One key reason that is seldom discussed as to why Microsoft has been able to enjoy continued successful with its Windows operating system in the PC and mobile device market is that the software giant has always sought to maintain close partnerships with hardware OEMs, especially makers in Taiwan.It appears that Microsoft is using this same business model to promote its cloud computing initiatives. Microsoft has announced that it is cooperating with the Taiwan government and Taiwan's largest telecom carrier Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) to develop cloud computing technologies in Taiwan, and during his recent visit to Taiwan, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was quick to point out that Microsoft's Taiwan partners will play a key role in the future development of hardware and software.Looking at Microsoft's partnership with CHT, sufficient Internet infrastructure with stable broadband networks is crucial to developing cloud computing applications, and in this context telecom carriers play the key role of being the channel to provide cloud computing services. Microsoft's cooperation with CHT reflects its strategy of setting up close partnership with telecom carriers.As for its partnership with Taiwan's government, Microsoft and Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs will jointly invest to establish a Software and Service Excellence Center in Taipei, with focus on R&D of applications of cloud computing technologies. This reveals Microsoft's intention of establishing a hardware supporting system to realize cloud computing applications.While these two announcements demonstrate Microsoft's continued support of its Taiwan partners, they also signify a shift in Microsoft's focus. In the past, Microsoft has targeted its hardware partners directly. For its cloud computing strategy, it appears that Microsoft is looking to make sure that government support and telecom infrastructure can keep up with the hardware makers.

While originally scheduled for a one day November 4 trip to Taiwan, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer slipped into Taiwan late November 3 amid little fanfare. Ballmer came to Taiwan to help Microsoft celebrate its 20 year anniversary on the island.Although Ballmer arrived at the smaller and less internationally used Sungshan Airport in downtown Taipei, the local media was still there waiting for him. If any of the reporters covering Ballmer's arrival hoped to catch a tired, grumpy and jet-lagged Ballmer, they were surely disappointed. Despite the late hour, Ballmer remained his usual energetic self, praising the performance of the local Taiwan office and stating that the local weather was "pretty darn great."The understanding was that Ballmer's whirlwind Taiwan tour would include a morning meeting with Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou and a keynote speech at a Microsoft event where he would participate in a forum with leaders from Taiwan's Legislature and Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) as well. Ballmer may also meet with handset maker HTC in the evening before jetting off to his next destination.Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer arrives in Taiwan at the Sungshan Airport, TaipeiPhoto: Terry Ku, Digitimes

Micron Technology has posted a Q&A blog post discussing the impact the company expects Windows 7 to have on the memory industry. Matthias Buchner, director of segment marketing for Micron's DRAM product group, gave his comments on how DRAM demand will be influenced on the launch of Windows 7.Buchner said Windows 7 is revolutionary catalyst that will bring would-be PC buyers off the sidelines and into the PC market. Not only will Windows 7 drive the mainstream memory density in traditional notebooks from 2GB to 4GB, but its launch will also spur DRAM bit growth through increased PC unit sales. Buchner forecast that unit growth should be driven by consumers in calendar 2010, followed by the enterprise applications in calendar 2011.While 4GB is seen as the sweet-spot in notebooks, netbooks will also move to 2GB, from today's 1GB, Buchner indicated.2010 is shaping up to be a big year for DRAM technology transitions with the conversion from DDR2 to DDR3, as well as the density transition in DDR3 from 1Gb-based modules to 2Gb-based modules. Additionally, a trend in reducing power consumption, or lowering voltage in the systems, is emerging as DDR3 moves down to 1.5V and even further to 1.35V, said Buchner.The full posting can be read here.

AU Optronics today announced it has completed the carbon footprint verification on its 32-inch LCD TV set according to international carbon footprint standard PAS2050: 2008. Succeeded in the third party verification by SGS, AUO's 32-inch LCD TV is the worldwide first LCD TV set gaining carbon footprint verification, which establishes the benchmark on the carbon footprint management for consumer electronic products, the company said.The 32-inch LCD TV is also included in the UKAS PAS2050 pilot project by United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). AUO is the only IT company in this project and will bring its experiences on the carbon footprint management for instituting the international verification standard, the panel maker said.Based on the definition of the life cycle of ISO14044, the carbon emission calculation of AUO's 32-inch LCD TV carbon footprint project includes each stage of the product life cycle from raw material, manufacturing, delivering, consumer using, discard, or recycling. Through the indicator of carbon calculation, consumers will know well how the environmental impact is caused by the electronic products they use in the future."We are proud that AUO's 32-inch LCD TV successfully completed the first carbon footprint verification on LCD TV set in the world. It truly demonstrates AUO's continuous efforts on implementation of green solutions," L J Chen, president and CEO of AUO, said. "Since the manufacturing process of electronic products is very complicated and detailed, there are hundreds of suppliers in the whole supply chain. AUO conducted several suppliers' trainings to launch the carbon footprint management, and developed a carbon database management system to increase the carbon calculation efficiency. From here, AUO successfully builds up a flawless program of carbon footprint management for the supply chain. When developing the next generation of eco products, the carbon database system with detailed carbon data of the supply chain will lead AUO to the leading position in low carbon products innovation."AUO's 32-inch LCD TV set completing the PAS 2050 verification consumes 30% less of the electricity compared to the other same-size products. The product not only conforms to EuP regulations in 2010 but also complies with Energy Star 3.0 in U.S. In addition, the cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) are diminished from 16 straight tubes to 4 u-shape tubes. Substantially decreased 82% of the mercury level, the product reduces the environmental impact significantly, it said.

