Hsinchu Science-based Industrial Park (
"We landed on the new millennium safely. No Y2K glitches were reported," said Huang Wen-hsiung (
The center had asked all companies in the park to report the outcome of their Y2K plans before 11am yesterday, regardless of whether the result was "success" or "failure."
Several heavyweight companies, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (
TSMC, the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry, said yesterday that the company successfully rolled over into 2000 with no problems.
"Our production lines are operating normally now. We've done our best to make sure our systems are Y2K ready," said TSMC president FC Tseng (
Winbond Electronics, a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions, announced that it had experienced no Y2K problems due to its successful Y2K rollover plan, which included Y2K compliance of four fab sites containing semiconductor manufacturing equipment worth more than US$900 million.
Powerchip Semiconductor also announced successful results from its Y2K efforts.
"We have invested a great deal of efforts and time to solve Y2K problems. From Dec. 31 to Jan. 1, 2000, we mobilized more than 120 employees to stand by at plants and offices," said Tsai Kuo-chi (蔡國智), Powerchip's general manager, adding that the company had spent NT$15 million on its Y2K plan.
While the park entered the new millennium without any Y2K glitches, 524 listed companies in the manufacturing sector also reported no Y2K problems, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA,
In addition, MOEA's Y2K command center took initiatives to contact 213 unlisted manufacturing companies in eight sectors, covering semiconductor, information technology, petrochemical, cement, steel, chemical fiber, paper and automobiles. No Y2K issues were reported.
The also center warned that the next crucial deadline is seen as Jan. 3, when many companies and government departments return to work after the New Year break. Companies should stay alert, the MOEA advised.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained