Microsoft launches Windows 10 in China, offers local updates

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-07-30

Microsoft offices in Espoo, Finland, April 26, 2014. (File photo/Xinhua)

Microsoft will allow Chinese users to upgrade to its latest Windows 10 operating system, launched Wednesday, through Chinese tech firms Tencent, Qihoo 360, Baidu and Lenovo.

The partnership with Chinese software and hardware companies is an unprecedented promotion effort for the Redmond, Washington-based company to reach out to more users in the world's largest PC and mobile device market.

Chinese users have been slow to adopt newer version of Windows. Data from StatCounter shows that as of June this year, Windows 7 accounted for 58.1% of all desktop and tablet operating systems in China, followed by Windows XP, which Microsoft has stopped supporting, at 25.51%, compared with 12% worldwide. Meanwhile, Windows 8.1 has only a 6.79% share.

Microsoft hopes domestic partners like Tencent and Qihoo, whose online messenger QQ and antivirus software has been installed on hundreds of millions of computers, can help promote the new operating system to a broader range of Chinese users.

Chinese PC maker Lenovo will also offer update services for users at its service stations around the country.

Windows 10 will feature a desktop version of its intelligent personal assistant Cortana, which is Microsoft's answer to Apple's Siri, and a China-only assistant called "XiaoIce," which boasts 37 million Chinese users.

Cortana has been readapted with local content as Microsoft seeks to increase Windows 10's appeal to Chinese users.

Other features of the new operating system include the new browser Windows Edge and biometric authentication service Windows Hello, which allows users to unlock devices using facial, iris or fingerprint recognition, instead of typing passwords.

WTO strikes 'landmark' deal to cut tariffs on IT products

Yahoo – AFP, Ben Simon, 24 July 2015

WTO director Roberto Azevedo says a "landmark" deal has been reached to 

cut tariffs on some information technology products (AFP Photo/Roslan Rahman)

Geneva (AFP) - Major exporters of information technology on Friday agreed to cut global tariffs on more than 200 products, in the first such deal struck by the World Trade Organization in nearly two decades.

The pact which came after three years of frequently-stalled negotiations, covers products ranging from video games to touch screens and GPS navigation systems.

In all, the 201 products covered account for roughly $1.3 trillion (1.18 trillion euros) or seven percent of annual global trade.

"Today's agreement is a landmark," WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said in a statement, describing the accord as "the first major tariff cutting deal" at the organisation in 18 years.

The European Union Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom described the deal -- which was initiated and brokered by the EU -- as "a great deal for consumers, and for companies big and small".

While the full terms of the agreement will not be released until next week, the WTO said the highlights include the elimination of "the majority of tariffs" on a diverse range of products within three years.

The trade value of the IT products covered amounts to more than the "trade in automotive products — or trade in textiles, clothing, iron and steel combined," Azevedo.

While only 54 WTO member-states took part in the talks, all 161 nations that make up the organisation can benefit from the outcome, the WTO said.

The EU said an additional, "limited" number of countries is expected to confirm its participation in the deal in the coming days.

The tariff reductions are set to start in 2016, but participating countries must by the end of October submit a draft schedule spelling out their plans to meet the terms of the deal.

Logjam broken

The agreement is an expansion of a pact reached in 1996 by 81 WTO members, known as the Information Technology Agreement (ITA).

In 2012, member states resolved that the ITA needed to be revised because the world's most valuable IT products had been invented after 1996.

But there were considerable hurdles to striking a broader agreement, notably differences between the United States and China.

There were reports that China was fighting to exclude about 60 new product categories, including certain next-generation silicon chips.

US President Barack Obama (L) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) drink

 a toast at a lunch banquet in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 

November 12, 2014 (AFP Photo/Greg Baker)

In November 2014, President Barack Obama said in Beijing that the two sides had "reached an understanding" on moving the talks forward.

The WTO said that the deal finalised on Friday has provisions to expand the list of products covered, with changes possibly needed "to reflect future technological development."

Lower prices, more jobs

The WTO chief claimed the agreement was set to have "a huge impact" by lowering prices, creating jobs and boosting economic growth worldwide.

For the EU's Malmstrom, much of the immediate benefit was likely to be felt by smaller producers.

"This deal will cut costs for consumers and business – in particular for smaller firms, which have been hit especially hard by excessive tariffs in the past," she said.

Unilever partners with Alibaba to reach rural markets

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-07-23

Unilever's company logo at an expo in 2013. (File photo/CFP)

Global consumer goods company Unilever, which streamlined its brands from over 2,000 to 400 plus, is planning to expand its offerings in China through a newly formed partnership with e-commerce operator Alibaba, according to the Economic Observer.

