IBM, by the way, was the official name shortened by International Business Machines, after being international stopped being a big deal and machines failed to cover software and services.

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The radio-controlled machines they used often failed to carry out commands or did the opposite of what they were supposed to do, because their electronics were disrupted by the high radiation.

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Capitalizing on the popular mania for sustainable energy, the penny-stock operators are converting failed Canadian mining outfits and Internet firms into green machines with names like Western Wind Energy and Hydrogen Power International.

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For many years the company dominated the copy-machine market, but its leaders failed to pay attention to disruptive technologies and new products, such as fax machines and digital copiers, which undermined the entire copy-machine market.

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Last year's two unusual machines, the G4 Cube and the G4 dual-processor tower computer, failed to ignite enthusiasm.

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