Apple This

Apple recently purchased a 160-acre plot of land in Oregon and plans to use the space to build a giant Apple data center. This confirms long-standing rumors that Apple was, in fact, planning on building a new data center in the near future. The piece of land is located in Prineville and cost the company $5.6 million.  The deal, known as “Project Maverick”, has been quietly in the works for months.

A representative of Apple confirmed that the company had indeed purchased the land for a data center though declined to comment on the project further. Before Apple had the deed signed over last week, no one was allowed to speak about it due to the non-disclosure agreements signed by county officials.

Despite those agreements, however, the deal was leaked back in December by a local newspaper. A lot of web companies have come to Oregon due to the state’s sizable property tax breaks and low power costs. Companies like Facebook, Google and Amazon all have data centers in the same area.

This data center expansion by Apple comes at a time when the company is placing an increased reliance on servers as part of its products. Apple unveiled last week its newest operating system, Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, which is due out this summer. The software has a deeper integration with iCloud, allowing users to store desktop files in Apples cloud. Apple was also seen signing leases to expand its data center capacity and has reportedly invested $1 billion in its North Carolina data center.

Apple just released an environmental report that announced its North Carolina data center will be powered by the largest end-user owned solar array and will also have the largest non-utility fuel cell in the country. That center has already been awarded LEED Platinum certification from the United States Green Building Council with Apple planning on making the new Oregon facility green as well.

Source: CNET – Apple confirms plans to build data center in Oregon

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Everybody has heard about the working conditions in Apple’s factories overseas, mainly with regard to Foxconn. Every so often the media will catch wind of people living and working in horrible conditions or killing themselves because of their job. However, Apple CEO Tim Cook is once again defending the company’s track record of improving work conditions at these facilities, noting that Apple has done more to address the problems than any other company.

In a recent statement from Cook on the subject during a recent investor conference, the CEO stated, “No one in our industry is doing more to improve working conditions than Apple.” This statement comes after growing criticism over the working conditions at factories used to build Apple products like the iPhone and iPad.

There was even a story published in the New York Times highlighting some of the poor conditions Chinese workers face. Activist groups SumofUs and Change.org delivered a total of 250,000 signed petitions calling for a more ethically built iPhone. However, the company is taking it all in stride with Apple allowing the Fair Labor Association to audit its Foxconn plants.

In addition to that, Apple has gone on the offensive in defending its actions. Supporters of Apple are also pointing out that rival companies, like HP and Dell, use the same manufacturing facilities.  Critics argue that since Apple is a leader in the industry, the company should lead in its call for better working conditions.

Cook also mentioned that Apple finds the use of child labor “abhorrent” and said that the practice is extremely rare in the company’s supply chain. It is a “top priority” for Apple to eliminate child labor all together, according to Cook, who also noted that a supplier who intentionally uses underage labor could be fired. “We don’t let anyone cut corners on safety,” he said.

Source: CNET – Cook: Apple’s improved working conditions more than anyone

Computer Service Now

Apple decided to unleash a whole host of Mac OS X upgrades on the Apple community on Wednesday. These updates included version 10.7.3 of Max OS X Lion and Lion Server, which also brings you a plethora of different system improvements and expanded language support. The updates also included Safari 5.1.3, a new version of Server Admin Tools, fixes for Apple Remote Desktop and security updates for Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Updates to the newest operating system from the Cupertino, California company, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, mainly consist of fixes to existing problems that offer more stability, compatibility and security. In addition to that, the update has a ton of new features like support for a lot of new languages, WiFi connectivity fixes and Windows file sharing compatibility.

Mac OS X Lion 10.7.3 can be downloaded through a Software Update or through Apple’s support page, which also offers Client and Client Combo versions that are 997.01 MB and 1.2GB respectively. For this to work, however, you have to be running Mac OS X Lion 10.7.2 or you won’t be able to update.

The Mac OS X Lion Server update, aside from bringing the updates to the Client Version, adds fixes and features to the server side of the OS. This includes things like file sharing and VPN server app improvements, enhancements to the web and Wiki server applications and updates to the profile manager. In addition to that, you will find some new components, different bug fixes and security upgrades.

A refresh of Apple’s Server Admin Tools was also released on Wednesday and adds supplementary applications for use with the Mac OS X server. There are also new versions of Podcast Composer, Server Admin, Server Monitor, System Image Utility, Workgroup Manager and Xgrid Admin, all of which require Mac OS X Lion or Lion Server.

Source: Apple Insider – Apple rolls out Mac OS X Lion, Snow Leopard updates

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