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
Perhaps serving as further proof that Microsoft is supremely confident in Windows 8 and expects nothing less than for it to be a raging success, it's being reported that Windows 7 will not see a second Service Pack. Windows 7 proponents will be quick to point out that their OS of choice hardly needs one, and while there might be some truth...
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Apple on Tuesday formally introduced the iPad Mini, a miniature sized iPad tablet with a 7.9-inch display rather than the 9.7-inch found on the full size iPad. Pricing for the iPad Mini starts at $329, quite a bit higher than the entry-level Kindle Fire HD (Amazon) and Nexus 7 (Google) devices, both of which begin at $199. Apple's quick to...
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The European Commission doesn't mess around when it comes to antitrust law, nor is it afraid to hit companies with large fines for not playing by the rules in the European Union (EU). As such, Microsoft now finds itself in hot water for inadvertently breaking a promise to offer Windows users living in Europe a choice...
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Times are tough all around, and that includes the Mushroom Kingdom where gold coins aren't as prevalent as they once were. Sitting on a throne from afar, Nintendo cut its full-year profit forecast by 70 percent, saying it now expects to rake in 6 billion yen (or US$75 million) by the end of the year, compared to the...
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Wireless outfit AT&T, once the exclusive carrier of Apple's iPhone device in the U.S., sold 6.1 million smartphones in the third quarter of 2012, compared to 4.8 million in the same quarter a year ago, the company revealed today. Of those, 4.7 were iPhones, which works out to more than 77 percent of its total...
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For those of you who missed it, Apple earlier today introduced a brand new version of its iMac all-in-one (AIO) desktop with an exceptionally skinny profile and upgraded components throughout. Despite the ultra-thin profile of the new iMac systems, the hardware Apple crammed inside makes them up to 60 percent faster...
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Apple brought its A-game to its much anticipated press event this afternoon, the one in which the world waited anxiously for confirmation of an iPad Mini device, but before unveiling the smaller sized tablet, the Cupertino outfit detailed a completely new iMac. The new generation iMac makes the previous version look...
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Though PC sales have stagnated as of late, worldwide IT spending is in great shape and forecast to surpass $3.7 trillion in 2013, according to the crystal ball readers employed by Gartner. That would represent a 3.8 percent bump from projected spending of $3.6 trillion in 2012, but what's even more telling is the amount of IT jobs opening...
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The good news for Amazon is that its Kindle Fire HD devices are apparently selling like gangbusters. Since going on sale a little over a month ago, Amazon reports the Kindle Fire HD is the best selling product on the company's entire site, which is saying something when you consider the number of items Amazon sells...
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Reiterating that it's ready for the release of Windows 8, which Microsoft will make available to the general public in just three days on October 26, Dell today announced an overhauled portfolio of business and consumer PCs designed to take advantage of the upcoming OS's many new features. Dell will have plenty on tap...
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For whatever reason, HTC and Nokia unveiled their respective Windows Phone 8 devices without disclosing any pricing information, making it unnecessarily difficult to speculate how well they'll sell amid a sea of Android and iOS smartphones. Thanks to electronics retailer Best Buy, now we know. Best Buy tossed up a...
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It's not unusual for a company's profits to come up short of analyst expectations, but what's interesting in Acer's case is fact that its performance in the third quarter of 2012 versus what the market experts were anticipating ended up being miles apart. Acer's net income in Q3 reached NT$68 million (about US$2.3 million), the second largest...
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The display format previously known as 4K will now and forever be referred to as "Ultra High-Definition," or Ultra HD for short. So says the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), which has bestowed upon the next-generation format its official consumer designation, approved via a unanimous vote by the organization's...
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Despite the positive spin Microsoft tried to put on its latest financial report, it was a tough quarter for the Redmond outfit, which saw profits dip 22 percent. The cold hard truth is that the PC market is in a slump, and as computer sales stagnate, so too does Microsoft's business model, which is largely focused on...
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You probably wouldn't attempt walking down the street waving a handful of hundred-dollar bills around, yet when you think about it, that's exactly what every person does who owns a smartphone. Off contract, many smartphones cost upwards of $500, and that makes them attractive items to robbers who have grown tired of snatching purses. Try this...
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A new iPad Mini line and a 13-inch MacBook Pro sporting a Retina Display might not be the only things Apple has on tap for its upcoming press event on Tuesday. Traveling all the way from the U.K. is a rumor that Apple will refresh its full-size iPad tablets with a handful of upgrades. Apple's primary motivation, if...
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It was only a matter of time before someone actually hacked the weather, but before you run outside in a panic and make a mad dash for your storm shelter, understand that your city's forecast remains unchanged, save for the typical unpredictability of it all. Hackers haven't gained control of the Sun or storm clouds...
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Remember the Droid X2 from Motorola? Released last year, it was the first dual-core 1GHz smartphone available on Verizon Wireless' network, and it boasted some pretty impressive specs for its generation. Unfortunately for Droid X2 owners, it's one of more than a dozen smartphones Motorola revealed will NOT be...
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Believe it or not, but Macs are susceptible to security vulnerabilities too, and perhaps erring on the side of caution, Apple has begun removing dated versions of Oracle's Java software from OS X when Mac users upgrade to the latest release. "Java for OS X 2012-006 delivers improved security, reliability, and compatibility by updating Java...
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Apple is expected to announce the oft-rumored iPad Mini at a press event next week, which will likely then go on sale on or around November 2nd, well in time for the holiday shopping season. That time frame has analysts wearing out their calculators as they crunch numbers trying to determine how many iPad Mini devices...
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Google's been making an especially concerted effort lately to beef up its Google Maps software for desktop and mobile, and the latest addition entails constructing 25 million new building footprints in some of the larger cities and metropolitan areas scattered throughout the United States. These locales include Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago,...
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There are few things more annoying than rushing to answer the phone at the most inopportune time only to find out that the caller is just a prerecorded message. These so-called "robocalls" have become the bane of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), especially as advances in technology make it easier for telemarketers...
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