Training for multimedia
content developers
In FY1996, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) will
launch a Digital Academy Program intended to help train personnel developing
multimedia software. As a first step, in December 1995 MITI established
a Multimedia Software Production Personnel Training Committee whose members
include representatives of related companies and universities. The committee
will consider such issues as educational environment and curricula and compile
a report by March 1996. Government and business will then cooperate to build
the educational environment needed to train multimedia content developers.
An impending multimedia
certification war?
Apple Computer KK intends to launch a technical certification program in
Japan for multimedia developers in cooperation with leading sales companies,
software vendors, and vocational schools. Apple has already developed a
curriculum and plans from this spring to have vocational schools offer courses
that will lead to certification as a "multimedia creator." However,
MITI, the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications,
and other governmental organizations are moving ahead with similar plans
of their own. Since Apple's Mac platform is the de facto standard in the
multimedia arena, many market analysts expect considerable friction between
Apple and the Japanese government over certification methods.
MITI conducts Internet experiments
Starting in February, MITI will experiment with electronic commerce on the Internet. The ministry has already selected 10 projects and over 350 participating firms, and over a half-million consumers are expected to take part in the experiments. One experiment, which will involve about 50,000 users, will enable each to buy with an IC card that keeps a record of the dispensable amount for each user.Hitachi middleware for Sony NEWS
Hitachi plans to port two of its client/server system middleware products to Sony's NEWS workstation: JP1 (batch processing and business form output management) and NETM/DM (automatic software distribution from server to clients). Hitachi will also provide technical support to NEWS workstation dealers. This collaboration is expected to benefit both companies; it will enable Hitachi to increase its software sales, while Sony sees it as a way to expand sales of its NEWS workstation to companies with client/server systems.Yet another Softbank venture
Softbank is teaming up with Hewlett Packard Japan and Sumitomo Densetsu to sell and support Cisco Systems' Internet routers and switching hubs. Softbank's approximately 100 sales affiliates will deliver the networking components to customers, while Sumitomo Densetsu and HP Japan will operate and maintain the products. Softbank hopes that stepping up sales support to its affiliates in this manner will allow it to close in on market leaders NEC and NetOne Systems.Gambling goes high-tech
Production of pachinko machines was expected to increase 15% in 1995, to 3.5 million units, and demand for computer components for use in such machines is growing rapidly. Costs of semiconductors, LCDs, and other electronic parts are estimated to account for about one-third of the cost of a pachinko machine, typically priced at ¥150,000 and using 50 or more semiconductors. The pachinko machine industry currently procures over ¥150 billion worth of electronic components annually; this is expected to increase as pachinko machines are upgraded from 8-bit microprocessors to 32-bit CPUs.Cutting public phone costs
In a bid to cut costs by up to 30%, NTT will introduce a simplified version of its ISDN public telephones in April. The communications giant will stop installing the existing models, supplied by Murata Manufacturing and Anritsu, and switch completely to the new type, which will feature one card slot instead of the existing two (thereby halving the number of card readers), and eliminate the present number memo and subaddress keys. As a further cost-saving measure, the same unit will be usable for both box- and stand-mounted models.Casio, Toshiba boost
LCD panel production
Casio Computer will start external sales of reflection color STN (super-twisted
nematic) LCDs in March 1996. Earlier plans to do so during 1995 were delayed
by product reliability concerns. Casio Computer was producing some 180,000
units per month in late 1995 for use in its own products; it intends to
boost production capacity so it can sell about 100,000 units per month to
outside customers. Panel sizes vary from watch-use size to 10-inch notebook
PC screens. Toshiba, meanwhile, will boost production of larger thin-film transistor LCD' s for notebook PC use. The company will increase its output capacities for 10.4-inch and 11.3-/12.1-inch models to 200,000 units monthly each by the second half of 1996, when the new Display Technology (DTI) plant (a joint venture with IBM) will be up and running in Shiga prefecture. The new plant will use larger mother-glass substrates, allowing six 12.1-inch panels to be sliced from each substrate.
