Rumor: Rumor: Apple Considering Norman Foster for New Campus Design - The Mac Observer

According to the latest word to come from the rumor mill, Apple is considering hiring Norman Foster to design its new campus on the Cupertino land recently purchased from HP. Mr. Foster is know throughout the world for his striking architectural designs, including London’s “Gherkin.”

El Economista (English translation) reports that Apple is considering linking its current Cupertino campus with the new facility via underground tunnels so staff can move between the buildings without crossing streets or having to go outside. The new campus will apparently be designed to be environmentally friendly as well.

Foster’s “Gherkin” with a little Apple touch

Apple recently purchased some 98 acres of land in Cupertino from HP with plans to expand its headquarters office space. The new land sits along Wolfe Road and butts up against an Apple land purchase from 2006.

“We now occupy 57 buildings in Cupertino and our campus is bursting at the seams,” Apple corporate spokesperson Steve Dowling said. “These offices will give us more space for our employees as we continue to grow.”

Apple isn’t saying who it plans to hire for the new campus design, nor has it said when it expects to start construction. Until Apple makes an official announcement, word that Mr. Foster is working with the company should be considered an unconfirmed rumor.

View the original article here

Rumor: Verizon Staffing Up Call Centers In Preparation For... iPhone? - PC Magazine

Two call centers with previous experience working for Verizon are both looking to staff up—adding thousands of customer service representatives for a, "major wireless cell phone service retailer" that many postulate could be Verizon itself.

If that's the case, is this yet one more sign in the unfolding rumor-mongering that is Verizon's potential iPhone launch?

Apple Insider's Josh Ong says that, "the connection between a flurry of call center recruiting and a Verizon iPhone is tenuous at best." However, both Teleperformance and Ryla both have experience working for Verizon, Apple, or both. The former's pulled double-duty for both companies, whereas Ryla has worked with Verizon for more than ten years.

Ryla's currently hiring for approximately 1,700 new positions across Indiana, Colorado, Virginia, and California. For the 500 or so people the company's seeking in Clovis, California, "The new hires will be answering customer-service calls on behalf of a Ryla client identified only as a Fortune 500 cellular/telecommunications company that expects to increase its marketing and sales," reports Tim Sheehan of The Fresno Bee.

Teleperformance's listing for Pennsylvania positions indicates that employees would, "Take Inbound Customer Service Calls for a major wireless cell phone service retailer."

The locations of its other open positions are a bit more varied—and equally cryptic. Positions in Utah include, "Outbound Sales Reps to sell products to existing customers for a leading software or wireless company," and positions listed in Idaho indicate that an employee would, "Take inbound technical support calls for laptop and mp3 player assistance."

Fanning the rumor flames, Teleperformance vice president of recruiting Marcie Ballard said in an October interview with The Augusta Chronicle that the new positions needed to be lined up by November of this year. More importantly, they would be supporting an existing (and major) wireless client with which the company has secured a brand-new line of business. Unfortunately, Ballard would not say what company that specifically is.

According to a report from Electronista, it would take a given calling center roughly three to four weeks to train employees prior to actually sticking them in a cube. If that's the case, then Teleperformance's November deadline puts the new employees in the chairs right around the January timeframe, assuming delays and time lost for the holidays—and that's the same January, "when many expect a Verizon iPhone to be ready," reports the site.

View the original article here

Adidas cancels $10M iAd contract due to Apple's control - rumor - Apple Insider

Adidas cancels $10M iAd contract due to Apple's control - rumor

By Sam Oliver

Published: 02:00 PM EST

Shoemaker Adidas has reportedly canceled a $10 million deal for mobile advertisements on Apple's iAd service, because the iPhone maker has allegedly exerted too much control over the process.

Citing two mobile industry executives, Silicon Alley Insider has claimed that Adidas pulled its campaign because "Apple CEO Steve Jobs was being too much of a control freak." Adidas is rumored to have a creative concept rejected three times, prompting the move.

"In addition to Apple's unusual control over the ad creation process, advertisers complain about the lack of control over visibility into where their ads appear, lack of third-party ad serving tools, and other issues," the report said. "Apple plans to open up the process once its' more comfortable with the program, but it appears some advertisers have lost their patience."

The report largely reaffirms what The Wall Street Journal claimed in August, when the paper said that advertisers have been frustrated over Apple's "tight control over the creative process" for iAds. It was said that Apple's mobile advertisements take between eight and 10 weeks from start to finish, and Apple, which builds the ads itself, was taking two weeks longer than advertisers expected.

It was noted that Chanel, one of the launch partners with iAd, decided to cancel its campaign. If true, the departure of Adidas would be the second high-profile customer lost.

iAds provide richly interactive ad experiences inside developers' apps, providing them a 60 percent cut of the advertising revenue. The hope is the advertisements -- noted by the iAd logo in the corner -- will be more compelling to users, because they don't have to leave their app and launch a browser to view them.

Competitors have been quick to highlight Apple's unconventional approach with iAds. In September, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz said she thinks Apple's tight control will drive advertisers away and cause the fledgling service to "fall apart."

Adidas cancels $10M iAd contract due to Apple's control - rumor
Apple loses patent-infringement trial over Cover Flow, Time Machine
Patent suit targets Apple, Microsoft, others over digital distribution
NPD: Early iPad adopters more satisfied, active than recent buyers
Hackers demonstrate 'jailbreak' exploit on new Apple TV
Apple rumored to be testing touchscreen panels for new iMac
Apple issues new beta of Mac OS X 10.6.5 to developers
Failures in mobile space cost Steve Ballmer half his bonus
Facebook executive expects to reach Ping deal with Apple
Google Android closes gap with Apple iPhone in consumer interest
Scalpers capitalize on Apple's limited iPhone 4 stock in China
Troubled development, 2011 launch rumored for Apple's Final Cut Studio
Apple shows continued interest in expanded cloud data syncing
China Unicom iPhone 4 sales hit 100K in first four days
Nintendo says 3D hand-held delayed till next year, lowers forecast
Time Warner CEO says Apple 99-cent rental model 'jeopardizes' sales
Apple will use baseband from CDMA giant for iPhone 5 and iPad 2 - report
'Lowtide' UI found on Apple TV could come to iPad, iPhone
Apple TV teardown finds 8GB of storage, 256MB of RAM
Apple's '07-'08 MacBook Pros included in Nvidia class-action settlement
First look: Unboxing Apple's new $99 Apple TV with streaming HD content
Apple plans to push HTML5 by creating new, 'innovative' websites
Dell to launch 7-inch tablet in 'next few weeks' to challenge iPad
Apple issues betas of iOS 4.2, iTunes 10.1 to developers
Apple extends its legal battle with Nokia into the UK
Microsoft to launch Office for Mac 2011 on Oct. 26
Dated, disputed rumor of Tim Cook joining HP affects Apple stock
Apple updates iOS Remote app to add iPad, Retina Display support
Ad requests from Apple's iPad see 76% month-over-month increase
Official Google Voice app reportedly approved by Apple
iOS 4.1 version of Apple TV firmware posted, jailbroken
Materials cost for Apple's sixth-gen iPod nano estimated at $43
Goldman Sachs says Apple planning thinner iPad with camera, mini USB
RIM unveils 7-inch 'PlayBook' tablet set to launch in early 2011
Media coverage of Apple found to be overwhelmingly positive
MacTech Conference to offer developers free $200 Apple Certification Exam
Google extends deal with Apple to remain default iPhone search
Lawsuit claims Apple's iTunes video content violates patent
iAd poised to take 21% of market as Google loses share to Apple
Apple TV preorders now shipping in time for Sept. launch [u]

View the original article here