAge, the company promises the device will be "the first smartphone you can design yourself" while boasting that the handset will be assembled on home soil in the United States.

Within the full-page ad, the company teases Moto X is "coming soon" and that "users should have the freedom to design the things in life to be as unique as you are."

What Google-owned Moto means by design yourself isnt exactly clear yet, but earlier this year Google advisor Guy Kawasaki did (sort of) suggest the device could be personalised like a Porsche sports car.

A Flappy Bird Windows Phone app is on the way as developers confirm the latest app-based gaming sensation will spread its wings away from its iOS and Android foundations next week.

So it looks like the Samsung Galaxy S5 may make an appearance at MWC 2014 after all - but why? Samsung, do you have something to hide?


If Samsung was looking to get the maximum publicity for its marketing buck it would stick to the standalone launch event which served it so well for the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4.

These events managed to generate almost Apple levels of hysteria and excitement - a buzz many manufacturers can only dream of, and one which should be carefully preserved, not thrown into a melee of announcements at MWC.

Im not saying people will ignore the Galaxy S5 if it does arrive in Barcelona, everyone (myself included) will still cover it with the same vigor as previous Galaxy S launches as its going to be one of the big phones of the year, no matter what turns up - but Ill be doing it in the middle of covering announcements from a multitude of other manufacturers.

All part of the plan

Samsung is going to lose out on coverage compared to previous years - theres no two ways about it.
But perhaps thats exactly what its trying to do. Maybe Samsung has finally run out of ideas on how to reinvent the wheel on an annual basis and is fearing a backlash as it unveils a handset which boasts only minor improvements over the Galaxy S4.
 
People were not overly excited by the Galaxy S4, which brought a slightly updated design and new eye, face and hand tracking tech - branded a gimmick by some.

Taking a look at the Galaxy S5 rumors there doesnt seem to be a great deal to get properly excited about.

A higher resolution display is hardly going to blow us away, a 16MP camera still pales in comparison to the 20.7MP Xperia Z1 and 41MP Lumia 1020 and Samsung will be late to the fingerprint scanning tech with the iPhone 5S and HTC One Max beating it to the punch.

With less of a focus put on the Galaxy S5, there will be less analysis of its flaws as media outlets attempt to churn through all the new products at MWC - leading to coverage of the sentient points, which realistically, is all the consumer needs anyway.

While this earlier-than-expected launch would see Samsung get its handset out the door before HTC - the Taiwanese firm may have the upper hand with its own event in March, allowing the HTC One Two to garner a lot more interest, especially if it can get the phone on shop shelves within a fortnight of announcement.

And what about the design? Is Samsung finally admitting it might not be that desirable? Its still thought that the South Korean brand will stick with the tried and tested plastic chassis for the Galaxy S5, but consumers now have a taste for the finer things in life.

The metal clad HTC One and One Mini join the iPhone 5S and Xperia Z1 in terms of premium look and feel - something that Samsungs handsets have always lacked, and its falling further behind.

And the winner is...

This is great news for MWC. After a drab CES 2014 the relevance of trade shows was called into question, so having the Galaxy S5 showing up in Barcelona would be a massive coup for MWC - which may boast two major phone launches with the Sony Xperia Z2 also tipped for an appearance.

Weve also got some decent tier two phones in the shape of the Nokia X Android phone and the LG G2 Pro - they might not be big hitters, but will certainly garner some decent coverage.

That potentially spells more trouble for Samsung as the Galaxy S5 will be going head to head with one of its biggest rivals almost immediately.

Get the Galaxy S5 wrong and it could be over before its even hit stores, if critical acclaim is showered on Sony with Samsungs offering failing to impress - OK, thats a bit of a stretch as marketing also plays a huge part, but its not a fight anyone should want to pick.

Sure, the Galaxy S5 will be powerful and brimming with the latest tech - but I fear it will also be underwhelming, and Samsung knows it.

Panasonic is reportedly preparing to re-enter the smartphone market with a rugged handset at MWC 2014.

We live in a world where the tablet or smart device dominates - both on the high Street and online. Instead of people going out at Christmas to buy a shiny new laptop, they opted for one of the many 10-inch tablets that appear to be everywhere at the moment.


Its funny really - 15 years ago the only tablet device was Captain Jean-Luc Picards DataPad on the Enterprise: the old axiom of science fiction becoming science fact has never been more true.

