Through Heraeus' acquisition of the Ferro PV Pastes Business in early 2013, Heraeus has developed groundbreaking metallization paste technology to improve the output of crystalline silicon solar cells. The first major product developed from this innovative technology will be featured at the SNEC (2014) International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference & Exhibition on May 20th through May 22nd, 2014."Heraeus' acquisition of the Ferro PV Pastes Businesses has allowed us to combined the R&D talents and intellectual property portfolios of two leading metallization paste research organizations," according to Andreas Liebheit, Global Manager of the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit. He continues to state, "Our enhanced Heraeus PV research and development group has created unique paste components, providing superior solar cell performance through new formulations unlike any commercially available pastes provided by other manufacturers. These new formulations will become a platform for a family of new products that customers can integrate into their manufacturing process with confidence while improving their cells' efficiency at a lower cost/watt. Our first product breakthrough is a unique paste design for Ultra-LDE wafers."This and other announcements can be discussed during Heraeus Photovoltaics' celebration event at their booth on Tuesday, May 20th from 3:30pm - 5:30pm at this year's SNEC 8th (2014) International Photovoltaic Power Generation Conference & Exhibition, in Shanghai China at Hall: W3 Booth: 560. You can also go to www.pvsilverpaste.com for more information about their products and selected research presentations.About the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business UnitThe Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit is an industry leading developer and manufacturer of silver metallization pastes for the photovoltaic industry. For over 40 years, Heraeus has built a reputation of innovation, extensive research and new product development in thick film technologies for some of the most prominent companies within a variety of industries. In the field of photovoltaics, the Heraeus Photovoltaics Business Unit applies this history and its innovative technology to offer metallization pastes for solar cell applications. The Heraeus SOL Series of silver pastes is specially formulated to provide higher efficiencies and wider processing windows, resulting in better yields and higher output for cell manufacturers.The Hanau-based precious metal and technology group Heraeus is a globally active family-run enterprise with a history of more than 160 years. We provide high-end solutions to our customers to lastingly strengthen their competitive position. Our areas of competence include precious metals, materials and technologies, sensors, biomaterials and medical devices, quartz glass and specialty light sources. In the financial year 2013, Heraeus achieved revenues from the sales of products of EUR3.6 billion, while the revenues from precious metal trading were EUR13.5 billion. With about 12,500 employees in more than 110 companies world-wide, Heraeus is in a leading position on its global sales markets.

In the past several years, various cities and counties in Taiwan have actively participated in the ICF's Intelligent Community Awards and have continually done well, showing that Taiwan's efforts and accomplishments in building smart cities have won recognition from global experts. The "Taoyuan Core Aerotropolis Project" that the government is currently working on will further demonstrate to the world Taiwan's ICT capabilities as well as its industrial and economic prowess.In a competitive global environment that emphasizes speed, efficiency, and low-cost, Taoyuan's Aerotropolis will not only act as a hub for connecting Taiwan with the rest of the world, but will also be a driving force for Taiwan's smart city industry.Taking Advantage of its Strengths in the ICT Industry, Taiwan Engages in the Development of Smart Cities to Create Industrial Restructuring OpportunitiesMen-Feng Wu, Administrative Deputy Minister, MOTC, points out that ever since IBM proposed the "Smarter Planet" concept, infrastructures and industrial applications related to smart cities have virtually become a must-have component for national construction projects as well as economic and industrial development policies.Guided by the Golden Decade National Vision, the Taoyuan Core Aerotropolis Project is the flagship project of the government's Maritime and Aviation Hub initiative, which will drive Taiwan's economic restructuring and boost economic development. The Taoyuan Aerotropolis is not only Taiwan's largest regional smart city construction project, but also a key driver and indicator of the evolution and restructuring of Taiwan's ICT industry.The management and judging for the global Intelligent Community Awards is currently carried out by the ICF (Intelligent Community Forum). The ICF, established in 1985, became an independent organization in 2004. The ICF was founded by the nonprofit organization WTA (World Teleport Association), and includes members from over 40 countries and regions, including Canada, the United States, France, England, Russia, and Japan.Men-Feng Wu points out that in this global wave of smart city development, many of Taiwan's counties and cities have actively participated in ICF's Intelligent Community Awards, and they continue to do well, proving that Taiwan not only has developmental advantages in the field of ICT, but under cooperative efforts between government and industry, Taiwan's achievements in terms of smart city development have also won recognition from global experts.The Government Actively Pushes Forward the Taoyuan Smart Aerotropolis ProjectWu states that in order to achieve the construction and services goals of smart cities, we need help from next-generation IT technologies. For example, by taking advantage of the Internet, IoT, cloud computing, the integration between mobile devices and smart terminal equipment, as well as 4G mobile broadband, we can build complete smart living environments through the establishment of highly intelligent applications. Wu stresses that the various ICT software/hardware equipment requirements of smart cities, as well as the range of diverse innovative services created when architectural integration is carried out, have a chance to bring explosive growth to Taiwan's economy and tech industry.Taiwan Once Caught on to the Wave of the Global PC Boom and Will Again Climb