north carolina

Apple’s North Carolina HQ now only ‘hopeful’

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Research Triangle
The possible site of Apple's next HQ.
Photo: Ildar Sagdejev/Wikipedia CC

A couple of months back, an announcement regarding Apple’s plans to build a new HQ in Raleigh, North Carolina were supposedly “imminent” and a “done deal.”

Things have remained quiet since then, however, and now a new report quotes North Carolina governor Roy Cooper as saying that he is “hopeful” Apple will pick the area, but admitting that they have yet to hear one way or the other.

Anti-racism advocacy group is upset at Apple’s location for new HQ

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Color of Change
North Carolina has a history of controversial laws.
Photo: Color of Change

Apple’s announcement about its proposed North Carolina East Coast headquarters is supposedly “imminent,” but not everyone is happy about it. Last month, activists were reportedly “livid” about the location due to its history of LGBT-unfriendly laws. Now another advocacy group is accusing the region of racism, related to the state’s new voter ID proposal.

The advocacy group in question is a civil rights group called Color of Change. It is upset about North Carolina’s voter ID bill on the grounds that it allegedly discriminates against African-Americans. This bill was announced by the state’s House Republicans on Thursday.

Announcement of Apple’s new North Carolina HQ ‘imminent’

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Research Triangle
But new HQ isn't without its controversy.
Photo: Ildar Sagdejev/Wikipedia CC

An announcement about Apple’s plans to build a new HQ in Raleigh, North Carolina is “imminent,” a new report suggests.

This follows another recent news story suggesting it is a “done deal,” just so long as the proper incentives package is agreed. From the sound of things, Apple is pleased with the way talks have progressed!

LGBT activists are unhappy about Apple’s location for new corporate hub

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Tim Cook
Cook has been an outspoken defender of LGBT rights during his time leading Apple.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Apple’s decision to open a new HQ in North Carolina is reportedly close to being a “done deal,” waiting only for the right incentives package to be passed.

But one potential spanner in the works could be the area’s history of anti-LGBT laws. Most infamous of these is the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, which made it law for people to use the public restrooms and changing rooms which correspond with their birth certificate sex, as opposed to their self-identified gender.

Apple’s proposed North Carolina campus is almost a ‘done deal’

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Research Triangle
The Research Triangle Park headquarters as it is today.
Photo: Ildar Sagdejev/Wikipedia CC

Apple’s decision to open a new HQ in North Carolina is reportedly a “done deal” as soon as a bill is passed approving a series of incentives for Apple.

The location of Apple’s proposed new headquarter has been speculated upon, with North Carolina and Northern Virginia emerging as the two most likely candidates.

Apple Is Expanding Its ‘Big-Ass’ North Carolina Data Center Again

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Apple's “big-ass” data center in North Carolina. Photo: Engadget
(Credit: Engadget)

Apple’s already “big-ass” North Carolina data center is about to get even bigger.

Based on an erosion permit filed with Catawba County on Wednesday, Apple is looking to build an additional structure onto the side of its existing already enormous complex. Made of precast concrete wall panels, along with steel columns, this add-on is set to add 14,246 square feet, and be around 25 ft tall.

Second Apple Data Center Planned For North Carolina Site

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maiden_facility

According to new plans filed with Catawba County, Apple is building a second data center near an already begun facility in Maiden, North Carolina.

The planned 21,030-square-foot data center will store server clusters, with a total cost of the 11-room building targeted at a little over $1.8 million. The permits filed include the installation of 22 air conditioners, five fans, 14 humidifiers, six electric heaters and heating ducts.

Here’s How North Carolina Almost Lost Apple’s Data Center Contract

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Bird's-eye view of Apple's NC data center.
Bird's-eye view of Apple's NC data center.

By now, you’ve probably heard that Apple has a large data center in North Carolina which powers much of the iCloud ecosystem that Apple debuted in 2011. What you may not know, though, is that the small town of Maiden, North Carolina almost lost the contract with Apple. Thanks to GigaOm, we now know how it all went down.

Environmental Protestors Block Trains Full Of Coal Meant To Power Apple’s iCloud Data Center

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Environmental protesters in 2012 block coal trains meant to power Apple's Maiden, NC data facility.
Environmental protesters block coal trains meant to power Apple's Maiden, NC data facility.

Greenpeace likes to target Apple every year or so to keep them environmentally honest, and lately, the environmental access group has been going after Apple’s giant data supercenter in Maiden, North Carolina, claiming that it helps make iCloud one of the dirtiest things on the planet.

What Greenpeace is upset about is how much of the data center’s power comes from non-renewable resources, particularly coal. And they don’t think that Apple’s going far enough with its plans for solar energy plans.

Now the protests are getting real, with seven Greenpeace activists blocking train tracks used by Duke Energy and Apple use to ship coal.

Greenpeace: The iCloud Is One Of the Dirtiest Things On The Internet

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coalfactory

Apple has been increasingly interested in powering its operations with that happy old sun, working on a 20-megawatt solar farm coupled with a 5-megawatt fuel cell facility at its data supercenter in Maiden, North Carolina. But that’s not nearly good enough, according to Greenpeace. In fact, the environmental activist group has gone so far as to call Apple out for using “asthma-inducing, climate-destroying coal” which makes the iCloud “the dirtiest thing on the internet.”

Apple Confirms It Has Plans For Another New Data Center In Oregon

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Apple is expected to join Facebook's data center (above) in Prineville, Oregon. [Photo by Tom Raftery - http://flic.kr/p/9wzMH2)
Apple will join Facebook's data center (above) in Prineville, Oregon.

Just days after confirming its plans for its data center in North Carolina, Apple has confirmed that it is gearing up to build another one in Prineville, Oregon, neighboring rivals like Amazon, Google, and Facebook. The Cupertino company purchased the 160-acre lot for $5.6 million from Crook County.

Despite Huge Unemployment Rate, Apple’s $1 Billion Data Super Center Only Created 50 New Jobs

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apple_NC_datacenter_2

It’s probably good that Apple is in the gadget creation business and not jobs. Turns out, the $1 billion data center the tech giant built down in North Carolina created just 50 full-time local jobs, working out to around $200,000 per spot. Although iCloud and other services likely to come from the site have plenty of tech fans, you won’t find too many “I Love Apple” bumper stickers in a town with double-digit unemployment.

This Is What Apple’s iCloud Data Super Center Looks Like From Satellite

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Screen-shot-2011-06-01-at-2.21.25-PM

While most of the mystery of Apple’s North Carolina data super center comes from the fact that we’re still not really sure what Cupertino will be using it for, let’s not underestimate another contributing factor to the intrigue: the fact that Apple’s Maiden, North Carolina data center appears as a big, gaping hole in the Earth under Google Maps. But no longer!