When 
you’re creating a new way of storing and processing data for global business infrastructure, a little fun can go a long way toward relieving the pressure. No one knows that better than Doug Cutting, chief architect of Cloudera and one of the creators of the curiously named Hadoop.
When he was creating the open source software that supports the processing of large data sets, Cutting knew the project would need a good name. Fortunately, he had one up his sleeve—thanks to his son.
Just 
a few years ago, meteorologists regularly shared an inside joke about forecasts: Anything beyond three days is a guess.
But on the heels of this week’s disastrous tornadoes in Moore, Okla., and Hurricane Sandy last October, it has never been more critical to be able to forecast long-range events. Big data analysis is turning the guesswork of yesterday’s meteorology into a more precise and predictive science.
With 
news last week that U.S. authorities had seized assets of the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, traders and other people interested in the digital currency are looking nervously at the future.
Bitcoins have always operated outside of the established financial system, so does the action by the Department of Homeland Security signal the start of a movement to regulate the field? And if so, how will the people who use the virtual currency react?
Chanel 
Preston knows not everyone approves of her chosen profession. That’s one of the risks that go with being one of the biggest stars in porn. But she never thought it would affect her ability to open a bank account.
Preston recently opened a business account with City National Bank in Los Angeles. When she went to deposit checks into the account days later, however, she was told it had been shut down, due to “compliance issues.”
On 
Wednesday, Microsoft confirmed the worst-kept secret in the video game world: It plans to unveil its next generation console on May 21.
Like Sony’s PlayStation 4, the new console is expected to hit stores this holiday season and many analysts and investors are hanging their hopes on the new machines to kickstart the video game industry back into growth mode.
Electronic 
Arts, once the videogame industry’s biggest independent publisher, has laid off hundreds of employees as it continues to struggle.
EA confirmed the layoffs Thursday in its corporate blog, but declined to put a number on how many employees were affected. Sources within the company say the cutbacks were significant, though were lower than some media reports, which placed the number at 1,000 or higher.
High 
tech is going high fashion.
With Google distributing its first sets of Google Glass eyewear and observers eagerly awaiting confirmation that Apple is working on a smartwatch, proponents of wearable technology are looking further down the road. And they’re pretty excited about what they see in terms of the potential for profit and disruption to the personal technology world.
In 
2003, Nokia had a plan.
Recognizing the enormous market the Nintendo Game Boy Advance was attracting—and being cognizant enough to realize that mobile games at the time were, frankly, terrible— the company unleashed the N-Gage, a cellphone capable of playing video games that had a graphical quality previously unseen on mobile devices.
The idea was sound—but the reception wasn’t exactly what they expected. The N-Gage was jeered by gamers (its intended audience). Web pages mocking its taco-shaped design quickly became an Internet sensation. And reviews were harsh. A redesigned model came out a year later, but it was too late. The N-Gage eventually became yet another disruptive technology that failed to connect with its audience.
When 
Electronic Arts bought social games maker Playfish for $300 million—plus a $100 million buyout—in 2009, it sent shock waves throughout the videogame industry. Spurred by growing speculation about the value of then-private Zynga, some tech pros say it was the beginning of a bubble for developers who specialize in Facebook games.
On Monday, EA once again surprised the tech world – this time by announcing plans to axe several games on the social network, including The Sims Social, SimCity Social and Pet Society. When those titles shut down on June 14, Playfish may not have any active games—thus raising questions about its fate. (EA declined to discuss the future of Playfish, saying it was “not commenting on individual teams.”)
Not 
too long ago, bitcoin was almost exclusively the legal tender of hackers. Today, thanks in part to the Cyprus bailout saga, it’s on the radars of investors everywhere.
While the digital currency has been around since 2009, it has largely stayed in the background—occasionally jumping onto people’s radars, but usually fading away just as fast.
Chris Morris: Journalist 