to the Top of the Global Industry amid the Smart City BoomIn the 1980s, Taiwan successfully caught on to the wave of the global PC boom, allowing it to lay a solid foundation in the technology industry, which not only created impressive economic growth for Taiwan, but also built Taiwan into a globally renowned "Computer Kingdom" and "Tech Island."Wu also states that for Taiwan, smart cities are not only the key to the restructuring of the PC and technology industries, but also an opportunity for its manufacturing and services sectors to provide value-added services using the IoT and cloud computing. In order to take advantage of this opportunity, the government will have to work closely with the private sector, and companies will have to engage in tight communication as well as interaction with consumers. Development of the smart city industry will be the best opportunity for Taiwan to develop and transform itself since the PC boom.Combining Resources from Industry, Government, Academia, as well as Research Institutions to Explore the Needs of Users in terms of Smart ServicesTaiwan's industries must maintain a grasp on the development of the global smart city boom and strive to keep up with its pace. Furthermore, Taiwan's industries, government, as well as academia should look into what the true needs of users are, allowing smart cities to include even more value-added user-friendly applications instead of just being "smart," thereby marching one step further to creating intelligent cities.From a practical perspective, smart cities will bring economic productivity, more room for industrial development and innovation, as well as even more opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. From a cultural perspective, smart cities are an attitude toward life as well as an evolution of the mindsets of the general public, representing a quantum leap forward in terms of urban culture, cultural exchange, and the environment around us.Wu further states that if all of Taiwan's industries could break through the simple production and contract manufacturing models of the past and evolve into total solutions and services providers, a new era would be created for Taiwan's smart city industry, allowing consumers as well as the general public to enjoy the convenience, comfort, and safety brought about by smart services in the communications, transportation, shipping, law enforcement, tourism, consumer, education, and healthcare sectors.Men-Feng Wu, Administrative Deputy Minister, MOTC

MSI, the leading motherboard brand, announced that its Z97 XPOWER AC motherboard is the winner of a COMPUTEX d&i award 2014. Winning entries will be showcased at the COMPUTEX d&i awards pavilion during COMPUTEX TAIPEI 2014 and at world-renowned exhibitions such as IFA 2014, GITEX 2014, CES 2015, MWC 2015 and CeBIT 2015."It's an absolute honor to win this award! For MSI, this award is undoubtedly a testament to its innovative spirit and product design capabilities. With lots of customer-driven innovations in the works, MSI will keep extending its capabilities to provide groundbreaking solutions." says Ted Hung, MSI Vice President of Motherboard Sales Division. As uplifting as the award-winning news is MSI's launching of Intel Z97 and H97 motherboards.According to MSI, its Intel 9-series motherboards come in GAMING, OC and Classic editions with no less than 26 models across Mini-ITX, microATX and ATX form factors, catering to virtually every user including gamers, overclockers, high-end enthusiasts, mainstream consumers, etc.Specifically tailored for extreme overclockers around the globe, the Z97 XPOWER AC motherboard features sophisticated design, high reliability and rich functionality. Integrating the Intel Z97 chipset, Intel 5th/4th gen Core processor and intelligent OC tools, the Z97 XPOWER AC supports multiple graphics cards and gives overclockers all tools to conquer extreme overclocking records. To ensure high reliability, it also comes with robust Military Class components, DigitALL PWM controller, XPOWER Thermal Design and enhanced OC PCB design. Sophisticatedly designed with rich functionality, the Z97 XPOWER AC is well equipped with smart buttons and switches, versatile I/O ports, Audio Boost technology and exclusive overclocking technologies, making it an ideal choice for both overclockers and power users.COMPUTEX d&i awards honor excellent designs and innovations and have been an essential part of COMPUTEX TAIPEI, the largest computer exhibition in Asia and the second largest in the world. Since 2008, these awards have won industry acclaim for ushering in a new wave of design concepts. This year, TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council) once again partners with iF (International Forum Design), the most influential institution for industrial design, to organize the 7th COMPUTEX d&i awards. An international jury of professionals has discussed and evaluated all submitted entries in a dedicated, critical and constructive manner, to make sure all award winners are best-of-the-best innovations worthy of the name. The proud recipient of this award in Components + Parts category, MSI Z97 XPOWER AC packs the latest overclocking technologies and gives overclockers an edge to push new frontiers in overclocking.MSI Z97 XPOWER

MSI, world leader in motherboard technology, is pleased to announce its new line of Intel Z97 and H97 based motherboards are now available. With a choice of no less than 26 new models including Mini-ITX, microATX and ATX models, MSI motherboards are the best choice of millions of gamers, overclockers, pc enthusiasts and businesses world-wide and this number grows every day. Signifying its capabilities and design, the MSI Z97 XPOWER AC is the culmination of overclocking know-how and technology and the flagship of MSI's OC motherboards. It is also the proud winner of COMPUTEX d&i awards 2014.MSI's Z97 GAMING lineup features completely new models with the breath-taking Z97 GAMING 9 AC at the gamers' choice, featuring the best on-board gaming audio ever with Xtreme Audio DAC and Audio Boost 2. Fans of MSI's classic black and blue colors can look forward to new models like Z97S SLI PLUS that combines good looks with plenty of features at a competitive price point. People looking to upgrade now can rest assured that future 4th and 5th gen Intel socket 1150 based processors will be supported on MSI Z97 and H97 motherboards.Dominate, conquer, destroyWith 10 new models available in Mini-ITX, microATX and ATX size, the new Z97 GAMING motherboards from MSI are decorated