ibm

Facebook's patent spree: There's more where that came from

When a company with nearly limitless resources shows itself ready to spend whatever is necessary to beef up its intellectual property portfolio, patent challengers have added incentive to seek out easier fights elsewhere.

So it is that Facebook is again putting its very deep pockets to work, adding a new clutch of patents from Microsoft to an earlier trove it acquired from IBM. The message to Yahoo and beyond is clear: Do you want to get into a spending war with a company whose deep pockets are about to get a lot deeper? In other words, there's a lot … Read more

IBM speeds push for 500-mile EV battery

Ten years from now, range anxiety for electric cars could be a thing of the past.

IBM today announced two partners for a project aimed at building a lithium air battery able to propel an electric car 500 miles. Scientists from Asahi Kasei and Central Glass with expertise in membranes and electrolyte chemistries will join IBM researchers on the initiative.

Called the Battery 500 Project, the goal is to design an "air-breathing" battery that will use oxygen from the air to drive a new type of battery chemical reaction and, in the process, deliver a big jump in … Read more

IBM reports sales light, but sees strong earnings outlook

IBM's first quarter was a mixed bag relative to expectations.

Big Blue reported first quarter earnings of $3.1 billion, or $2.61 a share, on revenue of $24.7 billion, a tally that was flat from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings were $2.78 a share. Wall Street was looking for earnings of $2.65 a share on revenue of $24.77 billion.

The company raised its 2012 earnings outlook to $14.27 a share from at least $14.16 a share. Non-GAAP earnings will hit at least $15 a share, up from IBM's previous outlook of $14.85 a share.

Wall Street was looking for earnings of $14.94 a share for 2012. … Read more

IBM brings smart charging to Honda Fit EVs

To a computer company like IBM, plug-in electric vehicles just look like more nodes on the network.

IBM tomorrow is expected to announce a demonstration project with Honda and California utility Pacific Gas & Electric to charge a fleet of Honda Fit EVs without disrupting the grid.

The smart-charging project will also test smartphone and Web-based apps for consumers, giving them an estimate of charge time and location of charging stations.

The power grid as a whole has the capacity to accommodate millions of plug-in vehicles, say experts. But if there's a concentration of electric cars charging at once, … Read more

IBM touts automation in PureSystems

IBM on Wednesday launched a new family of data center building blocks called PureSystems. The aim is offer integrated systems that have expertise to automate maintenance, anticipate computing requirements, and scale servers, storage, and networking resources as needed.

The idea of an integrated system isn't unique, but IBM's twist is that it will be more flexible with PureSystems -- four supported operating systems and five virtualization hypervisors -- and build in knowhow from its research team and services engagements.

"These systems operate with a single pane of glass, support multiple architectures, OSes, and hypervisors all with cloud … Read more

IBM-patented floor could detect a heart attack, call the cops

File this under the bizarre but potentially life-saving category of new tech: an intelligent floor that knows who is doing what on a given surface, and can alert police or first responders in the event of an intrusion or medical emergency.

IBM, which filed for a patent describing such a system in February 2009, is now, just more than three years later, the proud holder of said patent. What it does with it remains to be seen, but the initial vision is clear.

From the patent abstract, IBM reports on an approach that "uses an electronic multitouch floor covering that has numerous sensors to identify shapes."… Read more

For IBM CEO, is golf's sexism on par with the tech world's?

While you might be enjoying eating various confections of bunny this weekend, IBM's CEO, Virginia Rometty, has to wear casual business attire and mix with men for whom she is an unwelcome species.

For Rometty's company, you see, sponsors the U.S. Masters. The U.S. Masters tournament is played at the charming Augusta National Golf Club. And the Augusta National Golf Club hasn't -- as far as we know-- invited Rometty to join.

It's not that Augusta has anything against IBM's fine CEOs. The last four have all been offered club membership. It's … Read more

IBM thinks exascale for massive Astron telescope

IBM and Astron, a Netherlands-based astronomy organization, plan to develop an exascale computer system that will form the backbone of the largest and most sensitive radio telescope.

This exascale system will be designed for low-power usage and plug into the international Square Kilometre Array (SKA). SKA will be built out with the help of astronomers from more than 20 countries. The telescope will have millions of antennas and have a collection area of about one square kilometer. SKA will also be able to scan the width of the continental United States.

Under a 5-year, 32.9 million euro ($43.9 … Read more

Misplaced data leave 800,000 Californians exposed

Electronic files containing the names, Social Security numbers, and other private data about 800,000 California adults and children were there one minute. And the next, they were gone.

Four computer storage devices containing data from California's Department of Child Services were lost during transport between Boulder, Colo., and Sacramento, Calif., earlier this month, the Associated Press reported earlier today. The data was brought to an offsite location to test the department's ability to cope with a disaster and included a test of whether the data could be managed remotely.

The test itself was apparently successful, with IBM … Read more