Arizona
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Lucid Motors building $700 million EV factory in Arizona
Lucid Motors (formerly Atieva) has revealed that its upcoming EV, recently unveiled in Los Angeles, will be built in Casa Grande, Arizona. The Phoenix suburb will host the $700 million factory, which will start producing the first model by 2018. "Arizona stands to gain 2,000 new jobs by 2022," Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said. "Lucid has also made a commitment to training and hiring ... Arizona's veterans."
Teen arrested for sharing exploit that almost brought down 911
An Arizona teen is discovering why you should think very carefully about sharing exploits online: you don't know what people will do with them... or in some cases, that you're sharing the right exploits. Phoenix police have arrested 18-year-old Meetkumar Hitesbhai Desai on computer tampering charges after he publicly posted a version of iOS-based JavaScript attack that he thought would only deliver annoying pop-ups, but actually made bogus 911 calls. In the Phoenix region, there were so many hang-up calls (there were 1,849 link clicks in total) that there was the "potential danger" of emergency phone services going down, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office says. California and Texas police saw call spikes, too.
Foreign hackers attacked two state election systems, FBI warns
Hackers outside of the United States attacked two state election databases in recent months and the FBI is warning voting officials across the country to bulk up security and investigate their own systems for similar malicious activity, Yahoo News reports. The twin hacks were outed in a "flash" alert from the FBI's Cyber Division. The alert does not say which states were targeted, though Yahoo reports that it likely refers to attacks in Arizona and Illinois.
Arizona governor sticks up for Airbnb in new law
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed SB 1350 today, which will prevent cities in the state from banning short-term rental services like Airbnb or HoweAway. According to an earlier report from Forbes, Governor Ducey's end goal is to turn Arizona into The Sharing Economy State, which is a little different from the state's current motto of "God enriches."
Google's self-driving cars to face their toughest test yet
Google is taking its self-driving cars to a fourth city in an expansion of its ongoing development. The latest location for testing is Phoenix, Arizona, which is significantly more arid than any city previously used as a proving ground. Speaking to Reuters, Jennifer Haroon, Google's head of business operations for the self-driving car project, noted that the desert conditions will further the company's understanding of "how our sensors and cars handle extreme temperatures and dust in the air." Modified Lexus SUVs have already begun to map the Phoenix area, checking for street layouts, lane markers, traffic signals and curb heights.
Batteries that stretch are perfect for smart watches and clothes
Used to be that the only time your lithium-ion batteries changed their shape was when they were about to explode in an airliner cargo hold. But thanks to the ingenuity of an Arizona State University research team, future power packs could not only bend but stretch up to 150 percent of their original size while providing an uninterrupted stream of power. Their secret: the ancient Japanese art form of Kirigami. It's an offshoot of the more well-known Origami form that involves both folding and cutting the working material.
AZ town hides license plate readers in dozens of fake cacti
City officials from Paradise Valley, Arizona have reportedly set up an array of license plate readers, hidden within fake cacti no less, throughout the wealthy Phoenix suburb. Problem is, officials can't seem to explain if the devices are currently in use or why they even need the privacy-invading technology ion the first place. Fox 10 News broke the story earlier this week after residents began noticing that many of the town's cell-phone towers (disguised as cacti to blend into the surrounding scenery) were suddenly sporting the new plate readers. These readers scan the license plates of passing vehicles and compare them against a database of stolen and missing vehicles. If the plate matches an entry in the database, the device alerts authorities who then investigate.
Remember the GT Advanced sapphire facility? It's going to be a command center for Apple
CNBC reported today that the GT Advanced plant in Mesa, Arizona, originally tasked with the job of making sapphire for screens, buttons, and other bits and pieces of Apple gear, is now going to be taken over by the company that allegedly caused GT Advanced to go out of business -- Apple. Apple will be spending a cool US$2 billion to transform the factory into a data center that will act as a command center for the company's worldwide data network. Arizona Governor Doug Ducey took to Twitter to tout the investment and the jobs (about 150 full-time Apple employees, about 300-500 engineering and construction jobs) that will benefit the state. Ducey has had a good week, with his state playing host to Super Bowl XLIX yesterday and this announcement coming today. I'm pleased to announce #Apple is expanding to #AZ with a $2 billion investment in #Mesa. http://t.co/pfWI8pXALe #AZmeansBiz - Doug Ducey (@dougducey) February 2, 2015
Road to BlizzCon Day 2: Fruitcake and Fallout
I couldn't even begin to explain why, but I'm fairly certain my comrade-in-arms Anne Stickney insisted on making our BlizzCon road trip an annual event exclusively so she could get a glimpse of a 104-year-old fruitcake. Our itinerary went through numerous iterations leading up to the start of our journey. The fruitcake was struck from the list countless times, but she managed to worm it back in there every single time. At some point, a guy accepts his fate and travels cross-country to see an old, crusty fruitcake. What can you do? I'll let it slide, though. Day 2 of our road trip also included Goodsprings, Nevada, which I insisted on visiting from the beginning. Anyone who has played Fallout: New Vegas will recognize the location: it's the game's first Vegas locale. And, as it turns out, this supposedly-haunted town and its Pioneer Saloon may be recognizable to even those who have never touched a video game. It's been a standby location throughout modern pop culture, its Hollywood breakthrough predating Fallout by many years.