with luscious new heat-sinks that highlight an arsenal of new features found on the boards. With the focus on Speed, Sound and Stability MSI GAMING provides every essential component of a true gaming system and then some! For the best sound MSI delivers Xtreme Audio DAC and Audio Boost 2 powered by Creative Sound Blaster Cinema 2 and USB Audio Power. For speed each GAMING motherboard features on-board M.2, SATA Express and Killer LAN. Guard-Pro and Military Class 4 provide all the stability you need through carefully selected and thoroughly tested components and materials. MSI's new Z97 GAMING motherboards for Intel 4th Generation core processors is a true display of gaming power.Break world recordsWith a look and feel that stand out in the market, the striking design of the new Z97 MPOWER, Z97 MPOWER MAX AC and Z97 XPOWER AC is highlighted by robust heat sinks, of which the VRM heat sinks on the Z97 MPOWER MAX AC and Z97 XPOWER AC are prepared for water cooling. But design comes second as each model has an amazing set of features, catering to power users who just want to get the most speed out of their 24/7 system or professional extreme overclockers as both can find features that help them to get the best performance out of their system.Stable and highly efficient, packed with featuresWith 16 new models available in Mini-ITX, microATX and ATX size, the new MSI Z97 Classic motherboards present an arsenal of new features and improvements as well as technical ingenuity. Offering reliable and fast Gigabit LAN from Intel and official Nvidia SLI support for enthusiasts looking to pair up multiple graphics cards. On-board M.2 and SATA Express provides the fastest storage performance through unprecedented transfer speeds up to 10 Gb/s with flexible solutions for using preferred devices. Guard-Pro and Military Class 4 provide all the stability you need through carefully selected and thoroughly tested components and materials.MSI Z97 GAMING motherboard

ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) have become an important component of smart cities in recent years. Huel-Sheng Tsay, Commissioner, Department of Rapid Transit Systems, Taipei City Government, noted that ITS productively integrate and utilize advanced information technologies, information/communication transfer, electronic sensors, artificial intelligence and computer processing in transportation and management systems, enhancing the efficiency of system resource usage and system security, and reducing consumption and environmental pollution.Characteristics of 3 major ITS fieldsITS can be further defined into APTS (Advanced Public Transportation Systems), ATIS (Advanced Traveler Information Systems), and ATMS (Advanced Transportation Management Systems). Tsay said that development in these three fields has thrived and exceeded original estimates, becoming a defining component of smart cities.In the development of urbanization and informatization, six characteristics consisting of smart economy, smart people, smart governance, smart mobility, smart environment and smart living need to be addressed as traditional cities migrate to smart cities, said Tsay. The sustainability, innovation and safety of transportation systems bring significant convenience to citizens in terms of smart mobility.Nevertheless, a single plan cannot be applied for every smart city. Tsay suggested that each smart city needs to optimize its expertise and identify features upon which to target enhancement. For instance, Yokohama in Japan has employed colors to represent traffic congestion on electronic maps, and even supports road images on GPS. This function could not be achieved five years ago, but it operates well today.In addition, the timetable of the Tokyo Monorail, which also supports multiple languages in a timely way, can be accessed at the Tokyo Haneda Airport. Highway conditions are also provided to help drivers to judge road conditions.Tsay believes that as an ITS reaches the end of its development, it is crucial that that system makes the public feel that information has been provided in a convenient way. For example, time to reach a destination can be provided at rest stops. Available and accurate information, which relies on comprehensive fundamental infrastructure in which backend systems provide necessary and accurate information, must be available. Thus if there is a car accident, systems are capable of showing the distance it will take to run into a traffic jam.Take safe driving support for example, ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) can be adopted to prevent cars from crashing head-on, but an alarm system which sets off in advance while sensing obstacles ahead should be included in transportation infrastructure so as to cooperate with crash prevention auxiliary braking systems, avoiding collisions one intersection ahead.The construction of fundamental infrastructure for displaying information in real-time, ranging from available seats on trains, rental bikes available, road conditions, etc., is never easy. In the example of digital signage on roads, in addition to displaying accurate information, the ability to endure harsh weather conditions should also be taken into consideration.Tsay gave an example of ITS in Taipei. The fundamental infrastructure involves roadside devices and ICT, and can be divided into a service-side and management-side. On the management-side, open data is adopted by systems that assist civilians; this includes apps, websites, voice services and roadside devices, such as the Taipei Good to Go and Taipei Good to Park apps, as well as numerous apps developed by the public.City public transportation systems are intimately connected.As for the development of public transportation infrastructure in the Taipei Metropolitan area, the Taipei Metro and shuttle buses form a road network with each performing its duty. The Taipei Metro acts as the bones of transportation, targeting large volumes and punctuality. Aside from coordinating with different shuttle buses, the first and last mile rely on walking, public bikes, community buses and taxis to form a complete and convenient public service.There is still plenty of room for improvement to make a better ITS, as noted by Tsay. For instance, computer signage systems have evolved from being controlled by mainframe computers to PCs. However, if systems show that parking space is still available but drivers cannot find a space, or if a bus does not arrive by its estimated time, consumers are not pleased. The design of ITS needs to be more