■ Software
HP reassures Linux users
Clearing a legal cloud around the Linux operating system, computer maker Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) was to announce yesterday it will protect its customers from the SCO Group Inc's intellectual property claims if the software is running on HP equipment. HP's indemnification program stems from recent threats by SCO, which claims that some of its intellectual property has seeped into Linux. SCO has threatened to sue companies that deploy Linux unless they pay a licensing fee. The notion has angered advocates of Linux, which was developed over the past decade by a global community of programmers who redistribute their code on the condition that it be redistributed freely.
■ Entertainment
Disney closes Tokyo studio
Walt Disney Co said on Tuesday it would close its animation unit in Tokyo, shutting an office with 103 employees because production needs had decreased. The studio, which has created a number of films based on characters from the Winnie the Pooh children's books, will close after it finishes the current project, The Heffalump Movie, the company said in a statement. "Our experience working in Japan for the past 14 years has been outstanding, primarily because of the world-class artists and executives who have produced exceptional animation," it said. "However, after reviewing our business plans and production requirements, we determined we no longer can support this additional production capacity."
■ Music industry
Bertelsmann wants Sony
The German media giant Bertelsmann wants to talk with Japanese electronics group Sony about a possible merger of their respective music businesses, BMG and Sony Music, the Financial Times Deutschland reported yesterday. FT Deutschland quoted Bertelsmann sources as saying the German group's management had agreed on Monday to approach Sony. "Everyone is looking to see what the best options are," the sources were quoted as saying. A possible tie-up with Sony is Bertelsmann's answer to a takeover bid by British rival EMI for Warner Music, part of AOL Time Warner. Bertelsmann itself had originally been negotiating to merge BMG with Warner Music, but those talks stalled on differences over valuation and strategy. "It's clear we need an alternative," FT Deutschland quoted high-ranking company sources as saying.
■ Fast food
McDonald's Japan cuts jobs
McDonald's Co (Japan) Ltd will trim 130 jobs, or 15 percent of its head office staff, through voluntary retirement this year, the hamburger chain's holding company said yesterday. The program, which is open to 630 of the company's 883 head office staff aged 40 or older, is intended to streamline its management, McDonald's Holdings Co (Japan) said in a statement. "The cuts only represent some 2.6 percent of our total staff," said McDonald's Holdings spokesman Kenji Kaniya. The program does not affect the company's restaurant workers. McDonald's Holdings posted a ?2.34 billion (US$20.8 million) net loss in the year to December, its first red ink in 29 years in Japan. McDonald's Co (Japan), founded in 1971, has since become the nation's largest fast food restaurant and the biggest unit of the US hamburger giant overseas, with 3,788 restaurants nationwide.
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