I applied through a recruiter. The process took 5 days. I interviewed at IBM in Jul 2009
Interview
Brief, straightforward. Recruiter had a bunch of basic, simple questions. Once passed 2 phone interviews there, was refered to IBM. They moved quickly-phone call on Friday-interview on Friday, job offer on Monday. It was contract, so no big deal for them. Work was OK, fun group.
I applied through college or university. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at IBM in Nov 2008
Interview
It was four hours long and very repetitive. Met a lot of great people during the interview. Very professional group. The manager was professional also. That was just the first round. There was a followup round a few days later, and I basically had to repeat everything again. They never did get back to me.