subtle, and include not only a framework but also accurate information.In the future, more automated ATIS, including the installation of devices on all buses, increasing the amount of traffic control devices such as car detection devices, CCTV monitors and software, as well as real-time parking space monitoring services, will be offered in Taipei. Given that communication technologies will mature, mobile devices will become more prevalent. In the future, more convenient services will be offered to the public through the Taipei real-time ATIS and Taipei Good to Go app.In Tsay's opinion, Taipei still has a lot of opportunities for further enhancement compared to Japan. In February 2009, Taipei started accepting requests from organizations to interlink with its real-time ATIS database in order to provide diverse services. Currently, there are 105 interlinking organizations, 74 services and products, and peak monthly inquiries have exceeded 75.22 million.Concerning the application of ATMS, traffic control systems transfer related information to the traffic control center through roadside devices including cameras, car detection devices, changeable information boards and intersection signage boards, in order to implement traffic monitoring, sign management, as well as collect and analyze traffic information. The goal is to lower the impact of traffic accidents, enhance road transport efficiency, and further increase the quality of ATMS.As for the construction of the Taipei Metro, Tsay forecast that daily volume could peak at two million after the Songshan line enters service, delivering a great improvement on traffic and air pollution in Taipei. As a matter of fact, the management of the Taipei Metro has become an Asia paragon. As Tsay indicated, Taipei used to learn from Hong Kong and Singapore, but now the situation has reversed. The Taipei Metro's performance, especially in train intervals, has impressed Singapore a lot.Tsay emphasized that the development of ITS has had a dramatic change on convenience, safety and accessibility in people's daily life, as well as enabling more user-friendly infrastructure/devices, generating a lot of added value and increasing quality of life. For the future, development will look to ways of providing information regarding specific accidents in a timely way to reduce injuries and deaths.Huel-Sheng Tsay, Commissioner, Department of Rapid Transit Systems, Taipei City Government

The roadmap to smart cities illustrates that intelligent networking infrastructures connected through the Internet of Things (IoT) can lead to the convergence of next-generation information and communications technologies (ICT), changing ways of life and the environment while creating convenience for residents. The implementation of smart city initiatives not only requires collaboration among the government, the ICT industry and individuals, but also relies on practical needs that people have to uncover smart city opportunities.In the future, services arising from smart city development will bring revolutionary changes to the environment, modes of working and social systems. Innovative services that use intelligent, automated technologies will be applied to all facets of urban life - transportation, public safety and emergency management, tourism and retail, smart buildings, production monitoring and healthcare - thereby enabling convenient and secure lives for residents. At the Digitimes Smart City Forum, business, government and academic representatives came together to exchange ideas and to provide their in-depth analyses of the latest developments and trends of smart city development.Digitimes Smart City Forum: A platform for business, government and academic representatives to share insights into smart city developmentThe Digitimes Smart City Forum was co-organized by the Taiwan Intelligent Aerotropolis Association, the Smart Network System Institute under the Institute for Information Industry, and DIGITIMES. The event's corporate partners were Chunghwa Telecom, Tatung, Advantech, NXP Semiconductors, ADLINK Technology, Axiomtek, Cisco Systems (Taiwan), Fortune Information Systems, HwaCom Systems, Merit LILIN Enterprise, Macronix International, NTT Taiwan, VIVOTEK, Taiwan Mobile and the GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications Association) . The event featured sessions from these leading global and local corporations discussing key technologies involved with smart city initiatives, the applications of such technologies, and how they could help smart cities move from vision to implementation.A key feature of a smart city is to leverage the latest ICT to connect electric grids, water supply, public transport, oil and gas, energy distribution and buildings through the IoT powered by a variety of embedded sensing components and intelligent devices. A connected infrastructure is then incorporated with intelligence service solutions, via various application platforms or the sharing and reuse of information, to develop and implement intelligent urban life models through a wide range of convenient and technology-enabled services.Collaboration between industries and government integral to smart city development with diverse industries InvolvedAccording to the roadmap, industries involved in smart city development span the fields of telecommunications, finance, transportation, public safety and emergency services, tourism and retail, smart buildings, production monitoring and healthcare, and others. A diverse range of technologies is utilized, including IoT, embedded computing, intelligent devices, wearable electronics, monitoring equipment and back-end networking equipment, at high levels of complexity.Moreover, the alignment of government policy support, inputs of industrial resources and service opportunities is crucial for intelligent, automated technology-enabled service models to deliver the kinds of smart services that really benefit people and create the experience of enhanced convenience and security.Taiwan's municipalities earn top spots in global smart city rankingsSmart city development is becoming a crucial element of national infrastructure projects and economic and industry development worldwide. Over the past few years, municipalities in Taiwan have earned top spots on the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) Smart21 list in recognition of its outstanding performance in smart city initiatives by an international panel of experts.In Taiwan, Taipei City, New Taipei City, Taoyuan County, Hsinchu City and Taichung City have made