North Carolina
Latest
EV startup VinFast will build a $5 billion plant in North Carolina
The Vietnamese auto company plans to build a new line of electric cars in the US.
EV startup Arrival is building a $11.5 million battery plant in North Carolina
British-American vehicle manufacturer Arrival today announced it plans to establish an $11.5 million battery plant in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Toyota will build its $1.29 billion battery plant in North Carolina
On Monday, the automaker said it will build the plant on the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, a tract of land that’s located in Randolph County in central North Carolina.
Juul will pay $40 million to settle a vaping lawsuit in North Carolina
Several other states have sued the company, alleging that it marketed products to teens.
Apple will build another US campus in North Carolina
Apple plans to invest $430 billion in the US economy over five years after exceeding its previous domestic target.
Rural North Carolina residents will soon get their meds delivered by drone
Now they’re going to be buzzing through the skies of rural North Carolina thanks to a novel delivery service devised by drug-maker Merck and drone-maker Volansi. The plan is simple: use Volansi’s 7-foot long “Gemini” quadcopter to ferry packages of cold chain medicines — such as vaccines, glaucoma treatments, insulin, and asthma inhalers — from Merck’s Wilson, NC drug lab to the Vidant Healthplex-Wilson. This medical network serves more than 1.4 million people across 29 counties in eastern North Carolina.
Walmart launches a drone delivery program in North Carolina
Shortly after receiving final FAA approval for drone deliveries, Amazon already has a rival. Walmart announced that it will start a pilot program with drone company Flytrex to deliver groceries and other household essentials from its superstore in Fayetteville, NC.
North Carolina sues eight e-cigarette makers over teen use
Officials aren't just focused on Juul in their crackdown on teen vape use. North Carolina has sued eight e-cigarette makers (Beard Vape, Direct eLiquid, Electric Lotus, Electric Tobacconist, Eonsmoke, Juice Man, Tinted Brew and VapeCo) over allegations they're "aggressively targeting" kids and don't require "appropriate" age checks when selling their products. The companies frequently use child-oriented flavors like gummy bear or "unicorn frappé," not to mention the colorful packages to match.
North Carolina explores Hyperloop One system to connect the Triangle
North Carolina may be a future destination for a Hyperloop One transit system. The company and several transit partners are exploring a hyperloop that could link Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the RDU International Airport, near the Research Triangle Park. A pre-feasibility study suggested that traveling between Raleigh and Durham or Chapel Hill (a distance of around 30 miles) could take less than ten minutes, while hyperloop corridors in the region may ease traffic.
Software firm may have exposed North Carolina to election hackers in 2016
Voting system security is problematic enough, but one company might have unintentionally laid out a welcome mat for hackers. Politico claims VR Systems, a voting software firm targeted by Russians, took a gigantic risk in 2016 by using remote access software to connect to a computer in North Carolina and troubleshoot a voter list management tool in the last two days before the election. As the tool downloaded the Durham County voter list straight from the state's Board of Elections, intruders could have altered local (and potentially state-level) records to prevent people from voting in key precincts.
Transgender protection rollback sparks opposition from tech
On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that it would roll back federal protections for transgender citizens and require states and local school boards to decide how (or, more accurately, whether) they would enforce these people's civil rights. Given that Silicon Valley tech companies routinely portray themselves as paragons of diversity and tolerance, these companies would surely be equally incensed at the government's current attempts to regulate where children can pee. However, the responses so far have failed to directly address the president's recent actions, instead generally relying on passive statements that extol their valuation of diversity and inclusion.
State laws restricting city-run broadband overruled
Today is one of the more momentous days in the FCC's recent history. Its net neutrality vote will get most of the press attention, but its moves to protect municipal broadband from state legislators are also quite important. The proposal adopted today is narrowly focused, but it could have huge implications. What the regulator has decided to do is preempt state laws that seek to restrict the spread of city-built broadband networks in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Wilson, North Carolina. But the agency also reserved the right to intercede on behalf of municipalities on a case-by-case basis if it thought that local or state governments were getting in the way of improving competition and spreading access to broadband internet.
