Samsung welcomes ST to join NAND flash market

"Samsung Electronics welcomes other industry players including STMicroelectronics (ST) into the NAND flash memory market as it may help to raise Samsung’s share in the market, said Frederick Fu, president of ST Taiwan, at the Computex Taipei (Taipei Int’l Information Technology Show) exhibition hall yesterday.

In the past, Samsung and Toshiba have cut NAND prices to block new entrants including ST, Infineon Technologies and Micron Technology from gaining a foothold in the market, industry observers said. Fu, however, stated that Samsung welcomes ST into the market due to its adoption of Samsung’s memory structure of choice, which will help to raise the company’s share in the market." Full story @ DigiTimes

Yeah, right...

4 out of 5 Korean Teenagers Willing to Help Korea in Crisis

"Four out of every five Korean teenagers are willing to help out their country, should their country be struck with a crisis, according to a new survey.

The survey also showed 69 percent of the respondents believed there is a possibility of war on the peninsula, and nearly 77 percent answered they are proud to be Korean.

When asked which country they feel most familiar with, North Korea topped the list with 26 percent followed by the U.S., Japan, and China. " Full story @ The Chosun Ilbo

Doh, it would have been weird if it would have been Burkina Faso, wouldn't it? Geeeeez...

Rare Venus Transit to be Seen in Korea

"A very rare celestial event will take place in Korea as a Venus transit will occur after 130 years.

The Korea Astronomy Observatory (KAO) said Thursday that Venus will move in front of the sun from 2:12 p.m. on June 8. The Venus transit works under the same principle as a solar eclipse where a part of the sun turns dark when the moon blocks it, but since Venus is very small, the transit would be like a “mini eclipse” looking like a small spot passing the sun’s surface." Full news @ The Chosun Ilbo

It will be seen only from Korea! Venus belongs to Korea! This phenomenon is OWNED by Korea!

Samsung to Suspend Microwave Oven Production in China

"Samsung Electronics may suspend the production of its microwave ovens in China.

A Samsung official said it has been losing price competitiveness in China due to the mushrooming of small-scale competitors. It is moving to reduce its production of microwave ovens to 600,000 units this year, down from 1.5 million units last year.

Samsung has stopped domestic production and relocated its plant for low-value-added products to Malaysia this year." Full news @ Korea Times

Busted?

Vicky Says 'No!' to Export of Nude Photos to Japan

Vicky 

" Pop star Vicky has refused to allow her nude photos to be exported to Japan.

Vicky was recently offered a US$100,000 contract from Hong Kong-based WUFU Business Co., Ltd. to release her nude photo collection on Japanese portal sites. Vicky, however, frankly stated her opposition, saying, "No matter how much I needed money, I wouldn't want my nude photos sent to Japan."

The producers of Vicky's nude photo collection said, "If we thought of just profits, we world try to convince Vicky to export her photos to Japan, but we want to want to respect her opposition." Full story @ The Chosun Ilbo

You and me both sister! NO! Who the hell wants to see your pictures???

An A+ for her producers for fair-play.

Samsung to open electronics showcase in New York

"As part of its ambition to overtake Sony in consumer electronics, Samsung plans to open its own electronics showcase in New York sometime around September.Although Samsung was once known as a low-cost manufacturer, the Korean electronics company has managed to move toward the high end of the market for consumer electronics through an emphasis on design, according to Lee. The effort began in 1996, when Kun Hee Lee, chairman of the sprawling conglomerate, announced to employees that "an enterprise's most vital assets lie in its design and creative capacities."

Samsung also has educational programs at the Parsons School of Design in New York and at Kyoto University, as an effort to recruit.Full news @ CNET

Another Sony wannabe?...

Bla bla bla, recruit in Japan and the US? Kyoto University? They don't have bad tastes either...

Go figure.

Fake Explosive Delays "Bullet Train" Departure - read it TGV

"A false alarm disrupted the operation of bullet trains over 30 minutes in Pusan Station on Thursday morning when a suspicious object was found on the railway tracks.

Locomotive engineer Song Kyong-won found material resembling a stick of dynamite on the tracks under a high-speed train bound for Seoul at 7:27 a.m.

The 21-centimeter-long material was later discovered to be a piece of wood wrapped in packing paper for industrial explosives. Letters on the paper read: ``Danger! 32mm gelatine dynamite.''

Son reported the object to the train authorities immediately after finding it.