ICF's smart-city short list, highlighting these municipalities as benchmarks of achievements in smart city initiatives. Moreover, smart city development in association with the Taoyuan Aerotropolis project will commence soon, and 4G LTE services are expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2014 following auctions of 4G licenses in 2013. As these developments further enhance Taiwan's telecommunications networks, the evolvement of networking infrastructure and mobile data communications technologies play a critical role in determining whether smart services can be successfully applied to different areas of life. Meanwhile, the development of a wide range of facilities and infrastructures under way is laying the groundwork for future success in Taiwan's smart city initiatives.Smart city development offers opportunities for Taiwan's ICT industry to drive structural transformationAt the DIGITMES Smart City Forum, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications provided an in-depth analysis into the government's role in smart city development. DIGITMES also discussed examples of smart city leaders in North Europe, noting that Taiwan is well-positioned to become a laboratory for smart city development given its competitive edge of a concentration of IoT-related sectors and technology expertise.The event gathered telecom carriers, manufacturers of surveillance equipment and networking equipment, system integrators, sensing component designers and embedded system providers to discuss the latest development of and technological advancement in key industries involved with smart city initiatives. The companies also gave their views on the technological issues and the changing global dynamics of such initiatives.An overview of global smart city initiatives shows that the government's leadership role in shaping and implementing policies, and collaboration among residents, business leaders and city officials are critical factors for enabling smart city development and broadening the scope of smart applications. Against a backdrop of maturing smart services and applications, people are becoming more aware of the benefits provided by smart cities to make life more convenient. Increasing public awareness, coupled with government-led efforts to advance innovative applications and promote cooperation across industries, is accelerating the pace of smart city development in Taiwan. If successful, this may also help Taiwan's ICT industry make progress towards structural transformation.The Digitimes Smart City Forum is packed with participants. The forum, which took place April 16-17, 2014, was co-organized by the Taiwan Intelligent Aerotropolis Association, the Smart Network System Institute under the Institute for Information Industry, and Digitimes.

Northern Europe can be seen as a pioneering region and offers the most successful example of the development of global smart cities. Local governments actively engage in construction projects including informatization, implementing mature unmanned stations, managing offshore construction and developing fjord tunnels. Taiwan, as the key hub for global ICT (information and communications technology) R&D and manufacturing, can elevate itself to become a shining example of an Asia smart city leader by using the experience of northern Europe's smart cities as an example to follow.Colley Hwang, president of Digitimes, noted that while Taiwan's media has mostly been focusing its coverage on the recent student protests, Hwang traveled to northern Europe to uncover insights into the region's success with the aim of sharing his observations with players from Taiwan industry. While industry leaders, government officials and university professors are proactively laying out strategies for the development of smart cities, the development of Taiwan's smart cities will also have northern Europe's successful experience as a reference.Talking about his experience regarding northern Europe, Hwang revealed that when he was working at the Institute for Information Industry (III) in Taiwan in 1985, one of his responsibilities was to look up export declaration data of Taiwan companies from customs every month, where he found that countries in northern Europe accounted for a significantly high portion of overseas shipments from major Taiwan PC vendors.Governments in northern Europe promote education, building a foundation for the development of smart citiesFrom Hwang's observations of the development of global informatization, he noted that northern European governments started devoting resources to IT education in the late 1980s. Although the tax burden in northern Europe is considerably higher than that in Taiwan with almost a 50% income tax imposed on citizens, the government has deployed all kinds of tax credits and incentives to promote IT education among citizens, boosting their motivation to enhance the quality and transition to an information-based economy.For instance, people in northern Europe could get tax credits for purchasing home computers, which helped cultivate a PC culture. Moreover, the implementation of numerous policies for improving informatization enabled a transition to an information economy early on, and helped drive investment in complementary Internet networks, which quickly developed to rank among the best in the world. Through the constant long-term development of informatization through 30 years of education, these governments paved a way for integrating various IT services and ICT applications, which are the core of smart cities, into the lives of their citizens.From unmanned stations to electronic payments, northern Europe incorporates smart services into lifeHwang offered his personal observations from his trip to northern Europe. He saw unmanned transport stations and industrial applications provide deliberate and comprehensive services that demonstrate informatization and make life easier. For example, a trip from Giethoorn to the Keukenhof Tulip Gardens in Netherlands requires taking a train and then transferring to a bus. All the travel tickets and checked luggage were purchased on websites and completed at unmanned counters. The connection between trains and buses during the trip were fully enabled by IT, enabling tourists to correctly complete transfers using different types of transportation, while free and high quality Wi-Fi was provided on trains.Hwang indicated that another amazing experience of smart cities is taking buses in northern Europe. From his experience, the most troublesome question concerning