It may not make your salad taste better, reduce your wait for a table or remove any calories from the creme brulee, but American restaurant patrons can rest assured that Big Data is on the way to make their experience of eating away from home a better one.

With alliances like IBM with the Cheesecake Factory, the providers and purveyors of overwhelming numbers are helping restaurant operators marry their traditional huge volumes of transactional data—such as sales receipts from customers and information about purchase orders to suppliers—with "unstructured" data to help them automate decisions that will improve food safety and quality, labor productivity and other aspects of their operations. The end result is supposed to be more-satisfied customers, greater revenues and fatter profit margins.

"It's about enriching the more structured data with unstructured data in order to gain business insight," Paul Chang, global leader for consumer-products strategy for IBM, told brandchannel. "If you can do that then you can automate these processes."Continue reading...

The heads of more US restaurant brands are taking out their frustrations on Obamacare, with David Overton of the Cheesecake Factory becoming the latest. And even if you agree with their plaint, their actions prompt the question: Are they only hurting themselves by making a campaign out of their oppostion to the Affordable Care Act and to the new costs it places on their chains, however onerous they may be?

Instead of promoting, say, his chain's holiday campaign to give away 2013 cheesecakes on Facebook, Overton aired his grievances on CBS This Morning, saying that "for those businesses who don't cover their employees [with health insurance already], they'll be in for a very expensive situation." He noted that the Cheesecake Factory already provides some health insurance, but he warned that the costs of complying with Obamacare would be passed on to customers by the industry.Continue reading...

Microsoft denied "Killer Instinct" trademark, as Microsoft-Google patent fight rests on "fairness" definition and Motorola is denied injuction against Microsoft in patent suit. Microsoft-Intel push to combat Apple in tablet space, meanwhile, seen as "sputtering."

American Suzuki forges ahead with incentives amid US wind down.

Apple wins six new design patents, sees increasing pricing tension with retailers and Steve Jobs bio pic starring Ashton Kutcher heading to Sundance.

Applebee's plans to open "green" restaurant in New York's Harlem where Hot Bread Kitchen is a rising local brand.

Balenciaga hires designer Alexander Wang as creative chief.

Baxter agrees to buy medical-equipment maker Gambro in company's biggest acquisition.Continue reading...

Amazon swings to loss on aggressive spending on future growth, worries about Apple's iPad mini, while Apple disses Microsoft Surface tablet.

BBC sees dimensions of Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal grow.

Bank of America still dealing with fallout from collapse of Countrywide.

Chanel benefits from buzz created by Brad Pitt campaign.

Cheesecake Factory bucks casual-dining traffic decline.

Chipotle considers once-forbidden veer toward fast-food platform.

Citigroup CEO exit reportedly was planned for months.Continue reading...

Google homepage logo pays tribute to the opening of the XXX Olympic Games in London.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos pledges $2.5 million in support of gay marriage as Chick-Fil-A deals with firestorm created by CEO’s gay-marriage stance.

Barclays reveals new interest-rate probe and more U.S. lawsuits.

Airbus delays A350 over production problems.

Apple acquires fingerprint security firm.Continue reading...

Amazon sees stock soar on rapid sales growth.

Anheuser-Busch InBev sees global CMO depart.

Apple ads for Siri are questioned for using celebrities.

Betsey Johnson files for Chapter 11.

Cheesecake Factory explores overseas growth.

Ford sees earnings drop on strains from Europe and Asia.

Jamba Juice splits with Nestle and takes control of joint line of energy drinks.Continue reading...

Amazon acquires Kiva Systems for warehouse automation.

Apple sold 3 million new iPads in first 3 days, while legal handling of iPad China trademark dispute questioned, while app developers favor iOS platform.

AstraZeneca abandons experimental antidepressant.

Bed, Bath & Beyond deals with radioactive scare.

Cheesecake Factory revamps menu.

Chevron faces troubled waters after spill off Brazil.

Disney writes down John Carter as flop.

GM faces labor push-back in Europe.

Gap opens first store in South Africa.Continue reading...

U.S. House is expected to pass debt ceiling bill tonight, with the Senate set to vote Tuesday.

Amazon launches AmazonLocal daily deals in Groupon's hometown of Chicago; launches MyHabit app to compete with Gilt Groupe; beefs up streaming offering to compete with Hulu by adding Universal titles; and looks to expand Kindle library.

Apple iPhone 5 now rumored for October; Apple TV lets users buy TV shows with streaming update; and Apple blocks Samsung tablet release in Australia.

Twitter confirms "significant" ($800M?) funding round led by Russia's DST Global; adds Dutch and Indonesian local sites; and opens NYC office.

Adobe bows to Apple and builds Flash alternative.

Airbnb looks to defuse user security concerns by offering $50,000 guarantee to homeowners.

Allstate to shut banking unit, posts $620M in losses on tornado claims.Continue reading...