by The Editors on July 2, 2008
A Carlsbadistan reader did exactly what we should have been doing all along. He walked right in the back door of the new Apple Store at The Forum Shopping Center, snapped a few pictures, and did a little reporting.
The only slight delay in construction is they are waiting for tile and panels. That was the information the construction supervisor gave me. He asked me who I was I said I was from the Cupertino office, what he made of that was strictly his interpretation.
We wish those panels and tile would hurry on up.
by The Editors on June 27, 2008
We’ve been keeping tabs on the construction going on at The Forum Shopping Center in Carlsbad because it will soon be home to Apple’s newest retail store.
Right now it’s just a big black box. While we were hoping that this location would be open in time for the iPhone 3G launch on July 11, a sneak peek inside the store suggests that we’ll all be waiting a little longer than that.
Then again, who knows. Apple has worked magic in the past and we are talking about the launch of the Jesus Phone 3G with GPS. So anything is possible.
[Editors’ Note: Always click the photos to super-size them.]
by The Editors on June 24, 2008
Carlsbad’s own little green automobile company Aptera has announced that they have hired former “Director of Marketing at Audi of America” Tony Kirton as its Chief Marketing Officer.
Having spent the last three decades successfully implementing and executing marketing and sales strategies for the world’s leading car manufacturers such as BMW, Audi, and Volkswagen, we are very fortunate to bring someone of Tony’s caliber to the team,” said Steve Fambro, co-founder and CEO of Aptera. “His wide-ranging experience coupled with established relationships in key automotive channels will prove invaluable as we prepare to roll our first vehicle off the assembly line this year.”
Welcome to Carlsbadistan, Tony.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 13, 2008
Our favorite Carlsbad-based life sciences company Invitrogen just spent $6.4 billion to purchase “scientific instruments-maker Applera’s Applied Biosystems Group.”
Invitrogen will pay $38 per share for Applied Biosystems, representing a 17 percent premium to the stock’s closing price Wednesday. . . . The deal, which needs the approval of both companies’ shareholders, is expected to close this fall.
About 45 percent of the deal will reportedly be in cash, the rest of stock. Invitrogen’s shares dropped nearly $6 a share on the news and is now trading at $38.97. Up .24 on the day.
And we thought Invitrogen couldn’t get any scarier.
[Link: Chicago Tribune]
by The Editors on June 4, 2008
They’re not exactly the Oscars, but Invitrogen, our favorite Carlsbad life sciences company, just cleaned up at the annual Life Science Industry Awards, taking home a total of six awards. We’ve never heard sexier categories: Cell Biology Kits and Reagents; Cell Culture Media and Reagents; Most Responsive Customer Service;
Most Knowledgeable Technical Support; Most Useful Website; and Most Memorable Print Advertisements.
This is the fourth year in a row that customers have recognized Invitrogen as being one of the best companies in the life sciences industry,” said Greg Lucier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Invitrogen. “The twelve nominations, and six awards, that we received demonstrate success in our strategy of maintaining an innovative portfolio of products and differentiated services.”
Invitrogen is simply the most of the mostest.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 4, 2008
It looks like the typical alley layout for Carlsbad’s new Apple Store at The Forum Shopping Center, but that hasn’t stopped the secret keepers in Cupertino from erecting an enormous black wall to keep our prying eyes out of the mix.
By peering through a couple cracks in the facade we could see the back wall taking shape, but completion still appears to be weeks or months out. Speed the plow, will you.
by The Editors on June 3, 2008
Now you can read Carlsbadistan.com while loading up on caffeine at the Carlsbadistan Starbucks.
Starting today anyone who uses a Starbucks reward card at least once a month will get two free hours of Wi-Fi every day. But that’s not all. Card users also get free refills on brewed coffee and a free coffee drink each time they buy coffee beans. Not bad, actually.
So bring your laptop, grab a cup of coffee and then send us a news tip.
[Link: Starbucks via Gizmodo]
by The Editors on May 29, 2008
Last night while The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher were interviewing their new boss News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch in Carlsbad’s Aviara Grand Ballroom, we were kicking back in the lobby bar listening to the cool jazz sounds of San Diego’s Keni Yarbro and waiting to see what kind trouble we could get into. Only moments before we arrived at The Four Seasons Valleywag.com’s Owen Thomas had been thrown out of the hotel entirely, so we realized anything was possible.
Each year, when the All Things D Conference comes to Carlsbadistan, we try to see how deep we can barge. This year, things went shockingly smoother. The first person we saw when walking into the lobby was Gizmodo.com editor Brian Lam hurrying into the conference center. Then, after running into Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and social media marketing pro Rodney Rumford we decided to try rolling into the “Nightcap Gathering.” No luck. Security stopped us at the entrance. Badges? Apparently, we needed stinking badges.
On returning to the bar and telling our story of woe, a kind PR wizard from an unnamed search giant leaned over. “You need a badge?” he said. “Here, use mine. Just bring it back in 10 minutes. . . . and don’t say anything to the press.”
And just like that we were sipping free champagne in a room full of sweaty tech geeks who had been sitting in their dress slacks for 14 hours. Let just say there was a lot of “bad air” in that room. If not for the pouring talents of Aviara’s Julie and Cindy we don’t know what we would have done.
On the way out we saw Techcrunch.com’s Michael Arrington talking in the corner, but he seemed too busy ruling the tech blog world, so we didn’t bother him.
For a look at all the media that All Things D brings Carlsbad, just click here. It is astounding.
Follow the jump for all our photos of the evening.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on May 28, 2008
Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher don’t mess around each year when they bring their digital carnival to Carlsbadistan’s Four Seasons Aviara. They just round up the CEOs, walk them across the stage, ask them a few questions, and then shoo them off the other side leaving us feeling more like spectators at the National Western Stock Show. But people who attend All Things D are busy and apparently they want their days loaded with stampeding titans.
For example, today the following people were interviewed (and the day is far from over): Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision; Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman and CEO, Sony; Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO, IAC; Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO, Dell; Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang and President Sue Decker; Jeff Bewkes, President and CEO, Time Warner; and only moments ago former Microsoft Chief Strategist Nathan Myhrvold, Founder and CEO, Intellectual Ventures, took the stage.
It’s enough to make our heads spin. But tonight we’ll get it all straightened out.
[Link: D6: All Things D]
by The Editors on May 23, 2008
Carlsbad-based computer monitor company Ostendo Technologies has an ultra-wide curved display for those of us who need a little wider, undistorted view of the Internet.
The CRVD display has a 42.4″ diagonal and provides a 2880 x 900 pixel resolution (double WXGA+), greater than 300 nits of brightness, and a contrast ratio of greater than 10,000:1, and relies on the DLP image-creating MEMS (microelectromechanical-systems) engine developed by Texas Instruments (Dallas, TX).
Sign us up, we’ll test two of them for free, no problem.
[Link: Laser Focus World]
RSS Feed-Posts