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Apple Plans 'High-Tech Manufacturing' of Data-Center Gear in Arizona (businessinsider.com)

An anonymous reader shares a Business Insider report: Apple is seeking permission to conduct "high-tech manufacturing" and to build data-center server gear in a Mesa, Arizona, facility, according to a notice published Monday by the US federal government. A notification published in the Federal Register on Monday said Apple was looking for approval from the Foreign-Trade Zones Board to produce "finished products" in a special zone that exempts it from customs duty payments. "Apple Inc has repurposed the site as a global data command center that will conduct high-tech manufacturing of finished data center cabinets for other data centers," according to a document filed by Mesa on behalf of Apple in June and made public Monday. [...] The Arizona effort would mark a rare instance of a US tech company manufacturing and assembling a finished product domestically, where labor costs are higher. Apple's effort appears limited to equipment for its internal operations, however, rather than for a mass-market consumer product.

103 comments

  1. Ha HA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Trump Wins Again!

    1. Re:Ha HA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Trump Trump Trump Trump - Yuuuge winner - I did this, it was all me who set Timothy Cook straight from Gina!

    2. Re:Ha HA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Trump wins big jobs for robots; Apple legally dodges stiff import duty.

      Who's winning here?

      Looks to me like it isn't the American People.

    3. Re:Ha HA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have to admit it. I'm not tired of all this winning yet.

    4. Re:Ha HA! by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1

      You will be. You will be. /Yoda

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    5. Re:Ha HA! by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Coming in 3..2..1.. Robots are people too.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood

    6. Re: Ha HA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You will be when you get drafted to fight the Chinese.

    7. Re:Ha HA! by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 5, Informative

      Apple legally dodges stiff import duty.

      1. The import duties are not "stiff". They are only a few percent.
      2. Apple is not "dodging" them. The import duties would still apply for any imported components if the final product is consumed domestically. But no duties would be paid if the final product is exported ... but without the waiver, Apple would be entitled to a refund on those duties anyway, so the net result is just simplifying the paperwork.

      Who's winning here? Looks to me like it isn't the American People.

      A modest number of jobs will be created. Unnecessary bureaucratic overhead will be eliminated. How is that not a win?

    8. Re:Ha HA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not going to be the people of Arizona, either. Our governor and Tea Party led state has become a huge scam. They can't give away tax breaks fast enough at the expense of private citizen taxpayers, they've legalized bribing politicians and are now trying to pass a law making it harder to get Freedom of Information requests submitted.

      At least this time it's something tech-like, usually it's a private prison.

    9. Re:Ha HA! by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      Actually, Apple will be using that industrial facility in Mesa (Phoenix suburbs) that it inherited from its failed sapphire glassmaking affiliate a few years ago. When Apple took over the facility, we all know they had plans for it down the road. This is right in the middle of a valley full of Intel fabs and software developers. As the Peoples' Republic of California steadily becomes a less attractive place to make silicon, it is Arizona that will benefit.

      We also just nabbed the Uber autonomous car testing operation. These are all jobs way, way beyond the taco.

    10. Re:Ha HA! by hackwrench · · Score: 1

      I don't know why you are mentioning Virginia. Trump Tower is in New York City, New York, isn't it?

    11. Re: Ha HA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When you get shot and he comes home we'll have won again!

    12. Re: Ha HA! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *whoosh*

      China.

    13. Re:Ha HA! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      While it's nice, it's not really "manufacturing"... Assembly perhaps.

      Tesla ships nearly complete cars to Europe for final assembly to avoid import duties. The cars aren't really made in Europe, the vast majority of the work is done in the US. Similarly, it sounds like Apple is just assembling some parts most likely manufactured in China, and knowing Apple it's probably some kind of tax dodge.

      This is probably the best you can hope for from Trump's efforts. Not real manufacturing in the US - the supply chains are long gone, and a 4 year term isn't nearly long enough to build them up again - but some final assembly and a dubious "Made in America (TM)" sticker slapped on. And in 4 years time, a lot of that will be robots.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
  2. Sounds like another Trump job to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "Apple" "server hardware"

    Sounds like somebody's trying to pull the Trump over your eyes.

