Another Jobs vision realized
Workers in Cupertino are starting to put the finishing touches on Apple’s monumental new headquarters, widely known as the Apple Spaceship. In fact, that’s just what Apple co-founder Steve Jobs called it when he first presented the plan to city managers in 2011. Now, almost six years later, Apple says final construction is on schedule and the move-in date will be April of this year.
Work at “Apple Park,” as it’s now officially known, continues of course, but it looks like most of the heavy lifting is done as crews wrap up installing 17 megawatts worth of solar panels on the gigantic roof and the 150-acre site is heavily landscaped. Over 12,000 Apple employees will work at the campus, and Apple says the new 1000-seat auditorium will be named the “Steve Jobs Theater.” The move-in process is expected to take six months.
Steve Jobs would have been 62 years old on Friday. He passed away from cancer a few months after presenting the plans for Apple Park to city officials in 2011.
Do NOT tackle the vending machines if you see one
Love those Snapchat Spectacles but can’t seem to track down one of those hard-to-find kiosks to buy a pair? You’re not alone.
But it looks like Snap is wrapping up its marketing/scarcity introduction scheme for the video-recording eyewear by making them available to purchase online. The shades can be had in three colors – black, coral or teal – for $130 at spectacles.com. The glasses feature a built-in camera that records short video clips from a first-person point of view that you can then share through the Snapchat app.
And those perky and somewhat bizarre cycloptic vending machines you could never find? They’re on hiatus for now according to Snap Inc., but they say they’ll be back after their “nap.”
Short-term evolution
It you’re like most tech-savvy people, you have several links to the digital infrastructure: 4G LTE through your phone, plus cable or a satellite system for you TV, and wifi throughout your home. That’s three IT things to manage and usually several different vendor bills to pay. Sure, we’re used to it, but it wouldn’t it be nice if there was one service that did all of that at once? Well, it now seems that’s what 5G cellular technology is shaping up to be.
Verizon says they are rolling out 5G to 11 cities as they continue to refine the tech, and they’re working with Samsung on development. And according to Samsung, 5G will eventually deliver gigabit speeds or better wirelessly, meaning you can use it for… pretty much everything, all at once. And they’re not alone: AT&T is also working on 5G and is deploying it to an entire office building in Austin as a test. How long until it’s the one data connection to rule them all?
Probably not this year, but given the speed of development, we’d say it’ll probably be commonplace five years from now. We should know more as 5G is going to be a hot topic at Mobile World Congress next week, and we’ll be there to get all the details.
