“It is very nice to see some positive news, not just for IBM but for–to a degree–the tech space overall, given the downdraft we have seen in recent weeks,” Chuck Jones, a technology analyst for Atlantic Trust Private Wealth Management, told Reuters.

IBM said earnings per share were at $2.05 for the quarter, up 22 percent [...]

But what really struck me about Blue Gene is how much it looked like the giant transport ship used by the Jawas in the original Star Wars film–except sleeker and smaller.
The IBM Blue Gene supercomputer at the Oak Ridge National Lab. It is the 74th most-powerful computer on Earth, rated at 28 teraflops.

Messer explained [...]

Cheapskate out. Have a great weekend.
In case you’re new to the Xbox scene, a Live Gold subscription enables you to play games online against others. If you buy one of these cards directly from Microsoft (or, say, Best Buy), it’ll cost you $49.99. You can use the 10 bucks you save to grab a [...]

Intel will introduce the Q9650 Core 2 Quad processor in the third quarter, according to Chinese-language Web site HKEPC, almost halving the price of the current high-end Intel part with similar specifications.
HKEPC also lists price cuts. The quad-core Q9550 (2.83GHz), for example, is slated to drop from $530 to $316 (the upcoming Q9650 will [...]

Tune in (browse in?) to CNET TV at 11:30 a.m. PST Friday for a special edition of Editors’ Office Hours with Brian Tong and me, where we’ll talk all about the 25th anniversary of the
Mac.
We usually do these things on Tuesdays, but figured we’d put together a special one commemorating the Mac, which is [...]

There are seemingly more “livestreaming” services out there than people actually using them, but that hasn’t stopped Ustream.tv from raising $11.1 million in Series A funding. The cash comes from venture firm DCM, as well as existing investors Labrador Ventures and The Band of Angels.

New rivals such as Qik have more streamlined mobile capabilities built [...]

The electoral projection map from FiveThirtyEight.com has Obama winning with 346 electoral votes.

The game shows what the electoral map would look like if the presidential election were held that day, based on the answers given by users of the application. Given the application’s paltry following, the electoral map clearly cannot represent any sort of reality. [...]

In addition, the company said it expects to break even by the end of the quarter. It had hoped to do so in February, but a slowdown in Yahoo search delayed it slightly. The company also receives revenue from maintenance, upfront fees, and other sources.

Brand Thunder lets people customize Firefox with assorted brands.

The company revamps [...]