■ semiconductors
Chip breakthrough reported
Intel Corp and university researchers announced a breakthrough on Monday that could lead to a laser-producing chip that could vastly improve computing power at a low cost. Intel said the researchers for the company and the University of California at Santa Barbara developed a process that could allow the production of hybrid silicon-laser chips to use laser beams instead of wires to transfer data. The use of photonics, or optical data transfer, could vastly increase the speed of computers while keeping costs down, the researchers said. The use of lasers could allow communication between chips within a system, bypassing many of the bottlenecks on existing computer chips.
■ Entertainment
Sharp goes with Blu-ray
Sharp Corp said it will start selling recorders that use Blu-ray high-definition disks early next year. The Blu-ray format, developed by Sony, can store between five and 10 times as much data as a conventional DVD, and is competing with Toshiba Corp's HD DVD to become the standard for recording and playing high-definition movies and other content. Mikio Katayama, executive director in charge of Sharp's LCD panel and TV business said the company would start selling Blu-ray recorders. Samsung Electronics, Apple Computer and Dell also support the Blu-ray format, while the HD DVD standard is backed by NEC, Intel aand Microsoft.
■ Steel
Mittal has hopes for China
Lakshmi Mittal, president of steel giant Arcelor-Mittal, hopes that China may allow foreign ownership of its steel interests by 2008, according to an interview with the Financial Times published yesterday. "I'd hope some day the Chinese government would allow this [foreign ownership] to happen, perhaps in the next two years," he said. Arcelor-Mittal, by far the world's biggest steelmaker after a recent takeover of the European group Arcelor by Mittal Steel, has cited Asia and the Middle East as key areas of expansion. Arcelor-Mittal has three joint ventures with operators in China, which accounts for almost one-third of global steel production and consumption.
■ Internet
Microsoft inks China deal
Microsoft Corp will provide China Telecom Corp, China's biggest Internet service provider, with a Web search to try raise the carrier's share of the Chinese Web market. Microsoft will provide its Live Search service to 25 million China Telecom customers, the two firms said a briefing in Beijing yesterday. Microsoft is working with China Telecom to raise its share of the nation's Internet market, whose users may double in five years, according to researcher IResearch Inc. The world's biggest software maker has invested hundreds of millions of dollars on its search engine to lure customers away from Google Inc.
■ Automobiles
Tokyo seeks more luxury
Toyota Motor Corp, which failed to meet its domestic sales target for the Lexus brand last year, will introduce its Lexus LS sedan in Japan to raise its share of the luxury segment in the world's second-largest auto market. Toyota expects to sell 1,300 units of LS sedans a month, it said in a statement yesterday. Toyota expects total global sales for the Lexus brand to reach 470,000 this year and surpass 500,000 vehicles next year.
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