Unilever and Alibaba formally signed a strategic partnership deal in Hangzhou on July 20, with the two companies planning to work together on expanding in rural markets and cross-border e-commerce, according to a statement released by Unilever.

In an interview with the newspaper on July 14, Unilever North Asia president Marijn van Tiggelen said his company will introduce brands currently not available in China through Alibaba's platforms.

Unilever entered the Chinese market in 1986 where it currently only offers around 20 of its more than 400 brands, the newspaper noted.

The planned introduction of more brands into China, the newspaper said, is an aggressive move caused by Unilever's falling sales in emerging markets.

Unilever posted a 2.7% sales decline in 2014, with the Chinese market having recorded declines of over 20% during the third and fourth quarters, the newspaper said.

According to van Tiggelen, the company noticed that more and more Chinese travelers have been buying consumer goods during their overseas trips in the past two years, and Unilever hopes to introduce these products only available in overseas markets into China.

The introduction of a new product into China through traditional retail channels often needs to go through a long period of time between regulatory review and establishment of distribution, while e-commerce platforms present a cheaper and easier alternative, said Jeff Zhang, head of Alibaba's China Retail Marketplaces division.

Under the newly signed deal, Unilever plans to launch a marketing campaign through Cun.Taobao, an Alibaba platform targeting rural markets, every quarter, the newspaper said.

Unilever is also interested in working with Alibaba on the Chinese company's payment service Alipay, rural operations Cun.Taobao and big data, van Tiggelen added.

According to Zhang, Alibaba is trial running a system established for vendors in rural regions to order goods through Alipay, and Unilever is one of the companies that will take part in the trial operations.

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Mobile phone users reach 94.5% of Chinese population

Want ChinaTimes, Xinhua 2015-07-20

People using cell phones in Taiyuan Shanxi province, June 2014. (File photo/CNS)

The number of Chinese mobile phone users accounted for 94.5% of its total population by the end of June, latest data showed.

In the first half, China saw 6.88 million new mobile phone users, bringing the country's total mobile phone users to 1.29 billion, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a statement.

The ratio of mobile phone users to population was higher than 100% in nine provincial-level regions, including Beijing, Shanghai, as well as provinces of Guangdong and Zhejiang.

The number of users choosing broadband mobile internet services (3G and 4G services) reached 674 million by the end of June, accounting for 52.1% of all mobile phone users.

Fourth-generation (4G) mobile network, which offers faster Internet access than previous modes, witnessed explosive user growth last month, with total 4G users up 24.69 million from a month earlier to 225 million.

HTC mum on alleged partnership with Israeli VR startup Replay

Want China Times, CNA 2015-07-14

Cher Wang speaks at an event at HTC's headquarters in Taoyuan, June 6.
(Photo courtesy of HTC)

HTC declined to comment Monday on a report that the Taiwanese smartphone maker is hoping to work with an Israel-based startup to provide virtual reality technology.

Local magazine Business Next reported on Saturday that HTC chairwoman and CEO Cher Wang had planned to visit Replay Technologies in early June, but was forced to cancel the plan because she needed to address HTC's tumbling share price.

The report said Wang canceled the plan in an e-mail to the Israeli company, citing Replay co-founder and CEO Oren Haimovitch-Yogev.

Wang's secret visit was aimed at teaming up with Replay for new technologies used in the HTC Vive — a virtual reality headset developed jointly with US video game supplier Valve, which is expected to hit the consumer market in the second half of this year, the report said.

In response to the report, HTC told CNA on Monday that it does not comment on rumors or speculation.

Replay has developed a new video format called "freeD," or free dimensional video, which works by capturing reality as a true three-dimensional scene, comprised of three-dimensional pixels that faithfully represent reality, rather than as a flat 2D image.

This information is stored in a freeD database and can be accessed to create any desired viewing angle from the multi-dimensional information, the three-year-old startup said.

The freeD technology has been used in instant replays at major sports events, including the 2012 Olympic Games, NBA All-Star Games, MLB games and the Super Bowl.

Replay has formed partnerships with Samsung Electronics, Sony and Microsoft.

IBM unveils 'breakthrough' computer chip

The chipmaker said it has managed to shrink the circuitry on its semiconductors by 50 percent, overcoming 'one of the grand challenges' of the industry. The discovery could take computing power to a new level.

Deutsche Welle, 9 July 2015

IBM on Thursday said its new chips could boost computing power of "everything from smartphones to spacecraft."

They are the first of their kind with transistors only 7 nanometers wide - roughly 1/10,000 the width of a human hair, the company said.

That's dramatically thinner than the 22 nanometer or 14 nanometer transistors used in the microprocessors that power today's servers.

The breakthrough was celebrated as a potential game-changer for the industry, which has consistently built smaller chips with more power in recent years but has seen progress slow as the physical limitations of existing technology appeared to be reached.

IBM said the new transistors could help power chips that would meet the ever-increasing demands of future cloud computing and Big Data systems, mobile products and other novel technologies.

The research was part of a $3 billion (2.7 billion euro) investment that saw the chipmaker partner with Samsung as well as the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute to develop silicon-germanium transistors capable of boosting processing power.

cjc/pad (AP, AFP)

US start-up collective comes to Rotterdam

DutchNews.nl, July 7, 2015

The US start-up collective Cambridge Innovation Center is to open its first overseas offices in Rotterdam, the Financieele Dagblad reports on Tuesday. 

The company will prepare 13,000 square metres of space in the Groothandelsgebouw on the Weena for young entrepreneurs. 

CIC hopes to have 550 start-ups in the building within five years, the FD says. 

The centre already operates in the US city of Cambridge, close to the prestigious universities of Harvard and MIT. It is here that Google Android began its growth. 

CIC not only offers office space to start-ups but also to support companies, the paper says. It also developed the US company programme which brings together entrepreneurs, scientists and investors. 

In Rotterdam, it will work with the Erasmus centre for entrepreneurship, the RDM Campus and the Delft start-up initiative Yes.

‘This is a good addition to the innovation landscape of the region,’ alderman Maarten Struijvenberg told the paper. He is looking at ways to support the project and wants to reserve a budget of €2.7m.

Cuba's new wifi hotspots attract eager users

Yahoo – AFP, 3 July 2015

Cubans use their mobile devices to connect to the Internet via wifi in

a street of Havana, on July 2, 2015 (AFP Photo/Yamil Lage)

Havana (AFP) - Near the popular Hotel Habana Libre in Cuba's capital, a gaggle of young people on cellphones, tablets and laptops log onto the new wifi hotspot -- a small milestone in one of the least connected countries.

Sitting on the sidewalks, low-rise walls, or makeshift seats, several dozen people sign in at the public access wifi zone, part of the government's plan to roll out Internet access across the Communist island nation.

President Raul Castro's government has said it wants all Cubans to have Internet access by 2020.

And last month, it announced plan to open 35 public wifi sites in 16 cities, pledging to halve the price to go online.

In order to access the network, users are asked to open an account with the state-owned Etecsa company for $1.50 and pay an hourly connection fee.

Since 2013, Cuba has had about 150 public Internet cafes where users can go online for the hourly rate.

But the price is steep in a country where the average salary is $20 a month.

Only 3.4 percent of Cuban households had access to the network in 2013, one of the lowest figures in the world, according to the International Telecommunication Union.

US President Barack Obama has named increased Internet access for the island as one of the goals of the historic thaw between Washington and Havana announced last December.

Saudi Prince Alwaleed pledges $32 bn fortune to charity

Yahoo – AFP, Ian Timberlake, 1 July 2015

Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal answers questions during a 2011 press

conference in Riyadh (AFP Photo/Fayez Nureldine)

Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi tycoon Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on Wednesday promised his entire $32 billion (28.8 billion euro) fortune to charitable projects in coming years, in one of the biggest ever such pledges.

The pledge is "maybe... the first such big announcement" of its kind in the region, and is modelled on a charity established by Microsoft founder Bill Gates in the United States, the prince told reporters.

Alwaleed said his charity "will help build bridges to foster cultural understanding, develop communities, empower women, enable youth, provide vital disaster relief and create a more tolerant and accepting world."

The money "will be allocated according to a well-devised plan throughout the coming years", he said, but stressed there was no time limit for the donation to be spent.

Alwaleed said he would head a board of trustees tasked with spending the funds, which would still be used after his death "for humanitarian projects and initiatives".

The 60-year-old magnate belongs to the Saudi royal family and is a nephew of king Abdullah, who died on January 23.

In the conservative Muslim kingdom, Alwaleed, who holds no government rank, is unusual for his high profile and periodic comments about economic issues.

"We are clearly in very close coordination with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation", which is already working with Alwaleed on a polio eradication project, he said.