taking buses was that people could not accurately estimate the arrival time at stops, resulting in wasteful and meaningless time spent waiting for buses. From his experience changing buses during his trip, he learned that buses in north European countries kept to a set schedule to an extent that passengers could accurately estimate the arrival time of different buses and better utilize their own time.Northern Europe uses service incentives to attract the public to enjoy using services offered by smart citiesHwang noted that purchasing train tickets at a ticket window in a station in northern Europe is not the smart way to travel. Buying a train ticket on the Internet is rather convenient in northern Europe. Although ordering online and collecting tickets at the station is a very simple service and concept, the biggest issue for making this type of service successful is learning how to engage the public to use the smart service.Northern European countries try to optimize incentives for using smart services as much as possible in order to accelerate the process of integrating convenient services of smart cities into life. For instance, passengers purchasing train tickets at a ticket window in a station are required to pay a 0.5 Euro service charge. On the other hand, if you purchase the ticket online, there is no service charge. As a result, there is a financial incentive to use the most practical and efficient way of purchasing tickets, which in turn cultivates a habit of purchasing online and further optimizes the development and integration of smart services.Northern Europe utilize policies and tax incentives to speed up the penetration of smart and energy-saving applicationsAnother of Hwang's discoveries came from observing Norway. He noted that Norway has abundant oil in the North Sea, but electric cars represent a 12% share of the market, making it the country with the highest ratio of electric cars. Even an oil-producing country like Norway is dedicated to the development of electric car industry for environmental, smart and energy-saving reasons, providing an example of the nation's attitude toward life. In Norway numerous taxis utilize electric cars produced by Tesla Motors, a major American electric car vendor. Tesla electric cars are priced at around US$110,000. Expensive electric cars like Tesla can't be used as commercial cars without the government's support of tax credits and policies.Hwang discovered that the high market share of Tesla electric cars can be attributed to not only commercial cars like taxis, but also to the public. People who buy electric cars benefit from electric car charging stations being available everywhere, tax credits, toll discounts, and even preferred parking spaces. Local governments attract people to convert from traditional fuel vehicles to pollution-free and environmental electric vehicles by granting them the convenience of freely using disable parking spaces. Combining policies with a convenient social infrastructure to stimulate a high-penetration rate of electric cars is an example that should be noted by the Taiwan government.Taiwan has an opportunity to become a model in Asia with its ICT advantagesHwang also shared his deep feelings from his observations of Denmark. Upon alighting from his flight in Denmark, he saw a gigantic wall advertisement saying "Welcome to the world's happiest nation." He then discovered that this public service advertisement was a big billboard sponsored by the private sector company Carlsberg, which has been a long-time supporter of the Danish royal family's Frederiksborg. Hwang noted that Norway and Denmark are not extravagant at all despite their wealth. The private sectors in these nations are willing to make contributions to society and governments invest money in long-term projects targeting smart cities and green energies.Taiwan's interaction with northern Europe extends beyond simply purchasing salmon, lumbar and traveling. The total invested amount of Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund in Taiwan has exceeded US$8 billion as of the end of the first quarter 2014. This seemingly enormous amount accounts for only 1.4% of Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund. There is still plenty of room for growth in cooperation between Taiwan and Norway.In the early stages, technology industries such as Acer and Copam gained profits from northern Europe. Assembled computers were shipped to northern European countries in large amounts. Nowadays most IPC firms customize host boards adopted by northern European countries are developed and manufactured in Taiwan. In terms of developing smart cities, Taiwan possesses superior ICT hardware technologies to help develop smart cities. If Taiwan can borrow from northern Europe's successful experiences in developing smart cities and even establish technical cooperation with northern European countries, it will stand a better chance of turning itself into a paragon of building smart cities in the East Asia region.Colley Hwang, President of DIGITIMES

BIOSTAR, maker of embedded/IPC solutions, graphics cards, and motherboards has introduced Intel's next generation Haswell based motherboard, the Hi-Fi Z97WE. It comes with many BIOSTAR in-house features such as "Hi-Fi" audio technology.The Hi-Fi Z97WE is an ATX form factor board that features Intel socket 1150 support. It has 4 memory slots for up to 32GB of RAM. The on-board LAN controller also supports 10/100/1000/2000 with "Teaming" mode. The on-board HDMI supports 4K and 2K resolutions.It includes the usual high-end motherboard features like USB 3.0, HDMI and PCI-E slots, as well as the newest PCIe development, the "M.2" form factor. The M.2 standard is the newest and smallest form factor implementation of the SATA Express interface (which provides support for PCI Express 3.0 and Serial ATA 3.0), with the addition of an internal USB 3.0 interface. It supports multiple functions for add-in cards, including the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, satellite navigation, near field communication (NFC), digital radio, Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig), wireless WAN (WWAN), and solid-state drives (SSDs).But being a BIOSTAR board, there is a premium set of features including the company's unique "Hi-Fi" technology. All the BIOSTAR Hi-Fi series motherboards are equipped with isolate circuit design and high quality components to ensure the best possible audio quality consistency.The Hi-Fi Z97WE also features BIOSTAR's dual Gigabit LAN card functionality