Acer to boost Japan PC assembly
Acer Japan will boost its PC assembly capacity in Japan five-fold, from 1,000 to 5,000 units per month, by the end of 1996. The company will also increase the number of dealers from 20 to 100 or more by summer. In early December, Acer began shipping the Aspire, a Windows 95 PC sold under its own brand name; it will expand its assembly center in Kawaguchi (Saitama prefecture) early next year in order to expand its own-brand PC sales in Japan.NEC, Sony hope to dominate
display market
Both NEC and Sony will expand PC display sales in the Japan market, which
is expected to reach 2.7 million units in fiscal 1995. NEC plans to produce
900,000 units this fiscal year and aims to boost its share to 50% of the
domestic market by fiscal 1998. The company intends to raise shipments of
17-inch or larger displays from 50% of total shipments to 60% in fiscal
1996. Sony, which will produce 200,000 units this fiscal year, hopes to
double its display market share to 20% by fiscal 1998.
Samsung to sell PCs in Japan
Samsung Electronics of Korea will begin selling its own-brand PCs in Japan from the fall of 1996. The company will initially sell its PCs to OEM users from spring. Samsung is likely to start with a DOS/V Pentium-based notebook computer. The purpose of the move is to improve its brand image in the Japanese consumer market and strengthen sales of its subsidiary, Samsung Electronics Japan. The Korean company is also considering entering Japan's facsimile, cellular phone, and pager markets.AT&T wins order to update
Seibu sales management
AT&T Global Information Solutions Japan, over the next two years, will
build a next-generation sales data management system for Seibu department
stores. Seibu has budgeted ¥4 billion to upgrade its systems, and will
spend about half that amount on an AT&T Worldmark 5100M server and Teradata
database software to support a wireless POS (point of sales) management
system. The system will be based on the Windows NT operating system. It
will be introduced on a trial basis this fall and adopted throughout Seibu
stores by the end of 1997.
Samsung to construct
R&D facilities in Yokohama
Samsung Electronics of Korea will construct a research laboratory in Yokohama.
The company plans to invest some ¥12 billion to build, on a 7,600 sq.
meter site, a six-story facility having 18,800 sq. meters of floor space.
The lab, to be initially staffed by 350 researchers, will be the largest
research facility that has been set up in Japan by a Korean company. The
research focus will be on multimedia equipment, electronic components, communications
equipment, consumer electronics, and computer peripherals. Samsung will
integrate the current research organizations in its Tokyo and Osaka offices
into the new lab, which is slated for completion in May 1997.
Game makers form association
Sixteen game software companies have established the Computer Entertainment Software Association (CESA), whose purpose will be to survey and collect market and technology information on the entertainment industry, help protect software rights, sponsor exhibitions and seminars, provide technical personnel training, and facilitate communication exchanges with domestic and overseas entertainment associations. CESA plans to incorporate within the year and will recruit more member firms from among the estimated 400 game software companies in Japan.Chip makers cooperate on training
Ten domestic chip makers have established a joint venture to train semiconductor engineers, based on a proposal by the Semiconductor Industry Research Institute Japan (SIRIJ). Provisionally named the Semiconductor Engineering Research Center, the joint venture is capitalized at ¥100 million and will spend ¥100 million in the first year in support of projects carried out by engineering universities. The funds will be collected from Japan's chip makers.Firms reach DVD patent
royalty collection agreement
Nine companies -- Sony, Philips, Toshiba, Hitachi, JVC, Matsushita Electric,
Mitsubishi Electric, Pioneer, and Thompson -- have basically agreed to collectively
keep track of DVD (digital video disk) patent revenues. They have already
established a joint venture to handle DVD licensing contracts, receive patent
fees from over 50 makers in Japan and abroad, and distribute royalty payments
to the nine firms in proportion to relative importance of the basic patents
owned by each.
ISDN linkup planned
Three regional common carriers plan to link their ISDN systems by spring 1997. Tokyo Telecommunication Network and Chubu Telecommunications (Nagoya) will start their ISDN services in the fall, and later link their networks to the ISDN operated by Osaka Media Port. The three common carriers plan to develop an inter-metropolis ISDN by linking their networks, and eventually link it with NTT's ISDN system.From ODG to OAT
Omron Data General, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Omron, changed its name to Omron Alphatech (OAT) effective January 1. The move reflects Omron DG's move to handling products besides those of Data General and is an attempt to strengthen its image as a multivendor corporation offering UNIX machines and PCs. Data General was an original investor in the company, but pulled out in 1991. Omron DG continued to handled Data General products almost exclusively, however, until recently; currently, Data General products account only for about 50% of OAT's sales.Goyo supports Korean
telecom manufacturer
Goyo Electronics, an Akita-based manufacturer of cellular telephone handsets,
will furnish cellular handset design and manufacturing technologies and
key handset components to LG Electronics of Seoul, a leading Korean consumer
electronics firm. LG Electronics will use these to begin manufacturing and
selling a compact, extended-battery-life handset this year. LG Electronics
has been successfully selling low-price consumer electronics products in
the Japan market, and as part of an aggressive international expansion strategy
recently bought US television manufacturer Zenith.
