Air New Zealand in-flight video promotes Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" in latest marketing tie-in for the movie.

ABC News files motion to dismiss "pink slime" suit.

Apple signals Tim Cook era with management shakeup, reports R&D spending up 40% in 2012 (although it was still outspent by Microsoft), plans to open up to 35 stores next year, confirms iPad mini built-in speakers.

Honda targets Japanese women with pink "She's" car.

Barclays faces two new U.S. probes.

Caesars packs up casino in Macau.

Campbell hires new CMO to reach Millennials.Continue reading...

While Apple's Siri chats with iPhone-happy celebs and Microsoft brings voice-recognition to Windows Phone via Bing, AT&T has been in the speech recognition business for more than a decade (dating back to the Bell Labs days) with AT&T Watson, which it's now opening to other mobile developers with APIs being released in June.

Not to be confused with IBM's Jeopardy! champ of the same name, AT&T's voice recognition tool transcribes spoken words into text on the fly. In the video above, AT&T highlights how it's making Watson accessible to other developers, who can integrate this technology into their own mobile apps — including in-car connected systems, as AT&T talked up at CES this past January.

The IBM board of directors today elected Virginia "Ginni" Rometty president and CEO of the company, effective January 1, 2012. She succeeds IBM chairman, president and chief executive officer Samuel J. Palmisano, who retires as IBM's traditional age of 60 and will remain chairman of the board.

"Ginni Rometty has successfully led several of IBM's most important businesses over the past decade—from the formation of IBM Global Business Services to the build-out of our Growth Markets Unit," Palmisano said in a statement. "But she is more than a superb operational executive. With every leadership role, she has strengthened our ability to integrate IBM's capabilities for our clients. She has spurred us to keep pace with the needs and aspirations of our clients by deepening our expertise and industry knowledge. Ginni's long-term strategic thinking and client focus are seen in our growth initiatives, from cloud computing and analytics to the commercialization of Watson. She brings to the role of CEO a unique combination of vision, client focus, unrelenting drive, and passion for IBMers and the company's future. I know the board agrees with me that Ginni is the ideal CEO to lead IBM into its second century."Continue reading...

Amazon "gives away" Lady Gaga's new album for 99 cents.

AOL shuts down India portal.

Apple rumored to be planning a store in NYC's Grand Central and a curved glass iPhone.

Barnes & Noble's Nook "crushes" Amazon's Kindle in the glossy magazine department.

Cisco accused of aiding Chinese crackdown on dissidents.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean 4 scores fourth biggest global weekend opening.

Ellen DeGeneres boycotts Twitpic in wake of Twitter app's photo agency deal. 

Ford plans in-car driver health monitoring with Medtronic.

Foursquare and Groupon reportedly in partnership talks.Continue reading...

Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose named NBA MVP.

Pac-10 signs $3 billion, 12-year deal with FOX and ESPN, the richest ever for a college conference, and plans its own TV network under looming Pac-12 name.

Pfizer weighs break-up.

Apple revamps iMac line.

BlackBerry and Microsoft team up to battle Google search.

BP to pay $85 million for 2006 Alaska oil spill.

CBS picks 60 Minutes reporter Scott Pelley as Katie Couric replacement.Continue reading...

Amazon is expected to announced "online media locker" on Tuesday.

Apple's iPad 2 sells out internationally.

EBay is acquiring GSI Commerce for $2.4 billion, intensifying its e-commerce rivalry with Amazon.com.

Facebook depression seen as a new risk for teens.

IBM's Watson has a new job.

Japan's latest quake-related bad news: Radiation has been found outside nuclear reactor, signaling meltdown.Continue reading...

IBM's tech smarts are bigger than Watson. When it comes to technical innovation, it's also at the forefront of smart grid technology — an area that IBM wants to make even smarter.

It's been investing heavily in its smart-grid business, a huge field that will generate an estimated $4.2 billion in annual revenue by 2015, according to Pike Research.

While GE and Cisco are also players when its comes to brands at the forefront of smart grid projects, IBM now boasts more than 150 different smart grid initiatives in major and emerging economies. In another significant win, it's now partnering with Progress Energy to bring smart grid tech to its operations.Continue reading...

Bing lets advertisers place ads in brand-name searches.

Borders bankruptcy shakes up book industry.

Captain Morgan searches for "Ultimate Morganette."

Chobani Greek yogurt lets fans tell its story.

eBay tops branded social media engagement leaderboard.

Ferrari 458 Italia chosen as car of the year by The Robb Report.

Google beats Apple and Sony in TNS corporate reputation ranking.Continue reading...