Computing and Computers

choi

(1) Steve Lohr, IBM Mainframe Evolves to Serve the Digital World. New York Times, Aug 28, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/2 ... -digital-world.html
(new model enterprise EC12)

Quote:

"The sale of mainframe  computers accounts for only about 4 percent of IBM’s revenue these days. Yet the mainframe is a vital asset to I.B.M. because of all the business that flows from it. When all the mainframe-related software, services and storage are included, mainframe technology delivers about 25 percent of IBM’s revenue and more than 40 percent of its profits, estimates A M Sacconaghi, an analyst at Sanford C Bernstein.

"The IBM mainframe story offers a glimpse of why manufacturing can be crucial to an American company — and to the economy as a whole — even though high-end manufacturing does not employ large numbers of factory workers. * * * Mainframe parts are are produced in I.B.M. facilities in the United States, in Endicott, NY, and Fishkill, NY, and in Germany and elsewhere. The final assembly work is done in Poughkeepsie, NY, where IBM opened a $30 million mainframe plant in 2010.

Note:
(a) For "big-iron computer," see big iron (computing)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_iron_(computing)
(b) Fishkill (town), New York
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fishkill_(town),_New_York
(The name derives from the Dutch "vis kill," meaning "fish creek")


(2) Quentin Hardy, Amazon Reshapes Computing. New York Times, Aug 28, 2012
(Amazon's cloud computing g for rent, through its Amazon Web Services division; "Amazon's efforts are just the start of a global competition among computing giants. In June, Google fully introduced a service similar to AWS. Microsoft is also in the business with its offering, Windows Azure")

My comment:
(a) This is about a company's cloud computing on a grand scale.
(b) There is no need to read the rest.

(3) Lorraine Luk, Apple's Top Supplier Raises Workers' Salaries. Wall Street Journal, Aug 27, 2012
("Apple Inc's major supplier, Hon Thai Precision Industry Co, said Friday it has raised basic salary by 16% for its production-line workers in Zhengzhou, in China's Heenan province. Hon Thai said it made the move because it has difficulty recruiting labor in the area. Hon HI, known for its trade name Foxconn, also said it has reduced the probation period for all entry-level employees to three months from six months in China as part of its continued effort to improve working conditions. The company assembles iPads and I phones")