Company nicknames: IBM, Big Blue is true blue

Big Blue..Well... I'd found a big blue cabinet in Bostons Back Bay left empty in the hallway.. big doors and little chrome windows down the front..
I made it into an enviornment inside .. a stone floor and moss on the walls.. you'd sit in it and with the I Ching backlit and sticking through the wall.. a switch and three red lights to mark the hexagram given by the throwing of the switch .. a random generator ... causeing the red lights to be either all on.. all off or one or two lights on. giving the ying yang of the moment the switch was thrown... you'd combine six series of these moments together to get a hexagram and then reference to a passage to read concerning the answer to your question of the oracle.. you've heard of computer environments this machine on display near the NYC IBM Headquarters was the base of it.. any way why blue... I needed a bit of touch up paint for my blue box.. as I went to IBM and they told me it was a priority color and they couldn't let it out to me.. so after checking with my auto painter where it was awaiting the paint... I was told... no problem.. it's really just 1954 Plymouth Blue.. so it was painted and went on display.. at the Museum of Contempoary Crafts IN NYC in the 60's... yes early for Environmental Art.. Computer Art.. and Chineese Computer tie ins.. and as I said founded the term Computer Environment ..
Ralph Gordon Hawkins

My uncle worked for IBM from the early 60's to his retirement (buyout) in the late 90's. He would be on-call and many dinners and vacations were spoiled due to IBM needing repaired at all hours of the day and night. I remember him comming home on night and my cousin who was 5 yo, asked him what IBM stool for, to which my very tired uncle replied,"Idiots, Bums, and Maniacs".

My understanding on IBMs nick name is that they were considered (going back to the '60s') as the best of the BLUE CHIP stock to own. Thus the name.....wait for it.......BIGBLUE!

I worked for Big Blue for 23 years and loved every minute. When anyone asked me where I worked, I was so proud to say "IBM". It was a wonderful place to work. They were kind to their employees. I was out for 9 weeks with hepatitis after having only worked there for a couple of years. They paid me full salary the entire time. As far as dinners, events, etc, they couldn't be beat. Always at first class hotels, conferrence centers. I was a Manager for the last 9 years with IBM and realized just how much they valued their employees. When when an employee had a family member pass away, immediately flowers were sent from the person's manager, the company CEO and a manager in the deceased's area was notified and an IBM manager came to the funeral. The people were the reason for IBM's success. I miss it even tho' I have been retired since 1991. But, my full medical benefits continue at no cost to me and that retirement check arrives on the first of every month. Smartest move I ever made, outside of selecting a wonderful man for my husband, was to go to work for "Big Blue". No wonder they continue to be so successful.

The article states: "...IBM uses blue for its company logo and equipment, blue being a color that denotes strength. People also naturally associate blue with largeness, similar to the sky, the oceans, and even outer space." My studies in color theory point to blue denoting "honesty." This is underscored by the fact that attorneys frequently instruct their clients to wear blue on the stand to project "sincerity."

I worked for IBM for over 20 yrs, taking an early retirement buyout in '94. Those were the best years of my life, it was a fantastic experience to work for BIG BLUE. IBM had remarkably high standards for their products and services, and for the performance of their managers and employees. It set the standard for how I live the rest of my life. Admittedly it isn't the same today, there seems to be no real corporate dedication and loyalty to the employees and vice versa, such as we experienced in the 70's and on thru the 80's. But I am so grateful that I was lucky enough to be a part of it during the "glory years". During my tenure with IBM I was able to travel all over the US, and often to coordinate vacation side trips along with that, to attend first class training schools and corporate functions at the best hotels in the most exciting locations. Now I get that retirement check on the first of every month, and the excellent medical , at very low cost to me, along with other retiree benefits for the rest of my life. I was, and continue to be, so proud to be an IBMer. Life was good at Big Blue!

Although not a retired IBMer, I have had several friends who were employed by IBM. As managers and engineers, they all aspired to the IBM nickname of "I've Been Moved". Throughout their careers with IBM, they all had to move multiple times to be considered for advancement. Though they had to change living locations, they never grumbled about it and IBM seemed to allow them to relocate back to their preferred area before retiring. Every one of them, whether they retired on age or buyout or pink slip, they all still hold IBM in great respect.

Was "Big Blue" not, the name of the IBM computer that Fisher played chess against years ago?.