Nicholas Kolakowski

Microsoft’s major news this week was the unveiling of its next-generation Windows. Code-named “Windows 8” for the time being, this version of Windows has a completely different look and feel than previous editions of Microsoft’s long-running operating system franchise. In place of a desktop loaded with folders and icons, married to a bottom file bar […]

Microsoft’s (NYSE:MSFT) share of the smartphone market continues to dip, according to new numbers from comScore. The research firm plugged the company’s market share at 6.7 percent in April, down from 8 percent in January. That’s not nearly as bad as Research In Motion, which saw its share plunge during the same three-month period from […]

Microsoft is taking a radical new direction with “Windows 8,” abandoning many of the traditional Windows hallmarks in favor of a brightly colored, tile-centric interface apparently designed to play well on everything from tablets to desktops. (Windows 8 is actually an internal Microsoft code-name for the project. Its final moniker might change by the time […]

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) has whipped the curtain back from “Windows 8,” offering a first-ever glimpse at a radically new user interface. “This represents a fundamental shift in Windows design that we haven’t attempted since the days of Windows 95, presenting huge opportunities for our hardware partners to innovate with new PC designs,” Mike Angiulo, corporate vice […]

Just as Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) unveils an early look at Windows 8, its next-generation operating system, it faces the prospect of renewed competition from another operating system: Hewlett-Packard’s webOS, which the manufacturer apparently intends to port onto devices other than its own. “I happen to believe that webOS is a uniquely outstanding operating system,” HP CEO […]

Tiles Windows 8 features tiles that display more information than traditional icons. Start Screen Windows 8s start screen offers a variety of quick-glance information, including (at least, based on this screen) time and date, and emails and conversations. Touch-Sensitive Microsoft plans to port Windows 8 onto a variety of devices, including the tablet and PC […]

Apple’s tablet rivals are apparently slamming on the brakes. That’s according to JP Morgan analyst Mark Moskowitz, who suggested in a recent research note that Samsung, Motorola and other manufacturers are reducing build plans for their respective tablet offerings, following a lukewarm reception by consumers and businesses. “Non-Apple tablet hopefuls have adjusted to the weak […]

The rumor mill has been churning steadily over reports that Microsoft will purchase Nokia’s mobile phone business for around $19 billion. That comes despite a Nokia spokesperson telling Reuters that “these rumors are 100 percent baseless.” Russian blogger Eldar Murtazin, known for his digging into Nokia’s affairs, tweeted May 31: “One small software company decided […]

Did Nokia make a mistake when it sided with Windows Phone over Android? That’s the question apparently on a lot of minds, following Nokia’s stock plunge and some analysts’ pessimism about the company’s ability to hold off an all-fronts assault by Google Android and Apple’s iPhone. While Nokia recently signed an agreement with Microsoft to […]

Microsoft seems keen to keep its manufacturing partners on a tight leash when it comes to tablets, according to a new Wall Street Journal report. That June 1 article, based on discussions with unnamed “people familiar with the matter,” suggests that Microsoft wants five chip-makers to each pair with a single tablet manufacturer. The chip […]

Sometime this fall, Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT) will push its “Mango” software update to Windows Phones. That in itself doesn’t seem like terribly exciting news-smartphone software is updated all the time, either in the name of improving features or patching some sort of vulnerability in the code. But Mango is more of a total revamp, adding some […]

Should Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer be shown the door? Greenlight Capital hedge-fund manager David Einhorn thinks so. “His continued presence is the biggest overhang on Microsoft’s stock,” he told a recent New York investment-research conference, according to Reuters. He also suggested it was time to “give someone else a chance” at the technology giant’s helm. […]