    1. Re:Sounds like another Trump job to me by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      Just cabinets for server hardware.

  3. Server Racks by Major+Blud · · Score: 3, Funny

    "conduct high-tech manufacturing of finished data center cabinets for other data centers"

    Stores forty-two 1u servers in a stylish brushed aluminum housing. Introducing the New Apple iRack Pro.

    --
    If you post as Anonymous Coward, don't expect a reply.
    1. Re:Server Racks by sbrown7792 · · Score: 2

      Except that the entire thing is unibody and if a cable goes bad between "servers", it's cheaper to replace the entire rack.

    2. Re:Server Racks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rounded rectangle?

    3. Re:Server Racks by FatdogHaiku · · Score: 0

      Rounded rectangle?

      That hardly sounds innovative and patentable...
      How about Rounded Racktangle?

      --
      You have the right to remain sentient. If you give up the right to remain sentient, you will be elected to public office
    4. Re:Server Racks by pushing-robot · · Score: 2

      The iRack looks unstable!

      --
      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    5. Re:Server Racks by networkBoy · · Score: 2

      Heavy, less space than a petabox, lame.

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    6. Re:Server Racks by geekmux · · Score: 3, Insightful

      "conduct high-tech manufacturing of finished data center cabinets for other data centers"

      Stores forty-two 1u servers in a stylish brushed aluminum housing. Introducing the New Apple iRack Pro.

      Apple wanting to put their artistic flair inside a data center is akin to an artist painting the inside of a toilet bowl.

      The only time anyone is going to see it is when things get really shitty.

    7. Re:Server Racks by unixisc · · Score: 1

      So essentially, this is metal furniture that is somehow passed off as 'High-Tech' due to some connector that may be there b/w the racks?

    8. Re:Server Racks by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 1

      "conduct high-tech manufacturing of finished data center cabinets for other data centers"

      Stores forty-two 1u servers in a stylish brushed aluminum housing. Introducing the New Apple iRack Pro.

      The XRack!!!

    9. Re:Server Racks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple servers! Now available in 0.05U!

      Color options are white and white.

      And no Ethernet jacks!

    10. Re:Server Racks by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      When they say finished data center cabinets for their other data centers, I assume that means with all of the hardware already installed, ready to be shipped to one of their data centers, installed, and powered on. I doubt it means an empty cabinet. The empty cabinet is one of the parts, along with all of the various hardware and networking components.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    11. Re:Server Racks by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 1

      Yes. It sounds to me also like "Computer manufacturer (Apple) will build servers for their own (Apple) computer installations. Like, wow man, that's awesome!"

    12. Re:Server Racks by David_Hart · · Score: 2

      Except that the entire thing is unibody and if a cable goes bad between "servers", it's cheaper to replace the entire rack.

      And next year's rack will be so awesome that it will only support official Apple PDU accessories and require new magnetic power cords...

    13. Re:Server Racks by jazzis · · Score: 1

      When they say finished data center cabinets for their other data centers, I assume that means with all of the hardware already installed, ready to be shipped to one of their data centers, installed, and powered on. I doubt it means an empty cabinet. The empty cabinet is one of the parts, along with all of the various hardware and networking components.

      Damn man; you must be new here.... You are making too much sense. Stop Making Sense

    14. Re:Server Racks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    15. Re:Server Racks by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Rumour has it they will be removing the network ports and going wifi only next year.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    16. Re:Server Racks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's a well written list!

      The materials/components sourced from abroad include:
      Tape; plastic boxes; polyethylene bags; plastic bags; plastic packing; plastic washers; rubber washers; rubber spacers; steel screw hooks; steel screws; steel nuts; steel standoff; steel spring washers; steel washers, not spring/lock type; steel rivets; steel cotter pins; steel springs; steel springs, of wire; steel baffles; copper washers; copper boss; copper nuts; nickel fasteners; aluminum screws; aluminum hooks; metal hinges; metal brackets; fans; fan blades, fan unit housings; servers; input/output units; storage units; smart cables; card readers; server housing/enclosures; printed circuit board assemblies; electric motors; transformers; static converters; inductors; magnets; lithium batteries; lithium polymer batteries; routers and network switches; microphones; CDs, software; solid state drives; semiconductor media; monitors; capacitors; fuses; circuit breakers; power strips; relays; switches; electrical connectors; optical fiber cable connectors; terminals; power strips with rack mounts; diodes; transistors; thyristors; LEDs; electronic integrated circuits; infrared LED strips; data server cables; copper and power cables; cables; optical fiber cables; metal furniture; and, server rack rails (duty rate ranges from duty-free to 8.6%).

