JAWALL

It's clever enough to beat humans on quiz shows and diagnose illnesses, but is IBM's artificially intelligent supercomputer tough enough to cope with angry consumers who've been on hold for three hours? IBM certainly seems to think so, as it has just given Watson a new job as a customer service manager. Rather than phoning a company and having your query dealt with by the usual call centre cast of teenagers, simpletons and ex-convicts, you can call Watson, who will deal with your increasingly angry enquiries with all the calmness you'd expect from a machine. The new service will be...http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/21/ibm_watson_talking_computer_customer_service/

Ireland has denied its liberal tax laws helped Apple avoid dropping dollars into the American taxpayers' purse by funnelling billions through subsidiaries based in the country. Eamon Gilmore, Ireland's Tánaiste (deputy prime minister), said that Apple's legal tax-dodging was down to rules in other countries. A US Senate committee examining Apple's tax affairs found that its main European office, based in Cork, received $29.9bn in dividends, amounting to about 30 per cent of the fruity firm's worldwide net profits. Speaking from Brussels, where he is attending a European conference aimed at tackling tax fraud and eliminating havens, Gilmore said: "They...http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/21/apple_tax_ireland/

NASDAQ-listed web content filtering player Websense is going private again after the board approved a deal with venture capitalist Vista Equity Partners (VEP). Under the terms of the transaction, VEP will cough $24.75 per share valuing the online security business at close to $1bn. This equates to a 29 per cent premium on the stock price on 17 May and is up 53 per cent up on the past 60-day average. Websense Chairman John Carington, said it had held "detailed discussions with several potential acquirers" and claimed the price agreed with VEP was "fair" for shareholders. VEP has $7bn in...http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/21/websense_goes_private_again/

Flash array startup Violin Memory has hired Steven Rose to head up both the EMEA and Latin America operations. Rose's appointment was announced on 16 May, and he will, Violin said, "lead regional market awareness [and] go-to-market strategies". Rose comes to Violin from Informatica, where he was the SVP for EMEA and LATAM. Before that he ran EMEA and APAC for CommVault through its IPO and for six years afterwards. Meanwhile, Garry Veale, the man at the top of Violin Memory's EMEA management stack, looks to have played his last tune at the company, at least according to chatty channel...http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.channelregister.co.uk/2013/05/21/violin_rose_veale/

Over 3,000 helpdesk staff at mobile network O2 will be transferred to outsourcing giant Capita and around 600 made redundant by August, according to the Communications Workers Union, in a move it has described as "a betrayal". O2 owner Telefonica, meanwhile, told the Telegraph that only 2,000 positions would be outsourced and has insisted no compulsory chops would be made. It is said to be offering voluntary redundancy as part of the move, which is an effort by the mobile giant to cut costs. The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) warned of further outsourcing back in April. At the time, O2...http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/21/o2_outsourcing/