Microsoft Corp, whose Windows software runs on almost 95 percent of the world's computers, is looking to tap demand for compact notebook PCs in Japan by testing its new "Origami" laptops at schools.
The "ultra-mobile PCs," which are smaller than conventional laptops with almost the same amount of power, will be used in a third-grade class at Ritsumeikan Primary School in Kyoto, Microsoft Mobile Platforms Vice President Bill Mitchell said at a press conference on Tuesday.
Microsoft is trying to break into Japan's market because consumers in the country are some of the world's most advanced users of mobile devices, on which they surf the Internet, send e-mails, bank online and use other functions, Mitchell said. The Redmond, Washington-based company said PBJ Inc, a Tokyo-based maker of touch panels, would sell the first of the new computers in Japan starting on April 14 for ?99,800 (US$850).
"If it's not possible to have success with Japanese consumers for mobile consumer electronic products, it's very unlikely that the rest of the world will see value in those products," Mitchell said at a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday. "We think that the early work in education for Origami will be a good test."
Students will use the PC, which is operated with a stylus pen or by touching the seven-inch screen, to practice writing Kanji characters and for assignments.
Microsoft unveiled the laptops at the CeBit industry conference in Hanover, Germany, last month. The name refers to the computer's versatility -- it can be used for Internet surfing, gaming and other functions, similar to the Japanese art of origami, where paper can be folded into almost anything, said Otto Berkes, the general manager and chief architect behind the new laptops.
The new Microsoft notebook that will be sold by PBJ, called the SmartCaddie, is equipped with a 40 gigabyte hard drive and weighs 860 grams, about half the weight of conventional notebook PCs. Microsoft doesn't plan to sell the computers under its own brand name, Mitchell said.
Microsoft said it is teaming up with ALC Press Inc, which publishes teaching material and computer software in English and Japanese, and other education-related companies. It also plans to talk to game makers because the PC's "size is good for gaming," Mitchell said.
"Our first hope is to get traction in Japan in several markets like education and gaming," he said. "We expect to be in a learning phase for a while."
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique