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Apple's North Carolina data center to go live this spring

by Erica Sadun Feb 23rd 2011 at 4:15PM

The cloud is the future, and the future appears to be arriving this spring, as Apple's North Carolina data center is finally due to go live, according to reports from today's Apple annual shareholder meeting. The phrase "in the cloud" refers to data hosted at off-site internet-accessible facilities rather than stored locally at a specific end-user machine, allowing you to do things like access photos, videos or music directly over the internet.

No one outside of Apple knows exactly how the North Carolina center will be used, but rumors abound. Apple Insider writes that the massive facility may support enhanced iTunes and MobileMe services, perhaps providing the long-awaited iTunes cloud-based streaming so many analysts have been hoping for.

Other speculated uses of the North Carolina data center include mobile iWork access and paid remote Time Machine hosting. Whatever it is, we'll likely find out soon after they start flipping switches in a few months.



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The cloud is the future, and the future appears to be arriving this spring, as Apple's North Carolina data center is finally due to go...
 

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cameron

I hope there are plans to have something better than Google Docs and Google Apps for the education sector.

It would be good to seamlessly integrate with an Apple service, but something inside only thinks it will be a basic service unless someone could share some light on the matter.

February 25 2011 at 8:20 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
richardwysocki

It may be something even less interesting than that. Look at the trouble Netflix is in by using Amazon's server services to host their video streaming. Now amazon gets into the movie business, and one doesn't need to use much imagination to see a potential issue on the horizon.

Maybe Apple is using some of their infamous foresight to head off what could become their own problem with server services before it becomes a huge road block.

February 24 2011 at 9:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ljbyrne

Interesting, Google maps has removed satellite pictures of the Apple data center. The address is 6081 Startown Road, Newton, NC.

February 23 2011 at 10:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
nanjmill

I want to live by the water... if the let me.. I think they will plant some nice trees and flowers there.. it would be a great place to be stress free, and relax.. your not near the busy life.. I would love to be there.

February 23 2011 at 6:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
robert

Awesome!

February 23 2011 at 6:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
SSteve

I am so uninterested in cloud-based iTunes streaming that it hurts. Surely they can come up with something better than that! Personally I'd like to see a useable iDisk, but that's no more innovative than iTunes streaming.

February 23 2011 at 5:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
jennyp

God that place looks ugly. Here's hoping they plant a million trees

February 23 2011 at 5:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to jennyp's comment
redcard

There's plenty of trees on Earth. Go look at them for a bit

February 23 2011 at 5:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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