ibm

Hardware

IBM 305 RAMAC: The Grandaddy Of Modern Hard Drives

11:20AM Kyle VanHemert | The IBM 305 RAMAC, which debuted in 1956, was the first computer with a hard drive. It was 1.5sq m, weighed over a ton, and had to be transported by plane. But it sure as Hell beat punch cards. More »
Science

IBM Develops Infinitely Recyclable Plant-Based Plastic

3:00PM Kyle VanHemert | Earlier this week, IBM researchers announced a discovery that could lead to plastics made from plants instead of petroleum. The new plastics will be more energy efficient, more versatile, and infinitely recyclable (until we move to our space colony). More »
Science

Silicon Nanophotonics Make Your Gadgets Run Faster, Consume Less

8:00AM Jesus Diaz | IBM is replacing copper wiring with an avalanche of photons and electrons. They are now transmitting data streams between circuits at the nanophotonic level. Speed: 40Gbps. Power supply: Just 1.5 volts. This video explain how it works. More »
Phones

The Terrifying Future Of Augmented Shopping

4:44AM Kyle VanHemert | Online retail is nothing new, but now brick and mortar stores want to get in on the high-tech action. The New York Times has a somewhat disquieting look at new technologies that will let you shop ’til your signal drops. More »
Science

IBM’s 100GHz Graphene Transistor Might Replace Silicon Someday

4:00AM Jack Loftus | We know graphene is tough stuff, but Big Blue’s discovering the substance makes a great transistor too, to the tune of a record-setting 100GHz. More »
Music

Living In A Gangsta’s An Engineering Paradise

9:20AM Mark Wilson
“You may be thinking that you’re more gangsta than me, but you motherboarders have never seen my PC.” That, and more brilliance, from IBM Fellow John Cohn’s music video, Engineering Paradise. [@IBMResearch]
Hardware

IBM Sets Magnetic Tape Data Density Record: 35TB Of Storage

3:58AM Sean Fallon | IBM and Fujifilm have spent the last three years working to improve magnetic tape data density, and the result is a prototype with a density of 29.5 billion bits per square inch – enough to hold 35TB of data. More »
Software

Heading To The Australian Open? You Need The IBM Seer App

11:26AM Nick Broughall | The IBM Seer app is yet another example of why augmented reality is so damned good. Running on pretty much every GPS-enabled Android phone, the app will let you see information and locations around Melbourne Park using your Android phone’s screen and camera. More »
Business

Microsoft Is The New IBM: Old, Fat And Dull

3:40AM Matt Buchanan | Don Dodge was Microsoft’s champion in the startup community, their connection to the crazy world that gave us Facebook and Twitter. They laid him off a month ago. Now we know what he really thinks about Microsoft. It’s bad. More »
Games

Department Of Defense Buys 2,200 PS3s To Upgrade Supercomputer

3:18PM Rosa Golijan | Apparently the Department of defence believes that PS3 consoles are a better value for supercomputer clusters than IBM products specifically designed for the purpose. Though the recent price drop probably didn’t hurt in justifying a 2,200 console order. More »