Former CEO Steve Ballmer describes Microsoft as a "two-and-half trick pony" to describe its success despite missing on the mobile trend during a talk at the Oxford Saïd Business School.

"Most tech companies fail," Ballmer says. "They are zero-trick ponies. They never do anything well and they go away. You are a genius in the industry if you are a one-trick pony. You get some innovation right and then spin it. I am very proud of the fact that [Microsoft] has done at least two tricks. Tricks are worth billions and billions and billions of dollars."

What are the "tricks" Ballmer speaks of? The first is the modern Windows-and-Office PC. The second is "bringing microprocessor technology into the data centre," while the Xbox counts as half a trick.

Feel like munching on Creole shrimp-lamp dumpling or an Austrian chocolate burrito? If you're wondering who'd come up with such dishes, get this-- these recipes, and more, were actually created by IBM and its "cognitive computer."

Cognitive computers are machines designed to approximate the workings of the human mind. A leader in the field (having been working on the subject with DARPA since 2008), Big Blue clearly wanted to have some fun through a collaboration with the Institute of Culinary Education it calls "cognitive cooking."

Cognitive cooking is like a search engine on steroids. The chef enters a key ingredient and a couple of parameters (for example, "lobster" and "Thai"), and the system crunches through big data sets to come up with a never-made-before recipe. The result? Swiss-Thai asparagus quiche, Turkish bruschetta and Portugese lobster rolls.

HP reports improvements for the first fiscal quarter ending 31 January 2014, with all but flat net earnings of $28.2 billion (-1% Y-o-Y decline) thanks to better-than-expected enterprise PC and server sales.

The company generated cash flow worth $3bn during the quarter, up 17% Y-o-Y.

"The progress we're making is reflected in growth across several parts of our portfolio, the growing strength of our balance sheet, and the strong support we're receiving from customers and channel partners," CEO Meg Whitman says. "Innovation is igniting our comeback, and at a time when many of our competitors are confronting new challenges, two years of turnaround work is setting us up for an exciting future."

Innodisk launches a memory module range equipped with conformal coatings to provide protection against moisture, dust and chemical contaminants, thus allowing normal operation even in extreme environments.

Conformal coatings consist of a chemical layer on the surface of the DRAM module creating a protective film around components. The coating protects against moisture, contaminants, dust and acid or alkaline materials, as well as issues caused by electrical or thermal conduction, static electricity and heat.

After Google recently unlocked its Chromecast software development kit (SDK), Brightcove Once now enables publishers to deliver personalized advertising in streams delivered to Chromecast viewers.

“Chromecast has quickly become one of the top three selling electronics devices on Amazon and offers some of the most popular online entertainment options, including Netflix, YouTube, Hulu Plus and Google Play movies and music, with new apps coming on board at a rapid pace,” says AJ McGowan, Brightcove’s chief technology officer. “Broadcasters and content owners that want to quickly take advantage of Chromecast can now leverage Brightcove Once to deliver premium video content streams that include targeted advertising.” Read more...

IBM is "exploring" the sale of its semiconductor manufacturing facility The Financial Times reports, and has already appointed Goldman Sachs to sniff out potential buyers.

Unnamed "people familiar with the matter" also add Big Blue does not rule out a joint venture possibility. The actual value of the chip-making business is unknown.

“It is a step away from their heritage,” Moor Insights and Strategy tells the FT. “This is probably their biggest strategic realignment for 20 years.” Other analysts insists own silicon is what gives IBM the edge in the development of advanced systems such as Watson and other mission/business critical machines.