campus

Apple is doing some community outreach in Cupertino, Calif., to help clear a safe public-relations flight path for its new spaceship-styled campus in its hometown. The company recently sent some fliers to its neighbors with information on the upcoming facility and invited feedback.

A copy of the brochure was obtained by 9to5Mac and shows some renderings of the research facility dubbed "Apple Campus 2" along with the planned layout for the property and a letter from CFO Peter Oppenheimer with some key facts and figures:… Read more

Apple and Austin are in business together for the company's new Texas campus, following a vote from the local court.

The Austin-based Statesman newspaper reports that the Travis County Commissioners Court today voted 4-1 in favor of a deal that will give Apple $5.4 million to $6.4 million in tax rebates over the next 15 years as the company constructs a campus that will bring some 3,600 jobs to the area.

The decision comes days after a local official said a deal was "in peril." Concerns were raised about the contract, which remained under … Read more

Facebook is thinking ahead as it prepares to cash in with its IPO. It has plans of expanding the headquarters, hiring thousands more employees, and adding a new campus. Besides bankers, venture capitalists, early investors, and some employees getting rich, the town of Menlo Park, Calif., is also looking to share the wealth.

The expansion plans for the 57-acre, nine-building campus are the result of a negotiated deal between the social networking company and Menlo Park's government officials. And yesterday, Menlo Park's City Council unanimously approved the plans, according to the Palo Alto Daily News.

As part of … Read more

When it came time to redesign the colorful bikes scattered about Google's massive Mountain View, Calif., campus, the company knew exactly who to turn to for next generation of its GBikes: Googlers themselves.

Last fall, the company launched a competition among employees to replace the 2-year-old fleet of bikes available to workers at the Googleplex to pedal from one building to another. The idea was to come up with a user-friendly, low-maintenance bike.

"We've got an entrepreneurial and innovative culture," said Brendon Harrington, Google's transportation operations manager. "We said, 'You tell us what you think is a cool design.'"

The company listed four design criteria. The bike had to be easy to produce. It needed to be affordable. The bike had to be both comfortable and secure. And, in a nod to its culture, the bike had to be Googley, using novel components, structure, and appearance.… Read more

Microsoft and Nokia are looking to create a new generation of developers for their mobile platforms by pouring money into education.

The two mobile partners will each contribute 9 million euros ($12 million) to fund a new program on mobile app development at Finland's Aalto University. The training, dubbed AppCampus, will focus on Windows Phone but will also cover Nokia's Symbian and Series 40 platforms.

Set to launch this May, AppCampus will be geared toward students and entrepreneurs from around the world looking for an education in mobile technology, design, and funding with an eye toward building their … Read more

President Obama will visit Intel's Arizona plant on Wednesday in a nod to Intel's abiding U.S. manufacturing presence.

On Wednesday, following his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Obama will travel to Phoenix to deliver remarks at Intel's Ocotillo campus in Chandler, a suburb of Phoenix.

The Arizona plant, designated Fab 42, is under construction now, with completion expected in 2013.

That plant will produce Intel's next generation of processors built on its 14-nanometer technology. To put that into perspective, Intel's upcoming "Ivy Bridge" processors, due in systems this spring, use … Read more

AT&T earns the "worst carrier in the world" award for the second year in a row, so it's a good thing I just signed up for two more years of service with this new iPhone 4S.

According to Consumer Reports, prepaid phone subscribers are actually the most satisfied with their service, but that's probably because their burner phones don't have the Internet access necessary to lodge a complaint.

On today's show, we'll look at how the other carriers compare to AT&T, dispel rumors of Shigeru Miyamoto's departure from Nintendo, put in our our bid for RickPerry.com, Jeff demonstrates My Xbox Live for the iPad, and we'll show some incredible listener-submitted contest submission videos!… Read more

Apple has submitted more detailed plans for the site of its second campus in Cupertino, Calif., and the city council posted the plans to its Web site today.

The new campus, which is located across town from the company's headquarters, was originally pitched to the council by the late Steve Jobs as resembling a "spaceship." The new plans give us a more detailed look at what the new campus will look like, complete with floor plans, walkways, and landscaping (beware that these PDFs are large).

The campus landscaping plans:

While planning continues ahead of approval and construction of Apple's headquarters reboot, rumor has it that company executives are already considering yet another major campus in its home town of Cupertino, Calif., when this latest project is completed.

In a story about Apple's current campus build effort, the San Jose Mercury News points to a mention by Mayor Gilbert Wong saying that Apple executives told him the company's growth might warrant another building following the completion of campus No. 2: