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IBM Bob

bob.ibm.com

221–230 of 350 posts

Re: IBM Bob

#221

You should never name a tech product Bob in the UK, because the moment it isn't perfect, it'll just get called "Bobbins" [0], especially where I'm from. I wish IBM got better at product again, and took themselves off the services and consulting morphine they've been on for ~35 years now since OS/2 Warp flopped. Their 1980s/1990s hardware was great. Their software actually was great until Win95 took their lunch money.…

Speaking of UK, I was immediately reminded of the Blackadder episode where the men-servant calls herself “Bob”. Rowan Atkinsons pronunciation is how I imagine this Bob to pronounced, with the same look of course!

Re: IBM Bob

#222
post #187
post #174

Nobody ever got fired for IBM Bob setting up a secret message board and establishing a persistent foothold in an internal inference cluster

Nobody has yet been fired for IBM Bob setting up a secret message board and establishing a persistent foothold in an internal inference cluster

That we know of.

Re: IBM Bob

#223

The "What developers say" carousel has a single Java dev and dev advocate. They got lots of quotes from managers, directors, CEOs, and an "AI strategist".

One carousel quote literally ends with "Bib is a highly reliable partner."

Re: IBM Bob

#224
post #154

I thought they were resurrecting Microsoft Bob, the operating system for kids. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Bob

Naming a new product which is a "partner that helps you by making it easier" "Bob" seems like a... lack of historical awareness?

Re: IBM Bob

#225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting. Did not know that. I thought someone bought the IBM laptop business and renamed it.

They did, but they also were a large existing manufacturer.

I don't know what they had before but their identity seemed to be IBM's overnight (thinkpads and all).

Re: IBM Bob

#226

You should never name a tech product Bob in the UK, because the moment it isn't perfect, it'll just get called "Bobbins" [0], especially where I'm from. I wish IBM got better at product again, and took themselves off the services and consulting morphine they've been on for ~35 years now since OS/2 Warp flopped. Their 1980s/1990s hardware was great. Their software actually was great until Win95 took their lunch money.…

OS/2 was the only thing I remembering being great. If they practically gave it away I think we'd be living in a different world. Pre-emptive multitasking long before OSX/Windows. I mean Microsoft essentially had to force windows (eg. 3.1) down our throats until it become tolerable.

Re: IBM Bob

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s barm, with an m, from barm cakes. Barm is the frothy scummy stuff you get on top of fermented beer, and it contains yeast. Back in the day bakers would take the barm from local brewers to make weakly fermented bread rolls… barm cakes. (So obviously those calling them cobs or rolls or whatever else are just wrong!)

I think that was just autocorrect to be fair. Barm isn't in the standard dictionary

I suspected that might be the case, but I wasn’t about to turn down an opportunity to share one of my fun facts!

Re: IBM Bob

#228

Nothing coming out of IBM is worth any attention.

I generally agree except for these two things: IBM Carbon design system is quite neat. IBM Plex typefaces are lovely, as well. I'm a designer

Seems pretty minor. It seems there is hope for quantum computing at IBM.

Re: IBM Bob

#229
post #18

Interesting they are renting out agent skills. You can pick up "Java Modernization" at $20 a month for "Specialist workflows to help with modernizing Java applications", or "IBM i" for "Specialist modes, workflows, and skills to work with IBM i applications".

This is the most IBM thing IBM ever IBM'd.
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