If it wishes to secure a position in the global information technology (IT) market, Taiwan had better speed up its progress in developing a Linux-based operating system, IT industry analysts said yesterday.
Compared with neighboring countries such as China and Japan, whose governments have decided on or are considering using open-source operating systems to manage central-government data networks, Taiwan is still at the preliminary stage in this field, they said.
"Taiwan needs to catch up [in Linux development] or it may miss a great business opportunity in the near future," said Victor Tsan (
Around 88 percent of computers in the nation use Microsoft Windows, and only 8 percent run on Linux, Tsan said. He attributed the low ratio of Linux utilization in Taiwan to the fact that computers using Linux will not be able to communicate or trade files with those on a Microsoft-based system.
Low popularity hinders Linux's local acceptance.
"We originally focused on distributing Linux-based software in Taiwan," said Rita Wu (
"But after two years of bleak sales, we decided to shift our business strategy and focus on developing a Linux-embedded system for information appliances [IA]," Wu said.
However, the situation in China is very different, as it is currently working on developing a Linux-based operating system for use in personal computers. "Linux is gaining popularity in China, since the Chinese government is very supportive of it," she said.
An operating system is open-source if its software code is publicly available. Seeking to reduce its heavy reliance on Microsoft's Windows operating system and to eliminate royalties, China is promoting the use of Linux in government and schools.
Compared to the very limited market here for open-source software, China represents a market full of potential for Taiwanese companies, Tsan said.
"When the Chinese Linux-based operating system is successfully developed, Taiwanese software developers are positioned to profit from it, due to our shared langua-ge," he said.
Meanwhile, the global trend has caught government officials' attention. In late April, the Cabinet announced it would invest NT$200 million to facilitate the development of Linux-based software.
According to the Cabinet's science and technology advisory group, the special budget will be used in software developers' training programs, product research and development and for setting up Linux compatibility tests and certification centers.
Currently there are around 20 Taiwanese companies making Linux products, such as server applications and embedded products. The government hopes to increase that number to 50 by 2007.
The authorities are also setting a target to have 10 percent of personal computers and 30 percent of Internet servers used by government agencies and corporate networks run on a Linux-based system by 2007.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$10.26 billion to finance the construction of its second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, and a second fab in Arizona, using advanced process technologies. The Department of Investment Review approved TSMC’s investment applications on the basis that Taiwan remains a major technology and manufacturing hub for the chipmaker, which makes its most advanced chips at home, the company operates its research-and-development center here and the majority of its capacity remains in Taiwan. The latest capital injections — US$5.26 billion for its Japanese venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
DIVERSIFYING: Following customers’ demand to improve supply chain resilience, ASE is looking for sites in the US, Japan and Mexico, a company executive said ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packaging and testing service provider, yesterday said it plans to launch a new high-end chip testing fab in the US next month to better serve its key customers based in North America, particularly California-based artificial intelligence (AI) customers. The new US testing facility would be operated by the firm’s subsidiary ISE Labs Inc, it said. ASE’s major customers, and high-ranking US officials and representatives from American Institute in Taiwan are to attend the fab’s opening ceremony on July 12, it said. ISE Labs last year acquired a 5,942m2 facility in San
Local companies believe that nearly a third of all job opportunities will vanish in 10 years due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a survey released by online job bank yes123 on Tuesday. In the survey of 1,016 companies on the labor market’s third quarter outlook, the job bank focused in part on AI’s impact on workers and asked companies what percentage of jobs they felt would be lost to AI’s round-the-clock productivity and high-speed computing prowess. Respondents felt on average that 29.2 percent of job opportunities would be lost to AI over the next 10 years, but there
Taiwanese workers earned an average of NT$47,000 per month this year, but 40 percent are struggling financially and 18 percent plan to switch jobs within 12 months, two separate surveys showed yesterday. The amount equals a 5.4 percent increase from a year earlier to a decade high, 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) said. The government is due to review the nation’s minimum wages. Employees at computer and consumer electronics manufacturers reported the highest average monthly wage of NT$60,000 a month, followed by semiconductor firms at NT$59,000, and vendors of shoe and textile products, along with software and Internet businesses at NT$55,000, 104 Job