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On June 16th, 1911, the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (C-T-R) was founded, later changing its name to IBM in 1924.

The company has been an innovating force behind thousands of different products, including floppy disks, the technology behind Social Security and more recently, the AI "Watson" computer.

IBM's vice president of innovation says the company is still around due to its development of tech that contributes to society, as well as the company's openness to risky projects.

Says VP Bernie Meyerson:

We just had an incredible 100-year run because we never lost site of how important it is to innovate. The fact is, innovation comes in all shapes and sizes. We practiced diversity long before it was a legal requirement because we value it [and] it does enable us to be innovative.

It's a long way from a cheese slicer to changing the entire infrastructure of a nation. You have to have this broad spectrum because it gives you vision. To avoid these disasters that befall companies where they literally vanish overnight, you have to have your eyes open, constantly looking about. It is possible to live that length of time, but you have to reinvent yourself on an almost daily basis.

The first official "Chromebook" has gone on sale in the United States today, via Samsung.

ChromeOS-based netbooks do not have standard operating systems like Windows or Mac, but instead run on browser-based apps via the Google Chrome browser.

Google has long claimed that ChromeOS will revolutionize portable computing as it eliminates the need for possibly resource intensive apps like anti-virus software and physical hardware like optical drives.

Currently, however, many developers have yet to create apps that are popular for Windows, Mac and Linux for Chrome OS, as the operating system is still in its infant stage.

The Samsung Chromebook sells for $429 (Wi-Fi-only) or $499 (Wi-Fi/3G).

Samsung's model will have a 12.1-inch display, 1280x800 resolution, 8 second boot time and 8 hour battery life. The device runs on a dual core 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N570 processor, has an HD webcam, a mini-VGA port, 2 USB ports and will weigh just 3.3 pounds.

Crunch is reporting this week that social networking behemoth Facebook is moving forward with an HTML5-based mobile platform dubbed Project Spartan, as well as a "geolocation photo swapping app."

The app will be very similar to the extremely popular "Instagram," which allows users to quickly take a pic, edit with some quick filter tricks, and share, all with a few clicks. The source says the app looks like a mix of Instagram, Color and Path.

"Project Spartan," the Facebook mobile platform being developed for HTML5, will be directly aimed at Apple users, who can currently only use HTML5 on their iOS devices with Safari browser.

Apple has unveiled its 2011 "Back-to-School" special offer, and its notably cheap compared to years past.

If a student purchases a new Mac, they will get 10 percent off the computer and a $100 iTunes gift card.

In the past, Apple gave away small capacity iPod Touch devices along with the discount, so this year's "special" is notably cheaper and less appealing.

From Apple's perspective, the deal makes a lot of sense, as Apple will sell more apps/books/music/movies, thus keeping developers happy, as well.

Additionally, Apple normally bundles the iPods when they are trying to clear out some stock for the upcoming refresh of the line, which occurs in September.

This year, however, it is unclear whether there will be new iPods coming in September as a new iPhone is expected to be the major launch at that time.

Rovio's Peter Vesterbacka has said today that the developer's blockbuster smash hit franchise "Angry Birds" now sees 1 million downloads per day.

The news comes a day after the developer said the game (in all iterations) had surpassed 250 million overall downloads.

Vesterbacka also adds that the developer is working on integrating more NFC features into its game, and that the company is set to release a cookbook, as well.

Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio are constant fixtures on "top games" lists for both Android and iOS, and the games are also now available for Macs, PCs, and even within the Chrome browser.

Vesterbacka added that he believes success has come from building a strong brand, focusing on getting fans first, consumers second.

On behalf of the whole AfterDawn staff congratulations to our very own web designer Teemu and his wife Katariina who just became parents of a newborn boy!

Toshiba and HP have jointly announced that they will team up on cloud services that include support for power, water, gas services and information technology systems.

The Japanese company says "smart community" services will increase to 900 billion yen per year by 2015, up from the current 300 billion yen. The company is under increasing pressure to move away from nuclear power following the tragic earthquake and tsunami earlier this year.

Toshiba purchased nuclear company Westinghouse in 2006 for $5 billion when it appeared that nuclear power projects were the wave of the future.

