Nicholas Kolakowski

RealNetworks was in federal court in San Francisco on April 24, squaring off against Hollywood attorneys over RealDVD, a $29.99 software application that allows DVDs to be copied onto a user’s hard drive. Attorneys representing the major film studios argue that allowing RealDVD to be sold unchecked will undermine the $20 billion DVD market. Lawyers […]

The 1 billionth application was downloaded from the Apple App Store on April 23. The company did not announce the name of that lucky billionth app, nor the winner of the contest associated with the milestone. Apple printed large ads in The New York Times and other media outlets to trumpet the event. In a […]

The winner of Apple‘s billion App countdown contest is a 13-year-old from Weston, Connecticut, who downloaded Bump, an application that lets users bump their iPhones together in order to exchange contact information. Winner Connor Mulcahey will receive a MacBook Pro, a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod Touch, and a Time Capsule. Apple hosted the […]

The winner of Apple‘s billion App countdown contest is a 13-year-old from Weston, Conn., who downloaded Bump, an application that lets users bump their iPhones together in order to exchange contact information. Winner Connor Mulcahey will receive a MacBook Pro, a $10,000 iTunes gift card, an iPod Touch and a Time Capsule. Apple hosted the […]

Microsoft announced that it was feeling the global economic pain and facing its first year-over-year decline in quarterly revenue. Much of the damage was due to declining PC shipments, where the only bright spot has been mini-notebooks, also known as “netbooks,” sales. However, Microsoft seems reluctant to embrace netbooks as a potential business strategy. For […]

Apple removed the controversial “Baby Shaker” application, in which users could “shake” a virtual infant quiet using their iPhone, from the App Store. Representatives from Apple confirmed that the application, which cost 99 cents, had been removed, but made no comment on how it had passed the initial review process. The application’s developer, Sikalosoft, produces […]

Apple issued an apology for its “Baby Shaker” App, in which users could “shake” a virtual infant using the iPhone, a day after removing the controversial application from the App Store. “This application was deeply offensive and should not have been approved for distribution on the App Store,” Natalie Kerris, a spokesperson for Apple, said […]

As the recession forces people and businesses to take increased measures to slow their spending, sites that traffic in books, DVDs and other staples have arisen to challenge Amazon and other sellers in the online commerce sphere. Craigslist and other online bulletin-board-style sites have existed for years, but a new crop of bartering sites has […]

Bookins’s Top 10 Online Bartered Books and DVDs by Nicholas Kolakowski The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseinis debut novel is a drama set against the backdrop of several decades of Afghani history. Memory Keepers Daughter Kim Edwardss novel grapples with the consequences when two children, one healthy and one with Down syndrome, are born during a […]

Google announced a mobile-friendly version of its Product Search application, emphasizing its utility for iPhone and Android-powered devices, in an April 23 corporate blog posting. Google Product Search, which can be found here, allows users to type whatever they’re searching for – such as “server software” – into the search bar and receive results pulled […]

MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe will step down from his role “in the near future,” according to the social-networking site’s parent corporation, News Corp. A press release issued by the company said that DeWolfe would continue to serve as both a strategic adviser and board member of MySpace China. Tom Anderson, president of MySpace, would be […]

Amazon Kindle 2 costs $185.49 in materials and manufacturing costs, says an April 22 report by iSuppli Corp.’s Teardown Analysis Service. Actual materials cost for the eReader device is $176.83, with an additional $8.66 from manufacturing expenses and battery. The company’s analysis did not include costs of intellectual property, royalties, licensing fees or elements such […]