Consumers make millions of purchases each year through their phones with systems like Apple Pay, PayPal, Samsung Pay, and other programs. But soon, people might be able to use any number of other connected devices to buy products or pay for services, as IBM and Visa announced a partnership to bring payment systems to a number of “smart” products. [More]
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IBM Working On Robotic Roommate That Helps Elderly Folks Stay Safe
By 12.28.16
While many people would love to live out the rest of their days happily ensconced in their home, living alone is not always the safest option for elderly folks. But because around-the-clock care — either in a nursing home, assisted living, or from a personal nurse — isn’t always feasible, IBM is working on a robot designed to keep an eye on senior citizens and help them stay safe. [More]
16 Companies That Started Out Life With A Different Name
By 8.23.16
They’re names you probably come into contact with every day — Walmart, McDonald’s, Nike, and more — but they were once newcomers on the scene, with names they shed years ago. [More]
Macy’s New App Answers Questions You Used To Ask Store Employees
By 7.20.16
Have you ever walked into a department store, immediately became lost, and, for some unknown reason, you can’t find a sells associate to direct you to the shoe department? These is the kind of information that, traditionally, could be obtained by speaking to a store employee. But why should you speak to an actual human when you can just spend more time staring at your smartphone? [More]
IBM Teaming Up With GoGo To Help Airplane Pilots Avoid Turbulence In Real Time
By 6.17.16
If the word “turbulence” has you grabbing your chair in fear at the mere thought of a bumpy, rollicking airplane ride, there could be relief in sight. IBM has teamed up with in-flight WiFi company GoGo to provide pilots and dispatchers with real-time turbulence reports and alerts. [More]
IBM Lawsuit Accuses Groupon Of Infringing On Its Patents, Including One For Prodigy
By 3.3.16
Do you remember Prodigy, the online service that had many a mid-1990s user surfing the Internet, in the early days of the World Wide Web? IBM sure does, considering it holds patents for that dinosaur of the technological age, and is accusing Groupon of infringing on two patents that grew out of Prodigy, as well as a few others, in a new lawsuit. [More]
IBM Supercomputer Watson Thinks We Won’t Notice Robot Revolution If It Whips Up Its Own BBQ Sauce
By 7.2.14
Nice try, Watson. Yeah, I’m talking to you, and I know you can understand me, Mr. “I’m IBM’s Supercomputer and I went on Jeopardy! and beat two humans so now I think I know everything about being a real live, sentient being, including an in-depth understanding of condiments,” blah blah blah. Stay away from barbecue sauce. Got that? It’s obvious what you’re doing here and I won’t stand for it. [More]
Lenovo Is The “Moneyball” Of Consumer Electronics
By 5.8.14
We have an ongoing joke at Consumerist that Chinese consumer electronics company Lenovo is a massive anti-capitalist prank, not wanting to actually sell gadgets to consumers. Customer service issues aside, this week Bloomberg Businessweek speculates that Lenovo is more savvy than any of us might have thought, assembling a dream team out of cast-off brands and companies that no one else wants. [More]
WellPoint Hiring Jeopardy-Champ Computer To Make Treatment Decisions For Customers
By 9.12.11
We’re sure that most of you were sitting around thinking that the one thing the U.S. health insurance business needs is to be even less human than it is currently. And it looks like the folks at the health insurance behemoth WellPoint have heard those thoughts, because they have decided to “hire” Watson, the IBM supercomputer that beat two humans on Jeopardy earlier this year to help them decide on issues of treatment for policyholders. [More]
Next Up For Watson: Making Cold Callers Obsolete
By 7.7.11
Watson, the Jeopardy-dominating, medical knowledge-slurping IBM supercomputer, has turned its penetrating cyber-gaze toward the ins and outs of sales and customer support. Someday, Watson’s progeny may help you out with software installation and call you during dinner to talk you into applying for a credit card. [More]
Exxon Mobil Is The Most Profitable American Business By A Long Shot
By 5.5.11
This year’s Fortune 500 list is out, and while Walmart’s $421 billion in revenue may have beaten out Exxon Mobil’s paltry $354 billion, the oil giant beat out Big W where it matters most, profits. According to Fortune, the crude colossus made a whopping $30.4 billion in profits last year, nearly double what Walmart made and over $10.5 billion more than the next most profitable company on the list. [More]
IBM Pays $10 Million To Settle Charges It Bribed Asian Governments
By 3.21.11
After the Securities and Exchange Commission accused IBM of bribing officials in Asian countries to secure government contracts over an 11-year period, the company agreed to pay a $10 million settlement. [More]
Iran Bans Coca-Cola, IBM And Other U.S. Brands
By 7.1.10
While U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan are waiting to hear if they’ll get their American fast food faves back, people in Iran who are fans of U.S.-based brands like Coke and IBM are going to have to turn to the black market because the country’s government just isn’t having them anymore. [More]
These Are The Top 10 Brands In The Whole Wide World
By 4.28.10
For five years, the people at BrandZ (you know they’re in branding because of the “Z”) have been evaluating customer opinion and awareness of various global brands, and then putting a dollar value on that evaluation for their annual Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report. Here are the top 10 brands on the BrandZ list. [More]
FTC Sues Intel For Decade Of Illegal Sales Tactics
By 12.17.09
The FTC sued microprocessor giant Intel yesterday, alleging the company had engaged in illegal sales tactics for the past 10 years, relying on backroom strongarming instead of over technical innovation to maintain market dominance. [More]
NY AG: Intel Is An Illegal Monopoly That Uses "Bribery And Coercion"
By 11.4.09
Andrew Cuomo, the Attorney General of New York, has filed a lawsuit against Intel, claiming that the company is an illegal monopoly that engages “in a worldwide, systematic campaign of illegal conduct – revealed in e-mails – in order to maintain its monopoly power and prices in the market for microprocessors.”
New Survey Says Less Than 20% Of Consumers Trust Food Supply
By 6.26.09
Is it any surprise that after the past few years of outbreaks and recalls, almost no one trusts products from food manufacturers anymore? IBM recently completed a survey of shoppers in the 10 largest cities, and found that a lot of consumers want more information than they currently can get about their food choices.
CircuitCity.com Now Allows Returns From HP, IBM and Toshiba
By 6.3.09
CircuitCity.com, newly reincarnated as a Systemax subsidiary, has changed the return policy language that forbid returns from HP, IBM and Toshiba, ZDnet reports. Hooray.
