Japan Computer Industry Scan articles from December 2003

Japan Computer Industry Scan archives from December 2003

Rental fees charged for game software at entertainment cafes.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 1 Kyodo The Japanese game software industry on Monday began charging rental fees for the use of software at cafes providing Internet service and access to comic books, the Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association said....

Dell releases 17-inch LCD TV in Japan.(Dell W1700)
December 1, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 1 Kyodo Dell Japan Inc., the Japanese unit of U.S. computer maker Dell Inc., on Monday launched a 17-inch liquid crystal display (LCD) television set in Japan that can be hooked up to a personal computer. The ''Dell...

Hitachi Information Systems to absorb Hitachi netBusiness.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 2 Kyodo Hitachi Information Systems Ltd. said Tuesday it will merge with Hitachi netBusiness Ltd., an Internet data service provider, on April 1 next year to enhance the efficiency of their business operations. The two...

Microsoft, Nihon Unisys to build Windows-based banking systems.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 2 Kyodo Microsoft Co., the Japanese arm of U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp., and Nihon Unisys Ltd. said Tuesday they will jointly construct banking systems based on personal computer servers running the Microsoft Windows...

Yahoo Japan temporarily suspends Net search service.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 2 Kyodo A glitch forced Yahoo Japan Corp. to temporarily suspend its Internet portal's search service Tuesday afternoon. Yahoo Japan has yet to announce what caused the glitch. The search service has already resumed...

NTT DoCoMo to install Linux in 3G cell phones.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 2 Kyodo NTT DoCoMo Inc., Japan's leading mobile phone service provider, plans to adopt the free operating system Linux as one of the systems for its third-generation FOMA mobile phones, company officials said Tuesday. ...

Matsushita to expand TV-based Internet info service.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 3 Kyodo Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Wednesday it will expand its ''T Navi'' service that enables consumers to obtain information through high-speed access to the Internet from their television sets. The number...

Developer of TRON devises PHS to read bar codes.(Professor Ken Sakamura )(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 3 Kyodo University of Tokyo Professor Ken Sakamura said Wednesday he and his associates have developed what he claims to be the world's first prototype personal handy-phone system (PHS) that shows information on products by...

Takara Bio develops research kit to detect SARS in 1 hour.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... OSAKA, Dec. 4 Kyodo Takara Bio Inc. said Thursday it has developed a research kit to detect the SARS virus in about one hour. The SARS corona virus can be detected by converting SARS' RNA into DNA by reverse transcript and then...

NEC to recall 170,000 laser printers.(Brief Article)
December 8, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 4 Kyodo NEC Corp. said Thursday it will recall some 170,000 black-and-white laser printers for free replacement of a part that could overheat and catch fire. Hitachi Printing Solutions Ltd. will also recall 440 printers...

Global semiconductor market grows 11.3% in 2003: Gartner.(Brief Article)(Industry Overview)
December 8, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 5 Kyodo The worldwide semiconductor industry grew 11.8% in 2003 from the previous year to $175.01 billion, with Intel Corp. of the United States remaining the top vendor with a market share of 16.0%, research agency Gartner...

NEC test-produces world's smallest transistor.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 8 Kyodo NEC Corp. has test-produced what it claims the world's smallest transistor, which could significantly enhance data-processing speed and reduce power consumption, the electronics giant said Monday. According to...

Ricoh copier blocks illicit copying of confidential documents.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 9 Kyodo Ricoh Co. said Tuesday it has developed a printer-photocopier capable of automatically blocking unauthorized duplication of classified documents. When a user of the new machine prints out classified documents from...

Denso, Toshiba develop software prototype for Tron-Windows use.
December 15, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 10 Kyodo Denso Corp. and Toshiba Corp. said Wednesday they have jointly developed the world's first prototype of a multi-operating systems (multi-OS) environment that will support both the Windows and Tron OSs. The...

Recruit, Yahoo tie up for Net-based job ad placement business.
December 15, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 11 Kyodo Recruit Co. and Yahoo Japan Corp. said Thursday they have tied up to develop a Net-based job advertisement placement business. Under the arrangement, Yahoo Japan will allow visitors to the nation's most popular...

LEAD: KDDI, Hitachi develop mobile phone with IC card.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 12 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATING WITH ANNOUNCEMENT BY KDDI AND HITACHI) KDDI Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. said Friday they have jointly developed a mobile phone equipped with an integrated circuit (IC) card that can give handsets such...

Pocket-sized computer debuts at Tokyo trade show.(Personal Media T-Cube)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 12 Kyodo Tokyo-based venture business Personal Media Corp. on Friday unveiled a pocket-sized computer just 52 millimeters by 52 millimeters. The machine, dubbed T-Cube, made its debut at a trade show in Tokyo for personal...

Toshiba develops LCD filter to foil peeping at screens.(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 12 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. said Friday it has developed a filter for the liquid crystal displays of personal computers and mobile phones that make the screen visible only to users. The electronically controlled filter will...

Sony's PSX game console with DVD/HDD put on sale.(Sony DESR-7000 and Sony DESR-5000 )(Brief Article)
December 15, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 13 Kyodo Sony Corp. put on sale Saturday a new home-use electronics device called the PSX that can function as both a PlayStation 2 game console and a DVD/HDD (hard disk drive) recorder in time for the year-end shopping...

'2 Channel' most accessed keyword on Yahoo Japan site in 2003.
December 22, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 16 Kyodo Internet bulletin board ''2 Channel'' was the most searched-for keyword on the portal site of Yahoo Japan Corp. in 2003, the operator of Japan's leading Internet portal Yahoo! Japan said Tuesday. Coming in...

Toshiba to reorganize PC operations.
December 29, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 22 Kyodo Toshiba Corp. said Monday it will establish a new in-house division specializing in personal computer (PC) business on Jan. 1. The new division, to be called PC & Network Co., will be created by spinning off the...

Subscription contracts for broadband Net services top 13 mil.(Japan )
December 29, 2003... TOKYO, Dec. 26 Kyodo The tally of subscription contracts for broadband high-speed Internet connection services came to 13.15 million as of Nov. 30, eclipsing the 13 million line for the first time ever, the government said Friday. The...