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
If you managed to survive Christmas, give yourself a pat on the back. And if you survived the holiday while spending time with the in-laws, figure out a way to reward yourself. One way you can do that is by grabbing some free tunes and other content from Apple as part of its annual "12 Days of Christmas" promotion, which starts today. From...
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Netbook sales aren't what they used to be. A combination of factors ended the netbook craze that existed not all that long ago, including the rising popularity of tablet PCs, lower cost notebooks, and the recent introduction of highly portable Ultrabooks. Underscoring this point is the fact that Intel's Atom processor and chipset revenue fell...
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Fans of Google's Android platform are proving to be a patient lot. It hasn't been easy pulling for Android in the tablet space, which for a period of time was limited to a few overpriced and underwhelming Gingerbread slates. Things began to change when Honeycomb came out, the first version of Android designed specifically for tablets, but...
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Internet domain registrar GoDaddy isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers, because if it was, it would never run all those sexually suggestive ads during the Super Bowl and at other times during the year. But what really got GoDaddy in hot water was the fact that it was supporting the "Stop Online Piracy Act," or SOPA. When word got out that...
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The holidays bring enough stress as it is, such as dealing with the in-laws, fighting through crowds and bumper-to-bumper traffic, and even what to wear. For some, Best Buy is piling even more on by letting an untold number of customers know the electronics chain will not be fulfilling their orders, according to a report in The Wall Street...
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Looking for a last minute gift idea? Time is running out, but if you have $5 to spare, a sense of humor, and want to flip the finger at big media companies who insist on shackling their content with sometimes draconian-level DRM schemes, you need to purchase Louis C.K.'s "Live at the Beacon Theater" comedy download...
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Wouldn't it be great if 2012 turned out to be the year of the IPS panel? We don't want to get our hopes up just yet, but there are encouraging signs that point to this being a real possibility. Throughout the course of the year, we've seen IPS panels drop in price to the point where you can pick up a 21.5-inch model for $160, or a 23-inch...
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We've been chomping at the bit to play with Razer's upcoming Razer Blade gaming notebook ever since it was revealed in August, and like everyone else, it looks like we'll have to wait just a little bit longer to find out if it lives up to the hype. A last minute storage upgrade prompted Razer to delay the release...
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Optimus Prime and the rest of the Transfomers crew might be the victim of identity theft, in a matter of speaking. Hasbro has filed a lawsuit against Asus alleging the company's Transformer Prime tablet is a clear violation of trademarks related to Hasbro's Transfomers brand, which has been revitalized in recent...
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Microsoft is going to make one more big splash at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and after that, the Redmond software giant will barely keep up appearances at CES. After 2013, there will be no more Microsoft keynote presentations and no more Microsoft booths. While some are wondering if this is a sign that CES is on its...
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If you spot a good deal on DRAM and could use an upgrade, you may want to pull the trigger rather than wait and hope prices will fall even further. According to Adata CEO Simon Chen, DRAM prices are likely to rebound in January 2012, mostly because of cuts in DRAM output made earlier in the year. The effects of those cuts are about to take...
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Google was in position to deal a mighty blow to Mozilla and its Firefox browser. With the search agreement between Google and Mozilla expired, all Google had to do was turn its back on Mozilla, and just like that, the browser maker would have lost a ginormous portion of its revenue. In the end, however, money talks, and both sides figured...
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The benefits of joining up with Gamefly just got a whole lot groovier. Gamefly's Unlimited PC Play service, previously available to a limited audience as a closed beta, is now live for all Gamefly subscribers. If you have a Gamefly account, just download the PC client to get access to hundreds of playable games via a...
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How do you make a splash in an Android tablet market that's suddenly fleshed out with a high-end Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet (or soon will be, courtesy of the Eee Prime Transformer 2 by Asus) and low-cost 7-inch slates built by Amazon and Barnes & Noble? By being the first to release a Honeycomb tablet for less than 200 bones,...
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As 2011 rapidly comes to a close, one of the things we're most looking forward to in the new year is Intel's Ivy Bridge platform, which is currently scheduled for the second quarter of 2012. Faster, cooler running, and all-around better performing hardware is always a winning combination, but missing from that equation is price. Will these...
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Nobody likes getting a lump of coal for Christmas, even though being naughty can have its perks. But almost everyone we know likes getting free things, and if you collect enough coal, you can trade it in for free gifts, or use it as a lottery piece to potentially win every single game on Steam. Wait, what? That's right, Steam is awarding one...
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Heading out for the holiday season? Good luck with your travel plans, as getting from point A to point B can an exercise in frustration this time of year (might we suggest watching Planes, Trains & Automobiles), but if you're a Skype user, one thing you won't have to worry about is finding free Wi-Fi access in the...
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The Xbox 360 is six years old, granted, and in the realm of technology, that's pretty ancient. Be that as it may, we can't help but get a little excited about a Star Wars themed 360 console decked out in R2D2 trim and accompanied by a C3PO inspired controller. Throw in a white Kinect bar and our geek senses start to go into overload. We've...
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Microsoft didn't waste any time swooping in and snatching up the domain name SkypeSexFinder.com after it became available, according to Whois records online. Fusible was first to discover the domain name registration and noted that it was redirecting visitors to its Bing search engine, though not Bing's homepage...
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Word around the Web is that some hard drive makers are cutting down their warranty terms, the timing of which couldn't be any worse (we'll get to that in a minute). Western Digital is dropping the distribution warranty period for Caviar Blue, Caviar Green, and Scorpio Blue drives from 3 years to 2 years (Caviar Black...
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The braggadocios Energy bunny likes to beat his drum and tell everyone he can keep going and going and going, but would you have guessed Hewlett-Packard would emerge as the real battery life master? HP just announced a couple of new wireless mice that, amazingly, are supposed to last two years or longer on a single...
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Microsoft's Xbox 360 console is six years old. The Nintendo Wii is five years old, and so is the Sony PlayStation 3. All three are due for an overhaul (can you imagine gaming on a PC that's half a decade old, or more?), and while they're still popular gaming platforms, consoles are really starting to shine as streaming media centers. According...
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