A behemoth, it might have grown too big for its good and that of the industries it was occupying, or to be more precise, ruling. As with any business entity, size had made the company far too clumsy and consequently far too slower to act or react than its smaller and leaner competitors could.

Add to these woes a series of government interventions designed to "make the market into a fair playing field." Some observers assert that Microsoft’s legal woes are peanuts compared to what IBM had to go through. More fascinating, however, is the way the company has overcome all these market and non-market forces that almost broke its back.

A series of spinoffs, which saw some of its prestigious business divisions including its PC manufacturing unit being acquired by its competitors, and an emphasis on the more profitable services business, have helped transform the slow-moving giant into a lithe, mean and competitive technology company.

Indeed, IBM is one of the most amazing, even inspiring, stories in our recent history.

During this period of transformation and growth, however, the company never stopped its trailblazing research and development works. After all, throughout its history, the company has always been known for its innovations and technological breakthroughs, and its corporate laboratories among the most respected in the world.

IBM recently announced a data storage technology that combines the best features of flash and hard disk drive technologies. Dubbed "racetrack," the technology comes with a long list of truly impressive features and capabilities. It promises hundreds of times more storage capacity than existing technologies, operates at far greater speed, consumes so much less power, and is potentially, virtually indestructible.

I have seen too many technology firms touting their "amazing, innovative technologies, products and services." Most of the time, those announcements were made with lots of accompanying noise and earth-shaking excitement, mostly on the part of their vendors and proponents. Most of the time, too, the announced items failed to live up to their billings.

IBM’s racetrack technology, however, is most likely to cause some serious excitement for the IT industries in general. After all, the importance of data storage is growing daily, as fast as the rate of the exploding growth of data in both the online and offline worlds. The fact that IBM’s racetrack storage device is virtually indestructible only makes it a lot more exciting, with a possibly long list of applications.

Internet TV is either a stroke of genius or a remnant of the first wave of Internet get-rich-quick companies from the late 1990s. I personally believe that online TV is a monumental waste of broadband real estate. But don’t take my word for it. I may be wrong as I have been on a number of occasions too many to enumerate.

Earlier this year, Internet TV service Hulu was launched in the United States. Supported by media giants NBC Universal and News Corp., the online video-on-demand service allows Internet users to view TV programs anytime for free just like on broadcast TV.

And as it is with broadcast TV, Hulu viewers have to be tolerant to advertising spots.

That’s all for the meantime, folks. Join me again next time as we keep on watching IT.