Articles by Nick Kolakowski
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Can Microsoft Survive on a Freemium Model?
When Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer ran Microsoft, profit was king. As far back as 1976, with Gates’ “Open Letter to Hobbyists” memo, the company focused on getting as many dollars as possible in e… -
Amazon's Echo Enters Digital-Assistant Fight
Imagine a device in your home that passively listens to everything you say. In past decades, you might have called such a device a “bug,” and it was probably installed without your knowledge. But… -
Yep, Amazon Goofed on the Fire Phone
Amazon’s vice president of devices in Europe just admitted that the first generation of the company’s Fire Phone hasn’t performed well on the open market. “In an honest assessment of the Fire Pho… -
You Can Bid for Atari's Long-Lost 'E.T.' Game
In the early 1980s, Atari made what seemed like a slam-dunk bet: a game based on E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, one of the most beloved (and highest-grossing) films of all time. The company was so… -
Rare Images of Steve Jobs at NeXT
Documentary filmmaker and photographer Doug Menuez had the opportunity to hang out with Steve Jobs after the latter was forced out of Apple Computer in 1985. That gave him the chance to document… -
Silicon Alley Helps NYC Dig Out of Recession Hole
New York City’s employment has mostly recovered from its Great Recession lows, and “Silicon Alley” might deserve a major portion of the credit. The Wall Street Journal crunched the numbers from t… -
Play 900 Vintage Arcade Games in Your Browser
The Internet Archive, a nonprofit that means to build a comprehensive “Internet library,” hosts a variety of data, from texts and audio to software and archived Web pages. Just as a brick-and-mor… -
Should Google Change Its 'Don't Be Evil' Motto?
For many years, Google has touted an upbeat and idealistic motto: “Don’t be evil.” It came with an equally utopian mission statement about organizing all the world's information and making it acc… -
How Apple Watch Is Like an Ancient Timepiece
Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted during a Q&A at the WSJD Live Conference that the upcoming Apple Watch would need to be charged once a day. Apple had spent the past month playing coy about the Apple… -
IKEA's 'Shining' Spoof Would Make Kubrick Laugh
A few of you may have seen this video already, but in light of Halloween it’s well worth revisiting: Some splendidly twisted soul at IKEA Singapore decided to recreate the more iconic bits of Sta…