■ Software
Windows lacks support
Microsoft Corp was to release a low-cost version of Windows for developing countries yesterday that has not yet won support from large personal-computer makers, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a technology research firm. Windows XP Starter Edition was to start selling in Thailand yesterday, in Malaysia and Indonesia later this year and Russia and India next year, the newspaper said. The program, which offers fewer features than the Windows operating system, may not appeal to users buying their first PCs in developing countries because of its limited capabilities, the paper said, citing Gartner Inc analyst Dion Wiggins. PC makers including Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co may not want to distribute the program because of concern it won't sell well, the paper said, citing Gartner.
■ Telecoms
NTT extends optic lines
Telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp (NTT) will spend more than ?5 trillion (US$47 billion) to bring a fiber-optic network to half of Japan's fixed-line subscribers, a newspaper reported yesterday. Under the plan, NTT will upgrade the communications lines serving 30 million households and offices to fiber-optic lines by 2010, affecting half of the nation's fixed-line telephone subscribers, the report said. The major expansion in fiber-optic technology would be a big boost for the use of videophones and video transmission via the Internet and spur development of products such as broadband-compatible televisions, it added. The maximum data transmission speed on copper wires for analog fixed-line phone services is 56Kbps (kilobits per second).
■ Auto industry
Volkswagen near deal
A compromise deal was in view yesterday at the end of more than 20 hours of management-union talks aimed at breaking the deadlock in wage and job talks, according to sources close to the talks. The putative deal involves substantial concessions on pay from the main union IG Metall, with a one-off bonus on the table in place of pay rises. For its part, Volkswagen management has agreed to retain on a long term basis the 103,000 employees in its factories in western Germany, and also to carry out several investment projects, the source said. If the deal can be sealed it would avert the risk of lengthy strike action for Europe's number one auto maker. Tens of thousands of VW workers have already taken part in strike action, including 4,500 who walked out at the company's flagship plant.
■ Publishing
Hollinger head steps down
Conrad Black stepped aside Tuesday as chairman and chief executive of Hollinger Inc., the Toronto-based holding company which has voting control over newspaper publisher Hollinger International Inc. The resignation came just as a Toronto court was scheduled to hear a shareholder demand for Black's resignation. Black has announced his intention to buy out the minority investors and take Hollinger Inc. private. The main asset of the company is its 18 percent equity interest and 68 percent voting control of Chicago-based Hollinger International, which recently sold The Daily Telegraph of London for US$1.2 billion. The company still owns the Chicago Sun-Times, The Jerusalem Post and other media assets.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a