AU Optronics (AUO) has announced that it has been selected as a constituent stock on the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia/Pacific Index (DJSI Asia/Pacific), making it the only pure TFT-LCD manufacturer worldwide to join the index.

Acer last week acted quickly to reiterate that it will launch its first dual-OS netbook with both Windows XP and Android in September 2009 as scheduled, following claims by industry sources that it might delay the launch. During Computex 2009 in June, where Acer showcased the dual-OS netbook, the vendor indicated that the netbook launch would come in the third quarter. And sources with Acer indicated that it could be as early as July. As the end of July was approaching, retail channel players indicated that Acer was mulling a delay in the launch because of lackluster demand for Android. After the news of a possible delay broke, Acer reiterated that the dual-OS netbook will be launched as scheduled in September - which falls within the third-quarter time frame. The netbook may be officially launched in September, but it remains to be seen whether it will be available on the market next month. Channel players expect the netbooks to be shipped in October. Acer's dual-OS netbookPhoto: Yen-Shyang Hwang, Digitimes, June 2009

Foxconn (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is said to have reached a preliminary agreement with the family of an engineer who is believed to have killed himself after losing a prototype unit of Apple's next-generation iPhone.The Southern Metropolis Daily – which first reported the death of engineer, Sun Danyong, at Foxconn's massive manufacturing base in Shenzhen, China – did not indicate the terms of the agreement.But the paper said Sun's body was already cremated on July 22.Apple, which has Foxconn make many of its products at the Shenzhen base, has confirmed the death of the engineer, and an Apple spokesperson in Hong Kong has been cited by the Associated Press as saying that "We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."The remark is apparently a response to allegations that Sun had been mistreated and even beaten by managers investigating the loss of the device.The Southern Metropolis Daily on July 23 said it had obtained CCTV footage of the interviews where Sun was questioned by managers, but there was no indication in the footage that the engineer was beaten.But the news has failed to convince skeptics, the paper said, citing some readers as questioning whether the footage could really clear Foxconn of the beating allegations.Some other readers said the case highlighted Foxconn's alleged violation of human rights by searching the engineer's dormitory room for the lost device.Some questions may never be answered, such as what really drove the engineer to kill himself, or how the device was lost. And Apple is unlikely to confirm what actually was lost.

Stan Shih, founder of Acer, has waded in with his opinion on the recent pair of pricing mix-ups by Dell Taiwan laying the blame on interference from Dell HQ, commenting that Dell Taiwan was slow to respond to the situation because the subsidiary does not have enough autonomy to make decisions without running them by management in the US. Shih added that this is a common problem with US and European businesses operating in Taiwan.What makes Shih's comments interesting is that although Acer is still commonly referred to as a Taiwan-based company, for almost all intents and purposes, the company is run out of Europe, with CEO and president Gianfranco Lanci calling the shots.Furthermore, over the past few years, individual departments based in Acer's Taiwan HQ offices have been placed under the authority of managers in Europe, or seen their roles transferred or outsourced outside of Taiwan (An analysis of how this transfer of power has tracked nicely with Acer's rise to the top-three spot in PC rankings is something better left for another time).It does not take long to find Acer employees in Taiwan quick to echo Shih's comments that overseas management is out of touch with local day-to-day issues; only they are taking about problems in Shih's own company, not those of his closest competition.

Bloomberg is reporting that the strength of the US dollar improved on July 2 after a Chinese government official voiced support for a stable dollar and said he "was not aware" of any plans to discuss a new global currency at the upcoming G8 meeting.China's vice foreign minister He Yafei was quoted as saying, "We hope that as the main reserve currency the exchange rate of the U.S. dollar will be stable. This international financial crisis has fully exposed the weaknesses and loopholes in the international monetary system."This voice of support for the greenback may not be shared by everyone in Beijing. It was only on June 29 that the Wall Street Journal cited the People's Bank of China as saying, "To avoid the shortcomings of sovereign credit currencies acting as reserve currencies, we need to create an... international reserve currency that can maintain the long-term stability of its value."One of China's main concerns is that while US monetary policy may be suitable for helping the domestic US economy, global investors in the dollar may end up subsidizing policies that are not optimal for their home markets.So while the issue may not be discussed at the upcoming G8 meeting, it will be discussed nonetheless.

June marked the third consecutive month that production levels increased for manufacturers in China, according to brokerage firm CLSA. It was also the third consecutive month that order books improved, after a period of contraction that lasted eight months, CLSA stated.While a majority of the firms reporting a rise in production cited increased client confidence and new product developments as reason for the increase. According to CLSA, "June data indicated that foreign orders rose for the first time in eleven months. However, the expansion was only marginal, providing evidence to suggest that demand from domestic sources was the primary driver of total new business growth."In addition, the data signaled that the rise in production was insufficient to prevent a further increase in backlogs, CLSA pointed out.Employment in the manufacturing sector in China also rose in June, but only marginally. And prices charged by manufacturing firms fell for the tenth successive month, although the latest decline was the least marked in that sequence, CLSA noted.