Microsoft Taiwan Corp (台灣微軟) unveiled its “release to manufacturing” (RTM) version of the highly anticipated Windows 7 platform yesterday, which is undergoing minor adjustments by local engineers before the worldwide launch on Oct. 22.
Despite its emphasis on multimedia and entertainment, “Windows 7 will give users a bare bones version of the VISTA operating system [OS], but with many additional improvements and compatibilities built-in,” Kevin Chien (簡志偉), Microsoft Taiwan’s assistant technology manager, told the Taipei Times on the sidelines of the launch.
Chien touted improvements made to various programs.
Upgrading from VISTA to Windows 7 is easy, but the same cannot be said about transitioning from XP to Windows 7.
To solve this problem, Chien said: “Microsoft engineers are standing by to help companies make a smooth transition. However, for non-corporate clients who are not as computer savvy, the task may be a bit daunting,” Chien said.
Chien said he believes that Windows 7’s capacity to consolidate information, facilitate data research and communicate with customers will attract companies.
“This time around, Taiwan will be the focal point for the release of Windows 7, since many of the PC original equipment makers [OEMs] and software developers are here. We try to localize applications to make the platform more user-friendly,” Cathy Yeh (葉怡君), head of the company’s Windows 7 Business Group, told reporters yesterday.
Contract makers of PCs, component suppliers, liquid-crystal-display (LCD) manufacturers and other companies are hoping the new release will spur replacement spending.
“We’re very excited about Windows 7. As early as the fourth quarter, you will start to see netbooks and all-in-ones [AIO] pre-installed with the new platform,” Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦) president and chief operating officer Ray Chen (陳瑞聰) said last week.
Chen said Compal’s strategic investment in LCD panel maker Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (CPT, 華映) would ensure a steady supply of notebook panels in the face of rising prices and give Compal an edge in producing high-quality, touch-enabled displays for AIOs, laptops and TVs.
Meanwhile, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦) released its newest AIO yesterday, offering a free upgrade to Windows 7.
WEAKER ACTIVITY: The sharpest deterioration was seen in the electronics and optical components sector, with the production index falling 13.2 points to 44.5 Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last month contracted for a second consecutive month, with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipping to 48, reflecting ongoing caution over trade uncertainties, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The decline reflects growing caution among companies amid uncertainty surrounding US tariffs, semiconductor duties and automotive import levies, and it is also likely linked to fading front-loading activity, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said. “Some clients have started shifting orders to Southeast Asian countries where tariff regimes are already clear,” Lien told a news conference. Firms across the supply chain are also lowering stock levels to mitigate
IN THE AIR: While most companies said they were committed to North American operations, some added that production and costs would depend on the outcome of a US trade probe Leading local contract electronics makers Wistron Corp (緯創), Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), Inventec Corp (英業達) and Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶) are to maintain their North American expansion plans, despite Washington’s 20 percent tariff on Taiwanese goods. Wistron said it has long maintained a presence in the US, while distributing production across Taiwan, North America, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company is in talks with customers to align capacity with their site preferences, a company official told the Taipei Times by telephone on Friday. The company is still in talks with clients over who would bear the tariff costs, with the outcome pending further
Six Taiwanese companies, including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), made the 2025 Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s largest firms by revenue. In a report published by New York-based Fortune magazine on Tuesday, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), ranked highest among Taiwanese firms, placing 28th with revenue of US$213.69 billion. Up 60 spots from last year, TSMC rose to No. 126 with US$90.16 billion in revenue, followed by Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) at 348th, Pegatron Corp (和碩) at 461st, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) at 494th and Wistron Corp (緯創) at
NEGOTIATIONS: Semiconductors play an outsized role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development and are a major driver of the Taiwan-US trade imbalance With US President Donald Trump threatening to impose tariffs on semiconductors, Taiwan is expected to face a significant challenge, as information and communications technology (ICT) products account for more than 70 percent of its exports to the US, Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said on Friday. Compared with other countries, semiconductors play a disproportionately large role in Taiwan’s industrial and economic development, Lien said. As the sixth-largest contributor to the US trade deficit, Taiwan recorded a US$73.9 billion trade surplus with the US last year — up from US$47.8 billion in 2023 — driven by strong
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