Tech Obsessed

Since Steve Jobs resigned, my Apple world collapsed ... OK, maybe not

Steve Jobs
Photo via International Business Times
The front page of the Apple.com website

I got notice from my iPhone earlier this week that someone simply wrote “Oh No” on my Facebook wall with an attached link. I opened my MacBook to find that my best friend had posted an article that left me stunned.

Steve Jobs, the man I practically campaigned for to be Emperor of the New Technological World, stepped down from the company that defined my generation and changed the way everyone else listened to music.

My heart dropped, then after my stomach turned, I was soon fuming like a spoiled brat who was told he could have no more new toys. I silenced the BBC from on my iPad, turned off Radiohead from my iPod and slammed my MacBook Pro shut (although they close so smoothly, how great).

The Apple era is over, surely. Now what new products will I obsess over that I hardly need?

And let's be honest, how many iPhones can there actually be before we get sick of them? I’m going to say five is the max. Otherwise you start to sound like a Land Before Time series.

Three minutes later, I regained my senses. Yes Steve Jobs stepping down is a huge loss for Apple-obsessed psychos like myself, Silicon Valley and every modern nation on the planet, but what better time for the guy to get out?

Sure it was due to health problems, but when you are at the top the only place to go is down, right? I suppose I would probably do the same.

Especially since a few days ago it was announced that Sprint would get the iPhone 5. SPRINT?! Apple may as well let the Cricket network have it too.

And let's be honest, how many iPhones can there actually be before we get sick of them? I’m going to say five is the max. Otherwise you start to sound like a Land Before Time series. iPhone 9, iPhone 13, iPhone 72?

Who knows, maybe iPhone 16 will be as popular as the iPhone 4? And maybe every person in the world will have one, that’s fine. I just hope the Apple Empire doesn’t crash and burn, but with Jobs still attached to the company as a board member for the next two years, I doubt it will anytime soon.

I do know this though. Jobs transformed the way I — and millions of others — communicate. He is the greatest entrepreneur/inventor/visionary of modern America, and has paved the way for COO turned CEO Tim Cook to bring us into the futuristic realm as portrayed in movies like Minority Report and I, Robot.

I had always told my friends, “I’m a sucker for anything Steve Jobs puts out on the market. It’s weird, I have to have everything.” As long as Cook can keep consumers happy with an abundance of products we never knew we needed, Apple will not lose its followers and all will be right with the world.

Derek Thompson of The Atlantic put Job’s Apple revolution into words best, “If all art is theft, Jobs’ genius came from being the smartest chisel, not just the mallet on the block of marble.”

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breaking ground

Pharmacy giant Bristol Myers Squibb to build $2.3B Houston factory

Bristol Myers Squibb Houston factory rendering

Courtesy of Bristol Myers Squibb

The 60,000-square-foot facility is expected to open in 2030.

New Jersey-based pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb Co. has officially named Houston as the home of its new state-of-the-art manufacturing site.

The 60,000-square-foot facility represents a $2.3 billion investment, according to a news release. It is expected to create 500 skilled jobs and will be located in Houston's Generation Park.

BMS first announced that it was considering Houston among 16 other cities for the facility in May. The new hub will manufacture small molecule, biologic and antibody-drug conjugates and is part of a $40 billion commitment to invest in the United States over five years. Construction is slated to begin next year, with the facility coming online in 2030.

"We're building the domestic manufacturing capabilities needed to deliver the next generation of medicines and support future scientific breakthroughs. Houston and the state of Texas offer the talent, infrastructure, and partnership needed to help bring that vision to life," Christopher Boerner, CEO and board chair of BMS, said in the release.

The new facility will feature a modular, multi-modal design, which will allow the company to reconfigure and add to its manufacturing capabilities over time. BMS says it expects the facility to "(grow) in scale and capability well beyond its opening configuration."

"Our decision to build this state-of-the-art manufacturing campus in Houston, Texas, reflects our confidence in the region’s ability to support a world-class, digitally advanced supply operation,” Karin Shanahan, EVP and chief supply chain and operations officer of BMS, added in the release. “This facility is designed to deliver the speed, quality, and reliability that patients depend on, combining flexible, modular manufacturing with advanced digital capabilities to ensure consistent supply across multiple modalities. It strengthens our ability to operate with resilience and positions us to reliably deliver medicines to patients today while adapting future demands.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott shared that the state has granted BMS a $4.89 million Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant for the project. TEF grants, administered by the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, support business relocation or expansion projects that create "new, good-paying jobs in the community and attract significant new capital investment to the state." The development is also a qualified project under the Texas Jobs, Energy, Technology, and Innovation (JETI) program.

“Texas is a global hub for life sciences, where today’s innovations shape the future of healthcare,” Abbott said in a news release. “This $2.3 billion investment by Bristol Myers Squibb in the dynamic biotech ecosystem in Houston is a testament to the depth of our skilled workforce and the pipeline of talent coming through our nation-leading technical colleges and research universities. With lower operating costs and easy access to markets across the U.S. and the world, Texas drives affordability for consumers.”

"Bristol Myers Squibb’s announcement is a tremendous win for Texas and the Houston region, further reinforcing our position as a premier destination for life sciences and advanced manufacturing,” added Greater Houston Partnership President and CEO Steve Kean.

Last fall, Eli Lilly and Co. selected Generation Park, a 4,300-acre, master-planned commercial district near Lake Houston, for its $6.5 billion manufacturing plant. More than 300 locations in the U.S. competed for the factory. Read more here.

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This story was first published on our sister site InnovationMap.