■ Computers
Dell to hire 500 engineers
Dell Inc plans to hire another 500 engineers to work in its central Texas product development operations, founder and chairman Michael Dell announced on Monday. Dell joined Texas Governor Rick Perry at the Texas Capitol to announce the company would immediately begin hiring new electrical, software and mechanical engineers and program managers. Dell has 18,000 employees at its Round Rock headquarters and other Austin-area locations. The company has been battered recently by a recall of 4.1 million potentially flammable notebook batteries made by Sony Corp and by disappointing earnings.
■ Advertising
US Web revenues soar
Internet advertising revenues in the US grew 37 percent in the first half of this year, reaching a new high of US$7.9 billion. Keyword ads displayed alongside search results remained the most lucrative format, accounting for 40 percent of revenues from January to June, the Interactive Advertising Bureau said on Monday. Banner display ads made up 21 percent and classified ads 20 percent. Online ad revenues reached US$12.5 billion last year. Despite the growth, Internet advertising accounts for only about 5 percent of all US advertising revenues.
■ Software
Motorola buys Vertasent
Motorola Inc said on Monday it paid an undisclosed sum to acquire Vertasent LLC, which develops software to ease the potential traffic jam on cable TV networks as operators try to introduce new multimedia services. Vertasent makes software that helps cable providers free up bandwidth, which in turn allows companies to provide more services at a faster speed. Motorola said that using Vertasent's software, it will be able to provide cable operators with the tools to stream video programming to any device. The purchase comes less than a month after the telecommunications equipment maker acquired privately held Broadbus Technologies Inc, which provides technology for video on demand.
■ Telecoms
Softbank to issue bonds
Japanese Internet firm Softbank said yesterday that it planned a major issue of new bonds backed by Vodafone KK assets to cover a short-term loan it took out to buy the cellphone operator. According to the Nihon Keizai business daily, Softbank aims to raise an unprecedented ?1.45 trillion (US$12.46 billion) with the securitization deal. Softbank, which owns search engine Yahoo Japan and in April completed a deal to buy Vodafone Japan for US$15 billion, said in a statement that the talks with the banks were in "the final stage and would reach an agreement on an outline deal soon."
■ Oil
Hyundai Heavy wins UAE bid
South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, said yesterday it had won a US$1.6 billion order to build oil and gas rigs for an United Arab Emirates company. The contract -- to supply Abu Dhabi Marine Operating with three fixed platforms, pipelines and bridges by 2010 -- is the world's biggest project of its type, Hyundai said. The facilities would produce 300,000 barrels of crude oil and 1 billion cubic feet (30 million cubic meters) of natural gas per day, it said. The firm said it would carry out the project on a turnkey basis from engineering, procurement and installation to commissioning work.
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