Paul Lilly
Paul is a seasoned geek who was first seduced into the world of computers and technology by the Commodore 64, and through the years he’s courted a number of OSes and platforms from DOS on up to the latest version of Windows. Having joined the HotHardware team in 2011, Paul is now a mainstay of the site covering the news beat and reviews, and resident wiseguy who keeps the mood light. He’s also an experienced freelance technology writer whose work has appeared in a number of online and print publications.
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
We hate to break it to investors who dumped barrels of cash into Apple over the last several months, but the bitter truth is it was a bad investment. Maybe in the long term they'll all look like savvy investors and the past three months will become a distant memory. Or maybe Apple was never worth as much as its share price suggested. To put...
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As we look ahead to 2013, one of the more interesting story lines is that of the deteriorating relationship between Apple and Samsung. Things took a turn for the ugly between these two tech giants when the former won a patent infringement case against the latter and was awarded $1.05 billion in damages, but the war was far from over. The two...
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If you follow the Linux scene, you might recall that FreeBSD 9.1 was originally supposed to be released around the middle of September. That plan got scrapped when the first Release Candidate (RC) arrived a month late, which also pushed back the RC2 and RC3 releases. There was then talk of a late October release, then mid-November, both of...
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Microsoft is currently investigating reports of a zero day bug affecting Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7, and Internet Explorer 8, the company announced in a Security Advisory. At issue is a remote code execution vulnerability that would allow attackers to seize control of a Windows PC. How it works is IE...
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Windows 8 represents a new era in computing, and at this early stage, some of Microsoft's major hardware partners are already speaking out about the touch-friendly operating system and its impact on computing. Fujitsu, for example, pointed to "weak" demand for Windows 8 as the reason why its PC sales are sagging. That's not exactly a glowing...
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Some Xbox 360 gamers are having to cope with an Xbox Live service SNAFU the first weekend after Christmas, one that prevents them from utilizing Microsoft's Cloud Saved Games feature. Everything else appears to be in good working order for the moment. "Xbox Live experienced a service issue today affecting some users...
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Mega online shopping site Amazon was proud as a peacock to announce its Kindle Fire HD is the best selling, most gifted, and most wished for product across its catalog of millions of items since the upgraded tablet was introduced 15 weeks ago, though stopped short of offering up specific sales figures. The next three spots belong to the Kindle...
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Attention citizens of New York, be careful where you wield your iPhone, lest you make yourself a target for thieves. The crime rate is up in New York City, and according to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the reasons is because of the number of iPhone and iPad thefts that have occurred. A rise in thefts of Apple devices directly contributed to...
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If Microsoft was hoping for a ringing endorsement for Windows 8, it won't find one from Fujitsu, Japan's largest provider of computer services. On the contrary, Fujitsu pointed the finger directly at the touch-friendly operating system, blaming Windows 8 as part of the reason why the PC maker will miss its annual...
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The CEO of the most valuable company in the world is taking a big pay cut for 2012. We're of course talking about Tim Cook, the man who took the reins from Steve Jobs as the head honcho of Apple, but lest you worry yourself silly over his reduced compensation package, understand that a man can still feed his belly...
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The good news for TV manufacturers is that televisions are still the primary device for viewing content in the home, so they can rest easy in that respect. However, the "less than great news" is that TV manufacturers are doing a poor job executing a strategy to extend the TV's functionality beyond simple viewing, The NPD Group stated in its...
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It's long been rumored that Apple plans to launch its own brand high definition television, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. According to the latest water cooler chatter, Apple's next new product might be much, much smaller. So small, in fact, that you could wear it on your wrist. That's right, we're talking about a "smart watch." A technology...
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Marvell on Thursday said it plans to appeal a jury verdict awarding Carnegie Mellon University $1.17 billion in damages for patent infringement claims brought against the company. At the center of the dispute are two patents -- U.S. Patent 6,201,839 and 6,438,180 -- that a federal jury found Marvell and its U.S. operating subsidiary, Marvell...
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The LG Optimus G on Sprint sports a 13MP rear-facing camera so that you can shoot high quality photos about the size of Texas, and smartphones in general have upped the ante when it comes to snapping photos. Is there even a market for point-and-shoot cameras anymore? You better believe it. In an effort to stay relevant, we're starting to see...
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Apple has always gone out of its way to keep users from tinkering with their iOS devices, from using funky screws and lots of adhesive to prevent do-it-yourself (DIY) repair, to locking down iOS so that it's extremely difficult to jailbreak. Speaking towards the latter, hacker i0n1c posted on Twitter that the upcoming iOS 6.1 update will be...
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Is there an unwritten rule that all leaked photos of unreleased products have to be shot with what looks like a $25 kiddie camera from Toys R Us? It certainly seems that way sometimes, and it would explain why a new batch of BlackBerry 10 images look like crap. But let's not fuss any further over image quality; the real story here is that...
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Is there a better way to celebrate the day after Christmas than by bashing the skulls of zombies who are intent on eating your flesh? The correct answer is, 'No, there is not, so sign me up!' Lucky for you, The Walking Dead: Episode 1 -- A New Day is free to download and play on Xbox Live (and iOS, if you prefer). This is a great gift from...
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Exposing one of the troubles inherent with cloud computing, Netflix on Christmas Eve coughed up a hairball and left its paying subscribers without streaming video service until the next day. The outage affected subscribers in Canada, Latin America, and the United States. According to Netflix, the fault belongs to...
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Good news, HTC One S owners, your Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update is waiting in the wings. Well, sort of. HTC has reportedly begun rolling out the Jelly Bean software to WWE (WorldWide English) handsets, which are those that are mostly sold in European markets. If you're feeling impatient for the over-the-air (OTA) update to arrive, you can...
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Remember the awesome yacht Steve Jobs commissioned before he passed away? Well, it was temporarily impounded over a payment dispute. Designer Philippe Starck and his lawyers contended he was 'only' paid €6 million (~US$7.9 million) for the €100 million (~US$132 million) superyacht, but was owed €9...
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Software vulnerabilities will be the main target of cyber criminals in 2013, according to research by Panda Security's malware laboratory, PandaLabs. Java and Adobe in particular will prove points of emphasis for both cyber criminals and intelligence agencies in countries around the world. "In 2012, we saw how Java...
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The good folks at Google have made it easy for you and your kids to track the jolly bearded guy in a red suit as he travels around the world delivering gifts. Google is getting a bit of help from the North Pole air traffic control elves, who are finished making toys for the year and have now turned their attention to...
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