Why is IBM so keen on acquisitions in my state, Massachusetts?
If you looked at a map of IBM’s local operations and software acquisitions—17 in Massachusetts since 2003, out of a total of 60 worldwide—you might think the company’s headquarters was in Massachusetts, not New York. Between its recently opened Mass Lab in Littleton and Westford, MA (the firm’s biggest software development lab in North America), its research center in Cambridge, and its innovation center in Waltham, IBM certainly has been on the move in New England. And just last week, the company said it is acquiring Waltham-based OpenPages for an undisclosed sum.
So why is Massachusetts such a big deal for Big Blue?
- Xconomy
Why move your servers when you can “virtually” move them? Geography doesn’t matter if you virtualize.
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) relocated its data centers to North Carolina. Instead of relocating 250 servers, they leveraged the opportunity to create a virtual infrastructure.
“Rather than physically transport all those servers down to Durham and then rebuild the infrastructure, we decided to create a virtual infrastructure in the new location,” says Ranny Dey, director of IT operations at AICPA.
- read the White Paper at RWW
In a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cary Institute aquatic ecologist Dr. Emma Rosi-Marshall and colleagues report that streams throughout the Midwestern Corn Belt are receiving insecticidal proteins that originate from adjacent genetically modified crops. The protein enters streams through runoff and when corn leaves, stalks, and plant parts are washed into stream channels.
...Using these data, U.S. Department of Agriculture land cover data, and GIS modeling, the authors found that all of the stream sites with detectable Cry1Ab insecticidal proteins were located within 500 meters of a corn field. Furthermore, given current agricultural land use patterns, 91% percent of the streams and rivers throughout Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana —some 159,000 miles of waterways—are also located within 500 meters of corn fields.
- press release
The Ryder Cup security team will be using 3D mapping (so the source says) to track officers during the golfing event.
Gwent will be one the first police forces in the UK to use 3D mapping technology to help them co-ordinate the mammoth operation of the Ryder Cup, allowing officers to track each other’s position and respond to any security alerts quickly.
The system was developed by Cassidian – formerly known as EADS Defence & Security – and will provide senior officers with a 3D map of the Celtic Manor site.
- Wales Online
The folks in Memphis, TN are wondering why they are not on the charging map for the new Leaf.
Nissan corporate PR spokesperson, Tracy Woodard, explained the placement of the charging network like this, “The EV project, which is a department of energy project, is only Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga—however we’re focusing on home charging in those areas, so people that buy a LEAF in Memphis will be able to buy home chargers.”
- ABC24
Gavin Newsom, mayor of SF wants to claim Foursquare as from his city. But alas, it’s from NY, NY. He made the slip at a TechCrunch event.
- The New York Observer
