International Business Machines Corp

Smart Ranking of Emails and Files Based on How You Click

IBM's 1999 patent on automatically sorting lists of items, like emails, by watching which ones you click first and updating a mathematical model of your preferences in the background.

How Computers Automatically Adjust Tasks to Run Faster in Data Centers

A method for cloud computers to monitor their own performance while processing massive data tasks and automatically changing their settings or resource levels to stay efficient.

How Computers Automatically Label Different Speakers in Audio Recordings

A method for identifying and labeling speakers in audio recordings, even if the system has never heard the person speak before, by grouping similar voices and asking a user to name them.

How the Floppy Disk's Protective Jacket Cleans the Disk

An IBM patent from 1972 describing a protective, non-removable cover for a magnetic disk that uses a built-in cleaning material to wipe the disk surface while it spins.

How Robert Dennard Invented the One-Transistor DRAM Memory Cell

IBM's 1967 patent for a memory cell using a single transistor and a capacitor, which became the foundation for all modern computer RAM.

How AI Predicts Who Will Speak Next in a Conversation

IBM's patent describes a system that uses neural networks to analyze speech patterns and intentions to predict which person will talk next in a conversation.

How Cloud Services Automatically Switch Providers When One Fails

A system that uses conversational AI to understand your reliability needs and automatically switches your cloud service to a backup provider if your current one goes down.

How AI Systems Adjust Their Behavior Based on User Mood

A system that monitors human-AI interactions to build personality profiles and automatically adjust AI responses to improve communication quality.

How Browsers Automatically Choose Your Start Page Based on History

An IBM patent from 1998 that describes how a web browser can automatically pick which website to load first based on your past browsing habits.

How to Keep Apps Running Without a Constant Internet Connection

IBM's method for letting apps think they are connected to a server even when the internet is offline by using a proxy that stores requests and fakes responses.

How IBM's Storage Controllers Keep Data Backups in the Right Order

A method for storage controllers to track and sequence data updates in a specific order, ensuring that remote backups remain consistent with the original data during a system failure.

How Computers Calculate Probabilities in Large Knowledge Bases

A method for finding answers in a database of uncertain facts by ignoring probabilities to find a solution first, then calculating how likely that solution is based on the underlying evidence.

How a Server Updates Smart Card Apps and Shows Ads

This patent describes a system where a central server authenticates a smart card user, identifies the specific smart card, allows the user to update applications on it, and then sends an advertisement to the user's computer.