Arizona will get non-stop clean energy from hot air drafts
Many green energy sources only generate power in a narrow range of conditions. Solar panels won't work when it's dark, for instance, and wind turbines are useless when everything is still. If Solar Wind Energy Tower has its way, though, we'll soon get clean electricity around the clock. It recently received permission to build a tower in San Luis, Arizona that produces power through hot air downdrafts; water injected at the top of the tower cools the desert winds, dragging them toward turbines at the bottom. Since it's almost always hot in the area, the plant should run all day and night for much of the year. An ideal summer day could have it churning out a healthy 1,250 megawatts per hour.
New Jersey is the latest state to ban Tesla's direct-to-customer car sales
Tesla's direct-to-customer sales model just hit another big roadblock. New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission has voted in favor of a rule banning direct car sales, effectively kicking Tesla out of the state as of this April. For those keeping score, this is the EV maker's third such defeat, following similar moves by Arizona and Texas -- while Tesla won a legislative battle to go dealer-free in North Carolina, it appears to be losing the war. Not surprisingly, the company is furious. It accuses Governor Chris Christie of not just reneging on a promise to delay the rule for the sake of debate, but of speeding things up to please dealerships that fear real competition. Whether that's an accurate representation or just corporate bluster, the ban will undoubtedly hurt Garden State residents who want a wider selection of eco-friendly rides.
Apple asks Arizona governor to veto religious freedom bill, and other news for Feb. 25, 2014
Apple has confirmed to CNBC that is has asked Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) to veto the so called religious freedom bill SB 1062, which was passed along party lines in the Republican-controlled Arizona House and Senate. The bill would allow any person or company in Arizona to refuse service to anyone based on the refuser's religious beliefs. Opponents of the bill say it would promote discrimination by allowing people to refuse to serve or do business with certain groups -- such as same-sex couples. Needless to say the bill has proved highly controversial and Apple, a company with a strong pro-civil rights history, is just the latest among big companies to ask Governor Brewer to veto the bill. Apple of course now has specific interests in Arizona. As CNBC reports: Apple appears to be the latest firm to join other corporates urging Brewer to veto the bill, which supporters say will protect religious freedom and critics say could allow companies to use religious beliefs to discriminate against the gay and lesbian community. The request from Apple comes as it is preparing to open a new sapphire glass manufacturing plant in Mesa, Arizona and that is expected to create more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and construction. Apple confirmed to CNBC that it has asked the Arizona governor to veto the religious freedom bill. It re-issued a statement released when it announced the new plant. Besides Apple, other corporations such as Marriott and American Airlines have asked Brewer to veto the bill. Meanwhile, the NFL has stated it reserves the right to make changes to the location of the Super Bowl next year, which is currently to be held in Arizona, if the bill passes. Governor Brewer has until February 28th to sign the bill into law. [Image by Gage Skidmore] In other news: The retail section of Apple.com has been updated with an iOS 7-inspired design. The ReSound LiNX is the first Made for iPhone hearing aid that connects directly to the iPhone without any intermediary device needed. Apple is suing a Chinese government agency over over Siri-related patents. Researches have revealed a new bug that allows hackers to track a user's touch inputs on iOS devices.
Apple clears final hurdle to bring sapphire-manufacturing plant to Arizona
AZCentral is reporting that the Gilbert Public School Board voted to approve a tax break for Apple, thereby clearing the way for Apple to open up its planned sapphire-manufacturing plant in Mesa, Ariz. Under terms of the agreement, Apple will buy the land, pay all expenses needed to build out the factory and then lease it back to GT Advanced, which will oversee the manufacturing operation. The fate of the high-profile deal potentially worth hundreds of jobs seemed to hang in the balance, with the school district being the last of eight governing entities needed to approve a property reclassification that would entitle the premier tech company to a tax break. News of Apple's plans to build a sapphire-manufacturing plant, in conjunction with GT Advanced, first surfaced earlier this month. Apple currently uses sapphire to protect the camera lens on the iPhone along with the the Touch ID sensor on the iPhone 5s. The scope of Apple's deal with GT Advanced, however, has led to many to wonder just what Apple might need all that extra sapphire for. As for specifics regarding the tax breaks afforded to Apple, AZ Central indicates that the Arizona Commerce Authority "offered a US$10 million grant and other incentives to Apple to bring a high-tech manufacturing plant" to Mesa. All told, Apple's foray into the sapphire-manufacturing business in Arizona will create an estimated 1,300 construction jobs along with 700 full-time manufacturing jobs.
Daily Update for November 5, 2013
It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all 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 inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here. No Flash? Click here to listen. Subscribe via RSS
Apple to open Arizona manufacturing facility to make sapphire materials
Apple has announced its plans to open a new facility in Arizona to manufacture sapphire materials, according to PocketLint. The Mesa, Ariz., complex will be built and run in partnership with GT Advanced, which is helping Apple manufacture the sapphire. Apple currently uses sapphire in its camera lenses and the Touch ID sensor in various iOS devices. Acknowledging the new factory after it was reported in the news earlier in the day, Apple told PocketLint: "We are proud to expand our domestic manufacturing initiative with a new facility in Arizona, creating more than 2,000 jobs in engineering, manufacturing and construction. This new plant will make components for Apple products and it will run on 100% renewable energy from day one, as a result of the work we are doing with SRP to create green energy sources to power the facility." The factory will be Apple's second in the United States, coming after Apple opened up a plant in Fort Worth, Texas that will be manufacturing the Mac Pro.
Apple to build manufacturing facility in Arizona, create 2,000 jobs in the process
It's no secret that Apple's investing in stateside manufacturing, considering its jet engine-like Mac Pro is being assembled in the great state of Texas, but it looks like Cupertino is getting even more serious about building things in the US. Arizona has just announced that Cook and friends will be opening their latest manufacturing facility in Mesa. The center is expected to create at least 700 jobs in its first year, and another 1,300 spots for construction workers. There's no peep from either camp on what exactly the plant will churn out, but a company by the name of GT Advanced Technologies is talking. The outfit's revealed that it'll help Apple produce a sapphire material in the state. Since iPhone cameras and the Touch ID sensor each use sapphire glass, its likely the factory will be providing parts for those specific components. Update: Apple's given us a statement regarding its future digs in the Copper State, and it turns out the complex will be completely powered by renewable energy from the day it opens. Head past the break for the firm's note.
The union of Scale, Gravity Ghost and the indie devs making them
Scale and Gravity Ghost share a surprising number of characteristics, especially considering how different their core mechanics are. They're both serene, soothing experiences, at least at first: In Gravity Ghost, players control a girl as she flows around the gravity fields of planets, searching for her fox, collecting stars and bits of the universe that were destroyed in a recent black hole. It's a physics game and an odd type of platformer, and it can be a simple exercise in circling planets or a completionist's dream, completely up to the player. Scale is a first-person shooter, but the gun is a shrink-and-grow ray, allowing players to suck the size out of one object and blast it into other objects. Doing this, players can either complete esoteric challenges or simply play around in bright worlds of flowers, pretty houses, green grass and happy trees. Gravity Ghost and Scale are made by Erin Robinson and Steve Swink, respectively, and both games were selected to participate in the PAX East and Prime Indie Megabooth this year. Robinson and Swink both live in Arizona, in the same city, in the same house, and they have been dating for four years. This month, they got engaged. To each other. See – so much in common.
Phoenix Art Museum hosts indie game showcase on Sept. 21
The Phoenix Art Museum will be overrun with 20 indie games from local developers on September 21 from 10AM to 4PM, the final weekend of the museum's The Art of Video Games exhibition. The Arizona Indie Game Showcase is hosted by the Phoenix IGDA and Game CoLab, a productive collective of developers in the city. Scheduled for display at the showcase is a slew of high-profile indies, including Indie Megabooth participants Gravity Ghost from Ivy Games, Scale from CubeHeart Games and Aztez from Team Colorblind. Other developers include Kyle Pulver (Offspring Fling), Corey Nolan (Growing) and Abstrakt Games (Protein Pirates), with music madness in the hands of Adventureface. Connect with the Game CoLab and RSVP for the Arizona Indie Game Showcase on Meetup.
Made in Phoenix: Indie Game Demo Night starts the party on Saturday
Phoenicians can get down with some independent games, a live DJ, food and drinks this Saturday with Made in Phoenix: Indie Game Demo Night, from 7PM - 10PM PT at the Game CoLab headquarters. Game CoLab is a collaborative (get it?) workspace for indie developers in Phoenix, and founders Joseph Darnell and Ben Reichert just opened its doors on May 1. Indie Game Demo Night is Game CoLab's opportunity to introduce local game developers to the public, while providing feedback to the game creators and having a bit of fun, Darnell tells Joystiq. Game CoLab so far has 20 members, 12 of whom work out of the space downtown, and it's closely aligned with the local IGDA chapter, Darnell says. "They want to see the CoLab succeed, since the idea behind it is to provide a more constant support for the game dev community here in the Valley," he says. Indie Game Demo Night will feature music by Adventureface, and it's open for RSVPs on Meetup. The party and Game CoLab offer fresh examples of an expanding, public indie scene across the nation, joining established groups in Boston, Massachusetts, Austin, Texas, and Los Angeles, California, to name a few. [Image credit: Sam Mort]
Google delivers Grand Canyon panoramas to less-than-patient tourists
Google must take as long to sift through vacation photos as everyone else. A few months after it sent its Trekker cameras to sweep the Grand Canyon, the resulting panoramas are at last showing on Google Maps. The expansion gives us 360-degree views from paths spanning roughly 75 miles, including tougher routes like the South Kaibab Trail. The views won't fully convey the majesty of standing on the canyon's edge, but they're quicker than booking a hiking expedition in Arizona -- and certainly easier on the legs.
