■ Electronics
Car systems get boost
Japanese firms are stepping up production of electronics for cars, expecting major growth as drivers embrace technology and emerging markets such as China and India expand, a newspaper said yesterday. The Nihon Keizai Shimbun said Alps Electronics will boost by 30 percent its output of systems that let drivers enter a car electronically without a key, technology used in more than 10 Nissan models. Alps will be producing 80,000 units a month by the end of the year at its factories in Japan and Britain, the business daily said. The Nihon Keizai also said Japan Aviation Electronics has invested ?500 million (US$4.5 million) for its plant in the Philippines to start making parts for boards that show car navigation and liquid crystal display monitors.
■ Entertainment
iPod may get music videos
Apple Computer is working on an iPod media player capable of playing video, and is negotiating with major recording companies to sell music videos through the company's iTunes Music Store, according to a report in Monday's Wall Street Journal. The report said that the video iPod could be unveiled by September. Videos would likely cost 1.99 each on iTunes according to the newspaper, with the possibility of a discount if consumers buy a music video and a song at the same time.
■ Internet
iTunes downloads hit record
Apple Computer Inc, which generates a third of sales from the iPod music player, said downloads from its iTunes online music store topped 500 million. Amy Greer, of Lafayette, Indiana, downloaded Faith Hill's Mississippi Girl yesterday as the 500 millionth song sold. She won 10 iPods, a credit for 10,000 songs and a trip for four to a Coldplay concert, Apple said yesterday in a statement. The iTunes store, which opened two years ago, features more than 1.5 million songs from most major record companies and more than 1,000 record labels.
■ Patents
Amberwave sues Intel
Amberwave Systems Corp, a privately held developer of chip technology, has filed a patent-infringement suit against Intel Corp. Salem-based Amberwave claimed Monday that Intel is using its proprietary techniques as part of the "strained silicon" technology used in Pentium microprocessors. On May 25, Intel sought a determination that it doesn't infringe the patent. Amberwave on Monday filed a counterclaim against Intel's action and said the litigation arose after Intel refused to negotiate a "commercially reasonable" license agreement.
■ Airlines
Valuair, Jetstar to merge
Budget airlines Valuair Ltd and Jetstar Asia will merge, in an effort to keep them both afloat in Asia's cutthroat low-cost market, a Singapore newspaper reported. Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd owns a 49-percent share in Jetstar. The Business Times newspaper said yesterday the merger between the two Singapore-based carriers could happen as early as the fourth quarter of this year, just a week after both parties said a possible alliance was off. Valuair, the first budget carrier to launch in the city-state, has yet to turn a profit. Citing unnamed sources, the paper said Qantas has offered to inject fresh capital into the new entity, after which Valuair's shareholders will become minority shareholders.
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