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.
TRADE WAR: Tariffs should also apply to any goods that pass through the new Beijing-funded port in Chancay, Peru, an adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump said A veteran adviser to US president-elect Donald Trump is proposing that the 60 percent tariffs that Trump vowed to impose on Chinese goods also apply to goods from any country that pass through a new port that Beijing has built in Peru. The duties should apply to goods from China or countries in South America that pass through the new deep-water port Chancay, a town 60km north of Lima, said Mauricio Claver-Carone, an adviser to the Trump transition team who served as senior director for the western hemisphere on the White House National Security Council in his first administration. “Any product going
TECH SECURITY: The deal assures that ‘some of the most sought-after technology on the planet’ returns to the US, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said The administration of US President Joe Biden finalized its CHIPS Act incentive awards for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), marking a major milestone for a program meant to bring semiconductor production back to US soil. TSMC would get US$6.6 billion in grants as part of the contract, the US Department of Commerce said in a statement yesterday. Though the amount was disclosed earlier this year as part of a preliminary agreement, the deal is now legally binding — making it the first major CHIPS Act award to reach this stage. The chipmaker, which is also taking up to US$5 billion
High above the sparkling surface of the Athens coastline, the cranes for building the 50-floor luxury tower centerpiece of Greece’s future “smart city” look out over the Saronic Gulf. At their feet, construction machinery stirs up dust. Its backers say the 8 billion euro (US$8.43 billion) project financed by private funds is a symbol of Greece’s renaissance after the years of financial stagnation that saw investors flee the country. However, critics see it more as a future “ghetto for the rich.” It is hard to imagine that 10km from the Acropolis, a new city “three times the size of Monaco”
STRUGGLING BUSINESS: South Korea’s biggest company and semiconductor manufacturer’s buyback fuels concerns that it could be missing out on the AI boom Samsung Electronics Co plans to buy back about 10 trillion won (US$7.2 billion) of its own stock over the next year, putting in motion one of the larger shareholder return programs in its history. South Korea’s biggest company would repurchase the stock in stages over the coming 12 months, it said in a regulatory filing on Friday. As a first step, it would buy back about 3 trillion won of paper starting today up until February next year, all of which it would cancel. The board would deliberate on how best to effect the remaining 7 trillion won of buybacks. The move
RSS