Fire Contained at Apple Headquarters, R&D Building?

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com)


http://images.macrumors.com/article/2008/08/13/091408-fire_400.jpg

Fire at Apple: MSNBC (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26173306/)
A few more details (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26173306/) about the fire at Apple headquarters have been revealed that we first reported last night on Page 2 (http://page2.macrumors.com/). MSNBC reports (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26173306/) that firefighters battled the blaze for more than 3 hours and was finally extinguished Wednesday morning. No injuries were reported.

The Mercury News reports (http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10183827) that the fire may have started under an air conditioning unit on the second floor. The fire was first reported shortly after 10 p.m. local time. Over 60 firefighters responded.

Several sites are reporting that the building was a research and development building based on a passing mention (http://www.engadget.com/2008/08/13/3-alarm-fire-burns-at-apples-cupertino-campus/) at Engadget, but other commenters have disputed this claim.

Article Link (http://www.macrumors.com/2008/08/13/fire-contained-at-apple-headquarters-randd-building/)

[scotty56]

Whoa..Thats scary

[swingerofbirch]

I can just imagine Steve Jobs debating whether or not it was worth it to let the firefighters inside the compound.

[queshy]

I can just imagine Steve Jobs debating whether or not it was worth it to let the firefighters inside the compound.

so true. so how long til we read a post that goes like this "I'm a fireman and was just in the Apple headquarters...guess what I saw!!"

Whatever is being worked on is without a doubt locked up at night. My bet is that the firemen didn't see anything, and if they did, they were probably too busy..uh...putting out the fire. I hope so, anyway.

[Foxglove9]

I can imagine an employee saying "we were just trying to overclock the G5 to 3Ghz!!" :p

So does this mean no new Mini Tuesday?

[Full of Win]

Those 1st gen MacBook Pro can be a bitch...a real bitch.

[motulist]

I believe you have my stapler.

[markfc]

New iPhone 3G batteries caused this...honest.

[krye]

That's horrible. I'm glad no one was hurt. I wonder if Apple is going to have any setbacks because of this. I wonder how much R&D was lost. (Prototypes, technical drawings, etc) It's a shame. I'd hate to walk into work one day to find out everything I've worked on for the past year is gone. My heart goes out to all the dedicated Apple employees that bust their ass everyday so we can have what we have.

[thecartoonguy]

I can just imagine Steve Jobs debating whether or not it was worth it to let the firefighters inside the compound.

Laughing. I can see him doing just that.

[motulist]

I'd hate to walk into work one day to find out everything I've worked on for the past year is gone.

Being a fortune 500 computer design company, one would assume that they have an extensive automated offsite backup system.

[thecartoonguy]

Whoa..Thats scary

HA! Microsoft's evil plan did not succeed. Glad to hear no one was hurt. That has to be difficult to lose so much work. :(

[Insulin Junkie]

I can just imagine Steve Jobs debating whether or not it was worth it to let the firefighters inside the compound.

Haha... I wouldn't put it past him either. :rolleyes:

[BWhaler]

I believe you have my stapler.

Absolutely hysterical post. Great stuff.

[Bubba Satori]

They wanted to see if the fire department would work as the new cooling solution for Nvida Macbook Pro video cards. The test was successful but portability and cost issues have not been resolved. :mad:

[spazzcat]

I am sure the Firefighters has to sign a NDA before going in :D

[m4c1nt05h]

I believe you have my stapler.

awesome!! you just made my day! i literally LOL'd!!

[amac4me]

So how many firefighters got a peek at future Apple products :eek:

[tmelvin]

Someone said they saw Steve Ballmer running out the back, jumping and screaming like a monkey. Not sure if that's been corroborated though.

[Theenlightened]

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9656/iblade1lk3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[dasikes]

I believe you have my stapler.

WOW that was funny. I just about died! :D

[137489]

How can anyone rate a fire as positive? Even if you dislike the company?

Man that has have to hurt. I been through fires at companies and an apt fire - yeah devestating.

[sn00pie]

Probably new Mac notebooks overheating :p

[Apple Ink]

But was it R&D or not?:confused:

But who cares as long as SJ brandishes the new iPods or whatever he has to this September!

[GRN99EX]

firefighters battled the blaze for more than 3 hours

2 hours of it was having 60 firefighters sign a NDA before they could enter the building. :D

[Merser]

I believe you have my stapler.

Very Funny!!!

I am just glad that no one was hurt

[robotica]

I believe you have my stapler.


i dont get it:confused:

[Insulin Junkie]

i dont get it:confused:

Neither do I. But then again my sense of humor is rusty at times...:o

[iReality85]

Microsoft sabotage. Mac Tablet = up in smoke.

[iJasonY]

Being a fortune 500 computer design company, one would assume that they have an extensive automated offsite backup system.

Unfortunately, it's MobileMe! :p

[PowerFullMac]

Its the new iPhone nano! It has a built-in exploding anti-theft device! It obviously works! :p

[arkitect]

i dont get it:confused:

Neither do I. But then again my sense of humor is rusty at times...:o

All is revealed…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvGwr5wj8A8&NR=1

[andybno1]

whats the R&D building?

and how come the actual report of the fire is on page 2 when the fire contained story is front page?:confused:

[PowerFullMac]

whats the R&D building?

and how come the actual report of the fire is on page 2 when the fire contained story is front page?:confused:

R&D=Research and Development.

