[Update below] Because CityTime worked out so well, our mayor has decided to try his hand at another massive attempt to streamline city infrastructure. IBM has just landed a $100 million, five-year NYC Citywide IT Infrastructure Services (CITIServ) contract. Meant to centralize and update data centers at 50 city agencies as well "provide better security and improve efficiency," the contract should, in layman's terms, take the city's servers "to the cloud." Just don't let this cloud rain where it shouldn't—OK Bloomberg? more ›

IBM has been playing a dangerous game—they've spent the last four years creating Watson, a super computer that was built for one terrifying purpose: to crush humanity at Jeopardy! Well, it wasn't actually made just for Jeopardy!, but IBM has decided to test out its giant toaster in that forum. Watson had his first test run today, defeating two of the game's most dominant champions, Ken Jennings (who holds the title for the most consecutive Jeopardy! wins) and Brad Rutter (who holds the title for the most money won on Jeopardy!), during a practice round at IBM's research headquarters in Yorktown Heights, NY. We'll see just how well the calculator does away from home turf when the three meet again for keeps on TV in February. Until then, watch some grainy footage of our robot overlord in action below: more ›

A new study from IBM has released the first Global Commuter Pain study today, surveying drivers in 20 cities across six continents about their rush hour commutes. Though commuters worldwide say that congestion has gotten worse in the past three years, New York ranked relatively low on the list of cities with bad traffic. more ›

According to a new study of 16 cities from IBM, NYC office workers have spent 5.9 years stuck in an elevator. The number spikes to 22.5 when taking into account waiting for elevators. We bet this study would have been really skewed if this guy was included. more ›

A Canadian IBM employee lost her disability benefits after the insurance company checked out her Facebook profile. According to the Daily News, "Nathalie Blanchard was diagnosed with depression and granted leave from her job at IBM in Bromont, Que." a year and a half ago. She received monthly benefits until Manulife deemed "the pictures Blanchard posted to her private Facebook account prove she is no longer depressed. One showed her having fun at a Chippendales show, another at her birthday party and a third on a beach holiday." Blanchard said she has the same problems—plus her doctor told her she needs fun—and her lawyer said, "I don't think for judging a mental state that Facebook is a very good tool." more ›

Daily Intel noticed how Robert Moffatt, the IBM executive arrested in the insider trading ring with Galleon Group head Raj Rajaratnam, seems like a fun guy. According to Bloomberg News, Moffatt, once in line to be future IBM CEO, Moffatt would start meetings with "This Day in History" trivia and utilized costumes to boost morale: "He once told workers in the Raleigh office that if the division turned a profit in one quarter, he would wear a kilt at a company event. When it did, he kept his promise. He once dressed up in a sumo-wrestler suit at a conference." more ›