■ Computers
Toshiba unveils fuel cell
Japan's Toshiba Corp yesterday unveiled the world's first prototype of a fuel cell to be directly attached to laptop computers, enabling users to operate for five hours with a single cartridge. The product, using concentrated methanol as fuel, could end the current reliance on lithium-ion batteries which need to be recharged, the company said. The new fuel cell can operate for at least five hours with a single, replaceable cartridge of methanol fuel, which produces electricity in a chemical reaction with water. The fuel cell system measures 275mm by 75mm and weighs 900g. It includes a 72g cartridge containing 50cc of fuel. Toshiba said the product would become smaller before being commercialized next year.
■ Computers
IBM recalling monitors
IBM agreed to voluntarily recall and repair 56,000 computer monitors that could overheat and smoke, posing a fire risk, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday. IBM has received five reports of monitors overheating and smoking, including one incident which resulted in minor property damage, the commission said. The recall includes G51 CRT and G51t Touch Screen monitors which were manufactured between June and September 1997 in China and Malaysia. The monitors were sold at retail stores across the US from June 1997 to December 1998. Consumers were advised to stop using the monitors immediately and to contact IBM to arrange repair.
■ Telecoms
France Telecom posts loss
France Telecom SA, Europe's second-biggest phone company, reported a record loss of 20.7 billion euros (US$23 billion) for last year after writing down the value of assets purchased during the height of the stock market boom. The net loss ballooned from a loss of 8.3 billion euros in 2001, the company said in a statement distributed at a press conference. Last year's figure includes 18.3 billion euros of write-offs on the value of assets including German cellular company MobilCom AG and business communications unit Equant NV. Chief executive officer Thierry Breton is reducing costs and preparing to sell 15 billion euros worth of new shares to cut debt amassed under his predecessor. Since taking over in October, Breton has refinanced about a fifth of the company's 70 billion euros of debt to keep from facing a cash shortfall this year. Debt stood at 68 billion euros at the end of last year, France Telecom said, down from 70 billion at the end of the first half.
■ Pharmaceuticals
Viagra Singapore's top pill
Viagra was the best selling drug in Singapore last year as sales of pills to treat male impotence increased by 15 percent to S$10 million (US$5.75 million), the Straits Times reported yesterday. Demand for the anti-impotency drug is high in the city-state where half of the men aged 40 and above suffer from some form of erectile dysfunction, according to Pfizer Inc, the maker of Viagra. Trailing closely behind Viagra was slimming pill Xenical, the report said. Sales of Xenical fell 10 percent from 2001. The decline was likely due to increased public concerns over the safety of slimming drugs after a local television personality nearly died after taking a Chinese-made drug to lose weight, the report said. Viagra is sold for S$30 (US$17) a pill.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source