NEC wins order for Dutch telecom
NEC has received an order from the Dutch PTT for the world's first earth station to support the INMARSAT satellite pager service. The Dutch carrier plans to begin service in the spring, and the system is expected to be adopted by other nations to create a global paging system. The order is expected to presage further sales of pager terminals and other system elements by NEC, which is developing shirtpocket-size terminals, priced at about ¥50,000, that will support bidirectional communications and GPS-based (global positioning system) tracking.Digitizing Tanzanian
communications
NEC and Mitsubishi have jointly received an order from Tanzania for a digital
microwave trunk line system. The companies will install the 140M-bps system
(which will extend over a distance of 1,200 km), 30 relay stations, transmission
devices, and short-distance fiber-optic relays. The system is slated for
completion in 1997, and value of the order is estimated at ¥1.7 billion.
Softbank to open China
to the Internet
Softbank, in cooperation with California-based Unitech Telecom and Beijing-based
Jitong Communications, a nationalized data communications carrier, will
start an Internet gateway service in China this year. Softbank and its partners
began setting up equipment in Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities
in January; gateway services in 24 major cities are planned by June. This
will be Softbank's first full-fledged business venture in China; its international
strategy has, until now, focused on Europe and the US.
Hitachi seeks out new technologies
US-based Hitachi PC Corporation will seek out development-stage startup companies in a move intended to allow Hitachi of Japan access to new technologies, thereby being able to differentiate its products. The US affiliate has already begun negotiations with several emerging notebook PC-card makers. The technologies from this arrangement will be used to give powerful communications capabilities to the notebook PC that Hitachi plans to release this spring. The US unit will next seek deals with Internet-related technology startups.Overseas-bound 5.25-inch floppy
production moved to China
Hitachi Maxell will outsource production of 5.25-inch floppy disks to an
undisclosed Chinese company in Guangdong Province. The monthly output level
will be 2 million disks. By transferring nearly all production of floppies
for overseas markets to China, Hitachi Maxell hopes to improve production
efficiency and lower costs. Demand for 5.25-inch disks is slowing in industrialized
countries, but demand in China is still strong. The company will continue
producing 2 million disks per month at its plant in Ibaraki prefecture to
meet domestic demand.
High-speed data transmission tests
Toshiba is participate with Time-Warner Cable of California in a high-speed data transmission technology experiment, slated to run through May 1996. The tests will use a cable television network in San Diego to deliver data services and provide PC communications functionality to homes and small businesses using a 10M-bps hybrid fiber coaxial cable (HFC) network. TWC hopes to start commercial services during the summer.PHS down under
The Australian PHS Forum has announced plans to use the same 1.895-1.918 GHz frequency as Japan for commercial PHS services. This decision eliminates the need to redevelop handsets and other equipment and will keep service costs low. The Forum, which is working to popularize PHS in Australia, includes NEC, Oki Electric Matsushita, Communication Industrial, Uniden, and Motorola as members.Nitsuko targets UK telecom market
Nitsuko has established Nitsuko UK Ltd. in a bid to market telecommunications products such as business phones under its own brand name and support users in the UK. The subsidiary is capitalized at about ¥20 million and will initially be staffed by four employees. This is Nitsuko's sixth overseas subsidiary; it intends to double current sales levels (¥500 million) within four to five years.KDD to resell international lines?
