Shawn Oliver
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
Not sure if you've heard, but USB 3.0 is "the hot new thing." We're expecting a full rollout of devices that support the faster protocol early next year, but it looks as if Buffalo is joining Freecom in pushing out products before most folks even have a chance to add USB 3.0 support to their...
Read more...
Mimo has made a name for itself this year by producing a rather wide variety of secondary monitors, which are portable screens that are powered by USB and provide a nice home for your widgets, IM windows, etc. Today, the outfit has revealed the iMo Pivot touch-screen monitor, a 7" secondary...
Read more...
Inelegant NAS solutions have been around for years, and still they sell well. All of the organization and data management is left on the shoulders of the owner, and the drive itself simply serves up content whenever you--the end-user--tells it to. The Drobo changed all of that in early 2007...
Read more...
Dell's Studio 17 has been around for well over a year now, so it's certainly due for an update. Aside from the off-hand processor bump, however, we haven't come to expect much in the wake of refreshes on lower-end machines. Out of nowhere, Dell's Studio 17--a decidedly mid-range 17" notebook...
Read more...
Razer has been on a roll here lately with new mice, and that trend is continuing today with the Imperator. Designed as a mid-range gaming mouse that's tailored specifically for right-handed users, this "ergonomic" mouse is also designed to...
Read more...
As the holiday season rapidly approaches, there’s one question that you’ll hear very frequently: Have you been naughty or nice? Of course, we all know that a lot hinges on this seemingly simple question. If you’ve been nice, then perhaps Santa will bring you an awesome gift, that one piece of hardware you've been jonesing for, like a Core...
Read more...
Cloud Engines has made a good name for itself with its original Pogoplug, a device that essentially turned any USB external hard drive into a NAS drive. The original Pogoplug had a single USB port, enabling one HDD to be accessed over the Internet. The company has just launched its second...
Read more...
Cell phone jammers are nothing new. They've been around in one form or another for years now, and even though they aren't exactly legal in some scenarios, the technology is certainly there to block calls from going in or out. Now...
Read more...
IBM and supercomputers go together like beans and rice (or CPUs and motherboards, for the non-chefs out there), but the company's latest is one of its most impressive to date. Hailed as the most powerful computing system in all of Rhode...
Read more...
It's not unusual these days to see products come and go without making too much fuss in the market place. The consumer electronics realm is a tough one to make waves in, and somehow Roku has managed to captivate the industry at large and build up a respectable user base. Shortly after...
Read more...
Samsung introduced a 1.5TB STORY External HDD back in May, but with the proliferation of 2TB drives available now, the company is today issuing a roomier edition. The STORY Station Plus isn't just larger, though; it also adds an eSATA interface for faster transfers. In case you don't have an...
Read more...
It's no iPhone, but it should make those texting tweens of yours mighty happy. Pantech has a knack for creating text-friendly feature phones, and the new Impact looks to be yet another winner. Set to launch on AT&T, the phone will be available in both bright blue and soft pink, and it...
Read more...
Hammacher Schlemmer has a wide, wide variety of wares. It carries everything from cups to 3D webcams, so it's no surprise to hear that it also carries electric skateboards that even Marty McFly would be jealous of. The newest gizmo to grace the company's electronic storefront is the 19-MPH...
Read more...
AT&T is on a serious netbook roll. When it's not bashing Verizon Wireless in some futile attempt to prove that it's US network is superior to VZW's network, it's securing netbook after netbook to sell to those who are willing to bite on a low up-front cost. Of course, we've never been big...
Read more...
Atlona has been making accessories and adapters for years, but by and large it has remained a pretty low-key name. The new wireless USB to HDMI or VGA adapter, however, looks to really put the company on the map. It's easily one of the...
Read more...
There's little doubt that having Wi-Fi on planes is one of the greatest inventions of all time (or at least this decade), but actually finding a flight that's Wi-Fi enabled can be tough. Darn near impossible, even. American Airlines is...
Read more...
Ah, memory cards. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em. Actually, it's pretty easy to live with them, but going about one's life without losing any is the tough part. In order to provide a few options for those in need of more on-hand storage, Lexar Media is expanding its gaming line...
Read more...
Love your music? No, we mean do you really, really love your music? If you're willing to pay to prove it, Olive has a new music server just for you. The all new 4HD is a specialized, high-end server designed to stream tunes from its internal hard drive out onto whatever high-end speaker setup...
Read more...
SSD upgrade kits aren't as rare as you'd probably expect, and while Kingston has been dominating the space for the past few months, it looks as if Imation is joining the fray. Known more for its optical storage media than anything else, the company is pushing to become a household name in the...
Read more...
Up until now, TomTom's iPhone GPS application was, well, only for the iPhone. It required iPhone OS 3.0, and for obvious reasons surrounding a physical GPS module, it wouldn't work with the iPod touch. Today, all that changes.TomTom has just released its newest version of the GPS app, and with...
Read more...
Love the Earth? Sure, we all do--after all, we live here. Love it enough to throw out your current TV and buy one that meets heightened energy requirements? Um....Just this week California regulators adopted the "nation's first energy-efficiency standards for televisions," with hopes of...
Read more...
It may have been Kindle's world for awhile, but that's hardly the case any longer. Amazon has seen stiff competition from both Barnes & Noble (with its Nook) and Sony (with a variety of Readers), but the latter is finally stepping up its game in a big way. The Reader Daily Edition, which...
Read more...