Were now almost midway through 2013 and the tablet is still growing, in numbers and in strength, and regardless of whether its an Android or Apple device. So, as the old saying goes, if you cant beat them, join them.

We had a clever idea (which just proves that it does happen now and then): why not get hold of an x86 tablet, and install Linux on it? After all, if its x86-based then we can install pretty much anything on it, right? So, heres our roundup of tablet-ready distros.

How we tested...

We managed to get our hands on a rather nice Acer Iconia W500, with a dual core 1GHz AMD-C50 CPU, 2GB DDR3 RAM, a 1280 x 800 10.1-inch WXGA capacitive screen, an AMD Radeon GMA 6250 and a 32GB SSD. It all comes with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, dual cameras (front and rear), USB ports and MicroSD - so in essence its not a bad little bit of kit.

In addition, theres also the accelerometer function which, among other things, allows the tablet to flip the screen when it is turned on its side.

We wanted an all-out distro to satisfy the needs of every function the tablet has to offer, preferably straight out of the box, so we picked five recent releases - Ubuntu, Android x86, Fedora, Kubuntu Active and OpenSUSE - and put them through their paces, as either a live USB, or installed, to see just how far we could go with this interesting little endeavour.

Installation 

Did everything actually work? 

Were fairly sure you dont need to be told how to install a Linux distro - most now use an identifiable and easy-to-navigate installer - but we thought it would be interesting to see how well they coped, first as a live image, via a bootable USB, then secondly as a fully installed OS.

Ubuntu doesnt need much introduction. Its the most popular Linux distro and you probably already know that Canonical is releasing an Ubuntu for smartphones, so the latest edition of its desktop OS seems like a pretty good place to start.

The boot up into a live session went well, as did installation onto the Iconias SSD. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, both sets of cameras, the touchscreen and sound all worked out of the box. Unfortunately there was no onscreen keyboard access when we tapped in a text box, but we solved this by fiddling with the Onboard settings (opened from the Dash) and the keyboard then appeared when we started typing.

The x86 Android port wouldnt install (it kept rebooting the Iconia), but the live session went very well. Everything worked, including the flip-screen, but there wasnt an onscreen keyboard, so we had to plug in a wireless version. Within minutes, though, we were logged in and playing games.

Kubuntu Active was the first of the Plasma Active environments, and although it looked impressive, not much worked in the live environment. The installation went pretty smoothly - everything worked apart from the flip-screen - but after less than a minute it ground to a halt. The same thing happened after a reboot.

Fedora 18 runs Gnome 3.6.3, which in some ways makes the touchscreen look and behave better than earlier versions of Gnome. The hot corner is easily activated, scrolling is as good as anything Android has to offer, and the program icons are big enough to launch without hitting everything else around them. Sound, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and the cameras worked out of the box, and we could activate the built-in onscreen keyboard by touching the Accessibility icon on the top of the desktop (it also appears when you tap in a text box).

The live session of OpenSUSE 12.2 KDE worked perfectly, with the usual hardware running out of the box. The touchscreen, although it responded, didnt rotate, but when we selected the TabletPC installation pattern, after installing to the SSD from Yast, it opened up a whole new level of usability for Linux. The multi-touch capabilities of the touchscreen worked, as did the rotation, and when we tapped inside a text box the default virtual keyboard launched and we were able to use the tablet as well as any Android or Windows 8 version.

Verdict
Ubuntu - 4/5
Android x86 - 3/5
Fedora - 4/5
Kubuntu Active - 3/5
OpenSUSE - 5/5

Default software 

What do you get, out of the box? 

This is a bit of a difficult test to judge - full desktop distros create a complete package of default software - however, there are differences. Again, we dont need to say too much about Ubuntu: you get what you get and we all know what that entails.

Kubuntu surprised us most here: we imagined that the Kubuntu Active image would be fairly sparse, concentrating its size on the Plasma Active stuff, but we were pleasantly surprised to be proved wrong.

Kubuntu comes packaged with the Calligra Suite, and with Krita and Kexi for images and database use.

It was a far bleaker picture with regards to Android x86s default software. There were a few games, a video player and a picture manager, but other than the usual settings, maps, Gmail and so on, it was little more than a development testbed.