In August, KDD America applied to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for approval to conduct an international communications line resale business. The company planned to start reselling Japan-US, US-UK, and UK-Germany lines from March by purchasing large blocks of capacity from AT&T and other major carriers, then split it into smaller segments for resale. As of press time, however, the FCC had halted KDD's plans because AT&T had filed its opposition. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is pressing for early resolution to the issue through the World Trade Organization, accusing the US of delaying KDD's application based on "unseen regulations." If the plan is eventually successful, it is expected to reduce KDD's Japan-US rates by about 10%, and would consolidate in Japan charges that would otherwise be paid to carriers in other countries.Gearing up for Internet expansion
NTT PC Communications will expand its number of access points by 11, to 48, by the end of fiscal 1995. The move, which will give one access point in each prefecture, comes in response to the rapid increase in Internet use. As of October 1995, the company had 3,500 dial-up subscribers, already exceeding its first-year target of 2,000. NTT PC Communications also plans to introduce a low-cost Internet connection kit, develop value-added contents, and expand its commercial Internet linkup business.Online shopping in Sun City
Itochu has teamed up with Sun Microsystems to create a large-scale "virtual city" and shopping center on the Internet. This new World Wide Web presence opened in January; it features mail-order shopping, real-estate purchase brokering, and numerous other services. A key attraction of this massive site is the use of Sun's leading-edge Java technology, which gives online images a three-dimensional quality. Within the year, Sun plans to purchase a 10% stake in Itochu Internet, a joint venture between Itochu and CRC Research Institute.Internet databases
Tokyo-based GSearch, a Fujitsu-affiliated database service, plans to put about 10 databases, including image databases, on the Internet this year. First is expected to be a weather-related image database early this year. Currently, sales via the Internet account for a very small percentage of GSearch's sales, but the company expects this figure to reach 50% over the long term.Virtual shopping with real money
Tokyo-based Rapid Systems, a software firm that provides Internet gateway services, is opening a shopping mall on the World Wide Web. The new Rapid Shopping Mall features clothing, household items, and leisure and miscellaneous goods; it offers an online search function and online transaction settlement. The company plans to eventually offer several thousand products for sale, and charges a 7.5% commission on each item sold. It foresees first-year sales of ¥300 million.Turn-key Internet installations
NET21, a grouping of 60 independent software companies, has launched a service to install Internet servers on a turn-key basis. The ¥2.98 million package consists of 2 PC servers, network software, 3 modems, connections, creation of a home page, and circuit work. The group claims its prices are much lower than competitors because it can draw on its various members' areas of expertise while maintaining a centralized marketing operation.Internet study group formed
Four companies -- Tokyu, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Research Institute, and Creative Link -- have established the Japan Net Study Group, which is intended to develop a range of Internet services. The group plans to start commercial operations in fall 1996, creating home pages and offering Internet connections, fee-based database searches, and other Internet-related services. It aims to win 200 clients from industry and government and has already set up servers in Japan (nihon.or.jp) and the US (nihonnet.com).Tokyo stock prices on the Net
The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) plans to eliminate restrictions on providing stock and commodity price information over the Internet. TSE first plans to firm up guidelines concerning provision of information through its "market information system," then later this year provide data for a fee to research groups affiliated with securities companies. The research units of Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities, which have already set up investor relations home pages on the Internet designed for investors, ant to provide stock price information online as well.Internet plug-and-play
NEC claims to have developed an Internet plug-and-play system that it claims will allow anyone to easily connect to the Internet from just about anywhere. The system allows users to employ a "virtual local area network" to access their own office LANs when on the go, logging onto their usual terminals and the Internet simply by entering their name and password. NEC plans to commercialize the system in a public-access application.Easy Mac access to JustNet
JustSystems will soon release a Macintosh version of its software to allow users to access the World Wide Web via the JustNet PC Communications Network. The company's strategy is to support access to its network and the Internet on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. The JustNet Network, which will allow users direct access to the WWW, was to get underway in February.Longer-life laser for DVD use
Sharp has developed a 635-nm red semiconductor laser with a life of 10,000 hours, twice that of conventional models. The company will start volume production in May 1996. Demand from manufacturers of optical pick-ups is expected to boom for use in DVD (digital video disk) players, slated for mass production by major electronics makers starting this summer. The new laser features an output of 5 mW. Sharp has so far been sample shipping a 40-mW 650-nm red semiconductor laser for use in DVD players and DVD-ROM drives.High-capacity DAT data storage
