Seeking to attract more original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to develop Windows 8-powered PC products, Microsoft Corp yesterday took the stage at Computex in Taipei and introduced the new features of Windows 8.1.
“We want to be the best partner to all hardware manufacturers, from the way we engage and invest in new product designs to the experience we jointly deliver to customers,” Nick Parker, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s OEM division, said at a product demonstration featuring new Windows 8-powered desktop PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.
Microsoft is scheduled to make a complete introduction of its Windows 8.1 operating system at its Build Conference, which runs from June 26 through June 28 in San Francisco, California.
Demand for Windows 8-based PC products has been lukewarm since the operating system was launched in October last year.
Acer Inc (宏碁) president Jim Wong (翁建仁) said on the sidelines of the trade show forum that “Windows 8.1 is an improved operating system but whether it could meet consumers’ expectations remains unclear.”
“It will take time for consumers to learn the updated Windows 8 operating system and get familiar with it. We will watch market reactions closely,” Wong said.
Separately, Intel Corp yesterday said its latest chip for tablets and ultra-thin notebook computers is in final testing and is likely to be made available ahead of the Christmas shopping spree.
The new Atom system-on-a-chip — Bay Trail — is based on a 22-nanometer Silvermont microarchitecture and includes quad-core processing and Gen 7 graphics.
Supporting Windows and Google Inc’s Android operating systems, the next-generation chip would offer significantly improved processing and graphics performance, the company said.
In addition to the new chip for tablets, Intel will provide a product codenamed “Merrifield” for smartphones, which it says will improve performance by 50 percent and allow longer battery life than current versions.
Products powered by Merrifield will be available early next year, Intel said.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
RSS