Apple says NC data center will support iTunes and MobileMe this spring

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Apple's North Carolina data center is expected to open this spring, and will support the iTunes and MobileMe services, the company said during its annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday, where AppleInsider was in attendance.



The news suggests that Apple has experienced some delays with the new $1 billion data center in Maiden, N.C., as last October the company said it expected the facility to open "any day now." It's also the first indication from the secretive company on what it plans to do with the massive facility.



Apple also noted at its shareholder meeting that the North Carolina facility will be the company's second data center. The Mac maker has a multi-million dollar facility in Newark, Calif., that was originally built for telecommunications company MCI WorldCom.



For comparison, the existing Newark facility, acquired for an estimated $50 million back in 2006, is 107,000 square feet. Apple's new North Carolina data center will be nearly five times that, at 500,000 square feet, and there have even been suggestions that Apple is already looking to double it to a million square feet.



In addition to iTunes and MobileMe, the new North Carolina facility will also support Apple's corporate systems. But it's the uses for iTunes and MobileMe that will undoubtedly fuel speculation about Apple's long-rumored plans for a cloud-based iTunes streaming service.



Talk of Apple's potential future cloud services has picked up steam again recently, with a new rumor that the company plans to enhance its MobileMe service with a digital online "locker" that would store users' personal files, such as music, photos and videos. It was also said that Apple has considered making MobileMe, which currently costs $99 per year, a free service.



In addition, another report suggested that Apple's cloud plans would instead have users serve up their own files from a home computer. Content such as music could be streamed over the Internet to a connected device like an iPhone, as long as the "host" computer is active.
«13

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 52
    The guy who was in charge of it passed on so of course it was a bit delayed.
  • Reply 2 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Cascadians View Post


    The guy who was in charge of it passed on so of course it was a bit delayed.



    If you have a 6 month delay because someone in the team leaves or dies you have MAJOR internal management issues. Losing a project manager on something like that should not cost you more than a week or two. I am sure there was a more significant problem. I hope so for Apple's sake.
  • Reply 3 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Apple's North Carolina data center is expected to open this spring, and will support the iTunes and MobileMe services, the company said during its annual shareholders meeting on Wednesday,



    How many annual shareholder meetings does Apple have in a year?
  • Reply 4 of 52
    I wonder if this will be mentioned at the March 2 event.



    That whole "2011 will be the year of?" statement suggest something big like an iTunes/Mobile Me cloud.
  • Reply 5 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AIaddict View Post


    If you have a 6 month delay because someone in the team leaves or dies you have MAJOR internal management issues. Losing a project manager on something like that should not cost you more than a week or two. I am sure there was a more significant problem. I hope so for Apple's sake.



    While I agree with you, I will play devil's advocate and say that the guy who passed away, at least to my knowledge, was the head of the entire operation, from planning to building to most everything else. I could be wrong, but it seemed like this was going to be his lasting legacy at Apple, so I'm sure there was some scrambling, albeit most likely not months worth, to try and replace not only the expertise, but the passion.
  • Reply 6 of 52
    Sounds like MobileMe is going to be free! Apple will out "Google" Google. And by that I mean, we will get MobileMe free and it's integrated in the Apple OS/ecosystem.



    I've been a paid MobileMe subscriber for as long as I can remember. Yes, Dropbox is way superior to iDisk, and I never use the Home Page, backup or sharing photos via MobileMe. But the syncing/contacts management and email with all my macs and iP4 is worth the price of admission.



    Again, I pay for it because of the integration. Could it be a lot better, absolutely!



    Best
  • Reply 7 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post


    How many annual shareholder meetings does Apple have in a year?



    Only one, typically late February. Not to be confused with quarterly earnings reports, January, April, July, and October.
  • Reply 8 of 52
    We may be seeing a paradigm shift here....We won't need so much Flash storage on our mobile devices and Apple won't have to buy and install as much on them. Which means we won't have to pay for it or carry it around.



    All 3 of my iPhones, MB's and iPods have been on the low end (entry level) as far as storage capacity goes and I've never yet had a problem with not enough storage!



    I may take Stevo at his word and buy the 11" basic MBA and rely on streaming rather than storing.



    Think how the ATV has changed from a HD to a streaming device. Do I really need to save a copy of "Hangover" on a HD? The answer, btw, is, "hell no!"



    Perhaps I'm stating the obvious here. But it looks like I won't be buying a 2 Gig Timecapsule that I've coveted for so long. I'll just get an Express for $79 from Amazon and put the cabbage I save towards the iPad 2!



    Best
  • Reply 9 of 52
    nkhmnkhm Posts: 928member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AIaddict View Post


    If you have a 6 month delay because someone in the team leaves or dies you have MAJOR internal management issues. Losing a project manager on something like that should not cost you more than a week or two. I am sure there was a more significant problem. I hope so for Apple's sake.



    Utter rubbish. It's a massive building project with incredibly complex infrastructure, I've known house builds be further behind schedule than that.



    When did apple say they were six months behind because of the project manager dying? Dint criticise based on groundless supposition, it only creates further nonsense.



    "I hope so for apples sake"?! Over dramatic perhaps?



    Lol.
  • Reply 10 of 52
    lilgto64lilgto64 Posts: 1,147member
    Do you suppose that Apple stopped "making" the Xserve because all the production capacity of the Xserves is going exclusively to fill out the NC datacenter?



    Then again the last published Xserve was getting rathe old in the silicon.
  • Reply 11 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post


    How many annual shareholder meetings does Apple have in a year?



