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
Talk about a gut punch. Some users who took a leap of faith into Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform are reporting the first WP7 update has turned their groovy new smartphone into a shiny brick. Making the situation even tougher to swallow, this wasn't even a major software update, but a minor patch intended to...
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If you would have told us yesterday that Apple's iPad 2 tablet was being delayed, possibly by up to 2 months, we'd conclude you're a tech savvy individual who follows the news. But if you tell people that today, well, you could be accused of being bat crap crazy. Short and to the point, Reuters says yesterday's rumor simply is a bunch of hogwash....
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Gaming peripheral maker Razer continues to make a play for console gamers, this time with the release of a pair of new wireless cans, the Razer Chimaera 5.1 Surround Sound and Razer Chimaera Stereo Gaming headsets. Both of these are intended for use with the Xbox 360 console, and both give you the freedom to jump...
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Someone needs to tell Apple, "You better check yourself before you wreck yourself." Here's the deal. Steve Jobs and his merry Cupertino gang are in excellent shape in the emerging tablet market. The original (and current) iPad, even with all its quirks (like no Flash support, limited I/O ports, etc) set the bar by which all other tablets are...
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You didn't go and believe all the doomsayers who said that tablets would kill off the netbook market, did you? Good, because if you did, you'd miss out on MSI's new U160XM, the company's newest addition to its Wind netbook line, which MSI describes as "gorgeous, slender, and light." It's also well equipped (for a netbook), boasting an Intel...
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Fancy a Windows Phone 7 device? Unless you're jonesing for a new smartphone right this minute, you may want to hang tight for a few. Nokia's chief executive, Stephen Elop, made some comments recently that suggest WP7 devices are going to come down in price, and soon. In negotiating a deal with Microsoft to carry WP7...
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The DRAM market isn't exactly raining down riches on memory makers at the moment, but apparently there's still money to be made, and not always on the home consumer side. Kingston, which plays both sides of the field (desktops and servers), just announced that its ValueRAM Server Premier series of DDR3 has been...
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Do you own a PlayStation 3 console? If so, shut up, sit down, and do what you're told! Before you fire off an angry email, understand that directive's not coming from us -- we're just the messenger here, so please don't shoot -- but Sony, who admittedly didn't word things that way. What the company did do, however, was threaten PS3 hackers...
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There's no shortage of hype surrounding Motorola's upcoming Xoom tablet, which will debut as the world's first slate sporting Google's spiffy Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) platform. Unfortunately, the Xoom has also been accompanied by tons of pricing rumors. Will it cost $700 or $800 as some leaked slides have suggested, or (hold your breath) a...
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Sorry humans, but it's time to welcome your new robot overlords. After last night's airing of Jeopardy, it's only a matter of time before our gadgets turn against us, perhaps led by Watson or some other equally intelligent creation. You see, Watson is the name given to IBM's supercomputer, which proved both faster and...
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The long anticipated Verizon iPhone 4 launch took place less than a week ago, but already the Web is littered with iPhone 5 rumors. Good thing too, that is if you happen to agree with Consumer Reports that the current model is now a "middle-aged" device. Let's break down what you can expect. One of the rumors floating around is that the iPhone...
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Following the recent release of News Corp.'s "The Daily" app, Apple today made official a new subscription service available to all publishers of content-based apps on the App Store. This includes magazines, newspapers, video, music, and more. Apple says subscriptions will be sold using the same App Store billing system already in place, providing...
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Actor Rick Moranis must be moonlighting at Intel, because honey, somebody in Santa Clara shrunk the solid state drives. And it's not as if SSDs are big to begin with. The typical mechanical hard drive built around the 3.5-inch form factor measures about 4 inches x 1 inch x 5.8 inches (W x H x D, and yes, we rounded) and are absolutely...
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Apple last Thursday made official its desire to see other people, ending a long-standing exclusivity agreement with AT&T to sell the iPhone 4, which is now also available through Verizon. It's an open relationship of sorts, one that Apple wanted and AT&T didn't. Call it a rebound if you will, but according to a report in The Wall Street...
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Obtaining wired broadband-like performance in a mobile form factor is considered by some the Holy Grail of mobile computing. It's also entirely possible, says Netgear, which just introduced four new 3G / LTE mobile broadband routers at the Mobile World Congress (MWC). According to Netgear, these latest additions to...
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You don't have to have any rhythm to do the Google Two-Step, which isn't a dance, but a much more secure log-in process. It was previously only available to Google Apps customers, but in a blog post on Thursday, the sultan of search announced it was extending the functionality to all users. So what exactly is this new-fangled two-step verification...
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The next generation of browser wars is just around the corner. While Mozilla inches closer to shipping Firefox 4, which is currently in its eleventh beta, Microsoft on Thursday announced the availability of Internet Explorer 9 in Release Candidate form. That means it's essentially finished, at least in terms of features, and should have most...
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Hitachi Maxell on Monday unveiled a wireless power transition pad and case intended for the iPhone 4. The no-fuss, cable-free battery charger has the blessing of the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), an industry group tasked with wireless charging standards. On tap is the WP-PD10.BK and WP-PS10S.BK charging pads, with the former boasting enough...
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Always the opportunistic bunch, boutique system builder CyberPower used the launch of Thermaltake's wild and crazy Level 10 GT case as a springboard to jump into a new series of desktop gaming rigs, the Gamer FTW series. Whether you swing AMD or Intel, there's a Gamer FTW rig for you, and both versions sport the funky...
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Look out Apple, slide aside Samsung, and move over Motorola because the gauntlet has been thrown, and boy has it ever. Making the most out of a press event in San Francisco, Hewlett-Packard formally (and finally) rolled out its long awaited webOS tablet, the HP TouchPad. HP's challenger enters the ring measuring 13.7...
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MSI wants you to know that its new R6870 Hawk videocard totally blows, but in a good way. The card comes equipped with the Twin Frozr III cooling solution, and according to MSI, it's the world's fastest graphics card to use propeller blade technology. Confused? Let us explain. "Propeller Blade" technology is essentially MSI's fancy pants way...
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If you're trying to stay ahead of the upgrade curve, now might be a good time to consider listing your iPad on Ebay or Craigslist, if you can manage without it for a couple of months. According to reports, production on Apple's second generation iPad -- which we'll go ahead and call the iPad 2 -- has already begun and might be the only real...
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