[russ973]

I guess Apple is working on some HOT new products! haha... ha... ha...

[arn]

whats the R&D building?

and how come the actual report of the fire is on page 2 when the fire contained story is front page?:confused:

I posted the original story on page 2 since there were no real details yet. Even now details are a bit sparse. I might have done it differently.

arn

[queshy]

We all know iPhone 2.0 software is a little rusty.

Maybe they were just testing the "remote wipe" feature and things got out of hand.

Or maybe the MobileMe server exploded.

Ah, there are so many things to laugh about..,hehe

[zelmo]

How can anyone rate a fire as positive? Even if you dislike the company?

Man that has have to hurt. I been through fires at companies and an apt fire - yeah devestating.

I hope the positive votes are due to the fact that no one was injured, not that people were actually happy about there being a fire.

[tgildred]

I believe you have my stapler.

hahaha.... "okay, but... but... this is the last straw."

Now I'm imagining Steve Jobs walking around the office with his coffee, telling people he's going to need them to go ahead and come in this weekend to work on the new ipod nano design, mmkay?

[jbgh]

"we were just trying to overclock the G5 to 3Ghz!!" :p

hahahahha

let's hope youtube has a ton of videos from firemen's cameraphones with all this secret apple stuff!

[RRRize]

...I'd be interested to know Steve Ballmer's whereabouts at the time. :confused:

[PowerFullMac]

...I'd be interested to know Steve Ballmer's whereabouts at the time. :confused:

In his office, throwing chairs against a wall, like always! :p

[JAYGEE]

Well there goes the Macbook touch! Have to start all over again now! :mad:

I hope this doesn't effect the new iPod touch updates next month :(

[Breegy]

From what I understand, the fire caused little damage and was relatively small although it burned for awhile.

Why then were there over 60 firemen crowded around there?

I can see 10-15, but over 60 is just ridiculous :p

I bet many of them jumped out of bed when they heard just because they were Apple fans.

"Nah man, go back to sleep. We've got it contained.."
"No way I'm missing this! R&D Department?! I'll be there! Wait for me"

[EagerDragon]

Several people report a big fat ugly bald guy running out the back door as the alarm was going off. I wonder who could it have been and I wonder about the motive.

[danielsan26]

I'm sure I'm not the 1st person to say this, but now we KNOW FOR SURE powerbook G5 next tuesday....

[PowerFullMac]

I'm sure I'm not the 1st person to say this, but now we KNOW FOR SURE powerbook G5 next tuesday....

Its so hot it actually catches fire! /New PowerBook slogan!

Anyone know if the fire was in an elevator! :p

[KevanDual2.5]

Fire is never a good thing. However, my mind wandered to what the cause could have been. I see that some people already suggested a few things.

I would be keen to talk to;

1. Anyone who uses an early MacBook Pro on a surface that is not flat and hard.

2. iBook & PowerBook users with 65w chargers.

3. iBook & PowerBook users who never got round to exchanging their timebomb batteries.

4. Liquid cooled PowerMac G5 users.

5. Anyone who thought it was Steve when they heard "BOOOOM!!" just as they left work.

I will refrain from making any FireWire jokes!

[marco114]

Cupertino, CA - Aug 13, 2008 - Effective immediately, all new Macs have unannounced water cooling built-in at no extra charge.

[johnsingh06]

Jobs finally pushed Ballmer too far.

[acg5mac]

The rumors about the R&D building are not TRUE. The fire was at VG6, home of the internal IS&T team.

[PowerFullMac]

I will refrain from making any FireWire jokes!

I wont!

They are putting FireWire in iPods again! It obviously works too well! :p

[Yvan256]

The latest tests of FireWire S3200 went screwy and the cables overheated. :D

[Abstract]

RIP G5 PowerBook half-finished prototype.

[Raid]

Wow I guess they were working on a G5 laptop after all! ;)

<edit> Dammit Abstract! :P </edit>

Ok how about this:
Well there go all the Mac Tablet prototypes...

[TimTheEnchanter]

Mmmm.... now I'm in the mood for some hot :apple: pie or maybe hot fresh :apple: crisp!

Silver-lining....they could make a mint (for charity maybe) selling off the melted, charred remains of Macs on ebay as collector items. :)

[mr_bam]

I'm glad everyone was evacuated safely.
I hope no super secret unannounced products were damaged.
Lets hope they all take backups with TimeMachine :rolleyes:

[PowerFullMac]

Mmmm.... now I'm in the mood for some hot :apple: pie or maybe hot fresh :apple: crisp!

Silver-lining....they could make a mint (for charity maybe) selling off the melted, charred remains of Macs on ebay as collector items. :)

I'll put a bid on for £300! :D

[Obi-Wan Kubrick]

Neither do I. But then again my sense of humor is rusty at times...:o

Come on guys how old are? Haven't you seen the movie Office Space? Go watch it right now.

[CWallace]

So does this mean MobileMe is going down again? {duck}

[techfreak85]

So does this mean MobileMe is going down again? {duck}

i think this is more of their internal company servers, not the huge server farm for the customer stuff

[BiikeMike]

Not quite sure why everyone is joking about this, what if it was YOUR house or office?


As far as NDA's, For a private company I don't think it matters.
I have a friend that is a firefighter, and he responded to the Pentagon. The Pentagon has their own firefighters, but some things are too big for them to handle. They were not allowed to go in, they had to fight the blaze from the outside. He said that a lot of them did go inside, because they were more focused on getting the fire out, and there really is nothing to see anyway.

