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...is a weblog about the liberal arts 2.0 edited by Jason Kottke since March 1998 (archives). You can read about me and kottke.org here. If you've got questions, concerns, or interesting links, send them along.

4 kottke.org posts about ibm

 

The original IBM ThinkPad

A promotional notepad given away by IBM was the inspiration for the computer giant's popular ThinkPad.

Think. Pad.

Update: And inspired directly by the brown leather cover of the notepad, the ThinkPad Reserve collection. (thx, saket)

By Jason Kottke  •  Oct 2, 2009  •  IBM

You know what's dumb about the "SoAndSo

You know what's dumb about the "SoAndSo Company is the Next Google" headlines. But do you know what's *really* dumb about the "SoAndSo Company is the Next Google" headlines? Before Google became the company whose success everyone was chasing, it was Microsoft. Before that, it was IBM. That's it, three companies since 1960. What are the chances it's going to happen again anytime soon? (Nothing against Etsy, but this is the one that set me off.)

By Jason Kottke  •  Feb 25, 2008  •  Google   ibm   Microsoft

Following up on why HAL sings "Daisy,

Following up on why HAL sings "Daisy, Daisy" in 2001: A Space Odyssey", Lee Hartsfeld found a 1961 record with the Bell Labs recording on it at a junk shop for $10.

By Jason Kottke  •  Apr 28, 2006  •  2001   arthurclarke   computing   ibm   movies   music   Stanley Kubrick

Why does HAL sing "Daisy, Daisy" in 2001: A Space Odyssey?

In 1962, Arthur C. Clarke was touring Bell Labs when he heard a demonstration of a song sung by an IBM 704 computer programmed by physicist John L. Kelly. The song, the first ever performed by a computer, was called "Daisy Bell", more commonly known as "Bicycle Built for Two" or "Daisy, Daisy". When Clarke collaborated with Stanley Kubrick on 2001: A Space Odyssey, they had HAL sing it while Dave powered him down.

A clip of a 1963 synthesized computer speech demonstration by Bell Labs featuring "Daisy Bell" was included on an album for the First Philadelphia Computer Music Festival. You can listen to it (it's the last track) and the rest of the album at vintagecomputermusic.com. (via mark)

Update: A reader just reminded me that HAL may have been so named because each letter is off by one from IBM, although Arthur C. Clarke denies this. (thx, justin)

By Jason Kottke  •  Apr 25, 2006  •  2001   arthurclarke   computing   ibm   movies   music   Stanley Kubrick

Justin reports on his family's results of

Justin reports on his family's results of a neat project called the Geneographic Project, co-produced by National Geographic and IBM. If you purchase a testing kit, they'll trace the specific genetic markers of your ancestors back to (possibly) our common African root.

By Jason Kottke  •  Feb 21, 2006  •  biology   geneographicproject   genetics   ibm   nationalgeographic   science

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