      Nowhere mentioned are some fairly distinctive parts for any real type of populated rack.

      Any of the other distinct features you would expect when you're getting in to such detail as 'copper washers' and 'nickel fasteners' are absent. Unfortunately the list of materials also include 'routers and network switches' - which contain all manner of controlled or at least labelable and interesting things that the .gov wants to know about such as processors, RAM, high precision dsps, etc.

      Overall the list of materials is either incomplete, grossly incomplete, or deliberately misleading. The usual business. lol

      Shocker.

    17. Re:Server Racks by amicusNYCL · · Score: 1

      I like how they individually list "transistors" and "capacitors", but then also list "servers". They also list "smart cables", "data server cables", "copper and power cables", "optical fiber cables", and then just "cables". Someone got paid by the word.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
  4. Ad block blocker by houstonbofh · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If the site does not allow my Ad Block to run, I ain't looking. A warning would be nice. An alternative would be nicer.

    1. Re:Ad block blocker by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 1

      try uBlock Origin - it's better.

    2. Re:Ad block blocker by subk · · Score: 2

      If the site does not allow my Ad Block to run, I ain't looking. A warning would be nice. An alternative would be nicer.

      If the site displays a message that you must turn Ad Block off, just refresh and press escape a few times as soon as the article's text appears. This will generally work to stop the script that pulls up the ad blocking message.

      --
      Now, if you'll excuse me, I have backups to corrupt.
    3. Re:Ad block blocker by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You want Anti-Adblock Killer.
      https://reek.github.io/anti-adblock-killer/

  5. Watch Trump's Twitter feed by TimHunter · · Score: 0, Troll

    Wait for der Drumpfenfuhrer to take credit for this.

    1. Re:Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually, Tim Cook is already on record saying Trump is the reason they built this here instead of in Asia somewhere.

    2. Re:Watch Trump's Twitter feed by chispito · · Score: 2

      Wait for der Drumpfenfuhrer to take credit for this.

      The sixth comment in and you managed to Godwin the thread. Keep up the good work.

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
    3. Re: Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must have missed Tim Cook's announcement then. Try to keep up.

    4. Re:Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Liar.

    5. Re:Watch Trump's Twitter feed by NatasRevol · · Score: 4, Insightful

      If mentioning Trump is now 'godwinning' a thread, comments worldwide may as well be shut down now.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
    6. Re: Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lie.

    7. Re: Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Never mind I found what Cook said. Wow.

    8. Re: Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Never make me I found what Cook said. Wow.

    9. Re: Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't believe he did that to Woz's mother.

    10. Re: Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What about using a more appropriate descriptor, such as Cheeto Benito?

    11. Re:Watch Trump's Twitter feed by kuzb · · Score: 1

      Mentioning trump isn't, but slurs like "Drumpfenfuhrer" is attempting to nazi up trump, which IS godwinning up a thread.

      --
      BeauHD. Worst editor since kdawson.
    12. Re:Watch Trump's Twitter feed by NatasRevol · · Score: 1

      Well, you are who your friends are.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
    13. Re:Watch Trump's Twitter feed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wait for der Drumpfenfuhrer to take credit for this.

      The sixth comment in and you managed to Godwin the thread. Keep up the good work.

      If mentioning Trump is now 'godwinning' a thread, comments worldwide may as well be shut down now.

      Wait... what's that sound... WHOOOSH!

    14. Re:Watch Trump's Twitter feed by chispito · · Score: 1

      If mentioning Trump is now 'godwinning' a thread, comments worldwide may as well be shut down now.