[kkat69]

Meanwhile, as some late night RD Techs are working on the new Macbooks, they try to solve the problem of the new Macbook feeling to hot to the touch....


RD Tech 1: "Does this new laptop seem hot to you?"
RD Tech 2: "Hold on a second "
.... RD Tech 2 lights match, throws in wastebasket, big fire starts.
RD Tech 2: "I'd say compared to the current room temp, it actually feels cooler to me"
RD Tech 1: "Yah your right, Ok, good job team, let's wrap it up"

[southerndoc]

I can just imagine Steve Jobs debating whether or not it was worth it to let the firefighters inside the compound.

I heard the firefighters saw the new MacBook design, new Apple Cinema Displays and the 3rd generation iPhones. ;)

The way MobileMe has been plagued with problems lately, imagine if this had been the building that housed MobileMe!

[zgh1999]

No one has balls as big as mine.

I held on to AAPL shares throughout all these cry dramas about sickness of the great Leader, fires, shrinking sales, sinking markets, melting polar ice, etc.

I have balls the size of freaking watermelon.

I am King ******* Kong. Hear me ROAR!

[JohnStrass]

How can anyone rate a fire as positive? Even if you dislike the company?

Man that has have to hurt. I been through fires at companies and an apt fire - yeah devestating.

I will happily volunteer to serve on the apple R&D fire bucket brigade!!! Just need to allow me to pick through the rubble for tidbits.....

[sanPietro98]

I can just imagine Steve Jobs debating whether or not it was worth it to let the firefighters inside the compound.

He let them in. The firefighters just had to sign an NDA before they could extinguish the flames.

[PowerFullMac]

I will happily volunteer to serve on the apple R&D fire bucket brigade!!! Just need to allow me to pick through the rubble for tidbits.....

I would happily volunteer to get everything out so wont get damaged... I might need to have a play with the stuff though... And take photos and videos... For... Evidence :p

[arkitect]

No one has balls as big as mine.
I have balls the size of freaking watermelon.


Quite frankly you'd be better off getting yourself to a doctor and having your 'nads checked than posting on the internet…

Or have you been at the vac pump a tad too much lately? ;)

[jaminthejar]

I say this knowing no one got hurt so I assume it's safe to joke about...

I hope they weren't using MobileMe to back up all the stuff they lost!

[motulist]

Not quite sure why everyone is joking about this, what if it was YOUR house or office?

You need to "lighten" up.

No one was killed, no one lost their personal property. I'm sure today isn't the best day for many of the people who work there, (and I'm sure it's a great day for some others!) but it's just work, they'll have a few drinks and by a day or two from now they'll be in new temporary space and their work life will be pretty much back to normal.

If you think that accidental damage to some company's property is a topic that needs to be respected as if someone died, then I feel sorry for you. You gotta learn to lighten up or you'll live a very sad life.

[nownot]

dear steve,

i know times can be hard with the recent failure of mobile me, iphone 3g still having a quite of few bugs, and nvidia saying all gpu's in the current mbp are defective, but this is not the time to give in. look up north at us redmond people, we have been at it for years trying to produce a decent product, just b/c your company has hit a few bumps here lately burning down corporate hq is not the answer. please take this as a invitation to attend m$ board meeting to see how to deal with these types of issues and attempt to strive through them.

your pal,
Bill G.

[stephengiem]

I believe you have my stapler.

LOL

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:TK062i-ey2aTjM:http://farm1.static.flickr.com/35/71871725_3f71d7d971.jpg

[theheadguy]

I say this knowing no one got hurt so I assume it's safe to joke about...
I hope they weren't using MobileMe to back up all the stuff they lost!
LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok-- that was a good one.

FYI - As an ex-Apple employee, trust me, they have a backup of every single thing that is not on paper. Everything is mirrored twice a day and sent to Elk Grove, CA digitally. In addition, I was having a "blonde" moment (guys have that, I guess) and I saw security guards walking with a pallet of what I thought were VHS tapes and they laughed and informed me that it was their last resort, nightly backups on huge old tape drives.

So, they have the data. Joke away.

[e-coli]

More good news for MobileMe! :rolleyes:

[pohl]

The rumors about the R&D building are not TRUE. The fire was at VG6, home of the internal IS&T team.

What does IS&T mean?

[arkitect]

FYI - As an ex-Apple employee, trust me, they have a backup of every single thing that is not on paper.

And everything actually on paper gets shredded before end of business. ;) :p

[Rot'nApple]

Update: More claims indicate that this building housed Apple's Information Systems and Technology department, not research and development.

Apple's Information Systems? Does that include MobileMe? What's its status, is MobileMe up or down? :rolleyes:

[enklined]

Damn you Microshaft! I knew there was a war between Apple and MS, but really, taking it as far as arson? Wow...

[DIXIE]

Best Buy is upgrading their PC Geeks to the Mac product line. :rolleyes:

As part of their hands-on training they were instructed to try installing some new hardware parts on a few Mac notebooks and Mac Pros.

Not being accustomed to the sleek design of Mac products, they mistook the Air Conditioning unit as a yet-to-be release of a new Mac computer!:p


DIXIE :D

[thecritix]

I hope its mobile me's office.

Burn you ****ers!

[kenaustus]

No one has balls as big as mine.
I have balls the size of freaking watermelon.