that takes networking and gaming to new levels. To achieve this, the Hi-Fi Z97WE has "dual Gigabit LAN" connections on the board that allow simultaneous LAN connections. The primary advantage is the doubling of bandwidth which allows the network bandwidth of 1G to become that of 2G. It also allows for Full-duplex transmission. Two network cards can be simultaneously transmitted to upload and download at the same time. In addition, there is zero packet delay with two high-speed gigabit networks, giving super high data transmission efficiency. Another major advantage is "Load Balancing" which allows users to attach both network adapters to a single network. It will therefore support the aggregation "teaming" function by merging the two connections to support multiple aggregation modes.In addition, with BIOSTAR's dual Gigabit LAN connections you get network insurance. These boards come with two Gigabit Ethernet lightning protection circuits, there are cross-efficient in reducing the probability of damage from lightning or other power surge. So if one connection is disabled the other connection will automatically kick in.Lastly, being based on the Intel Z97 chipset, the Hi-Fi Z97WE also comes with Intel SRT (Smart Response Technology), Intel RST (Rapid Storage Technology), Intel Rapid Start Technology and Intel Smart Connect Technology all built into the system, ready to go.For more on the Hi-Fi Z97WE go to: http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/introduction.php?S_ID=731BIOSTAR brings out Hi-Fi Z97WE mainboard

Cloud computing has become more and more matured in recent years. Various networking platforms, online application services, mobile hand-held devices and Data Centre are massively booming. Either enterprises or consumers are eagerly demanding for bandwidth of the internet and optical fiber set-up which has made fiber communication related equipment, products and prospective development in techniques more emphasized by the general public. Fiber communication measuring equipment is simply a part of fiber communication industry and is inevitably important.Radiantech was established in 1990 and headquartered at Hsinchu Science Park. OEM was the dominant part of the business along with its branding. Up until now, Radiantech MIT is promoting its own brand across the globe. Radiantech is the researching and developing manufacturer of OTDR in Taiwan with its own core technique and innovative modular OTDR as well as USB power supply patent.Radiantech team has devoted themselves in developing, innovating and simplifying product at all times in these years; meanwhile, improving testing speed, accuracy and the convenience is necessary and imperative, says the CEO of Radiantech. Therefore, Radiantech OT-9000 series has jumped one step ahead of others to be the first one applying OTDR to the Android Tablet/mobile phones/laptops and weighs only 190gs which is the lightest OTDR in the world. Apps can be easily downloaded and updated in a blink through Google Play platform. A perfect combination of the USB interface to connect portable plug-and-play devices and APP to the product has created a complete touch screen and efficiency of automatic analyzing. Intuitive operation is applied to provide FTTH, CATV and PON fiber network testing to accomplish the purpose of fast installations, maintenance, delivery and repair.Radiantech has proactively headed towards system integration field since 2005 and founded software development team together with being in control of key software/hardware and system techniques. Real-time fiber monitoring alarm system was created. FOMA (Fiber Optical Monitoring Alarm System) is invented by Radiantech its own development which has successfully provided customers premium real-time monitoring projects. The system is comprised of diversified controlling test units, central monitoring servers and related software interface. It is primarily the alarm system of remote control fiber (P2P) and PON fiber (P2MP). The ground-breaking "hot swap" modularized, centralized and customized design offers excellent convenience and saving cost in installations and maintenance. Radiantech FOMA system can be compared to the public health-check system. It has self-faulty temperature detection on a regular basis and at any time which diagnoses the abnormalities before activates OTDR to locate the faulty along with alarming mechanism to achieve automatic fiber monitoring management. It is an economical and efficient real-time fiber monitoring alarm system.Other products of Radiantech's including integrated/modular OTDR, optical power meters, light source, intelligence system and optical communication can be found on the official website (http://www.radiantech.com.tw/).Radiantech CTO William Chang(L), CEO Sharon Sung (M), T&M AVP Josh Kuo (R)

Improving mobile data communication technology plays a key role in constructing a smart service network in smart cities. Currently, 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile data transfer technology is the most popular. In addition to countries such as South Korea, Japan, and Singapore that have been aggressive in building 4G commercial services, Taiwan began issuing 4G licenses in October 2013 and Taiwan-based telecommunication carriers will begin to provide 4G services by the end of 2014.In the blueprint of smart city planning, mobile telecommunication networks play a crucial role as machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) netoworks, and the need to stay connected using various smart devices all rely on the support from the mobile data transfer technology. Although the current 3G technology may still satisfy demand, it is inferior to the new generation 4G LTE and 5G technologies in terms of data transfer speeds. The new technologies are much better than 3G in overcoming transmission lags, and their transmission efficiency is 10-100 times better than 3G. The 4G and 5G technologies will be key ones in smart city developments.4G LTE technology showing great leap in data transfer efficiencyAccording to Kevin Wang, Senior Director, NTT TAIWAN, when talking about smart city developments, one has to mention the development of 4G mobile data transfer technology. The 3G High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) can achieve a transfer rate of 7.2Mb/s, but 4G is 10 times faster with the data volume three times as big. Even the transmission lag is only one-quarter of that in 3G.The 4G technology not only helps users and system integrators, consumers can download large volumes of digital content