Hewlett Packard Japan has introduced a DAT (digital audio tape) recorder capable of storing 12GB of data (24GB when data is compressed). The HP C1537A complies with the DDS3 standard established in 1994 and achieves a data transfer speed of 1MB per second. The recorder uses a time tracking system that detects and adjusts the position of the head, eliminating part of the data area conventionally used to detect and adjust the head position and increasing the data area on a track from 65% to 91% of total track area. HP Japan's DAT recorder is sample-priced at ¥200,000, with sample shipment slated for early 1996. Volume shipment will begin in July.Shrinking optical technologies
Oki Electric has developed a small 10G-bps optical receiver that integrates seven ICs, including amplifier and signal identifier ICs, on a single 20x30-cm printed circuit board. This, along with improved IC arrangement and parts connections, reduces the size to about half that of a conventional system. Error rate tests have shown the new system has good enough performance for practical communications. Oki says that the new optical receiver is ready for commercialization with the necessary packaging technologies now established.Wearable wireless multimedia transmission system
New Social System Research, a multimedia startup venture, has developed a wearable system that supports interactive transmission of voice, image, and video. The Wireless Vision system incorporates a CCD camera and LCD monitor to transmit and display video up to 50 km. It weighs 4 kg and is powered by a lithium-ion battery. The firm is working with the Japan's Self-Defense Agency to develop a system optimized for information gathering and coordination in the aftermath of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake. Price of current configurations are in the range of ¥2 million per user.Easier multilanguage document display
Dynalab Japan, the Tokyo unit of Dynalab of Taiwan, has developed software that enables Japanese-language documents written on one operating system to be accurately displayed and printed on other platforms. The new software also handles documents written in Chinese and Korean, and thus should prove helpful in international e-mail applications, It can read text documents written in any of the three languages on either DOS, UNIX or Windows. The company is to ship the software in Japan in February, concentrating primarily on OEM sales.3D notebook graphics
Japan Communication has developed a notebook computer LCD for showing 3D graphics. The display has a lens placed between two laminated polarization sheets, and reportedly can be made as thin as 9 mm. The company thinks addition of the 3D-capable unit will raise prices of thin-film transistor LCDs, now priced in the ¥50,000-to-¥70,000 range, by only ¥10,000 to ¥15,000. Plans call for development of a mass production system within the year.çternational expansion strategy recently bought US television manufacturer Zenith.NEC wins order for Dutch telecom
NEC has received an order from the Dutch PTT for the world's first earth station to support the INMARSAT satellite pager service. The Dutch carrier plans to begin service in the spring, and the system is expected to be adopted by other nations to create a global paging system. The order is expected to presage further sales of pager terminals and other system elements by NTT, which is developing shirtpocket-size terminals, priced at about ¥50,000, that will support bidirectional communications and GPS-based (global positioning system) tracking.
Digitizing Tanzanian communications
NEC and Mitsubishi have jointly received an order from Tanzania for a digital microwave trunk line system. The companies will install the 140M-bps system (which will extend over a distance of 1,200 km), 30 relay stations, transmission devices, and short-distance fiber-optic relays. The system is slated for completion in 1997, and value of the order is estimated at ¥1.7 billion.
Softbank to open China to the Internet
Softbank, in cooperation with California-based Unitech Telecom and Beijing-based Jitong Communications, a nationalized data communications carrier, will start an Internet gateway service in China this year. Softbank and its partners began setting up equipment in Beijing, Shanghai, and other major cities in January; gateway services in 24 major cities are planned by June. This will be Softbank's first full-fledged business venture in China; its international strategy has, until now, focused on Europe and the US.
Hitachi seeks out new technologies
US-based Hitachi PC Corporation will seek out development-stage startup companies in a move intended to allow Hitachi of Japan access to new technologies, thereby being able to differentiate its products. The US affiliate has already begun negotiations with several emerging notebook PC-card makers. The technologies from this arrangement will be used to give powerful communications capabilities to the notebook PC that Hitachi plans to release this spring. The US unit will next seek deals with Internet-related technology startups.
Overseas-bound 5.25-inch floppy production moved to China
Hitachi Maxell will outsource production of 5.25-inch floppy disks to an undisclosed Chinese company in Guangdong Province. The monthly output level will be 2 million disks. By transferring nearly all production of floppies for overseas markets to China, Hitachi Maxell hopes to improve production efficiency and lower costs. Demand for 5.25-inch disks is slowing in industrialized countries, but demand in China is still strong. The company will continue producing 2 million disks per month at its plant in Ibaraki prefecture to meet domestic demand.