That leads one to several conclusions:

1. All of your pants are custom made.
2. You never go anywhere where the temperature gets close to freezing.
3. You never went out for the track team.
4. You never get laid by the same gal twice.
5. After a wet dream you repaint the room and get new carpets and bed.
6. You seriously need to avoid a situation of getting someone irate enough to kick you in them - even morphine wouldn't help and the mess would be unbelievable.

[Lesser Evets]

Steve was back in R&D clocking jaws as he went Rambo due to disappointments: "DON'T DARE TELL ME THAT STINKING TABLET CAN'T BE MADE BY SEPTEMBER, %^$#^!" Knocked over a bunsen... end.

[BenRoethig]

From what I understand, the fire caused little damage and was relatively small although it burned for awhile.

Why then were there over 60 firemen crowded around there?

I can see 10-15, but over 60 is just ridiculous :p

I bet many of them jumped out of bed when they heard just because they were Apple fans.

"Nah man, go back to sleep. We've got it contained.."
"No way I'm missing this! R&D Department?! I'll be there! Wait for me"

There is no such thing as overkill when it comes to a fire. Especially since there are two additional Apple buildings next door, one across the street and the whole area is lined with trees.

[fleshman03]

I believe you have my stapler.

Thapler

I belive you have my thapler

First mobile me and now this. Wow. The world is going to hell.

[benspratling]

Maybe if this had happened a month ago it would have been a convenient scape goat for the Mobile me problems.

But seriously, condolences to Apple on the devastation.

[bdkennedy1]

I'd say too bad MobileMe wasn't in there but I'd rather have half-assed service than none at all.

[TreeHugger]

here it comes... another powerbook/macbook battery recall!

[ChrisA]

That's horrible. I'm glad no one was hurt. I wonder if Apple is going to have any setbacks because of this. I wonder how much R&D was lost. (Prototypes, technical drawings, etc) It's a shame. I'd hate to walk into work one day to find out everything I've worked on for the past year is gone. My heart goes out to all the dedicated Apple employees that bust their ass everyday so we can have what we have.

Our company has a large RAID-like system for data storage. Actually we have three of them in three different cities a thousand miles apart. They are connected by a high speed data link and they remain synchronized. If a fire or an Earthquake should take out our entire company (including local backup tapes) we'd still have up to data two backups.

I assume most companeis have a system like this in place. Fire, earthquake and floods are all thinks that WILL happen and need to be planned for. Even with home computers. If you care about the data you need to plan for a fire. You want to have two copies even if the house burns down.

[MrCrowbar]

I think I found an amateur video of the incident: (http://www.break.com/index/huge-propane-tank-explosion-and-shockwave.html)
:eek:

[Compile 'em all]

so true. so how long til we read a post that goes like this "I'm a fireman and was just in the Apple headquarters...guess what I saw!!"

Whatever is being worked on is without a doubt locked up at night. My bet is that the firemen didn't see anything, and if they did, they were probably too busy..uh...putting out the fire. I hope so, anyway.

hey guys, I'm a fireman and was just in the Apple headquarters...guess what I saw

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek: new apple newton :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
http://images.macnn.com/esta/content/0709/ipodnano3g-bottom-sm.jpg

[TimTheEnchanter]

BREAKING NEWS!.....
Eyewitness photo just in, authorities are looking for 2 suspects photographed at the seen shortly after it started. We will bring you more as this develops....

[PowerFullMac]

Exclusive cameraphone footage from inside the Apple R&D area!!! (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU)

[brianhn1]

Fire chief said that there were 66 firemen. 66? Interesting.

[Tex-Twil]

I hope this won't postpone the MBP update ;)

[arkitect]

Exclusive cameraphone footage from inside the Apple R&D area!!! (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU)

You know that is not funny at all. ;)

But it is a good thing I always first check the URL before clicking…

:p

[themanfromvlad]

Holy crap, Steve had the MobileMe department burned down.

[Consultant]

Oh nooes, there goes the powerbook g5 prototype!!!

Actually I like what the other people mentioned, that the MobileMe division burned down due to poor performance.

That leads one to several conclusions:

1. All of your pants are custom made.
2. You never go anywhere where the temperature gets close to freezing.
3. You never went out for the track team.
4. You never get laid by the same gal twice.
5. After a wet dream you repaint the room and get new carpets and bed.
6. You seriously need to avoid a situation of getting someone irate enough to kick you in them - even morphine wouldn't help and the mess would be unbelievable.

LOL

[Mykbibby]

I set fire to Apple's headquarters after I heard they had the Jonas Brothers play at Apple Store SoHo...

[bigmc6000]

Well - so much for that test of the passive cooling laptop... ;)

[thecritix]

would have been nice to have some fresh faces who might give more care about the consumer...
(on a serious note i wouldn't want anyone to die!.. until my email goes down again..)

[Apple Ink]

That leads one to several conclusions:

1. All of your pants are custom made.
2. You never go anywhere where the temperature gets close to freezing.
3. You never went out for the track team.
4. You never get laid by the same gal twice.
5. After a wet dream you repaint the room and get new carpets and bed.
6. You seriously need to avoid a situation of getting someone irate enough to kick you in them - even morphine wouldn't help and the mess would be unbelievable.

ROFL......
specially 5 and 6! LOL!

You an analyst? If not... you'll make a good one! (Hopefully better than those currently around!)

[Breegy]

There is no such thing as overkill when it comes to a fire. Especially since there are two additional Apple buildings next door, one across the street and the whole area is lined with trees.