'Nerds Without Borders' help solve North Carolina's thorny Turtle problem
Like any creature that loves beautiful landscapes and the Wolfpack, Sea Turtles like to hang out in North Carolina. The endangered species is a big fan of the state's beaches, where it digs down several feet and lays its eggs ready for hatching. When ready, the turtles take a few days to dig themselves to the surface before waddling back into the sea, but biologists can only pinpoint that down to a six week window. That means that there's six weeks of tourist season when NC's beaches aren't available to use, since no-one wants to see a baby turtle getting squashed by an ATV or kicked by a curious child.
The TUAW Daily Update Podcast for July 8, 2014
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get some the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world. You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the player at the top of the page. The Daily Update has been moved to a new podcast host in the past few days. Current listeners should delete the old podcast subscription and subscribe to the new feed in the iTunes Store here.
Apple buys 100 acres for new solar farm
Apple has purchased an additional 100 acres of North Carolina which it will use to add to the solar farm it already operates in the region. The state's Claremont City Council has approved the project, which will cost Apple a reported US$55 million -- that's sofa-cushion change for a company that's so firmly in the black. It's estimated that the farm's construction will take five years and create 75 jobs. When complete, it will generate 17.5 megawatts of power for Apple. Compare that to Apple's main North Carolina solar farm in Maiden, which produces 20 megawatts of power for a data center (pictured above). Apple intends to give back to its host as well. It will give two parcels of land back to Claremont that it can use as greenways. The value of that land is about $96,000. In September of 2010, Apple bought 200 acres in NC to produce a second 20 MW farm.
Report: EA shutters freemium-focused North Carolina studio
EA's North Carolina studio, a freemium-oriented extension of the mobile and social game-oriented EA All Play label, has been shut down, The Escapist reports. The studio is not listed on EA's studio location map, but The Escapist reports that a cached copy of the previous site describes the studio's focus on developing "cutting edge freemium games for mobile and tablet platforms." The site listed Monopoly Hotels as its most recent notable effort.
Google is taking Glass on a road trip across the US, try it on in a city near you
It's still not ready to sell Glass to non-"Explorers," but Google is now at least willing to give more folks an opportunity to try it. The company announced today that's its kicking off a road trip across the US, which will see it make stops in a number of cities where you'll be able to meet some of the team behind Glass and try on the device yourself. That begins in Durham, North Carolina on October 5th, although the company isn't confirming any additional cities just yet (for the time being, it's only saying to keep an eye on its Google+ page). If you're able to make it to Durham, though, you can RSVP for the event at the source link below.
Visualized: Inside Moog's Sound Lab
As touring acts grow weary from their travels across the US of A, Moog has a spot for them to get re-energized. Inside the synth maker's North Carolina headquarters sits a room that's decked out with the company's analog tech and effects (including a Model 15 synthesizer) -- waiting for musicians who are on the road to stop by for a visit. It's here in the Sound Lab where the likes of Mutemath, Phantogram, OK Go and Ra Ra Riot grab their Moog gear of choice to re-imagine some of their existing tracks. For a look at all of the sound-scaping tools on display, mosey into the gallery below for a virtual visit. %Gallery-169365%
Visualized: A look inside Moog's analog synthesizer factory
While we're waiting for Moogfest to officially kick off this weekend, we stopped by the headquarters of Moog Music in Asheville, North Carolina to catch a glimpse of the analog action. The entire company is housed in one building that includes design, assembly, testing, engineering, service and a warehouse for all of the handmade electronics. Despite having all of its departmental bases covered, the outfit is still only comprised of about 50 folks total. However, the workshop-esque facility is poised to crank out 10,000 instruments over the course of the year that cover synths, stomp boxes, guitars and more. We took a stroll around the factory floor (and we were lucky enough to spot the screen-printed, Moogfest-exclusive Theremins), so dive in to the gallery below for a behind-the-scenes look at the construction process.
Lenovo building PC production facility in North Carolina
North Carolina is fast becoming a haven for tech behemoths, with Chinese giant Lenovo becoming the latest to plant its flag in the Southeastern soil. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is readying a PC production facility near its US headquarters which will kick off operations next year. Aside from securing bragging rights over competitors which no longer manufacture in the US, the factory is intended to satisfy stateside customers who "demand for flexible supplies and product customization." While it's initially a small operation -- employing slightly over 100 people -- the aim is to expand in the future, meaning that elusive "Made in America" sticker may become a little more commonplace.
