If it wishes to secure a position in the global information technology (IT) market, Taiwan had better speed up its progress in developing a Linux-based operating system, IT industry analysts said yesterday.
Compared with neighboring countries such as China and Japan, whose governments have decided on or are considering using open-source operating systems to manage central-government data networks, Taiwan is still at the preliminary stage in this field, they said.
"Taiwan needs to catch up [in Linux development] or it may miss a great business opportunity in the near future," said Victor Tsan (
Around 88 percent of computers in the nation use Microsoft Windows, and only 8 percent run on Linux, Tsan said. He attributed the low ratio of Linux utilization in Taiwan to the fact that computers using Linux will not be able to communicate or trade files with those on a Microsoft-based system.
Low popularity hinders Linux's local acceptance.
"We originally focused on distributing Linux-based software in Taiwan," said Rita Wu (
"But after two years of bleak sales, we decided to shift our business strategy and focus on developing a Linux-embedded system for information appliances [IA]," Wu said.
However, the situation in China is very different, as it is currently working on developing a Linux-based operating system for use in personal computers. "Linux is gaining popularity in China, since the Chinese government is very supportive of it," she said.
An operating system is open-source if its software code is publicly available. Seeking to reduce its heavy reliance on Microsoft's Windows operating system and to eliminate royalties, China is promoting the use of Linux in government and schools.
Compared to the very limited market here for open-source software, China represents a market full of potential for Taiwanese companies, Tsan said.
"When the Chinese Linux-based operating system is successfully developed, Taiwanese software developers are positioned to profit from it, due to our shared langua-ge," he said.
Meanwhile, the global trend has caught government officials' attention. In late April, the Cabinet announced it would invest NT$200 million to facilitate the development of Linux-based software.
According to the Cabinet's science and technology advisory group, the special budget will be used in software developers' training programs, product research and development and for setting up Linux compatibility tests and certification centers.
Currently there are around 20 Taiwanese companies making Linux products, such as server applications and embedded products. The government hopes to increase that number to 50 by 2007.
The authorities are also setting a target to have 10 percent of personal computers and 30 percent of Internet servers used by government agencies and corporate networks run on a Linux-based system by 2007.
KEEPING UP: The acquisition of a cleanroom in Taiwan would enable Micron to increase production in a market where demand continues to outpace supply, a Micron official said Micron Technology Inc has signed a letter of intent to buy a fabrication site in Taiwan from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion to expand its production of memory chips. Micron would take control of the P5 site in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼) and plans to ramp up DRAM production in phases after the transaction closes in the second quarter, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The acquisition includes an existing 12 inch fab cleanroom of 27,871m2 and would further position Micron to address growing global demand for memory solutions, the company said. Micron expects the transaction to
Vincent Wei led fellow Singaporean farmers around an empty Malaysian plot, laying out plans for a greenhouse and rows of leafy vegetables. What he pitched was not just space for crops, but a lifeline for growers struggling to make ends meet in a city-state with high prices and little vacant land. The future agriculture hub is part of a joint special economic zone launched last year by the two neighbors, expected to cost US$123 million and produce 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce annually. It is attracting Singaporean farmers with promises of cheaper land, labor and energy just over the border.
US actor Matthew McConaughey has filed recordings of his image and voice with US patent authorities to protect them from unauthorized usage by artificial intelligence (AI) platforms, a representative said earlier this week. Several video clips and audio recordings were registered by the commercial arm of the Just Keep Livin’ Foundation, a non-profit created by the Oscar-winning actor and his wife, Camila, according to the US Patent and Trademark Office database. Many artists are increasingly concerned about the uncontrolled use of their image via generative AI since the rollout of ChatGPT and other AI-powered tools. Several US states have adopted
A proposed billionaires’ tax in California has ignited a political uproar in Silicon Valley, with tech titans threatening to leave the state while California Governor Gavin Newsom of the Democratic Party maneuvers to defeat a levy that he fears would lead to an exodus of wealth. A technology mecca, California has more billionaires than any other US state — a few hundred, by some estimates. About half its personal income tax revenue, a financial backbone in the nearly US$350 billion budget, comes from the top 1 percent of earners. A large healthcare union is attempting to place a proposal before
RSS