As you would expect, Fedora and OpenSUSE were as jam-packed as Ubuntu, which made the tablet a more useful device out-of-the-box. However, we came across an issue with Fedora: whenever we opened Writer it crashed almost instantly, as did Impress. We reinstalled a few times, but it still didnt work. In all fairness, though, it could have been an issue with our install, as both tools worked fine when used in a Live USB environment.

Verdict
Ubuntu - 5/5
Android x86 - 3/5
Fedora - 4/5
Kubuntu Active - 5/5
OpenSUSE - 5/5

Looks and usability 

Lets face it, we all like that sexy tablet look, right? 

Tablets look flash, sleek and shiny. They come with cool animation and eye-catching icons. Whether they work or not is another matter - they look nice.

Installing desktop distros on our x86 tablet gives us the wealth of good looks, gadgets and widgets that you find on any flashy PC, but they still need to work on our lesser-powered tablet. As with most systems where graphical splendour outweighs functionality, theres a trade-off.

So although we wanted our distros to look good, we also didnt want to stretch the tablets resources so far that the device became unusable. With a bit of work, we managed to find a balance so we could give each of the five distros a good run for its money.

Ubuntu - 4/5

Unity still has most peoples backs up, doesnt it? We added LiveWallpaper from launchpad.net/livewallpaper and enjoyed a nice swirling galaxy effect on our tablet. This gave us a very high looks rating but it did make the system crawl.

Other environments can be installed, but in all fairness to Unity, despite the animosity it receives, it worked very well indeed and it doesnt look all that bad. The usability of Ubuntu, and consequently Unity, on the tablet is perfectly adequate. With a little tweaking you can get the on-screen keyboard up, and theres nothing to stop you from having it as the full-time OS on an x86 tablet.

Android x86 - 3/5

Android x86 is not as well covered as the ARM version, obviously - it is just a port after all. And before we get into the whole Android isnt Linux debate, its worth mentioning that in this instance we regard it as such and since it is the most popular tablet OS, wed be remiss in our duties if we didnt include it.

When it comes to appearances, Android did the job nicely. The available wallpapers stood out, the icons for the apps and the widgets looked the part, but we couldnt get the live wallpapers to work - they just seemed to stop the tablet dead.

The number of apps available in Android is enormous - for the ARM version. For our version, the x86 project, applications were sparse; what was available had a nasty habit of crashing everything but the core installed apps worked okay.

Fedora 18 Gnome - 4/5

Fedoras use of Gnome 3.x prompted about as much animosity as Unity, but its weaknesses on the desktop could be strengths on the tablet. Gnome 3 looks really nice - we didnt even bother with anything as fancy as live wallpaper. The animations, such as the hot corner, were smooth and fluid, the scrolling looked great and the icons were nicely animated.

If you ever fancy giving it a go on another distro, Gnome 3 is a very nice looking tablet environment. As far as usability goes, Fedora is as good as you would expect a desktop distro with this many years of service to be. The only issue we have with it is the awful installation process.

Kubuntu Active - 5/5

Weve already said how surprised we were with Kubuntu Active and its Plasma Active environment. In this instance, we used Kubuntu Active 12.10, which uses - as far as we know - Plasma Active 2. Although its basically a joint project by the KDE team, its appearance differs significantly.

Its intended for use on tablets and smartphones, so its hardly surprising that it looks really nice, especially with the Peek&Launch bar and the Plasma Widgets. When it comes to usability, once you get over the initial boot into the live environment (which starts off slow but then fires up to speed), and once the grinding to a halt issue is fixed (we installed a new image), the OS really opens up, becoming one of the best examples of a touchscreen system that weve used. A grand claim, maybe, but a well-deserved one.

OpenSUSE 12.2 KDE - 4/5

You could regard OpenSUSE KDE as the poorer cousin of the Plasma Active environment - what with Active being the new kid on the block, as it were. But while it may not look the most tablet friendly, it makes up for that when it comes to usability.

OpenSUSE 12.2 is a great OS on the desktop, but when used on the tablet, and especially after using the Plasma Active environment from Kubuntu, it and KDE look a little worn. Its true that you can customise it significantly, and introduce a more tablet look, but Start buttons will soon be endangered species. Its usability, however, is wonderful and, as we mentioned right at the start, installing the TabletPC pattern really makes the operating system come to life.

Tablet features 

Screen rotation and handheld connectivity? What makes tablets so popular?

Its actually quite a good question. Ease of use perhaps? The ability to simply pick them up and surf the web? Maybe its the wealth of free apps that are now available?

We think its more to do with the features that a tablet offers. Features such as handheld connectivity, GPS location functions and the ability to turn the device on its side and use it as an eBook reader.

The screen rotation in Ubuntu was a little problematic at first, but after following these instructions we managed to get it working properly and it became nice eReader; likewise for the media and connectivity.

With Bluetooth, HDMI and two USB ports it was easy to watch movies and play games.

The same can also be said for OpenSUSE after you have installed the TabletPC pattern, as that too adds the screen rotation function.

Kubuntu, sadly, was a different matter. The fix for the screen rotation didnt work, and for some reason the video output via HDMI was so distorted that we couldnt read it. In tablet mode the screen was fine.

Android x86s screen rotation worked perfectly adequately, but the USB ports and HDMI didnt. Fedoras fix for screen rotation actually killed the installation. Other than that, though, everything else worked as expected.

Verdict
Ubuntu - 5/5
Android x86 - 2/5
Fedora - 3/5
Kubuntu Active - 4/5
OpenSUSE - 5/5

Gnome vs KDE vs Unity

Which desktop environment works best on a tablet?

When we use the different desktop environments on a PC, they work as they should, even if we dont like them. On a tablet, though, we use swiping, tapping and pinching to navigate the desktop and if those dont work properly, it can be incredibly frustrating to carry out even simple tasks.

Unity, although tablet-orientated, soon got our backs up when we realised the effort required to simply close, minimise or resize open windows. It made up for it - partially - with swipes from the side bringing up the Unity Launch Bar. Switching between apps on the Android x86 desktop wasnt a problem, but it suffered from some particularly strange behaviour every now and then: some apps randomly closed and others launched, seemingly of their own accord.

Fedora and Kubuntu were an absolute joy to use: tapping, swiping and other tablet gestures made Gnome 3 and Plasma Active the best desktop environments we tested, despite the lack of screen rotation.

Poor old OpenSUSE proved to be a bit of a chore when it came to the Start button, however if you took the time to create an icon for the app, then a simple tap was all that was needed. Its worth mentioning again that OpenSUSE is dramatically improved with the TabletPC pattern installed. Once that fix has been added it becomes one of the best desktops for use on a tablet.

Verdict
Ubuntu - 4/5
Android x86 - 3/5
Fedora - 5/5
Kubuntu Active - 5/5
OpenSUSE - 5/5

Day-to-day use 

How do the distros cope with everyday tasks? 

Trying out various distros on an x86 tablet is certainly good fun. As far as this project goes, though, weve only been using each distro for a set amount of time before moving on to the next. But what about long-term? Which of the five distributions tested here would be best for everyday use?

We thought long and hard about this section, because it depends on what you will be doing with your tablet. We eventually narrowed down everyday use to the following: catching up with work emails on the daily commute; writing documents; playing the occasional game - nothing too strenuous; surfing the web and checking Facebook/Twitter; video calling; and using it as an eBook reader and media playback device.
Ubuntu kicks off with its usual default programs. Firefox, LibreOffice and games via the Software Centre all worked as they should, providing us with the basics. For video calling we installed Skype 4.1 for Linux, which worked well enough, along with FBReader for eBooks (after screen rotation was fixed), and VLC and the various codecs for media playback.

Fedora and Kubuntu worked with the basics, except Skype kept crashing under Kubuntu, and the lack of screen rotation on both distros was an issue when it came to reading eBooks.

Android x86 was pretty useless as an everyday-use tablet OS. There were no working word processors, and the web browser didnt even launch. Games were okay, but media also failed and again, no kind of video messaging. Anything we did find either didnt work, or froze the tablet.

OpenSUSE turned out to be the most useful. Everything worked perfectly: LibreOffice, Firefox and a few games were all up and running. Skype was also easily added via the RPM from Skype.com and again we used FBReader for OpenSUSE. The added benefits you get from the TabletPC pattern is the only reason OpenSUSE beats Ubuntu here - the gestures really help the OS to work properly.

Whats more, although OpenSUSE took slightly longer to boot than Ubuntu, it was faster attaching to Wi-Fi points, starting-up from sleep and it lasted longer on a full charge, making it the ideal long-term option.