such as music and videos at faster speeds with less lags. This means consumers can have better user experience with different services while spending less time on downloading. For service providers and system integrators, 4G networks can increase service efficiency of base stations and achieve faster and smoother integrations of smart services.Taiwan telecom carriers can follow the path of Japan DoCoMoWang noted that Taiwan-based telecom carriers can follow the path of Japan-based telecom carrier NTT TAIWAN DoCoMo in developing 4G or even 5G mobile technologies. The 4G era picked up momentum in December 2011 when more than 50 telecom carriers around the world started making deployments for their 4G commercial services, with another 190 planning to follow suit. The total LTE users worldwide by December 2015 will likely reach 320 million. Japan NTT TAIWAN DoCoMo introduced LTE services in 2012 and has since been expanding them.Wang stated that while Taiwan did not start issuing 4G licenses till 2013, Japan's mobile telecommunication industries have already begun talking about 5G. For DoCoMo, 5G involves LTE Advance technology. A comparison of LTE Advance with the current 4G technology shows that the former has superior performance in improving delays and data transfer efficiency. Theoretically, LTE Advance technology can achieve data transfer speed 10 to 100 times faster than 4G technology, and hence it is a solution worth developing.4G service construction requires strong financial supportIn DoCoMo's planning, Japan's 4G wireless data transfer speed theoretically can reach 1Tb/s by March 2016, but LTE Advance technology is likely to offer 10 times faster speeds at 100Mb/s-10Tb/s. The reason LTE Advance can reach such high efficiency because it adopts C-RAM Architecture. This architecture categorizes users by data usage in each base station. For example, for base stations in crowded places, the technology can group high-usage users together and use Carrier Aggregation technology to enhance data services of that base station. It then uses Macro Cell and Add-on Cell technologies to improve user experience for high-usage consumers. This new structure makes sure users have optimal data transfer quality even in crowded places.Japan introduced LTE commercial services in 2010 while Taiwan just recently issued licenses. Taiwan-based telecom carriers can follow Japan's path. Wang noted that Japan DoCoMo invested US$350 million in LTE technology in 2010 and focused on metropolitan areas such as Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka. Japan DoCoMo constructed 1,000 base stations with 800 in Tokyo, 100 in Nagoya and 100 in Osaka. In 2010, LTE service coverage was only 7% of the total population. In 2011, DoCoMo invested JPY100 billion (US$1 billion) in LTE services, which is almost three times that in 2010. The investment was to build base stations in various towns, areas, and prefectures in Japan, expanding the number of its base stations to a total of 5,000 with LTE service covering 20% of the total population. In 2012, the firm invested US$1.7 billion to construct base stations all over the 9major cities in Japan. The total number of base stations reached 15,000 units with coverage increasing to 40%.Upgrading from 3G to 4G can help carriers expand the number of usersIn 2013-2014, Japan has more than 20 million users using LTE data services, ranking third in the world. Japan is not the only country gearing up development of LTE services; in fact, South Korea is the country that has invested the most into LTE commercial services. In 2013, South Korea's LTE coverage reached more than 62% of its total population, ranking number one, followed by Japan and Singapore in second and third places, respectively. LTE services are far more popular in Asia compared to countries in Europe or the US.Take Japan DoCoMo's LTE development for example. In 2014, the number of LTE base stations will reach 35,000 with coverage reaching 70%. DoCoMo plans to increase investments to JPY400 billion (US$4 billion) in 2014. Wang pointed out that currently, one-third of the users in Japan use 3G networks to stay connected, and hence DoCoMo hopes higher 4G coverage can push more users to adopt LTE services. The firm has set the goal of increasing the number of base stations to 100,000 by March 2015. If this target is reached, the coverage will increase to 98% and the number of LTE users may increase to 30 million, approximately one-quarter of the population in Japan.Taiwan has many 4G carriers and value-added services are key to successTaiwan recently completed the issuing of 4G licenses and service planning is the key for firms to expand the number of users. Wang stated the firms that have obtained the 4G licenses in Taiwan are three large-size firms and three small-size firms. The three large-size firms are Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Far Eastone, and Taiwan Mobile. According to market analysts, CHT plans to begin LTE services in July 2014 and sets an initial target of 300,000 users. The firm hopes to achieve the goal of one million users by 2015. Far Eastone plans to introduce LTE services in the third quarter of 2014 with a target of 700,000-800,000 users. Taiwan Mobile also plans to begin LTE services in the third quarter of 2014 with a user target of 400,000-500,000. The three small-size firms that have obtained the 4G licenses are Asia Pacific Telecom, Ting Hsin International Group, and Ambit Microsystems, a subsidiary of Foxconn. Asia Pacific Telecom plans to begin LTE services in the third quarter of 2014 while Ting Hsin and Ambit Microsystems plan to introduce the LTE services in fourth-quarter 2014 and the beginning of 2015, respectively.Wang noted that LTE services are useful in expanding customer bases and improve user experience due to high data transfer speeds and low delays. LTE's higher quality data transfer technology may sound attractive, but the market challenge is still quite substantial. The 4G LTE technology has the same problems as those facing the previous technology, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM). LTE services have a complicated division of frequencies in different areas and hence roaming might be a problem. This problem can be solved if handset makers and telecom carriers work together. In addition, although 4G LTE shows a great leap in efficiency, if telecom carriers do not provide killer apps for their LTE services, it would be harder for them to reap profits from this new technology.Kevin Wang, Senior Director, NTT Taiwan