Building the cloud: Apple begins work on its $68 million Oregon data center

Apple has recently started work on the construction of its latest data center, a multi-million dollar facility located in Prineville, Oregon.

Apple has started preparing for the construction of what will be its fourth data center, this one located in Prineville, Oregon. Such centers don’t come cheap, with the Cupertino company reportedly shelling out for $68 million for the first of two 338,000 square-foot buildings on the site. To put that in context, each will be more than twice the size of a typical Costco store, The Oregon reported this week. It’s not known how long the construction will take.

The Prineville data center will help cope with the increasing number of users turning to Apple’s iCloud service for storing their music, photos, documents, calendars, contacts and so on. Around 150 million iOS and Mac users are currently making use of the service, with many more expected to join over the coming months and years.

On its website, Apple confirms that construction of the new facility “is just getting under way,” pointing out that it’ll be an “environmentally responsible” project. With environmental groups such as Greenpeace keeping a close eye on how such facilities are powered, Apple is keen to communicate the message that the Oregon facility will not have a harmful impact on the local area. “At Prineville we have access to enough local renewable energy sources to completely meet the needs of the facility,” the tech titan reports on its website. “To achieve that goal, we’re working with two local utilities as well as a number of renewable energy generation providers to purchase wind, hydro, and geothermal power — all from local sources.”

Apple’s newest data center is reportedly “across the highway” from one owned by social networking giant Facebook. Other parts of Oregon are also home to similar facilities belonging to the likes of Google, Adobe and Amazon. The state’s competitively priced land, reasonable power prices and decent tax breaks are key factors in attracting the tech industry’s big hitters.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Oregon man uses homemade 8-iPhone panoramic camera to document scooter journey across US

Oregon resident Gabriel Paez has just completed a 10-day scooter journey across the US, which he documented with a homemade panoramic camera comprising eight iPhones. A ninth was strapped to his wrist to control the camera.

Gabriel Paez combined his love for panoramic photography and Apple’s iPhone to create a Street View-style camera which he’s used to capture a 10-day journey across North America on a Vespa called Pucho.

The Oregon resident created his 360-degree camera using eight of the Apple-made handsets, strapping a ninth to his wrist which acted as the controller for his homemade head-based photographic contraption.

Paez also wrote the software to control his camera, an exercise which he described as “challenging.” He intends to write a post about how he made his special device once he gets back to his home on the west coast.

Paez left Seaside, Oregon on September 21, heading for Portland, Maine with occasional forays into Canada along the way. He arrived in the east coast town on Tuesday, with plans to end his journey Wednesday morning with a drive to the beach alongside riders from the local scooter club.

On his website, Paez says he plans to use the fruits of his labor for a stage show he’s been working on, though there’s no word as to when this might take place.

Alternatively, perhaps he could offer his Street View-style work to Apple, who might be interested in using it to enhance its much-criticized Maps app, although Paez would have to ride a few more miles on Pucho to get all of the states covered….

[MAKE via PetaPixel] [Images: Gabriel Paez]

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Coda Automotive will open 30 dealers to sell its electric cars

After a "soft launch" in March, Coda is ready to sell its electric sedan in California, Oregon, and Florida. Will there be any takers?

Coda Automotive unveiled its electric sedan in California this past March and, seven months later, the company is ready to open its first dealers to sell the EV. Thirty dealers, mostly in California, will sell the car known simply as the Coda sedan.

“March through July was a soft launch: new car, new company, new manufacturing process, new everything,” Coda CEO Phil Murtaugh told Automotive News. “Now as we get into real production ramp-up we need to add some dealers.”

Most of the dealers will be in Coda’s home state of California, but the company also plans to expand to potentially EV-friendly states such as Florida and Oregon.

Coda has delivered 100 cars in California since the “soft launch” in March. The company did not release any sales projections, but it did say that 1,000 cars have been ordered.

Coda’s ultimate goal is to capture 15 percent of the non-luxury EV market, putting it in direct competition with the Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, and Ford Focus Electric, but excluding the more expensive Tesla Model S.

Pitched as an economical alternative to other EVs, the Coda costs $37,250, (but is eligible for a $7,500 tax credit). That means it is undercut not just by the super cheap Mitsubishi ($29,125), but also by the Leaf, which starts at $35,200. The Focus starts at $39,200.

The Coda has an average range of 88 miles per charge, giving it a slight advantage over the Leaf (79 miles) and Focus (76 miles), and leaving the i-MiEV, which has a 62-mile range, in the dust.

The Coda sedan is made from a chassis and batteries imported from China, with final assembly taking place in Benicia California. It is essentially an electric version of the Chinese Hafei Saibao.

In terms of interior and exterior styling, the Coda looks like it’s based on a car from the 1990s. Unlike the EV competition, the Coda also looks like a normal car. Whether that is a good thing or a bad thing is for buyers to decide.

If all goes well, Coda will expand its lineup in 2014 with a second model built entirely in China. The car will be codeveloped with Great Wall Motor Co., and sold under the Coda name in the United States and the Great Wall name in China.

Coda doesn’t seem to have reinvented the wheel with its EV, so it will be interesting to see whether it can stand up to the flashier competition. Opening dealerships is the company’s first step toward becoming a permanent presence in the auto industry, and will be the ultimate test of its viability.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com