Verdict
Ubuntu - 5/5
Android x86 - 1/5
Fedora - 3/5
Kubuntu Active - 3/5
OpenSUSE - 5/5

The future 

Crystal balls at the ready… 

Canonical is hoping to take over the mobile world in a few months time - and from what weve seen so far of Ubuntu Touch, its dreams could become a reality. And other distros are following suit, developing their latest, or soon-to-be released, versions for the tablet and mobile world. So, what do the developers have in store for our five distros?

The Android x86 project is going from strength to strength but theres lots to do still before its fully integrated with the ARM versions.

Fedora 19 (Schrödingers Cat) promises to offer an improved tablet-centric experience in the form of more support for a multi-touch screen via the kernel, and better-designed packages for tablet users - so waiting for Fedora 19 might be a better idea than starting with Fedora 18.

Plasma Active, under Kubuntu, is moving along steadily. More OpenGL usage is on the horizon, and Plasma Active 5, based on KDE Frameworks 5, is going to be pretty special this year. In fact, 2013 is looking rather tasty for Plasma Active, but theres still a lot of work left to do.

OpenSUSE is continually under development, but there arent any specific plans for a tablet version. Obviously the excellent TabletPC pattern will be developed further, but it wont be integrated into the core OS. Were not quite sure what the future holds for this distro - and those who do are keeping the details pretty close to their chests.

Verdict
Ubuntu - 5/5
Android x86 - 3/5
Fedora - 4/5
Kubuntu Active - 3/5
OpenSUSE - 2/5

The verdict 

Compiling this roundup gave us quite an insight into the world of x86 tablets. Increasingly, theyre looking like the long-forgotten, poor relations to the more successful ARM-based versions. Its a great shame really, as the potential for an x86 tablet is far better, in our view, than that of an ARM one.

For starters, theres a long history of developed software for x86 - the various tweaks, add-ons and extras that personalise our Linux desktops. The x86 tablet just has so much going for it.

Imagine installing the Linux Steam Client on a reasonably powerful i3/5 x86 tablet and getting to grips with the might of decent Linux gaming. Imagine still, your favourite distro, complete with personalised window decorations, heavily customised Conky, and DeviantArt wallpaper. An x86 tablet could be the bees knees, theres little doubt about that.

So, where does that leave us with our selection of x86 tablet distros? Well, Ubuntu came out on top, but only just - OpenSUSE was snapping at its heels. Kubuntu Plasma Active and Fedora 18 Gnome were in third and fourth place, and the Android x86 project brought up the rear in fifth.

Tablet top 

As expected, all the distros had their good and bad points. Ubuntu is clearly leading the tablet march with its plans for the future, but at present its still a very desktop-oriented OS.

OpenSUSE came second mainly due to the mighty impressive TabletPC Pattern - without that it would have scored a lot less. Kubuntu Plasma Active is - obviously - designed for the tablet, and it was nice to compare the stock KDE of OpenSUSE with the Plasma Active KDE of Kubuntu, but both still need some work to get anywhere near the market equivalent of Android on ARM-based tablets and smart devices.

Fedora is bending its will towards tablets, and Gnome 3 came as a nice element to the tablet desktop. Look out for Fedora 19 and beyond, though - in the futue we think Fedora will embrace the tablet more than any other distro.

Last but by no means least we have the Android x86 distro. You could say its just a hobbyist project, but theres huge potential here and, with the right backing and development, Android could succeed in taking the x86 world by storm as well.

1st place: Ubuntu 12.10 

Web: http://www.ubuntu.com/
Licence: Free
Looks good and works well. Who knows what the future holds…
Score: 5/5

2nd place: OpenSUSE 12.2 KDE 

Web: http://www.opensuse.org/en/
Licence: Free
OpenSUSE with its TabletPC pattern came a very close second.
Score: 4/5

3rd place: Fedora 18 Gnome 

Web: http://fedoraproject.org/
Licence: Free
Fedora 19 could be the top x86 tablet OS - well have to wait and see.
Score: 3/5

4th place: Kubuntu Active 

Web: http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu-active/releases/12.10/release/
Licence: Free
Still needs work, but Plasma Active 5 looks like it could be great.
Score: 3/5

5th place: Android x86 

Web: http://www.android-x86.org/
Licence: Free
Needs more work before its as good as its cousin for ARM devices.
Score: 2/5