Very good point.

But is this scene necessary?:

http://images.appleinsider.com/2759418540_cdc17b0408_b.jpg
(sorry for large image. Credit to AppleInsider for this image.)

They're all crowded in front of one building. Isn't that the opposite of constructive?

[Kwill]

Now that 'Apple has burned to the ground,' AAPL will take a tumble.

[Apple Ink]

http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/08/13/no-one-hurt-during-last-nights-apple-hq-fire

Ars confirms that it was an IT building..... so no serious product/value/RD damage!

Update: We have received information from Apple folk who work in nearby buildings that the fire indeed occurred at VG6, which is down the street from Infinite Loop (VG stands for Valley Green Drive). Mostly IT people work in that building, so it's likely that no (important) Macs were hurt in this incident, contrary to many reports that the building was used for R&D.

[kkat69]

Very good point.

But is this scene necessary?:

<circumcision>
(sorry for large image. Credit to AppleInsider for this image.)

They're all crowded in front of one building. Isn't that the opposite of constructive?

They're all signing NDA's at that moment...

If you look closely you can see SJ there by the door saying.... "It's just SNAPPIER!"

[fleshman03]

Very good point.

But is this scene necessary?:


MacWorld 2009 preview?

[bigmc6000]

Very good point.

But is this scene necessary?:


They're all crowded in front of one building. Isn't that the opposite of constructive?

Dude - that looks like a rave party with a ton of glow sticks!!! hahahaha

[Breegy]

They're all signing NDA's at that moment...

If you look closely you can see SJ there by the door saying.... "It's just SNAPPIER!"

Like I said, they were probably all Apple fans wanting to try to get a sneak peak. :p

[citi]

Being a fortune 500 computer design company, one would assume that they have an extensive automated offsite backup system.

let's just hope they are not using mobileme. :D

[MTrebbin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyLo397H3Pc

[markpalmer]

I wonder what they'll try to claim for against their insurance policy.

- 4 pallets of unsold Newtons;
- 150,000 1 button mice;
- RAM, lots of overpriced RAM;
- OS 8 source code, hmm wonder what that's worth.

[Trip.Tucker]

Several people report a big fat ugly bald guy running out the back door as the alarm was going off. I wonder who could it have been and I wonder about the motive.

"he was reported as sweating profusely around the arm pits and dragging his knuckles as he ran screaming "whooo..... come on! give it up for me!!!" "

[arkitect]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyLo397H3Pc

Goodness. Woz is certainly packing on the pounds isn't he?

[PowerFullMac]

"he was reported as sweating profusely around the arm pits and dragging his knuckles as he ran screaming "whooo..... come on! give it up for me!!!" "

"We was also reported to be shouting something about developers" :p

[Apple Ink]

I wonder what they'll try to claim for against their insurance policy.


- OS 8 source code, hmm wonder what that's worth.

No one insures degenerate deceased things! :p

[hanschien]

Burny Mac?

/too soon?

[Consultant]

"he was reported as sweating profusely around the arm pits and dragging his knuckles as he ran screaming "whooo..... come on! give it up for me!!!" "

ROTL, i heard that guy was jumping up and down like crazy while he was screaming that way.

[todd2000]

I believe you have my stapler.

Awesome! :D

i dont get it:confused:

Neither do I. But then again my sense of humor is rusty at times...:o

Watch Office Space, Best movie ever! (well maybe not, but it's great:))

Steve was back in R&D clocking jaws as he went Rambo due to disappointments: "DON'T DARE TELL ME THAT STINKING TABLET CAN'T BE MADE BY SEPTEMBER, %^$#^!" Knocked over a bunsen... end.

What the heck would Apple R&D or IT for that matter need with a Bunsen Burner? :)

Burny Mac?

/too soon?

That was wrong.......Funny, but wrong LOL :D

[Eddyisgreat]

Ballmer finally sent his team of "Developers Developers Developers Developers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hadxBZWxNrs)" to get some revenge.

[PowerFullMac]

Ballmer finally sent his team of "Developers Developers Developers Developers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hadxBZWxNrs)" to get some revenge.

Gotta love that! Classic! :p

[Breegy]

ROTL, i heard that guy was jumping up and down like crazy while he was screaming that way.

Hmmm. Could Ballmer or someone under his command been undercover as an air conditioner repairman? ;)

But seriously people, this will cause at least a week or two delay before that office can be up and running again. I saw pictures where it was flooded from firemen trying to put out the flames (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ie34nz8uL0J8G8Oc_6EvoXm8Rb4gD92HAEG00). So not only do they have fire damage to deal with, but water damage too. I wonder how this will affect operations at Apple and what will suffer as a result. Anyone know exactly?

[Shadow]

Apparently they were testing old Intel CPUs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE6aKeK61A4)

[PowerFullMac]

Hmmm. Could Ballmer or someone under his command been undercover as an air conditioner repairman? ;)

But seriously people, this will cause at least a week or two delay before that office can be up and running again. I saw pictures where it was flooded from firemen trying to put out the flames (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ie34nz8uL0J8G8Oc_6EvoXm8Rb4gD92HAEG00). So not only do they have fire damage to deal with, but water damage too. I wonder how this will affect operations at Apple and what will suffer as a result. Anyone know exactly?

So any flashy Apple tech is definatly gone, then! What with the fire and water and all, unless the new MacBooks are everything proof! :p

[TimTheEnchanter]

LOL!

