Shawn Oliver
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
Windows 7 is upon us, and with the launch of Microsoft's self-proclaimed "best operating system" comes a slew of new desktop machines, notebooks, and netbooks looking to take advantage of its added stability and features. One of the companies that is looking to serve up a number of new Win7-based rigs is Asus, and without a doubt they have...
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It's a good time to be in the market for a portable media player. From Apple's iPod lineup (the obvious choice) to Microsoft's Zune HD to Archos' range of media-centric players, you've got options galore. But just in case you still weren't confused enough as to which device was right for you, Creative has just added...
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Microsoft's research labs have been known to create some pretty wild projects. Granted, not all of them have hit the market or anything, but there's a good chance that something huge down the road will spring up. Project Natal is already proof that Redmond has quite a few out-of-the-box thinkers on staff, and while we...
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Asus may have been a little known computer company just a few years back, but today it's gaining steam and branching out into more and more areas. Take this product for example, the O!Play AIR HDP-R3. It's the second set-top box in the "O!Play" lineup, and while this one doesn't look at that different (physically...
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Razer's Naga had an awful lot of buttons. But with all due respect, those buttons had a purpose. For avid gamers that spent the most of their time within a MMO such as World of Warcraft, those extra thumb buttons sure come in handy. But seriously--is there anyone out there who would actually confess to being an avid...
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It seems like the Droid has been receiving all the attention of late, but for those looking for something a bit simpler, AT&T has two new options from Samsung Mobile. Up first, the Mythic is delivering a 3.3" full touch screen display, Samsung's own TouchWiz internet, one-touch access to features including AT&T Mobile TV and social...
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We wouldn't expect Microsoft to say anything other than positive things about Windows 7, but it's another thing when an independent company comes out and confirms that Windows 7 really is off to a good start. But one has to wonder--are sales of Win7 doing well because people can't wait to rid themselves of Vista? Or are sales of Win7 doing...
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You may not realize it at first glance, but this software release is probably one of the year's biggest for the Mac. We know, Snow Leopard was cool, but this is just fantastic. Orb is widely known as one of the best media streaming applications for Windows, and while an iPhone app came out last year that allowed iPhone users to watch media...
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We're not exactly sure when it happened, but we're pretty confident that it happened. What's "it?" The fall of the BlackBerry. Remember just a year ago, it seemed like RIM had all the buzz it could handle. People were upgrading from normal phones to BlackBerry handsets en masse, and the touch screen Storm seemed poised to rival even Apple's...
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At first we assumed that digital photo frames with integrated printers were just some sort of sideshow. And who knows, maybe they are. But one thing is for sure--they just keep coming and coming. The next on the list is the iMo Foto Frame Photo Printer, which is actually being sold by the same folks who engineered the Mimo line of USB-based...
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If you've been around audio for awhile, you definitely know Klipsch. It's a mainstay in the industry, particularly the home A/V market and the PC audio market. Awhile back, the company introduced a set of computer speakers that would change the way people viewed PC speakers: the ProMedia 2.1. It led companies like Logitech to develop killer...
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If Apple is the king of design in the laptop world, LaCie is far atop the hard drive world. Without exception, this company produces the most glamorous and gorgeous HDDs we've ever seen, and it's probably the only HDD company that actually makes you think that their products are desirable. It's amazing what good design can do, right? After...
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Talk about an unstoppable force. Apple's App Store essentially revolutionized the smartphone world, and every phone since has attempted to either match its great functionality or undercut it in price. Regardless of whether you like the phone or not, you can't say the iPhone hasn't turned the mobile world on its head. Granted, most of that...
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Dell sure has been teasing this machine long enough, and finally we're able to stop wondering and start digesting. What we have here today is the planet's thinnest laptop. Granted, that record seems to be broken and re-set about every other month now, but honestly, we'll be shocked if someone makes a notebook thinner...
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Look, we love Twitter as much as the next guy. So much so, in fact, that we have our own dedicated Twitter feed! But shameless plugs aside, even we can't quite wrap our noodle around Peek's latest handheld.Peek, a company known for producing e-mail only handhelds that allow non-tech savvy individuals to stay connected...
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Remember Palm's Foleo? Unless you follow consumer electronics and gizmos mighty closely, you probably don't. But for those that do, this is a dead-ringer for. You see, the Foleo was axed by Palm before it even had a chance in the market place, and considering just how popular netbooks have become, there's some that thing Palm goofed up by...
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Two things we like are solid state drives and skinny notebooks, so you can only imagine our excitement over this one. Sony's super-slim, highly stylish VAIO X laptop is relying on SanDisk's modular SSD, giving this thing an extra boost of speed it may otherwise miss out on. We've shown time and time again in testing that SSD-based machines...
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NEC's most recent announcement (before this one, obviously) was focused on USB 3.0. This one, however, has absolutely nothing to do with speedy transfers. NEC Display Solutions is launching an all-new monitor today for those growing tired of looking at the same pixels day after day.The 17" MultiSync LCD175M features an EPEAT Gold rating, Energy...
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Scared of flying? Would you rather drive 20 hours than hop in the sky for 3? You're obviously not alone, and now it looks like Virgin Atlantic is hoping to help those of you out who can't quite come to grips with soaring in the friendly skies. But we're not talking about fear training or something like that, we're...
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Think Acer has forgotten how to make a gaming notebook? We know the outfit's netbook line has taken center stage here of late (what can we say--they're hot at the moment!), but clearly the company knows that a market exists in the higher-end, too. The new Aspire AS8940G-6865 notebook is no small matter, with an 18.4"...
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Lenovo already unleashed quite a few new rigs during the launch of Windows 7, and now it's announcing what's easily one of the most striking all in one PCs we've ever seen. The first ever ThinkCentre AIO PC is officially known as the ThinkCentre A70z, and while it's aimed at small business users and the like, there's...
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Sony Ericsson is a name linked directly to great design in the cellphone industry, but lately, it has been overshadowed in the smartphone sector by the likes of Apple, HTC and Samsung. One of the main reasons that it has struggled against the competition is its long-standing reliance on Windows Mobile. WinMo, regardless of what Microsoft says,...
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