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Apple to Build Second Campus
Randy writes "Apple plans to expand dramatically in Cupertino by constructing a second major campus, one mile from Infinite Loop. Lamenting the fact that 'there aren't many apricot orchards left' upon which to build a new campus, Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted that Apple nevertheless managed to do the trick by purchasing several contiguous properties." From the article: "The maker of Macintosh computers and iPod digital music players will house 3,000 to 3,500 employees in the new campus, about 10 minutes away from its headquarters on Infinite Loop in Cupertino. Jobs estimated that it will take three to four years to design and build the new campus."
I wish I could remember who told me that it was a warning sign when a company builds fancy new headquarters.
This held true for Wang Laboratories, which built The Towers just a few years before imploding... RCA's computer division build a huge, shiny building in Marlboro, Massachusetts, then collapsed, Digital BOUGHT that building and collapsed...
Come to think of it, just when did Apple build the first Infinite Loop campus?
(If the new-headquarters effect is more than coincidence, the cause and effect is that it tends to indicate a degree of overconfidence, ego, hubris...)
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
Sorry, but the hyperbole just isn't true. I have a decent- to low-level engineering salary, and my family (single income, by the way) bought a house in the Bay Area maybe three years ago, with nearly no money down. Three years later, its value has increased by about $250,000. Remember, this is all within ten to fifteen minutes of the Apple campus. There are plenty of houses available out here at relatively affordable prices. Sure, it's a little bit of a pinch, but on the profits we've made over the last few years, we could buy a new home pretty much anywhere else in the United States. That's not bad at all.
To summarize: It's not that bad. Stop complaining. Just dive in and buy something.