Apple Hires Microsoft's Data Center Manager
GreenM3's Dave Ohara reports (
via Data Center Knowledge) that Apple has hired
Kevin Timmons, formerly the general manager of Microsoft's data center group. Timmons had served in the role at Microsoft for less than two years after spending well over a decade in operations at GeoCities/Yahoo.
News that a bunch of us have been discussing is Apple hiring Kevin Timmons (GM of Microsoft's data center services group). Don't expect any press releases from Apple or Microsoft on this one. ... The position Kevin is going to fill is not known and is not the position vacated by the departed Olivier Sanche. Olivier's position has been filled by another data center operations executive.
Sanche, Apple's previous data center boss, passed away in November from a heart attack. And given that that position has already been filled internally, it appears that Timmons may be taking on other projects related to data center operations or even outside that scope.
All Things Digital offers a similar report indicating that Timmons may be taking on a role larger than traditional data center management, possibly including deployment of cloud-based services such as those rumored for a revamp of Apple's MobileMe subscription service.
Timmons left Microsoft this week and the company has confirmed his departure, though it declined to say why he left or where he was headed. But sources in position to know confirm hes hired on with Apple.
Details on Timmons's responsibilities there are slim, though I'm told his role may extend beyond his datacenter expertise. Which is interesting to hear in light of recent chatter about Apple's rumored cloud initiatives.
Apple of course is preparing to open (or has already opened) its massive new data center in North Carolina, a facility the company has said will be used to support iTunes and MobileMe. But rumors and speculation have gone well beyond Apple's current slate of data services to include "digital lockers" to allow users to store music, video, and photos in the cloud and even a video subscription service to take on Netflix.
Popular Stories
Apple today released iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1, the first updates to the iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 operating systems that debuted earlier in September. iOS 18.0.1 and iPadOS 18.0.1 come two weeks after the launch of iOS 18. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, the...
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.0.1, the first update for the macOS Sequoia operating system. The 15.0.1 update comes a week after Apple first released macOS Sequoia 15. Mac users can download the macOS Sequoia update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. According to Apple's release notes, macOS Sequoia 15.0.1 fixes a bug that could cause the Messages app...
Now that it's been two weeks since the iPhone 16 models were released, we've been able to spend enough time with the new devices to share a more in-depth review on their performance, battery life, feature set, and more. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've been testing the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max, but the gap between the Pro models and the standard iPhone 16...
Amazon is hosting another Prime Day event this year, called Amazon Prime Big Deal Days and offering shoppers the first chance to save on holiday shopping from a major retailer. Similar to the first Prime Day, it will last for two days (October 8-9) and you can already find a large selection of early deals across Amazon's storefront, covering savings on tech, clothing, video games, groceries, and...
It's hard to believe we're already into October with the iPhone 16 launch behind us, but there's lots more still to come from Apple this year on both the hardware and software fronts. We're still expecting a number of Mac and perhaps some iPad updates in the very near future, while Apple Intelligence features are set to begin rolling out with iOS 18.1 and related operating system updates....
Apple is set to release iOS 18.1 in October, bringing the first set of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update marks a significant step forward in Apple's AI integration, offering a new Siri contextually-aware experience and a range of additional capabilities powered by on-device machine learning and large language models. There are a couple of handy new...
Apple is working on a new iPad mini that will "potentially" be released "by the end of 2024," according to a report today from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Last month, Gurman reported that Apple had "new iPads in the works," including an upgraded version of the iPad mini. At the time, he said the device was "on deck for Apple's October event" alongside the first M4 Macs. The wording in his...
Apple will announce several new M4 Mac models around the end of October, with the company planning to launch at least some of them as soon as Friday, November 1, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman said that Apple will launch a new M4 version of its low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, as well as higher-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models...
