Comments on: IBM joins effort to prevent pandemics

Big Blue works with health organizations to save lives by learning how to curb the spread of infectious diseases.

[Broward Horne]

SARS Meme versus Avian Flu Meme

A comparison of the rate of memetic transmission of SARS versus Avian Flu. They have distinctly similar vector graphs.


http://www.realmeme.com/roller/page/realmeme/?entry=sars_versus_avian_flu_meme

[ianlee74]

Interesting

I love it when wealthy companies throw some of their $$$ at something beneficial to society. If it ends up making them more money end the end then that's great too. Just more money they can throw at similar projects.

Do you think this guy even proofread his own work? A pro editor apparently didn't...

[ianlee74]

Interesting

I love it when wealthy companies throw some of their $$$ at something beneficial to society. If it ends up making them more money end the end then that's great too. Just more money they can throw at similar projects.

Do you think this guy even proofread his own work? A pro editor apparently didn't...

[Joe Bolt]

IBM takes back offer due to user complaint

Mr. Mad-At-The-World, ianlee74, furiously scribbled:

"I love it when wealthy companies throw some of their $$$ at something beneficial to society. If it ends up making them more money end the end then that's great too. Just more money they can throw at similar projects."

When I first read that, I thought you were serious. But, after reading your second paragraph, I realized you were being sarcastic.

So be it.

"With data mining, further modeling can be done," Dr. Diego Buriot, head of the World Health Organization office in Lyon, France, told CNET News.com. "With this information, we could use strategy and react quite rapidly. Being able to provide antivirals, we can control the epidemic at the source."

When asked if they could help, IBM spokesperson Joseph Jasinski replied, "Well, we were going to, but first we thought we'd take an independent survey, just to see how others felt about it. We talked to a mister ianlee74, and he claimed that it was just another case of Big Business making money off of others' misfortunes, and, rather than risk further public condemnation, we've decided to decline. Try Apple."

Ian then goes on to say:

"Do you think this guy even proofread his own work? A pro editor apparently didn't..."

I've read the article twice now, and can only find one tiny mixtake. The author used "borne" instead of "born". And it's understandable why. After seeing "borne upon the wind", "borne by migrating birds", etc, in every related article for the past six months, it probably just slipped out.

And, if I may be so bold, for someone who wrote, "more money end the end", I'd say you're hardly one to criticize, no?

Oh, one more thing. The author's name is Candace Lombardi.

"Do you think this guy even proofread his own work?"

Candace is a girl's name, dude.

[Jack Mason]

Global Pandemic Initiative

For more on the WHO, CDC, IBM project to combat global pandemics, see today's post on HealthNex:

http://healthnex.typepad.com/web_log/2006/05/global_pandemic.html

[Jack Mason]

More from IBM's Joe Jasinski,Program Director, IBM Healthcare and Life Scie

Here's some further details about the Global Pandemic Initiative that IBM, the CDC, WHO and others are launching today:

http://healthnex.typepad.com/web_log/2006/05/ibm_global_pand.html