High-speed data transmission tests
Toshiba is participate with Time-Warner Cable of California in a high-speed data transmission technology experiment, slated to run from through May 1996. The tests will use a cable television network in San Diego to deliver data services and provide PC communications functionality to homes and small businesses using a 10M-bps hybrid fiber coaxial cable (HFC) network. TWC hopes to start commercial services during the summer.
PHS down under
The Australian PHS Forum has announced plans to use the same 1.895-1.918 GHz frequency as Japan for commercial PHS services. This decision eliminates the need to redevelop handsets and other equipment and will keep service costs low. The Forum, which is working to popularize PHS in Australia, includes NEC, Oki Electric Matsushita, Communication Industrial, Uniden, and Motorola as members.
Nitsuko targets UK telecom market
Nitsuko has established Nitsuko UK Ltd. in a bid to market telecommunications products such as business phones under its own brand name and support users in the UK. The subsidiary is capitalized at about ¥20 million and will initially be staffed by four employees. This is Nitsuko's sixth overseas subsidiary; it intends to double current sales levels (¥500 million) within four to five years.
KDD to resell international lines?
In August, KDD America applied to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for approval to conduct an international communications line resale business. The company planned to start reselling Japan-US, US-UK, and UK-Germany lines from March by purchasing large blocks of capacity from AT&T and other major carriers, then split it into smaller segments for resale. As of press time, however, the FCC had halted KDD's plans because AT&T had filed its opposition. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications is pressing for early resolution to the issue through the World Trade Organization, accusing the US of delaying KDD's application based on "unseen regulations." If the plan is eventually successful, it is expected to reduce KDD's Japan-US rates by about 10%, and would consolidate in Japan charges that would otherwise be paid to carriers in other countries.
Gearing up for Internet expansion
NTT PC Communications will expand its number of access points by 11, to
48, by the end of fiscal 1995. The move, which will give one access point
in each prefecture, comes in response to the rapid increase in Internet
use. As of October 1995, the company had 3,500 dial-up subscribers, already
exceeding its first-year target of 2,000. NTT PC Communications also plans
to introduce a low-cost Internet connection kit, develop value-added contents,
and expand its commercial Internet linkup business.
Online shopping in Sun City
Itochu has teamed up with Sun Microsystems to create a large-scale "virtual
city" and shopping center on the Internet. This new World Wide Web
presence opened in January; it features mail-order shopping, real-estate
purchase brokering, and numerous other services. A key attraction of this
massive site is the use of Sun's leading-edge Java technology, which gives
online images a three-dimensional quality. Within the year, Sun plans to
purchase a 10% stake in Itochu Internet, a joint venture between Itochu
and CRC Research Institute.
Internet databases
Tokyo-based GSearch, a Fujitsu-affiliated database service, plans to put
about 10 databases, including image databases, on the Internet this year.
First is expected to be a weather-related image database early this year.
Currently, sales via the Internet account for a very small percentage of
GSearch's sales, but the company expects this figure to reach 50% over the
long term.
Virtual shopping with real money
Tokyo-based Rapid Systems, a software firm that provides Internet gateway
services, is opening a shopping mall on the World Wide Web. The new Rapid
Shopping Mall features clothing, household items, and leisure and miscellaneous
goods; it offers an online search function and online transaction settlement.
The company plans to eventually offer several thousand products for sale,
and charges a 7.5% commission on each item sold. It foresees first-year
sales of ¥300 million.
Turn-key Internet installations
NET21, a grouping of 60 independent software companies, has launched a service
to install Internet servers on a turn-key basis. The ¥2.98 million
package consists of 2 PC servers, network software, 3 modems, connections,
creation of a home page, and circuit work. The group claims its prices are
much lower than competitors because it can draw on its various members'
areas of expertise while maintaining a centralized marketing operation.