"This is very much separate from my ownership in Kingdom Holding," and there should be no impact on the publicly listed company's share price, Alwaleed told reporters on the 66th-floor headquarters of the firm which he chairs.

'Dramatic and drastic'

But he said his charitable commitment would provide even more incentive for his business investments to be profitable.

As well as media stakes, Kingdom Holding has interests ranging from the Euro Disney theme park to Four Seasons hotels and Citigroup.

Alwaleed is constructing a tower in the Red Sea city of Jeddah that is to rise more than one kilometre (almost 3,300 feet) to be the world's tallest building.

Earlier this year, he opened a pan-Arab news channel in Bahrain but authorities there shut the station after less than 24 hours on air and a new home is being sought.

Alwaleed last week in Paris signed a letter of intent with France's CDC International Capital to create the first French-Saudi investment fund, worth up to $400 million.

A separate deal saw a French consortium and CDC IC invest about $150 million in Kingdom Holding.

Alwaleed told reporters he has already donated a total of $3.5 billion over more than 35 years through his Alwaleed Philanthropies.

The charity has distributed houses and provided electricity to isolated Saudi communities, while supporting other projects around the world.

He said he announced his pledge now, after years of preparation, to institutionalise the process "so they can continue after my lifetime".

Flanked by his son Prince Khaled and daughter Princess Reem, he said they will be president and vice-president of the charity after he dies.

"I believe that a person should take dramatic and drastic decisions at his peak," Alwaleed said, proclaiming himself to be in good shape.

"I'm very healthy, enough to bike every day three hours," he said. "I assure you my health is good."

Tim Cook is one of many high-profile business people in the US, including

 Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Warren Buffet, in giving at least 50% of their

wealth to charity. Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

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EU roaming charges to be abolished in 2017

Yahoo - AFP, Katherine Haddon, 30 June 2015

The European Union currently caps roaming charges at 0.19 euros per minute
 for calls, 0.06 euros per SMS and 0.20 euros per megabyte of data (AFP
Photo/Josep Lago)

Brussels (AFP) - The European Union said Tuesday it had struck a deal to abolish mobile phone roaming charges in 2017, ending fees loathed by millions of holidaymakers and business travellers across Europe.

The agreement will end the frustration of EU citizens on holiday or business who face steep charges for using their phones for calls and Internet browsing when in the bloc but outside their home country.

Coming into force on June 15, 2017, the deal means "you can use your mobile device when travelling in the EU paying the same prices as at home," the European Commission said in a statement.

"If you pay for a monthly volume of minutes, SMS and data in your country, any voice call, SMS and data session you make while travelling abroad in the EU will be deducted from that as if you were at home, with no extra charges," it added.

The deal was reached following wider discussions stretching back to 2013 in overnight talks between the Latvian presidency of the EU and the European Parliament.

It still needs formal approval by the bloc's parliament and 28 governments and was described as "provisional".

"This is the end of a long process and we're delighted we managed to produce a result that will mean concrete improvement for citizens in the single market," European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters at a briefing in Brussels.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, who is in the process of negotiating EU reforms ahead of a referendum on membership of the bloc, described the move as "fantastic news".

But some analysts questioned whether the major structural changes to the industry necessary before roaming charges are actually abolished could be brought in within two years.

"I'm not convinced that 2017 is going to be the final date," said Dario Talmesio, Europe practice leader at telecoms, media and IT research group Ovum.

"The devil is in the detail about how to go about it. There's a lot that needs to be clarified."

'Prices may rise'

Before the full deal comes into effect, data roaming charges will be slashed from April 2016 to 0.05 euros per minute for calls, 0.02 euros per SMS and 0.05 per megabyte of data.

Under current EU rules, the cap stands at 0.19 euros per minute for calls, 0.06 euros per SMS and 0.20 euros per megabyte of data.

Providers would still be allowed to apply a "fair use policy" to prevent "abusive" use of roaming, the European Council said.

Talmesio said that the detail of this would be key to determining how and when the policy can be implemented.

Bert Van Roosebeke, a political analyst from the Centre for European Policy think tank said it was "possible that domestic prices rise" as telecoms companies respond to the ruling.

A principle of "net neutrality" is also being introduced under which operators will be obliged to treat all traffic equally when providing Internet access services and not impose any blocking or "throttling" -- slowing down Internet traffic.

That is designed to eliminate the paid prioritisation of traffic, subject to limited exemptions such as countering cyber-attacks.

Providers not respecting the rules face "significant pecuniary and administrative sanctions," the Commission said.

The EU wants to complete an overhaul of EU telecoms rules in 2016.