Finally, an affordable solution to the landfill problem: Fujitsu and Sony have figured out how to use biodegradable plastics in their high-tech gear.
This fall Sony will reintroduce that classic from the 1980s, the Walkman tape player, with 90 percent of its casing made from vegetable-based plastic. Fujitsu plans to use the same plastic in the shell of its Biblo laptop computers starting in 2004.
The magic ingredient in this plastic is polylactic acid, a corn-based polymer. Fujitsu experimented with the substance in industrial tape in 1996 but could not produce it cheaply. Two years ago, Cargill Dow, a joint venture of the Dow Chemical Co and the commodities processor Cargill Inc, came up with a cheaper version that is as strong as the plastic in most consumer electronics. The plastic disintegrates in just a few months, with the speed depending on the soil composition, temperature and the extent to which the plastics are exposed to air.
Fujitsu has begun using the corn-based plastic in bits of its laptop computers but says more flammability tests will be needed before it can become the chief material. Less petroleum is needed to produce the degradable plastic, and no dioxin is emitted when it is burned or buried. Once it is in full use, it is expected to make up the entire housing, making sorting and disassembling the machine easier. That is an important cost savings for Fujitsu, which under Japanese law is required to collect and recycle the computers it makes.
The computer's imprimatur may also win it more contracts from Japan's government, which has a mandate to buy environmentally friendly products.
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
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