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 our eyes are the windows to the soul, then what does that make our ears? Doorways to our internal sound stage, that's what. But listen up, it doesn't matter how gnarly the guitar riffs your favorite musician is playing or how intense the in-game effects are, if your headphones aren't up to...
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Attention Facebook users, you might be eligible to receive a crisp $10 bill (or, more likely, a check worth $10) as part of a class action settlement. Try not to spend it all in one place. The entire settlement is actually worth $20...
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Were you aware that game consoles are banned in China? Due to fears that these devices could harm the physical and mental development of children, seven Chinese ministries decided to ban the manufacture, sale, and import of game consoles a little over a decade ago. Now authorities in Beijing...
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Android and iOS aren't exactly best buds in the mobile world, though collectively the two platforms dominate the smartphone market in a big way. According to the latest data compiled by Strategy Analytics, Google's green machine and...
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Remember eMachines? The company was founded in 1998, the same year Saving Private Ryan and A Bug's Life hit the big screen. For those of you who weren't in the PC scene back then, eMachines built low-cost computers that became popular...
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It's hard to believe 20 years have passed since the first Jurassic Park film debuted in movie theaters. Even more remarkable is how well the special effects in the Stephen Spielberg-directed flick have held up over time. To celebrate the franchise's 20th anniversary, Universal Studios Home...
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Apple has terminated its contract with a third-party labor supplier in China after an audit discovered it had "intentionally" hired dozens of underage workers. The audit uncovered 74 cases of underage labor at the one facility, and 106...
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For one day only (today), Best Buy is selling a brand new Apple MacBook Air (model MD223LL/A) for $800 shipped, plus any applicable sales tax. That's a $200 price break, and just so this point is clear, it's not a refurbished item. Deals like this on Apple products on relatively few and far...
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We're starting to wonder if Acer's allergic to high-end smartphones. Ahead of Mobile World Congress (MWC) next month, Acer decided it was time to splash the media with its Liquid E1 Android handset, a decidedly mid-range phone that would have seemed mighty impressive a year or two ago, but is...
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AT&T on Friday said that it has agreed to acquired wireless spectrum in the 700MHz B band from Verizon Wireless for $1.9 billion in cash and Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum licenses in several markets, including Phoenix, Arizona, Los Angeles and Fresno, California, and Portland...
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Samsung had its best quarter ever, posting a quarterly profit 7.04 trillion won ($6.6 billion), up an eye-popping 76 percent from 4.01 trillion won a year prior. Revenues for the quarter came to 56.06 trillion won ($52.06 billion) on a...
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A market research firm forecasts media tablet shipments around the world will reach 145 million units in 2013. New players, a wider range of lower cost tablets to choose from, and increased interest from business sectors will help media tablets to "continue to take the market by storm," ABI...
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Chinese computer maker Lenovo is reportedly taking a long, hard look at acquiring Research In Motion (RIM), a Canadian handset and mobile software company. Lenovo, which is jockeying for position with Hewlett-Packard (HP) as the world's largest PC supplier, has already spoken with RIM about its interest in acquiring the company. The two sides,...
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So long, THQ, and thanks for the pie. The North American game developer and publisher responsible for Saints Row, the Red Faction Series, Company of Heroes, and other titles auctioned off its assets to competitors for around $72 million...
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Amazon on Thursday announced the acquisition of Ivona Software, a text-to-speech firm out of Poland. Ivona Software's voice recognition technologies are already utilized by Amazon's line of Kindle Fire tablets, and the company also provides text-to-speech products and services for thousands of...
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Nokia's strategy to buddy up with Microsoft and essentially go all-in with the Windows Phone platform is paying off. The Finnish handset maker turned a modest profit in the fourth quarter of 2012, coming out ahead on the balance sheet by...
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Kudos to Imangi Studios for showing the Android platform nearly equal love as iOS. Whereas Android users had to wait nearly 8 months before the company's original Temple Run title was ported over from iOS, Temple Run 2, now available in Google Play, took only a week to make the leap, having...
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Great ape keepers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo found themselves inspired by an "Apps for Apes" program that's been implemented in a dozen zoos around the world, and so they decided to try it out with their six orangutans. Each...
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Samsung on Wednesday sent out emails announcing that its ATIV Odyssey handset will be available to purchase in the U.S. starting tomorrow. You'll be able to pick one up from Verizon on the web or in stores for $50 (after a $50 mail-in-rebate) with a two-year service agreement. A quick...
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Prince Harry of Wales is a pretty good shooter, both in real-life and when playing video games. In fact, he credits his time playing games on an Xbox and PlayStation with making him a better shooter, and maybe even a better pilot. The...
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Don't worry folks, the White House hasn't lost its marbles (well, not based on this, anyway) by encouraging citizens across the nation to start hacking. The U.S. government doesn't want you to break into banking systems, and after Matthew...
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Apple can stick to its guns all it wants by refusing to release a lower-cost iPhone model, but at some point, the Cupertino company has to face the reality that the iPhone isn't the trend-setting device it once was. Remember when the...
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