Internet study group formed
Four companies -- Tokyu, Mitsubishi, Mitsubishi Research Institute, and
Creative Link -- have established the Japan Net Study Group, which is intended
to develop a range of Internet services. The group plans to start commercial
operations in fall 1996, creating home pages and offering Internet connections,
fee-based database searches, and other Internet-related services. It aims
to win 200 clients from industry and government and has already set up servers
in Japan (nihon.or.jp) and the US (nihonnet.com).
Tokyo stock prices on the Net
The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) plans to eliminate restrictions on providing
stock and commodity price information over the Internet. TSE first plans
to firm up guidelines concerning provision of information through its "market
information system," then later this year provide data for a fee to
research groups affiliated with securities companies. The research units
of Nomura Securities and Daiwa Securities, which have already set up investor
relations home pages on the Internet designed for investors, ant to provide
stock price information online as well.
Internet plug-and-play
NEC claims to have developed an Internet plug-and-play system that it claims
will allow anyone to easily connect to the Internet from just about anywhere.
The system allows users to employ a "virtual local area network"
to access their own office LANs when on the go, logging onto their usual
terminals and the Internet simply by entering their name and password. NEC
plans to commercialize the system in a public-access application.
Easy Mac access to JustNet
JustSystems will soon release a Macintosh version of its software to allow
users to access the World Wide Web via the JustNet PC Communications Network.
The company's strategy is to support access to its network and the Internet
on both Macintosh and Windows platforms. The JustNet Network, which will
allow users direct access to the WWW, was to get underway in February.
Longer-life laser for DVD use
Sharp has developed a 635-nm red semiconductor laser with a life of 10,000
hours, twice that of conventional models. The company will start volume
production in May 1996. Demand from manufacturers of optical pick-ups is
expected to boom for use in DVD (digital video disk) players, slated for
mass production by major electronics makers starting this summer. The new
laser features an output of 5 mW. Sharp has so far been sample shipping
a 40-mW 650-nm red semiconductor laser for use in DVD players and DVD-ROM
drives.
High-capacity DAT data storage
Hewlett Packard Japan has introduced a DAT (digital audio tape) recorder
capable of storing 12GB of data (24GB when data is compressed). The HP C1537A
complies with the DDS3 standard established in 1994 and achieves a data
transfer speed of 1MB per second. The recorder uses a time tracking system
that detects and adjusts the position of the head, eliminating part of the
data area conventionally used to detect and adjust the head position and
increasing the data area on a track from 65% to 91% of total track area.
HP Japan's DAT recorder is sample-priced at ¥200,000, with sample shipment
slated for early 1996. Volume shipment will begin in July.
Shrinking optical technologies
Oki Electric has developed a small 10G-bps optical receiver that integrates
seven ICs, including amplifier and signal identifier ICs, on a single 20x30-cm
printed circuit board. This, along with improved IC arrangement and parts
connections, reduces the size to about half that of a conventional system.
Error rate tests have shown the new system has good enough performance for
practical communications. Oki says that the new optical receiver is ready
for commercialization with the necessary packaging technologies now established.
Wearable wireless multimedia transmission system
New Social System Research, a multimedia startup venture, has developed
a wearable system that supports interactive transmission of voice, image,
and video. The Wireless Vision system incorporates a CCD camera and LCD
monitor to transmit and display video up to 50 km. It weighs 4 kg and is
powered by a lithium-ion battery. The firm is working with the Japan's Self-Defense
Agency to develop a system optimized for information gathering and coordination
in the aftermath of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake. Price of
current configurations are in the range of ¥2 million per user.
Easier multilanguage document display
Dynalab Japan, the Tokyo unit of Dynalab of Taiwan, has developed software
that enables Japanese-language documents written on one operating system
to be accurately displayed and printed on other platforms. The new software
also handles documents written in Chinese and Korean, and thus should prove
helpful in international e-mail applications, It can read text documents
written in any of the three languages on either DOS, UNIX or Windows. The
company is to ship the software in Japan in February, concentrating primarily
on OEM sales.
3D notebook graphics
Japan Communication has developed a notebook computer LCD for showing 3D
graphics. The display has a lens placed between two laminated polarization
sheets, and reportedly can be made as thin as 9 mm. The company thinks addition
of the 3D-capable unit will raise prices of thin-film transistor LCDs, now
priced in the ¥50,000-to-¥70,000 range, by only ¥10,000 to
¥15,000. Plans call for development of a mass production system within
the year.