The company now expects to push back all nuclear reactor orders (39 in the pipeline) back 3 years as it spends the present focused on renewable energy sources and smart grids, says Reuters.

The hacking group LulzSec has started a telephone hotline where users can call in to suggest new targets.

LulzSec recently hit Sony multiple times, and also attacked websites for the U.S. Senate, News Corp. and the CIA.

When you call in, however, you are greeted by a voicemail that says:

We are not available right now as we are busy raping your Internet. Leave a message and we will get back to you whenever we feel like.

According to a new report from The Diffusion Group, a full 32 percent of Netflix users plan to cut part of their cable subscription (if not all of it), a figure that has doubled from last year's report.

24 percent cited cost as the main reason, but a full 61 percent cited the availability of online video as their main reason.

66 percent of that group specifically cited Netflix.

Netflix has about 23 million subscribers so the new report could be daunting for cable providers, which have long made it public that they do not believe Netflix and its "Watch Instantly" catalog will affect their core businesses.

The streaming service is also now available on 250 different devices and TVs.

Nintendo has made it official, Wii U games will be on a proprietary disc that is not Blu-ray or DVD.

The confirmation comes via Nintendo president Satoru Iwata following a week of confusion and speculation as to exactly what Wii U games would be published on.

In explaining the move, Iwata says:

We feel that enough people already have devices that are capable of playing DVDs and Blu-ray, such that it didn't warrant the cost involved to build that functionality into the Wii U console because of the patents related to those technologies.

BGR has reported on the upcoming Google Nexus 4G, the latest in the Nexus line of 'flagship' Android devices attached to the Google name.

The smartphone will feature a 1.5GHz dual-core processor (either an OMAP 4460 or brand new 28nm Snapdragon) and have a true 720p "monster-sized" display.

Furthermore, the device will be the first to move completely to softkeys, removing all physical menu/home/back buttons.

Adding to the "magic" of the new phone is an LTE radio, 1GB RAM, 1080p HD video support and capture, a 1MP front-side camera and a 5MP standard camera with an "advanced 5-megapixel sensor delivering class-leading image quality in addition to superior low-light performance."

It is unclear why, but the CIA's website, CIA.gov, is currently down, compliments of LulzSec, the group which has taken down Sony multiple times over the last month.

Reads the tweet:

@LulzSec: Tango down - cia.gov - for the lulz.

BBC Worldwide is expected to announce today that their oft-delayed international iPlayer will cost $10 per month.

In the UK, the service gets over 1 million users per month, and has been a runaway success, much in the way Hulu is in the United States.

Western Europe will be the first to get the app, followed by other nations in a phased rollout.

The iPlayer gives access to hit shows like Doctor Who the day (or week) after they air, for free, with ads.

In its international form, the subscription will allow users to check out history, food and children's programs, as well.

J.C. Penney has announced this morning the recruitment of Ron Johnson, Apple's current senior vice president of retail, as CEO.

Johnson will start on November 1st, taking over the position from Myron Ullman, who will stay on as executive chairman of the board.

Penney's market value rose a ridiculous $1 billion during trading on Tuesday following the news with investors and traders clearly seeing Johnson as a huge benefit to the company.

The new CEO was also given $50 million worth of warrants, which will replace the Apple equity award that would have been vested in March of next year.

Since Johnson came on board, Apple has expanded from 1 retail store to over 300, and each store brings in, on average, $34 million in profit per year.

Google's $900 million "stalking-horse" bid for 6000 Nortel patents has been approved by the Department of Justice, meaning an auction is set to begin next week.

Nortel has been selling off assets since going bankrupt in 2009 in an effort to pay off creditors. Once trading as high as $600 a share in the tech bubble of the late 90s, Nortel shares now trade for 4 cents.

Google first bid on the patents in April but met with resistance from Apple, Research in Motion, Microsoft, AT&T, Verizon, Hewlett-Packard and Nokia, each of which filed objections.

The search giant is looking to acquire the patents (which include hundreds of each for wireless, 4G, data networking, optical, voice, and semiconductors) in a defensive move as it fights lawsuits from Oracle and others over its Android operating system.