      How did you manage to defend the comment without even reading it? I quoted it for you. It is not hard.

      --
      The Daddy casts sleep on the Baby. The Baby resists!
  6. Are they just avoiding import tariffs? by stabiesoft · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I quickly scanned the article. My impression was they will screw them together in mesa, and all the pieces will be imported. By "finishing" the product in mesa they avoid customs on all the pieces. Before, they actually screwed them together in NC, Oregon, etc, the places they were used, and probably had to pay import taxes on the components. So net, no new US jobs, probably fewer since centralizing the finishing will optimize the process.

    1. Re:Are they just avoiding import tariffs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      This. I'm not sure why this is being published as a puff piece on Apple when they're really pulling a scheme that auto manufacturers perfected decades ago.

    2. Re: Are they just avoiding import tariffs? by fermion · · Score: 2

      Yes. It is to avoid taxes. Very few jobs as the robots will do the actual manufacturing. Arizona is not known for its labour force.

      --
      "She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
    3. Re: Are they just avoiding import tariffs? by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

      I have it upon good authority that there are people in Arizona who are capable of screwing.

      --
      Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
    4. Re: Are they just avoiding import tariffs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except for the massive Intel fab, or the Raethyon Missile Plant, or the Apache factory, or shit like that huh?

    5. Re: Are they just avoiding import tariffs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Government military contracts, with infinite ability to increase costs and no quality control, is not the same as realisble consumer products.

  7. High-tech manufacturing = Robots by Camel+Pilot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "The Arizona effort would mark a rare instance of a US tech company manufacturing and assembling a finished product domestically, where labor costs are higher"

    Well that is because of this key phrase...

    "high-tech manufacturing"

    Meaning there will be very little labor and lot of robots.

    1. Re: High-tech manufacturing = Robots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The future is now!

    2. Re:High-tech manufacturing = Robots by NatasRevol · · Score: 1

      Welcome to the future. This will be the case everywhere going forward. No blue collar jobs, save robot repair, will be coming back.

      --
      There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
    3. Re:High-tech manufacturing = Robots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well that is because of this key phrase...

      "high-tech manufacturing"

      Meaning there will be very little labor and lot of robots.

      Not to mention the location being in a shithole with a depressed economy. They will be able to hire people at minimum wage for these jobs.

    4. Re:High-tech manufacturing = Robots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, there's robots for that too.

    5. Re:High-tech manufacturing = Robots by gosand · · Score: 1

      Well that is because of this key phrase...

      "high-tech manufacturing"

      Meaning there will be very little labor and lot of robots.

      Only if Trump gets his wall.

      --

      My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

    6. Re:High-tech manufacturing = Robots by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Meaning there will be very little labor and lot of robots.

      Trump still wins!

    7. Re:High-tech manufacturing = Robots by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

      and then the robot work tax (lower then the import tax) will pay for basic income.

  8. As an apple fan by dhaen · · Score: 2

    I regard this as bolloxing of the law.

    1. Re:As an apple fan by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If people are bolloxing the law, then the law is probably best bolloxed.

  9. Not so fast by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Should read: Apple begs trump for tax exempt (and regulations exempt, while you're at it) manufacturing facility.

    1. Re:Not so fast by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 3, Informative

      They already got it:

      "Foreign-trade zones are essentially outside US customs territory, which means companies can avoid duties when exporting or importing merchandise. The US government supports the zones to help create jobs through "the encouragement of operations in the United States which, for customs reasons, might otherwise have been carried on abroad."

      "On its domestic sales, Apple would be able to choose the duty rate during customs entry procedures that applies to finished server assembly cabinets (duty-free) for the foreign-status materials/components noted below and in the existing scope of authority," the notice continues.

  10. Heat? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    Isn't AZ too hot? Do you really want a data center where the temperature quite often approaches 110 degrees? You'll need "turbo" A/C. Doesn't seem economical.

    Why not Idaho? Cooler weather, low taxes, and cheap real-estate.

    1. Re:Heat? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

      Correction, it's not a data-center itself, but electronic manufacturing is still an energy-intensive industry.

    2. Re:Heat? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RTFA. Manufacture of data center equipment. Not an actual data center.

    3. Re:Heat? by ncc74656 · · Score: 2

      Isn't AZ too hot? Do you really want a data center where the temperature quite often approaches 110 degrees?

      Las Vegas isn't much cooler than Phoenix (maybe 10 degrees most of the time), yet Switch is doing booming business here with datacenters popping up all over town. The temperature outside hasn't been much of an impediment for them.

      --
      20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
    4. Re:Heat? by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      Serious server gear can function in 100+ temperature so long as that's a stable temp. I had a rack of Sun gear in Vegas we kept in a closet. Our cooling "solution" was always failing.

      Sun support said the gear could handle it.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    5. Re:Heat? by amicusNYCL · · Score: 2

      Do you really want a data center where the temperature quite often approaches 110 degrees?

      Sure. Here's one. Take a tour. They have a facility in Scottsdale, too. Other companies host here, also. Digital Realty has nearly 1 million square feet of data center space in the county.

      Why not Idaho? Cooler weather, low taxes, and cheap real-estate.

      Idaho has a single tier-3 data center. Compared to Phoenix, I'm sure the major difference is the concentration of top-tier networks already here in Phoenix. I doubt there are as many top-tier networks running through Idaho. We also have cheap power and land, but I'm sure the prices in Idaho aren't very high either. Then again, there aren't many people in Idaho and it pays to locate your equipment near to the population centers. The population of all of Idaho is about 1.6 million, while about 4.5 million live in metro Phoenix. Intel, Motorola, and Honeywell also have a lot of major facilities here, I'm sure for many of the same reasons as the data centers.

      --
      "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
    6. Re:Heat? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The Phoenix area is also seismically stable, not prone to flooding, and rarely if ever experiences widespread power loss due to weather events. That's a big part of why the company I work for consolidated a number of their data centers into one big one and located it in Phoenix.

    7. Re:Heat? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There are plenty of data centers in the Phoenix metro area. Lower real estate and labor costs among other factors probably offset any increased cooling costs.

    8. Re:Heat? by rickb928 · · Score: 1

      There is a lot of dark fiber around. Idaho could be a data center hub in 90 days, and centers constructed in 180.

      Cheap power, cold air for free half the year, just the winter snow as a threat.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    9. Re:Heat? by mea_culpa · · Score: 2

      Mesa sees an average of 301 sunny days each year. Solar power is now at or near parity for grid power and continues to get cheaper. The heat isn't going to cost anything extra in long run.

    10. Re:Heat? by mea_culpa · · Score: 1

      There's this small company that I love to hate called GoDaddy here also.

    11. Re:Heat? by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 1

      "Isn't AZ too hot? Do you really want a data center where the temperature quite often approaches 110 degrees? "

      A stable energy supply (hydro plus nuclear in this case) trumps low temperature as a manufacturing parameter.

    12. Re:Heat? by scatbomb · · Score: 1

      Big deal, slap some solar panels on the roof to power the A/C. Problem solved.

  11. Looks like Silcon Valley is full, heading east... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    A 90 minute, $137 airplane ride from San Francisco

    https://www.google.com/maps/dir/San+Francisco,+CA/phoenix,+az/@35.5522815,-121.7467472,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x80859a6d00690021:0x4a501367f076adff!2m2!1d-122.4194155!2d37.7749295!1m5!1m1!1s0x872b12ed50a179cb:0x8c69c7f8354a1bac!2m2!1d-112.0740373!2d33.4483771

    Could Phoenix be the next Silicon Valley?
    https://www.google.com/#q=why+do+tech+companies+build+in+arizona%3F

    And of course, 15 hr drive to Burning Man Festival in Black Rock Desert, NV

    https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Black+Rock+Desert/phoenix,+az/@37.1605015,-120.0644704,6z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x809fc1db18d4f4a7:0xf2f995dbd40787a0!2m2!1d-119.0560102!2d40.910733!1m5!1m1!1s0x872b12ed50a179cb:0x8c69c7f8354a1bac!2m2!1d-112.0740373!2d33.4483771

  12. Putin maybe? NSA? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Trump Wins Again!

    Apple was reportedly having serious problems with hardware coming into their data centres being tampered with. Either Putin, or more likely the NSA can probably claim this victory more than Trump. Though I'm sure Tim will use it to suck up to him. It would be a bit ironic if this is the best thing the NSA has done for America this decade.

