Apple hires Microsoft Data Center manager

You can add even more kindling to the rumor fire burning around Apple's new data center in North Carolina. AllThingsD reports that the company picked up Kevin Timmons as a new employee; he's been working as Microsoft's Manager of Data Center services since 2009. Microsoft confirmed that he left this week, and while it's unclear exactly where he's headed, rumor has it that he'll be with the gang in Cupertino.

Timmons also worked in a similar role at Yahoo!, so he seems like the perfect candidate to help kick off a new cloud service for Apple, if indeed that's what the company is working on. Of course, rumors have been flying for a long time about some type of data center-based service around iTunes or some other, but we'll have to wait a little while longer (probably WWDC?) to see just what Apple (and now Mr. Timmons) is working on.