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Court orders Apple to complete retail space
Apple is having a hard time Down Under these days. Recently a company executive had to appear before a Parliamentary inquest about why prices for its products are higher in Australia than in other countries, and now Apple has been ordered to pay for continued construction on a canceled Apple Store project. The store in question is the MacArthur Chambers location in Brisbane, Australia. The project was renovating a 1934-era historic building, with massive work being done (see image above) to bring the structure to the standards for an Apple Store. However, the prime contractor on the project went bankrupt, and for some reason Apple pulled the plug last November. No work has been done since. According to a source speaking to ifoAppleStore.com, a Queensland state court has ruled that Apple must pay for its portion of construction to be finished inside the space to what is referred to as an "end-of-lease handover" state. That would make the space available to the building owner so that they can lease it to another tenant.
Sega Australia boss shows interest in acquiring ex-THQ talent down under
Two days ago, THQ announced it's realigning its resources, shutting down two of its Australia-based studios: the Melbourne-based Blue Tongue Entertainment and the Brisbane-based THQ Studio Australia. Today, Sega Studios Australia's head honcho, Marcus Fielding, has shown interest in THQ's dismissed devs. Fielding told MCV that Sega is looking to "explore our short term hiring strategy to reflect the sudden influx of talent in Australia." He added that he hopes to "announce the potential for taking on more staff soon." Sega Studios Australia is currently the largest video game development studio in Brisbane, and is busy working on London 2012 - The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC platforms. Over the last several years, Australia has lost a handful of Brisbane-based studios including Pandemic Australia, Auran, and most of Krome.
Macworld Australia confirms future Apple Store
Australia may be home to several new Apple retail stores this year. The latest Apple retail store was spotted in Melbourne's Westfield Southland Mall. According to Macworld Australia, construction is beginning on the retail storefront, and the store will be ready for sales later this year. Apple has not commented on this expansion, but a Westfield employee confirmed off the record that Apple is behind these renovations. Apple is also opening a larger, flagship store in the Crown Casino area of Melbourne and is hiring staff to fill new retail positions in or around Melbourne. Apple already operates 10 retail stores in Australia and may be adding additional stores in cities of Brisbane and Sydney as well.
Apple planning huge Brisbane, Australia Apple Store
Apple is set to open its largest Australian Apple store in the historic MacArthur Chambers according to papers filed with Brisbane City Council. While the plans don't mention Apple by name, and in fact were filed on behalf of the MacArthur Central Shopping Centre, the details of the plans all point to an Apple store. Among the plan highlights that suggest an Apple store are "feature stairs" ala the staircase in the 5th Avenue New York Store and "new colour scheme of shades of white." The plans also mention stone floors, twin glass doors, and a space for what are presumably Genius Bars. The total size of the store would be 1900sqm, making it the largest in Australia. The MacArthur Chambers building itself has historic connection to World War 2. General Douglas MacArthur commandeered it in 1942 and it was used as an Allied Forces' headquarters until 1944. Apple isn't pushing the history of the building to the wayside either. The plans for the store also include a $3.8 million addendum to remove the "current modern additions" and return the space to its original form. Those plans include getting rid of the tiled ceilings and escalators and restoring the original stone wall panels and bronze doors. There's no word yet on when the store might open.
Babelswarm has a way with words
Letters pummel you as they fall from the heavens, struggling to form the words you just spoke. Any casual utterance leads to another cascade of letters; you see some jostling letters fall into place before you -- "hello". Are you talking to Babelswarm, or is it talking to you? The Australia Council for the Arts awarded a $20,000 artist-in-residence grant to three Melbourne artists last year to explore interactive art in Second Life. Christopher Dodds, Adam Nash and Justin Clemens -- visual artist, musician and writer -- created Babelswarm to combine swarm theory with the story of humanity's effort to build a tower to the heavens. Terrestrial visitors can view and contribute to Babelswarm at the Lismore Regional Gallery, where the words they speak will become a part of the ever-building, ever-collapsing virtual tower. The installation opened simultaneously in Second Life and at the Lismore Gallery April 11th. If you have Second Life installed, why not stop by and help create the tower with your words?
AMD delays Barcelona (again), turns attention to Brisbane
Oh AMD, you just can't keep it together, can you? Advanced Micro Devices, a company known for its share of "issues," has once again delayed its much-hyped, energy efficient Barcelona CPU. Apparently, a technical irregularity has caused the company to push back the release date for widespread availability of the chip until sometime early next year. The glitch, which causes the chip to fail, is just another line of setbacks on the product's path to release (originally set for mid-2007). John Taylor, a company spokesman, says, "We're continuing to ship it but only to specific customers." The company is offering a workaround for the chips until the problems are solved, though users will see an impact on performance. In other heart-wrenching (though seemingly unrelated) AMD news, the chipmaker has decided to re-up its older K8 architecture, refocusing on "Brisbane"-based chips, and even adding a few new models to the line. Over the next two quarters, the company will release 11 new 65nm chips based on the older format, while just three new entries will be made in the "Phenom" -- or K10 -- line. Look, Hector, everyone is pulling for you (except maybe Intel) -- just get it together, man![Thanks, Gary J]Read - A.M.D. Delays Energy-Efficient Chip AgainRead - AMD Resurrects K8 Architecture for 2008 Roadmap
Aussies criticizing Seven Network for compressing HD feeds
Same story, different continent. The compression bug has seemingly struck again, and this time its aggravating those Down Under who'd like to enjoy Seven Network's 1080i programming in all of its high-definition glory. After just recently flipping the switch to broadcast content in HD, a sect of Australians have already begun to grumble over the "relatively low amount of bandwidth the network has allocated to the high-definition channel." Of course, it should be noted that "most" viewers have seen no reason to get bent out of shape, but for those relaxing in Oz, what say ye on the Seven situation?
Foster's to aid in first "beer battery" fuel cell project
While it's certainly debatable whether beer is to thank for the explosion in the consumer electronics industry, it looks like we'll be thanking the beverage without hesitation for making our world a little greener. Oddly enough, "scientists and Australian beer maker Foster's are teaming up to generate clean energy from brewery waste water by using sugar-consuming bacteria," and better yet, the University of Queensland will host a microbial fuel cell at a Foster's Group brewery near Brisbane. Essentially, the cell will consume brewery wastes such as sugar, starch, and alcohol, while producing clean electricity by harnessing the energy released from the organic materials coming in. The device is expected to produce two-kilowatts of power, and while hopes are to bring the technology to other breweries and wineries around the country, this iteration should crank up sometime in September.[Via Physorg, thanks Michael T.]
