Alabama

Seven 'Alabama' stories November 2011 - February 2015

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Apple reportedly terminated contract w/ Alabama lobbyist over his same-sex marriage opposition

Zac Hall Feb 17 2015 - 11:46 am PT

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Tim Cook Pride

Tim Cook’s Apple is no stranger to standing up for social issues including marriage equality.

Almost a year ago to date, the company—not just Tim Cook—voiced public opposition to anti-gay legislation in Arizona which was surprisingly vetoed after weeks of public attention. The company also embraced last year’s annual Pride parade in San Francisco with an official video highlighting participation by thousand of employees and family members. There’s also Tim Cook’s widely praised essay published last year in which he first publicly acknowledged being gay—a first for a Fortune 500 chief executive.

So when Apple realized it hired a former politician with a history of promoting anti-gay legislation to lobby on its behalf to the Alabama Congress, it’s no surprise that the company reportedly severed ties with the individual…
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Tim Cook makes personal donation to LGBT equality campaign in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi

Zac Hall Dec 18 2014 - 12:10 pm PT

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Tim Cook Auburn

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made a “generous personal financial investment” in Project One America, an LGBT equality campaign focused on three Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin announced the donation on the civil rights organization’s blog today.

When Tim first learned about HRC’s Project One America – our bold, comprehensive campaign to dramatically advance equality for LGBT Americans in Alabama, Arkansas and Mississippi – he said, “I’m in.” Thanks to his generous personal financial investment in the program, together we will move the needle forward at the local and state level, tearing down misperceptions and providing concrete protections for those who need it most.

In announcing the Apple CEO’s personal donation to Project One America, the HRC also praised Tim Cook’s personal essay from October in which he became the first openly gay CEO of a Fortune 500 company:
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Apple lets customers in nine states know how to buy Macs and/or accessories tax-free

Ben Lovejoy Jul 30 2014 - 7:35 am PT

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tax

Apple is emailing customers in nine states that offer sales tax holidays to let them know they have an upcoming opportunity to buy Macs and/or accessories tax-free.

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, South Carolina and Tennessee all offer dates on which you can buy at least some Apple gear free from sales tax. The email provides a link to a webpage where you can click on your state to find out the dates, qualifying products and the maximum spend.

Missouri appears to offer the best deal, with a wide range of products qualifying and a maximum spend of $3500. Several states require a computer to be one of the items purchased.

If you’re not fortunate enough to live in one of the qualifying states, hit up 9to5mac.com/products to find the lowest prices on Apple gear (many only charge tax in states where they operate).

We also noted yesterday that Retina MacBook Pros had dropped to their lowest-ever prices in the refurb store, and you can find more Apple deals over on 9to5Toys.

Auburn University video with Jeff Williams, Bob Iger profiles Tim Cook in honor of Lifetime Achievement award

Zac Hall Apr 13 2014 - 12:50 pm PT

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Tim Cook Auburn

(Photo via Auburn University)

Following Apple CEO Tim Cook being honored with Auburn University’s College of Human Sciences Lifetime Achievement award last December, the university in Alabama from which Tim Cook graduated has shared a video profiling the Apple CEO and his impact at Auburn. While the video was first posted in March and surfaced today, it features commentary and interviews from other notable Apple figures including Jeff Williams, Senior VP of Operations, and Bob Iger, Disney CEO and Apple board member.
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Tim Cook’s youth in South Alabama profiled by local paper

Zac Hall Feb 24 2014 - 11:51 am PT

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Tim Cook posing for the year book in 11th grade (via AL.com)

In what is a rather interesting profile published on AL.com, Michael Finch II has uncovered some fascinating details about Tim Cook’s early life growing up in Robertsdale, Alabama.

“When it comes to Tim Cook, Robertsdale wraps him in a protective hug and keeps strangers with their curious questions at arm’s length,” Finch writes noting that Cook flew back to his hometown last Christmas through the airport in Pensacola, Florida, about an hour southeast.

The profile goes on to describe the pride Robertsdale feels for Cook’s accomplishments now and what they saw in Cook during his youth
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Initial iPad mini stock selling out at various Apple Stores around the world

Jordan Kahn Nov 2 2012 - 11:18 am PT

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iPad mini window display from NorthStar Mall, San Antonio (via <a href="https://twitter.com/alanweinkrantz/status/264338171469369344">@alanweinkrantz</a>)

iPad mini officially went on sale at 8 a.m. this morning and reports are already starting to flow in that many Apple Stores have sold out of initial stock. Topeka Capital’s Brian White released a note to clients this morning (via BusinessInsider) that noted all models of iPad mini sold out in just over two hours at Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue New York City store. Before today’s launch, shipment dates for Apple’s online pre-orders of the device had been pushed back, while shipment dates for pre-ordered LTE models of the device were recently removed.

Now reports indicate stores in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Canada, and many other states from Alabama to Hawaii have sold out of initial supplies.

[tweet https://twitter.com/madfruitstand/status/264374161076523008]

It’s unclear just how much stock Apple had delivered to its various stores and resellers, but we noted earlier today that lines were much smaller than usual at many locations. The lines were most likely due to the fact today’s launch included just the Wi-Fi-only model, but it looks like Apple is still not able to meet demand in many locations. Some stores were rumored to get about 100 units, as noted in the tweet above, while we heard bigger stores received as many as 300.

It’s also not yet clear if supply of the new iPad mini will be held back by similar manufacturing troubles and supply constraints of which Apple is now experiencing with iPhone 5 and the new iMacs leading into the holidays.

Judging by the collection of tweets that we put together below, Apple is quickly selling out of initial iPad mini stock in many locations around the globe. Most stores are not expecting additional shipments today:

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iPhone 4S lands on C Spire network in the U.S. on November 11th

Jake Smith Nov 1 2011 - 1:43 pm PT

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C Spire confirmed via press release today after announcing it last month, that Apple’s iPhone 4S will be available on their network on November 11th in the Southeastern United States. C Spire will keep with Apple’s pricing, offering the 16GB version for $199, 32GB version for $299, and the 64GB version for $399. The carrier will be offering 4 plans with the iPhone 4S, outlined below. For those who don’t want to go with a data plan they can pay for it as they go for one penny per five kilobytes.

Plans 1 and 2 above, while they have unlimited data, somehow only allow 30 minutes of streaming video per month. Having the iPhone 4S available on CDMA C Spire is part of Apple’s plan to expand availability of the iPhone to almost everyone. C Spire currently has almost a million customers in Mississippi, Florida, and parts of Alabama and Georgia and Tennessee and boasts “the highest level of smartphone penetration among carriers in the US”.

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