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Movie downloaded in 0.5 seconds

TOKYO - A Japanese company has developed technology to transmit a two-hour movie in 0.5 seconds, the world's fastest speed achieved with fiber-optic cables in the field. Kansai Electric said on October 27 that it used fiber-optic cables on power-transmitting steel towers to achieve the speed of one terabit per second, which is more than 100 times faster than inter-city data transmissions currently in use, a spokesman said.

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Sony profit slides under Brit boss

TOKYO - Sony said on October 27 that its net profit almost halved in the three months to September as falling prices of televisions and other electronics goods hit the struggling Japanese icon's bottom line. Sony, which under its new boss, British-born Howard Stringer, last month announced a major overhaul of the business including 10,000 job cuts, left its full-year forecast unchanged at a net loss of 10 billion yen.

Sony posted a net profit of 28.5 billion yen for the second quarter of its financial year, down 46.5 percent from a year earlier. The company has been hit by fierce competition in key markets such as televisions that has driven down prices for plasma and liquid crystal screens. Stringer, the first foreigner to take the helm at Sony in its six-decade history, plans to dispose of a swathe of assets and axe 11 manufacturing plants and focus on revitalizing the core electronics business.