By Zhu Shenshen | 2010-12-29 | NEWSPAPER EDITION
The government was wise to target three sectors with huge domestic market demand without allowing monopolies to form. Still, Chinese firms can't compete yet with Microsoft on software and Intel on computer chips. China ranks No. 1 in the supercomputer sector
In the middle of November, China's Tianhe-1 topped the world's supercomputer rankings. The machine features thousands of graphics chips and is capable of achieving a sustained performance of 2.5 petaflops, or 2,500 trillion calculations per second. It was the first time China surpassed the United States in the sector. US-based Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility's Jaguar system ranked No. 2.
Why and so what?
The supercomputer, which requires high-end chips and server computing technologies, is a serious measure of a nation's advanced IT technology and research ability. A supercomputer works for both industry and public sectors.
The use of a supercomputer can help an aircraft or auto manufacturer shave up to 60 percent off the research period for developing new cars or planes, for instance. The machine will also be used to crunch population trends and environmental protection data and produce weather forecasts. Debut of the iPad
Apple started selling the iPad on the Chinese mainland in September and it has proven to be more than just "a bigger iPod Touch." The success of the iPad - shipments totaled more than 7 million by October worldwide - have attracted many rivals, including Samsung, RIM, Toshiba, Acer, Huawei and ZTE to either release iPad-like products or make plans to do so soon. Most firms have adopted Google's Android operating system for their tablet PCs.
Analysis group Gartner has forecast that tablet sales worldwide will reach 54.8 million units in 2011. And they will displace around 10 percent of PC units by 2014.
Why and so what?
The iPad is the first successful device in a third category between a laptop and a smart phone. With mobility and application store business models, Apple has helped create another product category.
A wide variety of tablet devices, with updated iOS 4.2 by Apple now have multitasking and wireless printing functions and Google's new Android 2.3 having much improved user experience, will challenge the dominance of Microsoft and Intel. Overseas IPO wave
Six Chinese stocks started trading on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq this month, the most ever in a single month. The IPOs were issued by Youku, known as China's YouTube, and Dangdang.com, which has been likened to Amazon. Thirty-eight offshore IPOs this year raised US$4 billion, accounting for about 25 percent of first-time share sales in the United States, according to data firm Dealogic.
Shares of Youku rose 161 percent in the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. E-commerce firm Dangdang gained 87 percent after its IPO on the same day.
Why and so what?
The successful IPOs were viewed as part of a rebound from the global financial crisis. The overseas listings bring Chinese firms huge rewards, including access to more capital and a wider investor base. The founders and investors got huge returns, which in turn should encourage more innovation in high-tech sectors.
Other firms are preparing overseas IPOs. They include Tudou.com, Youku's biggest domestic rival, and social website Renren. The battle between Tencent (QQ) and 360
In November, Shenzhen-based Tencent, China's biggest Internet firm by market value, announced that QQ, a chatting tool, will no longer operate on computers installed with software from Qihoo 360. The latter claimed that Tencent was scanning users' documents through QQ and launched a tool to block QQ plug-ins.
The battle forced hundreds of millions of web users to decide whether they wanted to keep using the country's most popular chatting tool or whether they preferred China's top Internet security tool.
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The government was wise to target three sectors with huge domestic market demand without allowing monopolies to form. Still, Chinese firms can't compete yet with Microsoft on software and Intel on computer chips. China ranks No. 1 in the supercomputer sector
In the middle of November, China's Tianhe-1 topped the world's supercomputer rankings. The machine features thousands of graphics chips and is capable of achieving a sustained performance of 2.5 petaflops, or 2,500 trillion calculations per second. It was the first time China surpassed the United States in the sector. US-based Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility's Jaguar system ranked No. 2.
Why and so what?
The supercomputer, which requires high-end chips and server computing technologies, is a serious measure of a nation's advanced IT technology and research ability. A supercomputer works for both industry and public sectors.
The use of a supercomputer can help an aircraft or auto manufacturer shave up to 60 percent off the research period for developing new cars or planes, for instance. The machine will also be used to crunch population trends and environmental protection data and produce weather forecasts. Debut of the iPad
Apple started selling the iPad on the Chinese mainland in September and it has proven to be more than just "a bigger iPod Touch." The success of the iPad - shipments totaled more than 7 million by October worldwide - have attracted many rivals, including Samsung, RIM, Toshiba, Acer, Huawei and ZTE to either release iPad-like products or make plans to do so soon. Most firms have adopted Google's Android operating system for their tablet PCs.
Analysis group Gartner has forecast that tablet sales worldwide will reach 54.8 million units in 2011. And they will displace around 10 percent of PC units by 2014.
Why and so what?
The iPad is the first successful device in a third category between a laptop and a smart phone. With mobility and application store business models, Apple has helped create another product category.
A wide variety of tablet devices, with updated iOS 4.2 by Apple now have multitasking and wireless printing functions and Google's new Android 2.3 having much improved user experience, will challenge the dominance of Microsoft and Intel. Overseas IPO wave
Six Chinese stocks started trading on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq this month, the most ever in a single month. The IPOs were issued by Youku, known as China's YouTube, and Dangdang.com, which has been likened to Amazon. Thirty-eight offshore IPOs this year raised US$4 billion, accounting for about 25 percent of first-time share sales in the United States, according to data firm Dealogic.
Shares of Youku rose 161 percent in the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. E-commerce firm Dangdang gained 87 percent after its IPO on the same day.
Why and so what?
The successful IPOs were viewed as part of a rebound from the global financial crisis. The overseas listings bring Chinese firms huge rewards, including access to more capital and a wider investor base. The founders and investors got huge returns, which in turn should encourage more innovation in high-tech sectors.
Other firms are preparing overseas IPOs. They include Tudou.com, Youku's biggest domestic rival, and social website Renren. The battle between Tencent (QQ) and 360
In November, Shenzhen-based Tencent, China's biggest Internet firm by market value, announced that QQ, a chatting tool, will no longer operate on computers installed with software from Qihoo 360. The latter claimed that Tencent was scanning users' documents through QQ and launched a tool to block QQ plug-ins.
The battle forced hundreds of millions of web users to decide whether they wanted to keep using the country's most popular chatting tool or whether they preferred China's top Internet security tool.
1 2 3 4
