Posted by
Kevin Winterfield in
IBM's Watson Goes to School: IBM scientist, Dr. David Ferrucci, (left) coaches Will Zhang of Carnegie Mellon University and Danielle Arbogast of the University of Pittsburgh in a Jeopardy! test game against IBM's Watson computer in Pittsburgh, PA. The first Watson University Symposium assembled university students and faculty to brainstorm ways Watson technology could benefit society.
It’s hard to beat IBM Watson. Both in game play and in stimulating thought about what’s next.
While students from Carnegie-Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh played a demonstration match with Watson in front of a capacity crowd for fun (final score: Watson: 52,199, Pitt: 12,937, Carnegie Mellon: 7,463), the first Watson University Symposium streamed live across the world from the People for a Smarter Planet and IBM Watson Facebook pages was more focused on how the technology could be applied to benefit society – for example, in the area of healthcare.
If you missed the live stream, you can view replays below. Continue Reading »
Posted by
Guest in
By Tom Cross, threat intelligence manager, IBM X-Force
The IBM X-Force Trend & Risk Report, issued today put a big spotlight on the evolving, sophisticated face of cyber crime.
IBM documented more than 8,000 new vulnerabilities, a 27 percent rise from 2009. Public exploit releases were also up 21 percent from 2009 to 2010. This data points to an expanding threat landscape in which sophisticated attacks are being launched against increasingly complex computing environments.
From Stuxnet to Zeus Botnets to mobile exploits, 2010 will go down as a year where we witnessed a widening variety of attack methodologies popping up each day, The numerous, high-profile targeted attacks shed light on a crop of highly sophisticated cyber criminals, who may be well-funded and operating with knowledge of security vulnerabilities that no one else has. Continue Reading »
Posted by
Guest in
By Dr. James Holly, CEO, Southeast Texas Medical Associates
I don’t expect you to know what the number 8,760 means, but I’ll tell you. It’s the number of hours in a year. As a primary care doctor for over 30 years and the CEO of a private practice, I can tell you that if you are a patient who requires a lot of care, you are likely being seen by a physician maybe one or two hours a week, and that doesn’t amount to very much when you consider the total hours in 365 days. So what does that mean? Who is in charge of managing your health for most of those 8,760 hours in a year? The answer is you. Continue Reading »
Posted by
Chris Luongo in
For a century, no matter what kinds of relationships people have sought with IBM, they have often been drawn less
to particular products, services or strategies than to certain qualities of IBM’s people – such as a unique ability to conceptualize opportunities and to tackle and overcome grand challenges … the distinctive way in which IBMers “Think.”
Several of IBM’s 100 Icons of Progress – ideas, inventions and events that have transformed a century – tell these stories, and show how IBM’s culture is manifest in how its people approach problems, as well as the types of problems they choose to approach.
Posted by
Kevin Winterfield in
UPDATE: Replays are now available here.
Watch the Watson University Symposium with Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh at CMU on Wednesday, March 30 LIVE at www.livestream.com/IBMWatson.
The schedule is below. All times in EST. Continue Reading »
Posted by
Guest in
by Tamin Pechet
A CNN reporter recently tweeted that CNN’s “investigation into outrageous water bills topped Charlie Sheen on CNN.com.”
Water has long been out of sight and out of mind for most Americans. Now, however, with water needs growing increasingly acute, higher bills aren’t the only issue gaining attention. Continue Reading »
13:37
Posted by
Kevin Winterfield in
Startups should apply now for SmartCamp Startup Competitions near them
With the SXSW Accelerator startup competition in our rear-view mirrors, it’s time to look ahead to the 2011 Global SmartCamp Startup Competition starting next month.
This program, sponsored by the IBM Global Entrepreneur group, takes the competition concept massively global, with 9 competitions in 8 countries throughout the year, and a World Finals Competition happening at the end of the year.
Startups should apply now, limited slots
The first two competitions will be in Bangalore, India and Austin, Texas USA. If you’re a startup and you’re interested in competing, I highly recommend you apply asap as demand for the limited number of slots is always very high. You can apply here.
2011 Global SmartCamp Startup Competition Full Schedule:
- Bangalore, India – April 27
- Austin, Texas – May 17, 18
- Barcelona, Spain – June 14
- New York, New York – June 28, 29
- London, UK – September
- Tel Aviv, Israel – September
- Istanbul, Turkey – October
- China – November
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – November
Past winners get noticed and $$
Overall winner from 2010, Streetline, was recently featured in a story and video in USA Today. And Sproxil, last year’s winner in Boston, announced a few days ago that it has recieved $1.8 million in additional investor funding.
Have questions?
If you’re a startup and you have questions about the 2011 Global SmartCamp Startup Competitions, please post them here and I’ll answer them for you. And remember to apply now. (Don’t wait until the last minute.)
Posted by
Guest in
by Mark Anzani
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
In 1959, the Cold War was brewing, Fidel Castro had taken over power in Cuba, and “Ben-Hur” won the Academy Award for best picture. And IBM introduced a new mainframe.
But not just any mainframe. This was the 1401 Data Processing System. The system that unleashed computing within corporations. Smaller, more durable, more affordable. The 1401 transformed a global culture of work, providing businesses with the world’s first electronic, stored program computer that could replace punched card information processing systems.
As IBM has learned during the 100 years of its existence, computing breakthroughs often take a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes to create a system that is more powerful and yet easier to use. First, the 1401 was one of the first computers to run completely on transistors — not vacuum tubes — making it more compact and dependable. But more importantly, through innovative advances in stored programming, the 1401 did away with the complex, time-consuming, and above all expensive plugboard: the spaghetti-like array of cords and plugs that up until then told machines what to do. It also used magnetic tape for input, output, and extra storage.
These advances combined to create the Continue Reading »
The Smarter Planet iPhone and The Social Business iPhone apps have been updated with a new feature, called Pic Stories, based on IBMer Chris Luongo’s wonderful How It Works series of videos and posters, such as his most recent effort for Smarter Commerce. This browsable album is just one of several features, including this blog, the Smarter Planet Tumblr site and the People for a Smarter Planet site on Facebook.
The Social Business app also include a new feature: The IBM Expert Network on Slideshare, which brings together some of the best presentations from dozens of IBMers – Tiffany Winman, Adam Christensen, Sacha Chua, Luis Benitez, Delphine Remy-Boutang to name just a few, sharing their knowledge and experience across a wide range of topics.
Meanwhile, the Android apps for Smarter Planet and The Social Business are now available on the new Amazon App Store, and through the Amazon App Store app. And new versions of the Smarter Planet and Social Business “mobile site shortcuts” for Blackberries are in the Blackberry App Store now.