After examinations by police and defense security personnel, the explosive-like object was proven to be a wooden stick." Full news @ KoreaTimes


Take a look below and observe the resemblance between the French TGV and Korean KTX-TGV. You must know that KTX was built by Alstom, the company that makes the French TGV, thus KTX is a TGV clone. I don't know how the author of the article made such a big mistake. To say the TGV is a Bullet Train... Geeez... Let's not forget that the Japanese trains set the technical benchmark for European competitors. The Shinkansen was launched 40 years ago, 20 years before the TGV.

In other news: "Taiwan's $15 billion dream of a high speed rail line has moved a step closer to reality with the arrival of its first "bullet train" from Japan.Taiwan will receive another 29 trains from Japan this year in what is the first export success for the 700T Shinkansen model made by a Mitsui-led consortium." Full news @ CNN

In Taiwan's case, the 700T Series is a modified 700 Series Nozomi, completely built in Japan, thus it is not a clone, it's a genuine Bullet Train.


700T Series 


700T Series unloaded

Again...how could he/she make such a mistake?

Go figure.

P.S: What a guy said about the Shinkansen arriving in Taiwan: "I bet it arrived dead on time too!" You bet it did buddy! See it here.

KTX vs. TGV vs. Bullet Train

KTX 


KTX 


TGV 


TGV 


0 Series Shinkansen 


700 Series Shinkansen 


500 Series Shinkansen 

HOYA to Establish LCD Mask Manufacturing Facility in South Korea

"Japan's leading eyeglass manufacturer HOYA announced June 1 that it has signed an official memorandum with the government of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, to acquire a construction site for its new large LCD/color filter mask manufacturing facility.

The company plans to establish a manufacturing base as early as the second half of 2004. The new facility will begin operation during the second half of 2005.

HOYA will use the facility for R&D for and production of large masks (850x1,200mm and larger) for the 7th (1,870x2,200mm) and 8th (2,200x2,600mm) generation TFT LCD panels and color filters.

The company expects the new production base to ensure stable supply of the highly demanded large masks and reduce delivery time." Full news @ JCNN

Delivery times? Delivery to who? Samsung and LG? LMAO!!!

Go figure.

Kyonggi Province Delegation Visits Japan to Induce Investment

"Kyonggi Province on Sunday sent a delegation to Japan in an attempt to attract investment from Japanese electronics and auto parts makers, the province announced on Sunday.

The delegation, led by Gov. Sohn Hak-kyu, is scheduled to sign investment agreements with four producers of thin film transistor-liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCDs) and an auto parts supplier during its three-day stay in Japanese cities, including Tokyo and Osaka.

They expect the agreements will reach up to $100 million and help create 800 jobs in the province.

One provincial official said one of the Japanese investors plans to set up a TFT-LCD factory as well as a research and development center in Kyonggi Province, hoping that the transfer of new technologies will be made to Korean firms on a long-term basis." Full news @ KoreaTimes

Can we please steal your technology? Pretty pleeeeeeeeease?

Go figure.

The crook gets crooked...

"The days when spy against spy meant the CIA versus the KGB are no more.

Today, spying too often means corporate espionage as economic and industrial espionage is being carried out around the world.

And now the threat is beginning to be taken seriously by Korean executives, particularly in the info-tech industries where Korea shines.

In April, a former executive of Jusung Engineering Co., a semiconductor equipment manufacturer, was caught trying to steal the company's confidential report on its core technology for a foreign rival. He has been in custody since then but has not yet been charged.

The 44-year-old suspect, identified by his family name Suh, was believed to be passing documents to Applied Materials Inc. of the United States in return for a job at its Santa Clara, California headquarters. Another ex-employee of Jusung was also accused of committing similar crimes. Officials at Applied Materials Korea were unavailable for comment but the public prosecutor confirmed the details of the cases. The new trend reflects a shift in Korea's industrial reputation, industry watchers say. The nation has long been renowned for copying the products of Japan and other industrialized countries. But now Korea is no longer only a copycat. Korean companies have become prime developers themselves in a number of technology areas and have in turn fallen victim to industrial spying." Full news @ The Korea Herald

Awwwwww, the crook gets crooked...

Go figure.

Chinese buyers prefer Japan, U.S.

"Japan, the U.S. and China ranked first, second and third as the preferred source of supply for consumer electronics such as PCs, laptops, digital cameras and video games, and had the same ranking for cars.

In consumer electronics, Japan was ranked best country by 23.8 percent, followed by 18.3 percent for the U.S. and 11.6 percent for China, with Britain fourth on 3.0 percent and South Korea next on 2.8 percent.

For cars, Japan was ranked best by 21.9 percent of respondents, followed by the U.S. with 15.5 percent and China 8.3 percent. Britain was fourth with 4.3 percent, followed by "other European" on 3.4 percent."Full news @ CNN.com

Europe, S.Korea - pWneD big time...