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
Poor little Sprint stands to be the biggest loser if AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile is allowed to go through in what some fear would effectively create a duopoly with Verizon and AT&T/T-Mobile controlling the...
Read more...
Could there be a better way to end the work week than with a little smack talk? Well, sure, the problem is most of the ideas we can come up with are illegal or immoral, many of them both. Instead, we'll go into the weekend relishing in the...
Read more...
Quick, what do you call a computer that's only partially upgradeable, is expensive to do so, and typically costs a fair amount more than the sum of its parts? Do'h! Okay, okay, we should have clarified that we're not looking for the easy answer, which is an "Apple PC." Try again. Did you say...
Read more...
Need the kind of fast storage only solid state drives (SSDs) can provide but aren't willing to sacrifice a ton of capacity in exchange? Maybe you don't have to, depending on how thick your wallet is. Dell this week announced that its...
Read more...
Take a look at your coworker sitting in the cubicle next to you. Is he a software pirate? Would you classify him as a nincompoop? If neither of those apply, then statistically speaking, it's you that fits into one or both of those...
Read more...
Somebody had to go and be the first to ship a 4TB external hard drive, and someone at Seagate sat around one day thinking, "Hey, why not us?" Why not indeed, and so Seagate today becomes the first to ship such an enormous amount of storage...
Read more...
It's true that heat is the enemy of all PC builders, but dust buildup is its dirty cousin, and neither are welcome guests. Prevent the latter from hanging around and you won't have to worry so much about the former, so long as your cooling...
Read more...
While most of us spent Labor Day weekend squeezing in one final barbeque before the kids head back to school and we jump back into the hustle and bustle of the work week, Intel was busy beefing up its 32nm Sandy Bridge processor line. The Santa Clara chip maker unveiled a price list detailing...
Read more...
Google surprised the entire tech universe when it announced plans to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion, and once shock of the news started to wear off, the general consensus was that Google made the move to beef up its patent portfolio. Suddenly the multi-billion dollar acquisition made...
Read more...
Last week saw several notebook makers officially launch their first Ultrabook models, which are thin and light laptops built around a set of Intel guidelines and intended to compete with Apple's MacBook Air. In order to do that, Intel wants these Windows-based machines to sell for less than...
Read more...
Thermaltake today announced its new LifeCool Notebook Cooling Pad, and it takes but a single glance to conclude that laptop coolers have never looked so funky. That's okay as long as it works as advertised, and towards that end...
Read more...
You'd think that after 30 years, Frogger would have found alternate routes to his destination, ones that wouldn't present life-threatening dangers at each and every step. But what would be the fun in that? Instead, you can still control...
Read more...
Gaming on the go is a bit more complicated for console gamers than it is for PC users. Where PC users have an advantage is in being able to toss a notebook into a laptop bag and fire it up at the airport, in a coffee shop, or any place...
Read more...
Intel's Ultrabook category is starting to heat up and it won't be long before this hot new sector reaches a rolling boil, just as netbooks did before tablets took over. The latest addition to the Ultrabook category comes from Toshiba...
Read more...
It turns out all you need to do to dethrone Apple's iPad is launch a $500 tablet with modern hardware, discontinue the device, and mark it down to $99 (or $149 for the 32GB version). Hewlett Packard did exactly that and now owns the...
Read more...
Once upon a time, CRT monitors ruled the land. They were big, they were bulky, and you could easily throw your back out if you ignored your chiropractor's advice to bend at the knees and keep your chin up, when picking up heavy objects. Back in the day, a 19-inch CRT weighed around 40 pounds and dominated your computer desk with all that junk...
Read more...
Corsair's Force Series GT solid state drive (SSD) line pushes the high-speed storage pedal to the metal, but until today, you couldn't purchase one larger than 120GB. That all changes with the introduction of new 180GB and 240GB models, both of which are available for purchase immediately...
Read more...
Before we go any further, we feel compelled to remind everyone not to shoot the messenger. Savvy? Great, now onto the news. Alex Simons, Director of Program Management for Microsoft, announced in a blog post that Windows 8 would adopt the Ribbon interface for Windows Explorer. Whoa there...
Read more...
Once you add a second monitor to your desktop PC, you'll wonder how you ever managed with but a single display up to that point. And just try using a notebook after you've grown accustomed to rocking a pair (or more) of big screen monitors. It's not easy, and it's also one of the reasons why...
Read more...
It's official, we're in the wrong business. Don't get us wrong, playing with the latest hardware and sharing our experiences with our awesome reader base is a blast, and there aren't many things we'd trade this gig for. Being CEO of Apple is one of the few exceptions. Don't take it personal if...
Read more...
Hewlett Packard is shopping for a buyer to take its PC business off its hands, and there has been plenty of speculation as to which company might swoop in. One name that keeps coming up is Samsung, but that's now looking less likely than...
Read more...
Apple isn't the only one capable of creating an epic buzz for a product launch. Gaming peripheral maker Razer on Monday put the world -- and especially the console community -- on notice that PC gaming is far from dead, and those who claim...
Read more...
