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
If you're a fan of Boxee, go ahead and say 'howdy' to Cloudee, the set-top box maker's first foray into the world of cloud computing. For the time being, Cloudee is an invite-only cloud party for iPhone and iPod touch users who don't mind playing with beta apps. That stinks if you're an Android user, but if Cloudee proves popular enough, perhaps...
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Do you see that over on the horizon? It's Windows 8 -- we'd recognize it anywhere with its luggage of tiles in tow. Some of you might even be playing with Windows 8 already, courtesy of an official Release Preview made available just a few days ago. If so, and if you're rocking discrete graphics from AMD or NVIDIA, we...
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There's no need to shed a tear over the discontinuation of Dell's Alienware M11x, the pint-sized gaming laptop that will never get to cross Intel's Ivy Bridge. If you're a fan of such small form factor gaming laptops, you'll be happy to know there are options at your disposable, one of those being Maingear's Pulse 11...
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Market research firm comScore shared its U.S. subscribers market share report heading into the weekend, and there weren't many surprises to be found. For example, Samsung is still the top maker of mobile devices in the U.S., in terms of market share, leading the way with a 25.9 percent share at the end of April 2012...
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Cover your eyes, Android fans, here comes that dirty F-word no one in the Google camp likes to see, hear, or acknowledge: Fragmentation. It's an F-bomb that resonates with any Android user waiting on their carrier to deliver that delicious Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0) update long after Gingerbread (Android 2.3)...
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There's been a lot of hoopla surrounding Windows 8, especially now that the Release Preview version has gone official (after being leaked to the Web in China a day prior). Receiving less attention is Internet Explorer 10 -- the default browser in Windows 8 -- at least until Friday, when Microsoft posted a pair of blog...
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Don't let the fact that Microsoft's getting ready to release Windows 8 stop you from purchasing a Windows 7 system. For one, there's no guarantee that the Metro-infused follow-up will be a worthy successor to Microsoft's finest OS to date. But if it does turn out that way, you'll be able to upgrade to the latest and greatest for $15, Microsoft...
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We don't know if Electronics Arts' upcoming update for Battlefield 3 qualifies as the mother of all game patches, but it's certainly in contention for the update crown. EA said the update, which will roll out on June 4-5, is "a big one," an understatement of epic proportion, considering the multitude of tweaks, changes, enhancements, and fixes...
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There's a transformation taking place in the PC market, and despite what the doomsayers might tell you, it has nothing to do with tablets, smartphones, tweener devices like the Galaxy Note, or increasingly media-centric game consoles. No, the transformation we're observing is one where people are trading in their towers and monitors for space-saving...
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It seems like Intel's Ivy Bridge is getting all the attention these days, but let's not forget about AMD, which is getting ready to roll out a new platform of its own. AMD's upcoming A10 and A18 Trinity Accelerated Processing Units (APUs) are scheduled to arrive in the second quarter of this year, and already we're...
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Gigabyte is like proud parent about a new overclocking world record set by renowned OCer 'HiCookie,' one in which he used the company's Z77X-UD3H motherboard to achieve a fully validated 7.03GHz clockspeed on an Intel Core i7 3770K processor. As it stands, that's the highest clockspeed for an Ivy Bridge CPU, and it...
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Cricket today announced plans to sell pre-paid iPhone 4/S devices next month, which would make it the first (and only) U.S. carrier to do so. Customers will have two base models to choose from, an 8GB iPhone 4 in black or white for $400, or a 16GB iPhone 4S for $500, also available in black or white. To go along with...
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It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, or until someone uses a the same programming language behind one of the most popular mobile games of all time to construct one of the largest cyberweapons the world has ever seen. The folks at Fox News spoke with a number of cyber security experts who said that the...
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Here in the U.S., the top dog in streaming video is Netflix, but over in the U.K., Amazon's LOVEFiLM service gives Netflix a run for its money. Competition is about to heat up, too, now that Amazon signed an exclusive multi-year digital agreement with NBCUniversal, which will provide LOVEFiLM members with streaming access to Universal Pictures...
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Hey look, Google and Samsung are throwing a Chrome OS party and you're all invited. Guests of honor include a faster, upgraded Chromebook model, and a Chromebox that's set to challenge Apple's Mac Mini to a dance off. Both of these products sport an updated flavor of Google's Chrome OS with a new user interface that...
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OCZ Technology is continuing to blitz the solid state drive market with new models, the latest being the Agility 4 Series, which the company claims strikes an "ideal balance" of SATA 6Gbps speed, IOPS performance, and enterprise-grade endurance and reliability," all while maintaining cost-friendly price points. The...
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PC gamers are sometimes a forgotten and overlooked class of gamers, shoved aside by peripheral manufacturers in favor of a growing legion of our console brethren. But fear not if you prefer the PC platform, Razer has your back, especially if you live and breathe Battlefield 3. Launched today is Razer's new Battlefield...
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Generally speaking, there are two kinds of overclockers in this world. The first type consists of users who want to squeeze a bit of extra performance out of their parts. Sometimes the increase in frequency is modest, and other times they'll intentionally buy a lower priced (and lower clocked) part and OC the...
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When word first leaked out that Apple was developing a tablet, many assumed the end result would cost consumers a small fortune. It's Apple, after all, and whether the so-call Apple Tax is real or imagined, Apple products usually tend to cost more than their Windows-based counterparts. So when Apple launched its first...
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Brace yourself for a new Tomb Raider game. After a long hiatus courtesy of developer delays and other bumps in the road, Lara Croft appears ready to once again challenge gamers as the franchise gets a reboot. To help spark excitement among fans of the series, as well as those who perhaps have never played a Tomb Raider title, a teaser trailer...
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Tapping into sunlight to provide solar energy is generally good for the environment, most people can agree on that. But the technology behind today's solar cells isn't as efficient as you might think. Today's 'Grätzel cells' are the standard for low-cost solar panels and are relatively easy to manufacture. That's...
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Show of hands, how many of you own a BlackBerry device? Anyone? Hello!? Oh wait, there's a hand in the back, and one more far off to the side. Now raise your hand if you own an Android or iOS device. Holy moley, that looks like everyone else, save for that crazy guy in the back flapping his arms yelling something...
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