The next Get a Mac commercial....

MAC: Hello, I'm a Mac. (all wet and smoke rising off his clothes)
PC: And I'm a PC.
MAC: Hey PC, what do you have there?
PC: Oh, that's nothing...
MAC: Wait! Is that a can of gas?
PC: (kicks the can off side of screen) What? No. What are you talking about?
MAC: Holy crap PC! You tried to burn me down, didn't you!?
PC: HUH? NO! I would never do such a.... (throws lighter off-set too)
(Flames burst from off-set, fireman rushes in with extinguisher)
MAC: I knew it!
PC: I'd like to speak to my legal team now.
MAC: Oh you're going down ass...
PC: (whimpering) Bill? Help!?
(cue music, flaming Apple logo, fade to black)

[Dagless]

They're still trying to get a G5 in a PowerBook?

[jbcandkc]

So now instead of blurry elevator shots of unreleased products, we are going to start seeing smoky fireman shots of unreleased products:rolleyes:

[PowerFullMac]

LOL!

The next Get a Mac commercial....

MAC: Hello, I'm a Mac. (all wet and smoke rising off his clothes)
PC: And I'm a PC.
MAC: Hey PC, what do you have there?
PC: Oh, that's nothing...
MAC: Wait! Is that a can of gas?
PC: (kicks the can off side of screen) What? No. What are you talking about?
MAC: Holy crap PC! You tried to burn me down, didn't you!?
PC: HUH? NO! I would never do such a.... (throws lighter off-set too)
(Flames burst from off-set, fireman rushes in with extinguisher)
MAC: I knew it!
PC: I'd like to speak to my legal team now.
MAC: Oh you're going down ass...
PC: (whimpering) Bill? Help!?
(cue music, flaming Apple logo, fade to black)

LOL!!! That would be ****ing funny!!!! :p

Sorry I keep posting so much in this thread!!!

I care about :apple: so much I like to make jokes about their offices burning down and LOL at other people's! ;)

[likemyorbs]

I guess Apple is working on some HOT new products! haha... ha... ha...

wow that just killed me LMAO

[PowerFullMac]

Ohhh... Just thought of another one!

I bet Apple are glad the firemen didnt use Location Services to find the offices! The whole HQ would have burned down by the time it locked on to the current location! :p

[Harlowgold1]

So is the Mobile Me Cloud - just a cloud of smoke?

[thecartoonguy]

http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/9656/iblade1lk3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

LAUGHING. I would buy four of these!! :D

[twoodcc]

wow. i'm sorry to hear this. i'm glad that no one was hurt

[mtgtopdeck]

I just so happen to live about 2 blocks from the fire.

I saw the smoke at around 11pm last night so i decided to go take a look.

I was the first person on the internet to upload photos of the fire! XD

here are all the pics I took:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicaspacekat/sets/72157606698174568/



my favorite pics:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2758579151_2a5267fa8d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2759418540_cdc17b0408_b.jpg

[flipperanubi]

a

[goatsie]

Sad as it may be I am more interested if the firefighters saw the new macbook or ipod touch! ;)

[Breegy]

What happened? Someone bring their Mac laptop into work and have the battery catch fire?

Oh, the irony.

They believe it originated from the air conditioners, because they were being worked on earlier that day.

Which is why I said:
Hmmm. Could Ballmer or someone under his command been undercover as an air conditioner repairman? ;)

:p

[8CoreWhore]

Prolly the guy canned over MobileMe:D

[paenguin]

I just so happen to live about 2 blocks from the fire.

I saw the smoke at around 11pm last night so i decided to go take a look.

I was the first person on the internet to upload photos of the fire! XD

here are all the pics I took:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicaspacekat/sets/72157606698174568/



my favorite pics:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2758579151_2a5267fa8d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2759418540_cdc17b0408_b.jpg

i knew i should have went over. darn! a good photojourn op.

[brockm]

Apparently this was the IT building. And we've heard about the lawsuits of IT staff against Apple for forcing them to work overtime, and be on call 24 hours a day without compensation.

Perhaps a disgruntled worker? :)

[mahashel]

It was the one, lone overworked server that they finally had MobleMe running correctly on. :rolleyes:

[flyinmac]

i think this is more of their internal company servers, not the huge server farm for the customer stuff

Yeah, all that stuff is quite safe in India.

[DaBrain]

whats the R&D building?

and how come the actual report of the fire is on page 2 when the fire contained story is front page?:confused:

Cause Arn is not sure if the iPhone was involved! :p;):D

[DaBrain]

...I'd be interested to know Steve Ballmer's whereabouts at the time. :confused:

Rumor is that he skipped out back after igniting the fire yelling, " IM in need of Apple's Developers, Developers, Developers!
;):D

[surferfromuk]

I just so happen to live about 2 blocks from the fire.

I saw the smoke at around 11pm last night so i decided to go take a look.

I was the first person on the internet to upload photos of the fire! XD

here are all the pics I took:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicaspacekat/sets/72157606698174568/



my favorite pics:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3001/2758579151_2a5267fa8d_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3021/2759418540_cdc17b0408_b.jpg

If Apple have got ANY sense at all they'll send everyone of those firefighters on duty that night a Macbook and an iPhone...keep 'em onside!!

Personally, I consider a random fire is a suspicious event...anyone know what kind of security/cctv they have ?

