Shawn Oliver
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
Talk about a sobering story. Just hours before Apple is expected to deliver its Q3 earnings via conference call, the Cupertino, California-based company is dealing with a tragedy halfway across the globe. Reports from China began popping up a few days ago that a man working in a Foxconn manufacturing facility had done the unthinkable: he had...
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In early June, Apple released what is arguably its most significant upgrade to Safari yet: Safari 4. In typical Apple fashion, the company was quick to deem it the "world's fastest and most innovative browser." Today, we're setting out to find if that bold claim is indeed true, and we'll be breaking down the features and performance profile...
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If you haven't heard of "Internet throttling" by now, you will soon in all likelihood. Major cable-based ISPs are considering (if not implementing) hard bandwidth caps on their users each month, which is really putting devout Netflix streamers and Hulu watchers in a bind. After all, if you get all of your TV/entertainment from the web, it...
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They're here. After months of rumors that Intel was working up a new line of solid state drives based on sub-40nm technology, the chip giant has in fact today introduced two new SSDs that rely on 34nm process technology. Unfortunately, Intel hasn't made it easy to distinguish between the new models and the previous editions, but that's what...
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Digital photo frames have been gaining traction in the market for years now, and with prices on them continually spiraling downward, more and more of 'em are being used as gifts and whatnot to decorate the modern home. Rather than just joining the herd, Toshiba has decided to spice its latest digital media frames up a bit with Wi-Fi and widgets....
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Wait, a second--blue USB ports? What could that possibly mean? If our Chinese translation skills are any good, it means USB 3.0, which definitely means happiness. We've known that USB 2.0 was growing a bit long in the tooth, and we've seen a few demonstrations overseas showcasing the abilities of early USB 3.0 connections, but this marks the...
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Here we go again. Just as you're finally choosing which netbook you're going to buy on which carrier, here comes AT&T to make your decision even tougher. Or maybe, it actually makes things easier. As the world warms to 3G-equipped netbooks sold directly through mobile carriers, AT&T is doing its best to take advantage of the situation....
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At long last, the inevitable has occurred. Nearly 1.5 years after the curtain fell and HD DVD was deemed dead, Toshiba--HD DVD's biggest fan, backer and producer of players--has agreed to join those on the other side. After years of fighting, the Blu-ray format won out over the other HD disc format, HD DVD, though Toshiba never once showed...
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Advanced Micro Device's 'Neo' platform landed with a bang earlier this year, with a promise to counter Intel's Atom and even rival NVIDIA's own Ion platform. Turns out, most of that was just talk--or, at least that's how things look from the outside looking in. Since the dawn of 2009, we've seen countless netbooks and even notebooks arrive...
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Have you ever wondered just how amazing it would be to store your data on an optical disc for 1,000 years? Probably not, considering a) it's not remotely possible right now and 2) that's an awful lot longer than even the best lifespan you could ever hope for. But on the other hand, it sure would make the act of opening time capsules a lot...
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DRM, or Digital Rights Management, never did go over well in the court of public opinion. To the music industry at large, DRM was a mostly futile attempt to lock music down to certain players or systems, thus making it something harder--in theory, anyway--to freely distribute. In reality, however, those who were circumventing the rules in...
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We've heard of crazy recommendations and pointless surveys, but man, this is just world-class comedy here. Though, to be fair, most everything recommended is legitimate, but it's mostly common knowledge. Inflight Wi-Fi is expected to soar in popularity of the next few years--that's a well known fact at this point--but debates are still raging...
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If you're a PC maker, and you're not making any all-in-one PCs, you're clearly behind the times. Here lately, we've seen one after the other roll out from the likes of Dell, Asus and eMachines, and so it makes total sense to see yet another enter the ring courtesy of Averatec.The company's latest machine, which goes by D1005, is a 22" AIO...
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These days, it's tough to think of a storage company that has yet to dabble in the multimedia HDD space. LaCie has done it (a few times over), Seagate has done it, and now LG has done it. But we have to say, LG's probably looks better than all the rest. The new XF1 is a 500GB drive that functions as a media portal, boasting a USB interface...
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Hold up, MSI! Another week like this, and surely you'll be flat out of new releases for the next year or so! Continuing the company's torrent of new wares, MSI has today introduced two more models in its refreshed 'Classic' series, which comes just days after it announced the CX600 and CR600.The 17" CX700 and CR700 look an awful lot like the...
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Poor langauge translation tools notwithstanding, MSI has a crazy one on deck today. The same company that decided it wise to implant an Instant-On OS module onto a motherboard (Winki) has now determined that what the world needs most is yet another way to overclock your machine. And comically enough, we think we agree.Let's face it -- educated...
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Alienware's M17x didn't need much help on the outside to be impressive when it launched in June. After all, any notebook with three NVIDIA GPUs is fine by us, design be darned. That said, the machine is still rather handsome, if not a touch bulky, and it just got even hotter when the addition of a new Nebula Red color scheme. Starting today,...
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Love 'em or hate 'em, Bose has been making music for years now, and it doesn't sound like the company is planning on slowing down anytime soon. While it has seemingly been quiet on the consumer electronics front of late (after it got done with all of its Apple-related wares), the outfit is introducing an all new system today that should catch...
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We can remember a time when VIA was rarely mentioned when talking CPUs, but now the company has made a ferocious comeback that has its processors slipping into netbooks, small form factor PCs and now, Fujitsu thin clients.Starting today, Fujitsu will utilize VIA's Eden ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processor for its next generation FUTRO thin client...
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If you've found yourself computing more and more outside, you've probably also found yourself struggling to really see what's going on. Most notebook displays, particularly those of the glossy variety, are nearly impossible to see when in direct sunlight, and that's exactly why Duros is adding a daylight-readable panel to its refreshed 8404...
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Earlier this week, we were blown away by how stylish eMachine's newest all-in-one PC was. Clearly, the engineers at Dell aren't taking the competition lightly, as the company's newest Vostro is just as much a looker. The new all-in-one desktop is actually aimed at small business owners, but we could totally see this fitting into pretty much...
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Not feeling up to shelling out to attend BlizzCon this year? Eager to try your luck at yet another contest? Just days after NVIDIA announced a contest that required you to actually purchase a GPU before you could enter, Razer is looking out for those with little to nothing with a wicked new giveaway. The company, famous for churning out high-end...
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