Nicholas Kolakowski

Google could find recent concerns about its privacy controls multiplying, after two U.S. representatives asked the Federal Trade Commission in a letter if Google violated laws when it accidentally collected citizens’ data from WiFi networks while photographing roads for its Street View application. According to the letter, which can be found here, Joe Barton, R-Texas, […]

The success of Apple’s iPad could translate into a market-share boost for those manufacturers responsible for various parts of the device, according to a new research note from analytics company iSuppli, with Samsung being one of the largest beneficiaries. The iPad sold more than 1 million units in the month following its April 3 general […]

Amazon.com announced updates to its free Kindle for PC application, a day after announcing that the e-reader software would become available “soon” on Android-based devices. The rapid-fire pace of Kindle announcements suggests that Amazon is looking to build out its e-reader franchise at a time when it faces increased competition from a number of rivals, […]

Microsoft announced updates to Windows Live Hotmail on May 18, emphasizing a variety of new clutter-elimination and security tools at a time when the company finds itself in ever-increasing competition against Google and Yahoo in the online-applications arena. Of particular note is how Hotmail now leverages a Windows Live account to provide not only contacts […]

Microsoft has made what it called the “tough decision” to terminate its Response Point phone system software, which used voice over IP to save small and midsize businesses money on their communications bills. Although Microsoft marketed the product as an ideal way for businesses of up to 50 employees to cut costs in a moribund […]

Amazon.com may emphasize-in every venue it can-the popularity of its Kindle e-reader device. But with the May 18 announcement that free Kindle e-reader software will be available “soon” for Google Android smartphones, it seems the online retailer is paying just as much attention to porting Kindle functionality onto as many other devices as possible. Given […]

Hotmail Updates Include Facebook, Office Web Apps Integration by Nicholas Kolakowski One-Click Filters Hotmails updates include one-click filters to show unread e-mails, for example, or ones from social networks such as Facebook. One of Microsofts goals with the “new” Hotmail was to find ways to eliminate dreaded inbox clutter. SkyDrive Links Hotmail will link into […]

Apple could ship as many as 24 million next-generation iPhones in 2010, according to a May 17 report in Taiwan-based Digitimes, with the publication’s analysts citing unnamed sources within that country’s component manufacturers. “Foxconn will ship 4.5 million units in the first half and 19.5 million units for the rest of 2010,” reads the report. […]

Microsoft will pay $200 million to settle an intellectual-property suit with VirnetX Holding, which alleged that the software giant infringed on its patents related to communications, virtualization and collaboration technology. That monetary amount represents a substantial markup from the $105.7 million legal judgment previously leveled against Microsoft in the case. While many terms of the […]

Apple CEO Steve Jobs saw fit over the weekend to drill down into his company’s philosophy behind the iPad and the App Store-although the venue for the discussion couldn’t have been further from the carefully stage-managed events at which he usually appears. Ryan Tate, editor of the tech-gossip blog Valleywag, found himself driven into a […]

Microsoft’s week centered on arguably its biggest software launch since Windows 7: the final versions of Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010, released to business customers on May 12. In keeping with Microsoft’s long-running attempts to make every major software release into a national event, the company gathered journalists, analysts and customers on the New York […]

Happy birthday, laser technology: May 16 marks the 50th anniversary of Theodore Maiman’s development of the world’s first working Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation (LASER, or laser, for those with an aversion to all-caps) apparatus, which subsequently became a valued tool for industries ranging from defense to medical, not to mention science-fiction writers […]