IBM Corp and Motorola Inc plan to open what they say is the first of a series of PowerPC Technical Centres designed to assist hardware and software developers and chip set suppliers. First up is one in Taipei, part of the pair’s continuing bid to woo the Taiwanese personal computer industry. There is no news on the number of staff that will be committed to the venture, but the companies say that they will be able to provide hands-on training for about 40 engineers at any one time. Neither is there a firm opening date for the centre: IBM and Motorola say they have submitted operational plans to the Fair Trade Commission in Taiwan, to ensure that they meet the best interest and fairness within the Taiwan personal computer industry. Unfortunately, as we went to press no one from either company could clarify this statement, or explain its implications. The the role of the Taiwanese centre is relatively clear since it has the New Taiwan PC Consortium to serve: how the US and European centres will operate is less clear. Motorola says it is still trying to establish what services the centres should provide.
