The nation's open-source software sector is expected to enjoy significant growth in the next few years, backed by strong government support and the interest of large information technology (IT) companies, a research institute said yesterday.
"The domestic output value of open-source software may grow from NT$13.45 billion last year to over NT$77 billion in 2006, due to a strong push from both the government and international big name IT companies," said Wang Kai (王凱), an analyst at the Market Intelligence Center (市場情報中心), at a industry seminar.
Open-source software, such as Linux, allows users to run, modify and redistribute software with the inclusion of the source code, and has been widely used and developed because of its low costs and high flexibility.
A group of IT companies, including IBM Corp, Dell Inc, Sun Microsystems Inc, Sony Corp and Samsung Co, have been devoted to developing open-source software since the early 1990s.
Taiwan also joined the trend and launched a Web site -- www.oss.org.tw -- in early October last year to promote the sector, as the government aims to increase its NT$120 million software industry 100-fold within five years.
Among various free software such as the Linux operating system, Apache Web server and Netscape 6 Web browser, Linux is expected to get a rapid boost this year when it is integrated with hardware, such as smartphones -- or cellphones that combines the functions of personal digital assistants (PDAs) -- with an embedded Linux system, Wang said.
Smartphones using the Linux platform are expected to hit the market this year, and will account for 22.2 percent of the output value of all appliances with integrated open-source software, he said.
Currently, Linux is most widely used as an operating system by countries seeking to reduce reliance in the US software giant Microsoft Corp's Windows platform.
For the first three quarters of last year, worldwide shipments of Linux servers are expected to exceed 2.1 million units, a 51.4 percent growth from the same period in the previous year, according to research firm IDC.
However, it will take time for open-source software to be widely adopted by corporations, due to the shortage of open-source software specialists, Wang noted.
Using the Linux OS as an example, Wang said the system had been adopted by 35.5 percent of public research institutions, but was used by only 3.89 percent of private companies.
While research agencies are interested in probing or developing open-source software systems, "most corporations are still reluctant to replace their Windows platforms, owing to the shortage of related technicians, as well as increasing substitution fees," Wang said.
Opening vocational courses for IT workers and bringing open-source software knowledge to campuses could be one way to solve the problem, Wang said.
Shares in Taiwan closed at a new high yesterday, the first trading day of the new year, as contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) continued to break records amid an artificial intelligence (AI) boom, dealers said. The TAIEX closed up 386.21 points, or 1.33 percent, at 29,349.81, with turnover totaling NT$648.844 billion (US$20.65 billion). “Judging from a stronger Taiwan dollar against the US dollar, I think foreign institutional investors returned from the holidays and brought funds into the local market,” Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺) said. “Foreign investors just rebuilt their positions with TSMC as their top target,
REVENUE PERFORMANCE: Cloud and network products, and electronic components saw strong increases, while smart consumer electronics and computing products fell Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted 26.51 percent quarterly growth in revenue for last quarter to NT$2.6 trillion (US$82.44 billion), the strongest on record for the period and above expectations, but the company forecast a slight revenue dip this quarter due to seasonal factors. On an annual basis, revenue last quarter grew 22.07 percent, the company said. Analysts on average estimated about NT$2.4 trillion increase. Hon Hai, which assembles servers for Nvidia Corp and iPhones for Apple Inc, is expanding its capacity in the US, adding artificial intelligence (AI) server production in Wisconsin and Texas, where it operates established campuses. This
H200 CHIPS: A source said that Nvidia has asked the Taiwanese company to begin production of additional chips and work is expected to start in the second quarter Nvidia Corp is scrambling to meet demand for its H200 artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Chinese technology companies and has approached contract manufacturer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to ramp up production, sources said. Chinese technology companies have placed orders for more than 2 million H200 chips for this year, while Nvidia holds just 700,000 units in stock, two of the people said. The exact additional volume Nvidia intends to order from TSMC remains unclear, they said. A third source said that Nvidia has asked TSMC to begin production of the additional chips and work is expected to start in the second
US President Donald Trump on Friday blocked US photonics firm HieFo Corp’s US$3 million acquisition of assets in New Jersey-based aerospace and defense specialist Emcore Corp, citing national security and China-related concerns. In an order released by the White House, Trump said HieFo was “controlled by a citizen of the People’s Republic of China” and that its 2024 acquisition of Emcore’s businesses led the US president to believe that it might “take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.” The order did not name the person or detail Trump’s concerns. “The Transaction is hereby prohibited,”
RSS