Shawn Oliver
Opinions and content posted by HotHardware contributors are their own.
Recent posts
If you thought Shuttle's idea of "small form factor" was small, wait until you wrap your mind around this. Today, VIA has introduced the first Pico-ITX fanless embedded box computer with its AMOS-3000. The hand-sized computer was designed to handle industrial environments, but this could also be tweaked in order to fit within a vehicle, a...
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Here recently, all the buzz surrounding AMD has involved its Dragon platform or newly spun The Foundry Company. Needless to say, it's about time we got back to the basics. Advanced Micro Devices has today announced that it recently completed live public demonstrations of its upcoming six-core 45nm AMD Opteron processor, which is currently...
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If you're thinking that this one sounds familiar, it's because it is. Other World Computing just announced last October that it would be selling a quad interface external Blu-ray drive, and while its 4x BD-R burn speed was fine for most, those with time that's extraordinarily precious may long for something quicker. Now, there's the 8x version...
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We can't say we saw this coming. After hearing that Sony's only dedicated PlayStation Store in America would be closing up this year, the company has come forward with a barrage of new material for its PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable consoles. From new software to new hardware, Sony's doing it all today.At its annual retail and publisher...
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When's the last time you remember your Gmail being down for longer than one or two seconds? And who's to say that glitch wasn't just your router acting up? Today, Google experienced a Gmail outage that was remarkably widespread and lengthy for its standards. It was so "severe," in fact, that the company actually made the outage public and...
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Slowly but surely, Steam has been chugging along and adding partners for years. But this is a big one. Today, Valve Corporation's online game delivery portal has announced that Square Enix is coming on board, giving PC gamers the promise of snagging The Last Remnant whenever their heart desires. The agreement will enable Square Enix titles...
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Samsung just got done introducing four new point and shoot models last week, and now it's already busy again announcing two more. Both new ones are 12 megapixel shooters that can easily slip into your pocket, and while the styling is classically Samsung, the features here are somewhat unique.The TL320 features a Schneider lens along with a...
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Ever had the desire to place a standard UMPC-type computer within a rugged chassis and check your email while trudging through mud, rain and sleet? Trimble has, and it's making sure that those of you needing a rugged portable computer don't go away empty handed. The all new Trimble Tablet is described as a rugged, versatile and fully connected...
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When you think ThinkPad, what do you think? Plain, classic, traditional, all-business, etc.? Probably, but the word "sturdy" is apt to be throw in that mix as well. Lenovo has made it a point of focus to always ensure that the business-minded ThinkPad line was well equipped to handle dozens of airport transfers, being dropped in airport security...
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While we would expect a barrage of new CPU announcements from someone like Intel or AMD, it's been ARM of late pushing out the new silicon. Just days after showcasing its first 32 nanometer chip, the company responsible for the Cortex line has announced the smallest, lowest power and most energy-efficient ARM processor available. The Cortex-M0...
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The world's favorite VoIP calling application is making a beeline for your next Nokia handset, and believe it or not, that's perfectly okay with Nokia. During last week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Skype and Nokia teamed up to jointly announced a new partnership that would bring the planet's "leading Internet communications experience...
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It's the end of an era, so to speak. With Sony suffering a Q4 that even the most bitter rival wouldn't wish on its competitors, the company has seen fit to shut the doors on its US flagship PlayStation store in San Francisco, California. With company sales in the dumps and some 16,000 Sony jobs already on the way out, the corporation has decided...
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You may have never heard of Pixel Qi, but we'll wager that you've heard of One Laptop Per Child. Mary Lou Jepsen, the company's founder and CEO, left OLPC in 2007 in order to focus on creating her own $75 laptop using technologies she invented at OLPC. Needless to say, the departure was quite controversial in its day, but now the company has...
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Vizio showed up in style at CES 2009, and we're not just talking about the HDTVs it brought along. The company's balance sheet is looking about as healthy as any outfit's could possibly look these days, with it using momentum from the third quarter of last year to propel it right past Sony in Q4. No need to check your set -- we really just...
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Considering that so many corporations are in the business of making netbooks, one may assume that netbooks may be good in the business. InfoWorld took a look at the viability of using netbooks within the traditional corporate infrastructure, and it got us to thinking about the subject. Today, few -- if any -- companies use netbooks as their...
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We feel like we've been here before, and in fact, we have. Sort of, at least. The same hotly debated video game law in California has come to the forefront of attention once more, with a federal appeals court striking down the law that sought to bar minors from purchasing or renting games that were deemed too violent. The 9th United States...
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It's a well known fact that puzzle games and other brain training exercises actually enhance mental stimulation, but what about titles such as Crysis and Gears of War? Microsoft, of all companies, is looking to find a definitive answer to that by sinking $1.5 million into a research initiative that will, at its core, explore the educational...
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Gigabyte, which just unveiled its next generation AMD AM3 "Dragon" motherboard, has big plans for next week's CeBIT expo in Germany. Aside from showing its latest range of high performance, low working temperature motherboards featuring its proprietary Ultra Durable 3 Technologies, it's also planning a sneak peek at the first AMD platform...
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It's not often that a piece of technology, particularly one dealing with PCs, lasts six full years on the market. Amazingly, that's exactly how long Apple's 20" Cinema Display made it before receiving the inevitable axe this week. First introduced on January 28, 2003, the 20" Cinema Display provided a happy medium for consumers looking for...
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These days, just about everyone is dipping their toes in 3D. From NVIDIA to Intel to Maingear, 3D is definitely the bandwagon to be on right now. To that end, we've got yet another company trying to make its name in the newly popular arena: 3DFusion. At the Digital Signage Expo in Last Vegas, Nevada, said company has debuted what it's calling...
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Earlier this month, UWB mainstay TZero closed its doors, leaving the once hopeful format in limbo. One of the few ultra wideband supporters still hanging around is Staccato Communications, and not surprisingly, its CEO is stepping up to address the overall situation and assure the general public that the wireless format it supports is far...
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For those looking to add a little Linux to their QNAP Turbo NAS device, now you can. The company has just announced that Debian Lenny (version 5.0) is now available on all of its QNAP ARM-platform Turbo NAS drives including the TS-109, TS-209, TS-409 series and TS-409U. We've heard pretty good things about the default system on QNAP devices,...
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