[Wild-Bill]

Maybe the MobileMe servers spontaneously combusted. Seems like the most likely conclusion..... :eek:

[surferfromuk]

I rest my case...


posted in a comment on this link ( expect it to dissapear very quickly!) by an ex-IST employee.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/compensation/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=209903263

3) Apple's IS&T is a siloed organization that fights even within it's own ranks over the sharing of information, resources and budget. When Steve Jobs returned in 1997, he created a parallel IT organization (Internet Services) so he could get things done outside of the ineffective IS&T. From Internet Services came the Apple Store, .Mac and iTunes Music store. All the "cool" stuff you've seen Apple doing using the web for the last 10 years. .Mac was handed off to the old IS&T after a few years and they were responsible for the .Mac to MobileMe transition. There is plenty of coverage on the web of how that transition went. There is also a recently leaked internal memo from Steve explaining that Eddy Cue (Director, Internet Services) would be taking over management of MobileMe.

IS&T was and is a model for how not to treat customers, both internal and external. I'm glad I got to experience that so I could learn from their mistakes. If Apple were to try to fix IS&T it would require the removal of some key people and a mandate to their replacements that the focus is on making Apple a success internally and externaly, not on protecting your own personal kingdom from all perceived invaders. Anyone caught running things the old way should be be removed and this cycle should repeat until the top of IS&T's food chain was populated by people who have internalized this new mindset. Only then would the situation likely improve for the remaining workers in that organization.



ommmhh? maybe Steve was just cleaning house after the mobile me debacle ?

[trunkster]

Oh the irony...
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/08/08/mobileme_now_in_good_hands_with_eddy_at_the_helm_insider_says.html

"Steve and Apple aren't terribly tolerant of that kind of major screwup," says von Rospach. "Just imagine Steve Jobs wandering the hall with a flame thrower in hand, asking random people 'do you work on MobileMe?'"

I think we know what happened :(

[Wotan31]

Someone forgot to turn off their quad-core MBP.

[Breegy]

<snip>

ommmhh? maybe Steve was just cleaning house after the mobile me debacle ?


<snip>
"Steve and Apple aren't terribly tolerant of that kind of major screwup," says von Rospach. "Just imagine Steve Jobs wandering the hall with a flame thrower in hand, asking random people 'do you work on MobileMe?'"

I think we know what happened :(


Interesting. This may be more than just an "accident," not from Ballmer's side of the fence as we joked, but from Apple's own.

I hope this doesn't just get 'swepted under the rug', but I also hope that if there is an underlying delemma that it doesn't affect the Apple Corporation...

[Trajectory]

Cripes, I hope this doesn't affect Apple's business too badly. They have a lot of problems to fix with the new iPhones first!

[FCPnewbie]

They don't happen to keep any of those employee stock option records in that building do they? Just saying...

[rdrr]

They don't happen to keep any of those employee stock option records in that building do they? Just saying...

Even if they did, SOX regulations require them to keep a copy of all financial significant data off site for 7 years.

[The Tall One]

Who cares what was in the building? As long as everyone is okay, it doesn't matter. The fire was probably caused by too much awesome processing power. My G5 bursts into flames every time I render some HDV.

[EricNau]

What goes around (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Cf3m_YUzCM) comes around.

[bobbleheadbob]

;)Sounds like :apple: must have some hot new products coming out soon!! :D Can't wait to see what they're cooking up!

[miketcool]

I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE TO EVERYONE HERE AND AT APPLE

I hope no one was hurt in the fire. I take full responsibility for the blaze. I just moved out here to Monterey and I was in Cupertino on Sunday just to drive through Apple's campus. 3 days after visiting Cupertino, this fire broke out. It echoes similarly the freak lightening storm and 1,400 forest fires that broke out 3 days after I moved out to Monterey. Apparently I am some sort of harbinger of fiery misfortune. In my defense, I did not realize it until just now.

For the safety of the community at large, I will now announce my new travel plans:

Redmond, WA
Las Colinas, TX
Round Rock, TX
France

[fleshman03]

This whole thread is just too funny. I guess we all need some release - at least no one was hurt.

[flyinmac]

I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGIZE TO EVERYONE HERE AND AT APPLE

I hope no one was hurt in the fire. I take full responsibility for the blaze. I just moved out here to Monterey and I was in Cupertino on Sunday just to drive through Apple's campus. 3 days after visiting Cupertino, this fire broke out. It echoes similarly the freak lightening storm and 1,400 forest fires that broke out 3 days after I moved out to Monterey. Apparently I am some sort of harbinger of fiery misfortune. In my defense, I did not realize it until just now.

For the safety of the community at large, I will now announce my new travel plans:

Redmond, WA
Las Colinas, TX
Round Rock, TX
France

Just don't visit China. That would shut the whole world down. We'd run out of everything :D

[Mr Maui]

All new Apple products to come with built-in MacStinguishers. :p

Just don't visit China. That would shut the whole world down. We'd run out of everything :D

He was in China on August 5, 2008. His presence lit the flame at the opening ceremonies for the Olympics.

[Cherimoya]

Apparently there were five attempted 911 calls but

1 guy's battery was flat
1 guy was finishing a level of Super Monkey Ball
1 guy had his phone tethered to his MBP via Netshare downloading a Unix distro
1 guy sent a distress email from his .Me account that's expected a week next Tuesday

and the guy who did get through got disconnected five times whilst explaining where the fire was.
:rolleyes:

[Breegy]

He was in China on August 5, 2008. His presence lit the flame at the opening ceremonies for the Olympics.

