Articles by Nick Kolakowski

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  Key to Big Data in 2014: Stay Skeptical

  [caption id="attachment_15099" align="aligncenter" width="500"] "My crystal ball says we're all hosed in 2014."[/caption] It’s that magical time of year again, when the nation’s analysts begin to…
• Dell Adds to Chromebook Momentum

  [caption id="attachment_15076" align="aligncenter" width="618"] "Keep smiling, or the modeling agency won't pay us."[/caption] Dell plans on rolling out a Chromebook in January 2014, aimed at the…
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  HP’s Latest Converged-Systems Offerings Target Big Data

  [caption id="attachment_14948" align="aligncenter" width="500"] HP's hoping companies will stock their datacenters with its "stack."[/caption] Hewlett-Packard isn’t the only tech giant attempting…
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  Google Patents Method for Imitating You Online

  [caption id="attachment_14884" align="aligncenter" width="507"] This system can do a better online you than you.[/caption] Tech companies file lots of patents for outlandish concepts—it serves as…
• Microsoft's NSA 'Transparency' Push Remains Pretty Opaque

  Microsoft will encrypt consumer data and make its software code more transparent, in a bid to boost consumer confidence in its security. “Like many others, we are especially alarmed by recent all…
• Spotify Royalties: Still Iffy, Especially for Indies

  [caption id="attachment_14721" align="aligncenter" width="618"] Spotify's revenues chart.[/caption] Despite its popularity among listeners, it’s questionable whether the streaming-music model is…
• What Does Apple Want With Topsy?

  [caption id="attachment_14709" align="aligncenter" width="618"] Topsy analytics.[/caption] Apple has purchased social-analytics firm Topsy for $200 million—but why? Unlike Apple’s other acquisiti…
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  BlackBerry Ejects Its C-Suite

  When BlackBerry announced Nov. 25 that virtually all of its C-suite executives would depart the company, Twitter and the tech media exploded with jokes about rats abandoning sinking ships. But th…
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  Sony, Microsoft Claim Strong First-Day Console Sales

  [caption id="attachment_14524" align="aligncenter" width="618"] A shot from Microsoft's "Halo" game for the Xbox One.[/caption] The Sony vs. Microsoft console wars are the equivalent of a fightin…
• Virgin Galactic Now Taking Bitcoin for Suborbital Flights

  [caption id="attachment_14459" align="aligncenter" width="618"] Wheeee.[/caption] Despite Bitcoin’s growing popularity, the venues where you can actually spend the virtual currency still remain r…