Nicholas Kolakowski

Microsoft plans to acquire Internet communications provider Skype for $8.5 billion. Under the terms of the agreement, Skype will transform into a business division within Microsoft, headed by Skype CEO Tony Bates. Skype will support Microsoft products such as Windows Phone and Kinect, and integrate with Microsoft’s already extensive communications portfolio, which includes services such […]

Some 7.5 million Facebook users are younger than 13, according to projections by Consumer Reports. That technically violates the social network’s terms of service for users, who are required to be 13 or older. “Despite Facebook’s age requirements, many kids are using the site who shouldn’t be,” Jeff Fox, Consumer Reports’ technology editor, wrote in […]

Microsoft Acquires Skype Under the terms of the agreement, Skype will become a business division within Microsoft, headed by Skype CEO Tony Bates. Growing Audience Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer cited Skypes rapidly accelerating number of users as a reason behind the unsolicited offer. Skype services will be meshed with a variety of products in Microsofts […]

Apple’s iOS now apparently supports Amazon’s cloud-based music service. Specifically, Amazon’s Cloud Player now works when used on the iOS version of Safari. “You’ll first hit a warning page telling you that your browser is not supported, but just ignore that,” reads a note posted May 7 by the blog TechCrunch. “Click into the music […]

Apple has toppled Google as the world’s most valuable brand, according to a new study. Research agency Millward Brown’s sixth annual BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study calculates a particular brand’s value via a three-step valuation process. According to a report accompanying the study, the firm isolates the percentage of company earnings “generated […]

Windows Phone’s upcoming “Mango” update will add some previously unannounced features, according to an online report. The Windows Phone Dev Podcast interviewed Brandon Watson, director of developer experience for Windows Phone, as part of a podcast posted May 8. In the course of the show, it was revealed that the Mango update (also known as […]

Hewlett-Packard has unveiled a new series of laptops that seem tailor-made for the “post PC” era, with ultra-portable designs and access to a prepaid 3G mobile broadband service. The unveiling dovetails with rumors of HP’s plans to offer a larger set of cloud services, courtesy of a note accidentally posted (and later retracted) on the […]

Microsoft’s week was all about mobile: patches, alliances and snafus. On May 3, the company issued its first-ever security advisory for Windows Phone 7, related to fraudulent SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates. Back in March, attackers requested nine digital certificates from Comodo, an entity that issues them, and managed to retrieve one before the account […]

Microsoft refuses to break out exact numbers for how many Windows Phone 7 devices have sold to consumers. This was somewhat understandable in the first weeks and months following the smartphone platform’s release in late 2010. Instead of following in the path of Apple and Google, both of which like to periodically announce how many […]

It hasn’t been the best couple weeks for Research In Motion. Despite hints of respectable sales numbers for its newly released PlayBook tablet, the company faced substantial criticism from tech pundits over the device’s lack of applications and (some claim) unfinished feel. On top of that, new rumors suggest that Sprint’s 4G-enabled version of the […]

Osama bin Laden’s death at the hands of a Navy SEAL team proved very good for news and media Websites, according to research firm Experian Hitwise. “The daily visits to News & Media Websites reached a three-year high for the second time this year on Monday, May 2, 2011, following the announcement of the death […]

Barnes & Noble plans to unveil a new e-reader device May 24, according to the company’s latest filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “In a meeting with investor analysts on May 4, 2011, Barnes & Noble, Inc. … indicated it expects to make an announcement on May 24, 2011 regarding the launch of a […]