Or maybe his presence was to blame for the "bad weather" which caused them to broadcast digital footage of the fireworks show.. :p

[miketcool]

Just don't visit China. That would shut the whole world down. We'd run out of everything :D

We wouldn't know. China would just claim that the fire is a patriotic glow from it's happy citizens.

[mahashel]

Perhaps it was an operative on the inside, who were under orders to destroy Apple's latest martial-technologies with which they intended to arm their iPhone evangelist armies..
Weirding Modules.
They were calling the secret project "iWeird", and Jobs' name was a killing word. :D

[killerwhack]

This article does not qualify as a mac rumor...

Maybe I can help out here by asserting the the fire may have been caused by the notorious power cords on the MBP and MB AC adaptors!

[puckhead193]

prob started because someone turned on the powerbook g5;)
hope nothing to important was lost

[Compile 'em all]

They're all signing NDA's at that moment...

If you look closely you can see SJ there by the door saying.... "It's just SNAPPIER!"

post of the day. wish there was a rep system on this forum.

[lifeinhd]

Being a fortune 500 computer design company, one would assume that they have an extensive automated offsite backup system.

My guess would be that they use Time Machine.

[galstaph]

it must have been a prototype power7 core macbook pro... ol' SJ seeing if indeed ppc tech is dead or not;)

[Compile 'em all]

I was just informed that the reason of the fire is cause of some drunk apple interns. video capture can be seen below. enjoy!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/2761290454_8eaf0e3f8f_o.gif

[AppleOutcider]

Mmmm, So much for the MTBF on those parts. I'm expecting a recall announcement soon.;)

Kidding aside, happy that nobody was hurt.

[137489]

I was just informed that the reason of the fire is cause of some drunk apple interns. video capture can be seen below. enjoy!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3222/2761290454_8eaf0e3f8f_o.gif


um ok = I can't imagine someone would make a video like that - even if it was faked.

[dashriprock17]

Wow,

Apple releases "iFire 1.0" Kewl.
Amazing how many iFiremen were on scene at the iCampus putting out the iFire 1.0. I bet they used lots of iWater to put out the iFire 1.0.
There are even iRumors of iFire 1.1.1 to be released in the near future.
iChiwawa.

[kockgunner]

How can anyone rate a fire as positive? Even if you dislike the company?

Man that has have to hurt. I been through fires at companies and an apt fire - yeah devestating.

maybe 'cause no one was hurt?

[dmo580]

Saw the coverage last night at a friend's place and on my way home I exited 1 exit early to drive by. The cops blocked off the way into Valley Green Dr. which is where another good friend of mine lives. Damage doesn't look as bad as it did on TV though.

[alphaod]

Sorry Apple.

[Lesser Evets]

What the heck would Apple R&D or IT for that matter need with a Bunsen Burner? :)


Must haves!

Used for making tea.

[AidenShaw]

I care about :apple: so much

It's time to get a good man¹, settle down, and get a life! ;)

99.9999% of the world is outside of Infinite Loop, get to know it.

-as


¹or woman, if that's what floats your boat....

[flyinmac]

It's time to get a good man¹, settle down, and get a life! ;)

99.9999% of the world is outside of Infinite Loop, get to know it.



Been there... Isn't pretty... Too many windows to jump out of ;)

[steve jr.]

"iSmoke...don't breath this!"
- Tom Dickson

[Macminiintel]

Knowing Apple, if the building did have secrete research projects they'll defiantly be locked away at night. For any data stored in perhaps servers, they'll probably have them running in RAIDS copying the same data onto multiple hard drives. I was freaked out when I heard the news. I just really hope nothing large has been destroyed. Such as perhaps a new Apple display design or future iMac. Maybe Apple would of pdf them onto a computer hopefully

[PowerFullMac]

Apparently there were five attempted 911 calls but

1 guy's battery was flat
1 guy was finishing a level of Super Monkey Ball
1 guy had his phone tethered to his MBP via Netshare downloading a Unix distro
1 guy sent a distress email from his .Me account that's expected a week next Tuesday

and the guy who did get through got disconnected five times whilst explaining where the fire was.
:rolleyes:

Best post of the thread!!! :p

Oh yeah, they did get to take some pics of the PowerBook G5, here it is!

http://home.nyc.rr.com/modernpixel/powerbook_g5.jpg

Notice the smoke! :D

[OS X Dude]

Even after all this time they still can't cool a PowerBook G5 ;)

[bobertoq]

How can anyone rate a fire as positive? Even if you dislike the company?

Man that has have to hurt. I been through fires at companies and an apt fire - yeah devestating.Because it is rumored that it didn't hit the R&D building.

[Gasu E.]

whats the R&D building?
:

It's where Steve stores his raisins and dates, among other dried fruits. Steve believes in a healthy colon.

[curiouslylong]

That was Valley Green Six smoking in the video. It's located about a block away from the Infinite Loop campus. R&D moved out of that building and over to the IL campus in the late 90's. VG6 was the home of desktop R&D for many years.

[Breegy]

That was Valley Green Six smoking in the video. It's located about a block away from the Infinite Loop campus. R&D moved out of that building and over to the IL campus in the late 90's. VG6 was the home of desktop R&D for many years.

I'm really confused now.

Do we know for sure what building and department the fire was at yet? :confused: