■ Software
Microsoft gets ultimatum
The EU has given software giant Microsoft eight days to submit the secret protocols of its Windows operating system to rivals or face the prospect of more fines, EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in an interview published in the Guardian newspaper yesterday. "I don't have eternal life," Kroes said. "I am not impressed if someone says 90 percent of the information is already there when we need 100 percent. It's a jigsaw and some parts are missing ... In my opinion, this information should have been here a couple of months ago."
■ Internet
Ad sales hit new high
Internet advertising in the US reached a new high of US$4.2 billion in the third quarter, marking the eighth consecutive quarter of growth, according to a study released on Tuesday by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers. It conducted the quarterly online ad study for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, an industry trade group. US revenues in the third quarter grew 2 percent from the US$4.1 billion in the second quarter and 33 percent from US$3.1 billion a year ago. Keyword ads displayed alongside search results generally are the most lucrative. Despite continued growth, Internet advertising accounts for only about 5 percent of all US advertising revenues.
■ Entertainment
iPods get ticket to fly
Apple Computer Inc said on Tuesday that its iPod media players will be integrated with the entertainment systems of six airlines. Passengers on United Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines,Emirates, KLM and Air France will be able to power and charge their iPods during flights and watch video content from their iPods on seat-back displays. The service will be available on the airlines beginning in the middle of next year. It will likely help solidify the iPod's dominance in portable players' market. The in-flight deals are similar to ones that Apple has made with more than a dozen automakers to have iPod-compatibility built into car audio systems.
■ IPR
Google insures itself
Google Inc has set aside more than US$200 million in its just-completed takeover of YouTube Inc to cover possible losses on the deal, creating a financial cushion that might protect the Internet search leader if it is hit with legal bills for the frequent copyright violations on YouTube's video-sharing site. Without elaborating in a statement issued late on Monday, Google said it is withholding 12.5 percent of the stock owed to YouTube for one year "to secure certain indemnification obligations." The Internet giant disclosed the escrow account in an announcement marking the completion of its much-anticipated YouTube acquisition.
■ Aviation
Qantas drops alliance plan
Qantas Airways will scrap its bid to forge an alliance with Air New Zealand after competition watchdogs warned they would block the deal, it said yesterday. The two airlines, which carry 80 percent of passengers on the lucrative routs between the two countries, had wanted to coordinate all flight activities, including setting schedules and ticket prices for their codeshare. But the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said in a draft decision earlier this month that such an agreement would effectively kill competitiveness across the Tasman Sea.
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