    Uh, just one. And it's today.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hittrj01 View Post


    While I agree with you, I will play devil's advocate and say that the guy who passed away, at least to my knowledge, was the head of the entire operation, from planning to building to most everything else. I could be wrong, but it seemed like this was going to be his lasting legacy at Apple, so I'm sure there was some scrambling, albeit most likely not months worth, to try and replace not only the expertise, but the passion.



    Not only that, he was apparently a super-star in the field. Not easily replaced.
  • Reply 12 of 52
    a_ka_k Posts: 32member
    Steve Jobs was a hippie so it surprises me how he has not ambraced the free Internet movement... OK, I stop kidding... I understand Apple is a business and free does not really mean free anyway. With Google, you give away your privacy for instance.



    However, I truly think it's time for Apple to give us a free MobileMe service and also advertisment-free. That's the difference with the rest. The simple existence of such a thing equals publicity for Apple. Yes, it would bring more to Apple than any online banner or text ad could. It's simple: Log to MobileMe, use it for free and next time you want to buy a mobile device, chances are you'll go for iPhone, next time you need a laptop, chances are you'll go for MacBook Pro, etc. That's an example. Plus additional services could be offered for a fee.



    Now, it's also time for iTunes to get in the cloud. We want to fly with our music and other content files.
  • Reply 13 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by nkhm View Post


    Utter rubbish. It's a massive building project with incredibly complex infrastructure, I've known house builds be further behind schedule than that.



    When did apple say they were six months behind because of the project manager dying? Dint criticise based on groundless supposition, it only creates further nonsense.



    "I hope so for apples sake"?! Over dramatic perhaps?



    Lol.



    A bit harsh, but I take your point(s).
  • Reply 14 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by A_K View Post




    ...I truly think it's time for Apple to give us a free MobileMe service and also advertisment-free. That's the difference with the rest. The simple existence of such a thing equals publicity for Apple. Yes, it would bring more to Apple than any online banner or text ad could. It's simple: Log to MobileMe, use it for free and next time you want to buy a mobile device, chances are you'll go for iPhone, next time you need a laptop, chances are you'll go for MacBook Pro, etc. That's an example. Plus additional services could be offered for a fee..



    Agreed, AK especially about..."the next time you need a phone, laptop it will be an Apple," etc.



    In some ways it's the same rational for not charging for iTunes, if you think about it! Sort of a mini halo effect!
  • Reply 15 of 52
    modemode Posts: 163member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    Sounds like MobileMe is going to be free! Apple will out "Google" Google. And by that I mean, we will get MobileMe free and it's integrated in the Apple OS/ecosystem.



    I don't recall the last time Apple offered anything free, and it would sure buck the trend of their recent money grab schemes. In other words, free is not in their DNA.

    It would be pretty nice thou as it would instantly make MobileMe more viable.



    I originally signed up for the cool features in iChat. However, nobody else wanted to pay $120. So when their trial accounts ended... so did the fun. I didn't renew my account.

    'Free' would almost instantly explode the size of the community I would imagine.



    Would be nice. I just don't see Apple doing it without a catch.



    cheers
  • Reply 16 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by hittrj01 View Post


    While I agree with you, I will play devil's advocate and say that the guy who passed away, at least to my knowledge, was the head of the entire operation, from planning to building to most everything else. I could be wrong, but it seemed like this was going to be his lasting legacy at Apple, so I'm sure there was some scrambling, albeit most likely not months worth, to try and replace not only the expertise, but the passion.



    But if you look at the location I'll bet there were some utilities infrastructure issues, and if Apple is true to form, some advanced technologies that needed to be scaled out were brought in as well. If the project leadership took a hit under these circumstances, that would explain the delays.
  • Reply 17 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Proximityeffect View Post


    How many annual shareholder meetings does Apple have in a year?



    At least one.
  • Reply 18 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    Sounds like MobileMe is going to be free! Apple will out "Google" Google. And by that I mean, we will get MobileMe free and it's integrated in the Apple OS/ecosystem.



    I've been a paid MobileMe subscriber for as long as I can remember. Yes, Dropbox is way superior to iDisk, and I never use the Home Page, backup or sharing photos via MobileMe. But the syncing/contacts management and email with all my macs and iP4 is worth the price of admission.



    Again, I pay for it because of the integration. Could it be a lot better, absolutely!



    Best



    When will we see Apple Earth to replace Google Earth?
  • Reply 19 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by christopher126 View Post


    We may be seeing a paradigm shift here....We won't need so much Flash storage on our mobile devices and Apple won't have to buy and install as much on them. Which means we won't have to pay for it or carry it around.



    All 3 of my iPhones, MB's and iPods have been on the low end (entry level) as far as storage capacity goes and I've never yet had a problem with not enough storage!



    I may take Stevo at his word and buy the 11" basic MBA and rely on streaming rather than storing.



    Think how the ATV has changed from a HD to a streaming device. Do I really need to save a copy of "Hangover" on a HD? The answer, btw, is, "hell no!"



    Perhaps I'm stating the obvious here. But it looks like I won't be buying a 2 Gig Timecapsule that I've coveted for so long. I'll just get an Express for $79 from Amazon and put the cabbage I save towards the iPad 2!



    Best



    So instead of paying $200 for local storage you're happy to pay $35/mo for the rest of time to have your data in the cloud. I've got to add the major wired and wireless internet companies to my stock portfolio so people like you can finance my retirement.
  • Reply 20 of 52
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by lilgto64 View Post


    Do you suppose that Apple stopped "making" the Xserve because all the production capacity of the Xserves is going exclusively to fill out the NC datacenter?



    Then again the last published Xserve was getting rathe old in the silicon.



    Actually I'd place money on a complete refit of the Xserve technology. But then I'm a gamblin' kinda guy.
Sign In or Register to comment.