Stories by Michael Drexler

NEC to take $US480M six-month loss

Computer giant NEC will be hit with a multibillion-yen loss when the company releases its mid-year fiscal report expected later this month, according to a report in a leading business daily yesterday.

Japan's mobile providers rushing towards 3G

To meet the booming demand here for data services over mobile devices, Japanese telecommunications carriers are scrambling to bring out next-generation mobile broadcasting technology by early 2001, according to the nation's largest mobile providers.

Intel Boosts Telephony Focus in Oki Deal

Intel Corp. made another move to bolster its telecommunications and networking products today when it announced a tie-up with Oki Corp. to jointly develop and market IP (Internet Protocol) telephony products.
"Even though Intel started as a semiconductor maker, it is focusing more on telephony products as indicated by this deal with Oki," Intel Japan President Nobuyuki Denda said here today.

Linux part of 'fastest gaming console ever'

Pooh-poohing recent rumours that Sony's much-anticipated PlayStation 2 would run on the open-source Linux operating system, a spokeswoman at Sony yesterday said Linux is only being used in the development of the company's new gaming console.

Nortel exec: Costs, technology holding back Net

Bandwidth on the Internet is increasing by leaps and bounds, but is still constrained by technological bottlenecks and high access charges, according to a Nortel Networks executive speaking here late last week.

Fujitsu breaks IBM mark for magnetic disk storage

Fujitsu said yesterday that it has set a new world record for hard-drive storage technology with a new magnetic recording technology that can hold over 20 billion bits (G bits) of information per square inch.

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