  13. "data-center server gear" by rickb928 · · Score: 1

    Given Apple's vast knowledge and past history, this seems like either a waste of time or a significant effort to break new ground.

    Ha. Get out the popcorn and prepare to shovel the blood.

    --
    deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    1. Re:"data-center server gear" by Cmdln+Daco · · Score: 1

      Hey now, the SE/30 was a great little server.

  14. Obviously... by EmeraldBot · · Score: 1

    Watch out, people of Mesa! They're coming for your houses! They're coming for your low price commodities! They're coming for your open source OpenGL graphics stack! These are grave times for Arizona, indeed....

    --
    "Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
  15. Who cares? by DogDudeIsCool · · Score: 0

    I mean this literally... other than data center salespeople, who cares? Every decade or two, when it's time to get a new data center, I go to the data center store, and I buy something that they have in stock, within my budget. I couldn't care if it was high-tech manufacturing, low-tech manufacturing, or FairyDust manufacturing. A data center is a data center is a data center.

  16. What haveing the xserve come back or run in vm by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    What having the xserve come back or let people run mac ox server in a vm on any Base Hardware?
    Get rid of the Ensure your physical system is an Apple-labeled computer Rule.

    If there is an xserver it needs at least dual gig-e or dual 10-gig-e + IPMI.

  17. Maybe Black Mesa? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Haha. Fat chance.

  18. Re:Putin maybe? NSA? by Swave+An+deBwoner · · Score: 1

    Apple was reportedly having serious problems with hardware coming into their data centres being tampered with.

    You'd think that would have provided enough economic / reputational incentive for them to build their stuff here without requiring corporate welfare schemes.

  19. Maybe Apple should sell this stuff... by mlts · · Score: 2

    In my personal experience, Apple stuff is still widely regarded as high end in a lot of workplaces. Should Apple be able to step into the enterprise, it would definitely be a large market. It isn't like Apple hasn't been there, because with the XSan, Apple was the #2 selling storage vendor for a while (long time ago, but still notable.)

    Ideally, Apple should spin the enterprise division off, similar to Filemaker/Claris. That way, the toymaking arm can focus on new shinies while a dedicated company can work on what enterprises need. Heck, take the XServe... it may not have been a hit, but it was a very solid piece of equipment for its time. Done right, Apple could keep a premium price point and compete with things like UCS, but it would take some design (perhaps a hypervisor in the BIOS so machines can be racked/stacked/wired, turned on, and immediately be ready for taking VM or distributed storage loads), but with all the cash in Apple's war chest, they could buy Nutanix or StarWind Software and be in the enterprise game in no time.

    1. Re:Maybe Apple should sell this stuff... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      #2-selling storage array? Citation needed, please.

  20. Yes, and what's the problem? by scatbomb · · Score: 1

    If the creation of 500 or 1000 robot jobs leads to a factory being built which employs 100 people, how is that a bad thing?

  21. Apple assembling domestically for a while by Wild_dog! · · Score: 1

    I think my 2012 iMac was assembled at least partially here.
    Apple has been bringing what they can to the US where it makes sense from a business perspective I think.
    Feel free to correct me if you think I am wrong or have other information.

  22. We want to quality make stuff we use... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...Not the crap we ship to our stupid customers.

  23. Re:Looks like Silcon Valley is full, heading east. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Burning man has been fagged up by millennial shitstains. Hipsters only now.

  24. news with ads by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'm sick and tired of user BeauHD making propaganda for Google. I miss having real scientific news. I need to find a new slashdot. Or the old one...

  25. Re:Putin maybe? NSA? by Coren22 · · Score: 1

    I'm trying to figure out what tampering Putin or the NSA would do to a server rack.

    This won't solve the problem of tampering with servers, as they presumably will still be built overseas.

    --
    APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?