Nicholas Kolakowski

At January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, tablets and e-readers seemed all the rage. Samsung, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Plastic Logic, Spring Design, a Heart subsidiary and a host of others all used the convention to debut their own take on the e-reader. And why not? Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook had […]

Microsoft’s week climaxed at its annual Financial Analyst Meeting, where company executives reiterated their argument-made previously at July’s Worldwide Partner Conference-that competition in areas such as the cloud and tablet PCs is only just beginning. While Microsoft’s core businesses performed well last quarter, the company is trying to expand into areas where some of its […]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer used a July 29 talk at his company’s annual Financial Analyst Meeting to poke Google in the proverbial ribs. Despite that nudging, he also acknowledged that Microsoft’s own search engine, Bing, lags behind its rival in search-engine market share. “I was flattered to see that our visual differentiation has been a […]

If Microsoft pursues its strategy of Windows 7-equipped tablets, one analyst suggests the company could risk cannibalizing the traditional Windows 7 PC market. During Microsoft’s July 29 Financial Analyst Meeting, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer acknowledged that the Apple iPad had a substantial head-start in the tablet market, but also suggested that Microsoft had its own […]

Even before Amazon.com announced its third-generation Kindle on July 28, speculation abounded about what new features the online retailer would add to the device to better compete against the likes of Barnes & Noble’s Nook and the Apple iPad. On the furthest edge of that speculation, some suggested that Amazon would introduce multi-touch capabilities or […]

Microsoft’s “all in” cloud strategy will translate into higher traditional software sales, Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner said during a speech at Microsoft’s annual Financial Analyst Meeting July 29. Microsoft opened its daylong event with a brief run-through of its new and upcoming products, including Windows Phone 7, Xbox Kinect and Office 2010. As soon […]

Amazon.com announced its third-generation Kindle e-reader July 28, in a bid to leapfrog competing products such as Barnes & Noble’s Nook and to maintain a viable alternative to the Apple iPad. In addition, Amazon.com is also introducing a WiFi-only Kindle for a lower price. The third-generation Kindle features a 6-inch e-ink screen with 50 percent […]

Ever since the Apple iPad helped turn consumer tablet PCs into a burgeoning market, more business-oriented users have questioned whether the form factor-with its virtual keyboard and cloud-centric features-is capable of serving as a true productivity device. During the iPad’s initial rollout, Apple took great marketing pains to reinforce the message that the device was […]

Windows 7 could be gaining traction among businesses looking to upgrade their IT infrastructure, according to Computer Economics’ “Technology Trends 2010/2011” study. Computer Economics, which provides research and metrics for IT management, conducted a survey of more than 200 IT organizations during the first half of 2010 and found that, despite tightened IT budgets in […]

Microsoft is providing a behind-the-scenes glimpse at some of the features in the upcoming Office for Mac 2011, through a series of videos on its Mac Mojo Website. A July 28 posting on the site indicates that the productivity suite is tracked for release in the last quarter of 2010. New Office for Mac 2011 […]

Apple released Safari 5.0.1 July 28, along with a Safari Extensions Gallery that offers downloadable features for the browser. The company had previously released extensions support to developers in June, giving them time to build the tool bars and Web filters that make up much of the Gallery’s offerings. Extension categories include News, Shopping, Search […]

Amazon.com’s Kindle page currently lists the bestselling e-reader as “temporarily out of stock,” with no word on its future availability. While the Kindle’s recent price drop could have sparked an unexpected customer rush, the possibility exists that the online retailer is preparing a hardware refresh. The larger-screen Kindle DX is still available. This wouldn’t be […]