TSMC Arizona's second semiconductor fabrication site has celebrated a "topping out" milestone—as documented in an official blog post (via LinkedIn) from yesterday. Workers were photographed installing an important/final piece of structure—the aforementioned "topping out" milestone signifies: "the last steel beam being raised into place on a construction project." The Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturer has had a rough time in establishing operations out in the desert/greater Phoenix area—the "Fab 21 Phase 2" plant is not expected to meet its original 2026 opening window. TSMC Chairman Mark Liu is reportedly leaving his position due to consistent Arizona-related problems and delays.

The TSMC LinkedIn account shared some additional and certainly much-needed positive news: "We also recently achieved the topping milestone on our second fab's auxiliary buildings, which will supply the necessary utilities infrastructure to the second fab clean room." Thursday's blog (February 22) also discloses that the primary site—Fab 21 Phase 1—is still on track to begin production within the first half of 2025, thanks to "significant" bursts in construction progress. The author moved onto future production prospects: "Once operational, our two fabs at TSMC Arizona will manufacture the most advanced semiconductor technology in the U.S., creating 4,500 direct high-tech, high-wage jobs and enabling our customers' leadership in the high-performance computing and artificial intelligence era for decades."

AZIO at Computex 2019 showcased a number of new products, which showcase the company's Los Angeles-based design. AZIO's ALUMINUM line of products includes the Iris ALUMINUM K-Pad (which AZIO says is inspired in retro camera designs), the Iris ALUMINUM N-Pad, the RCM ALUMINUM mouse, and the RCPM mouse pad. The Iris K-Pad in particular has a multi-functional knob on the top right corner allowing as much as three actions per side, and is a complex feat of engineering to say the least. We look forward to checking out the new lineup in detail closer to launch.

Various materials, such as leather, are being used in these AZIO products, but the one star of the show has to be the usage of concrete in computer peripherals. I guess we'd have to actually touch these to see if the texture does work well in a daily environment, but it's interesting that this material has been used in a computer peripheral at all - and the effect does look interesting and pleasing to the eye. The RCM aluminium mouse looks like a very sleek unit, with the cold touch of aluminium greeting your first minutes of usage, and it does feature AZIO's design touches that have become the company's hallmark.