Reborn since 1993

Chapter 523 If life were just like the first time we met

Bill Gates looked at Li Dongling in confusion. This time, Dongling Hi-Tech had already given Bill Gates enough surprises. He did not expect that there would be new projects.

He stretched out his hand and motioned Li Dongling to continue. The computer and game console projects were already a surprise for Bill Gates, and the rest were just icing on the cake.

“Television itself does not produce programs, it needs to be connected to other devices so that viewers can see the pictures.

There are wired and wireless signals, as well as video recorders, VCDs, DVDs, game consoles, etc. The Internet era is almost here, so why can't TVs be connected to Internet programs? !"

Li Dongling's words were like a bolt from the blue. Bill Gates, who had been a little indifferent just now, suddenly opened his eyes wide and stared at Li Dongling.

Two years ago, when the Internet was emerging in Silicon Valley, Bill Gates and Microsoft did not pay much attention to it. As a result, Microsoft is now in a very passive position and its arch-rival Netscape has emerged.

Now, when Bill Gates suddenly heard Li Dongling mention the Internet, how could he not be excited? The scene of Himalaya Radio becoming popular in America was still vivid in his mind. Bill Gates witnessed with his own eyes how Li Dongling operated the Internet.

“Things change. Traditional TV programs, which have been thriving since the day televisions were invented, will decline sooner or later!
This is not to say that users are unwilling to watch TV, but that there will be more and more entertainment activities in the future, and computers, mobile phones and other devices will become more and more powerful. In the future, traditional TV programs will no longer be as attractive to users!
However, nothing is absolute in the world. Just because users don't want to watch those TV programs that are full of lies and are monotonous, it doesn't mean that they don't want to sit together as a family, couples, or friends in the evening or on holidays to watch the TV programs they want to watch.

What the Stargazing Set-Top Box needs to do is to get users back in front of the TV to watch the programs they want to watch! ”

When they heard the word "stargazing", Bill Gates, Zhou Hualiang, Larson, Ed Fleiss and others showed no reaction, but Yao Luoying's eyes lit up.

Nowadays, the products of Dongling Hi-Tech that people are most familiar with may be the electronic pet machine that was popular all over the world, the digital cordless phone that competed with Siemens, and the PHS that changed the landscape of the inland mobile phone market.

But for the veterans of Dongling Hi-Tech, the most impressive thing is Stargazing, which may be a somewhat "unpopular" brand in the inland. Even those TV home users who have installed stargazing satellite dishes may not remember the brand of their own satellite dishes!
The first pot of gold of Dongling Hi-Tech came from Stargazing. For Li Dongling, Yao Luoying, Gao Peng, Zhang Ao and other veteran employees of Dongling Hi-Tech, Stargazing is the beginning of everything!
It cannot be said that the satellite dish project failed. It can only be said that the price war was too fierce. Nowadays, if you go to any city in China that has a base in electronic industry, you will probably find small workshops making satellite dishes.

Satellite dishes are still selling well in China, but the profits have been reduced to very little due to price wars. Many companies are making this product, and the profit from a satellite dish is less than ten yuan. Except for local companies, other companies will lose money if they sell satellite dishes!

Many satellite dish manufacturing companies even sell satellite dishes at a loss, but it is impossible for them to really lose money. Low prices mean that the quality will definitely be unsatisfactory.

Previously, the receiver dish surface of stargazing satellite dishes was made of aluminum and coated with an anti-corrosion layer. As long as it was properly stored, it could be used for several years without any problems. However, in order to make profits, today's satellite dish manufacturers use lower-cost iron dish surfaces and do not apply preservatives. After a rainy season or a winter, problems begin to arise with the dish surface.

Then users can only call for repairs and replace parts. Even the machines connected to the TV are made of paper and have problems every other day. They can only keep replacing parts and repairs and finally get new ones. Manufacturers who don’t make money selling satellite dishes make a profit by after-sales service and selling parts. It can only be said that the wool is ultimately paid by the sheep!
The Guanxing brand was acquired by Dongling Hi-Tech after the Shangguan Town Electronic Components Factory, the predecessor of Torch Group, stopped producing satellite dishes. It has been idle in the past few years.

However, just as if life were always like first sight, the person you see for the first time, even if he or she is in his or her eighties, will probably appear in your mind at some moment.

For Li Dongling, stargazing is the first brand he established, which is equivalent to the eldest son of Dongling Hi-Tech. How could he forget it? If there is a chance, he will naturally reignite it, let more people know about it, and let it explode with even bigger fireworks than before!

Li Dongling is not the only one who likes to play this trick. When Tesla's Musk became successful, he also bought back his first website X, which he built that year, at a high price and finally gave it to Twitter for use.

In the future, Li Dongling does not plan to let stargazing become a synonym for being a country bumpkin, but rather a representative of technological trends and fashion.

In the future, the poem from which the Guanxing brand originated, "Watch the sky in the morning, the clouds in the evening, appreciate the tiny clouds during the day and the stars at night," will still appear on the device packaging boxes of countless families.

It is even possible that the company may be split and listed separately, and simultaneously listed on NASDAQ, Hong Kong Stock Exchange, European Stock Exchange and A-share market, thus becoming the most popular company in the technology industry!
"Stargazing?" Bill Gates muttered. He didn't know what was special about this brand, but looking at Li Dongling's serious expression, it seemed that this brand was very important, and he had no intention of arguing.

"Li, do you mean using the Internet to provide TV programs to users?" Bill Gates asked Li Dongling.

“You can say that, but the Internet is just a means, not an end!”

Li Dongling pondered for a moment and then brought out the concept of the Internet set-top box, "Now several major media giants in America are all complacent and unwilling to allow other competitors to enter their territory.

Many TV users, if they want to watch NBA, football, ice hockey and other games, need to subscribe to different channels, and may not even be able to receive the signal locally!

What the star-gazing set-top box needs to do is to bring all these programs and channels together, so that users can decide which channel to watch and which game or TV series they are willing to pay for.”

“Traditional TV subscriptions can only provide a certain number of channels at most. In the future, the star-gazing set-top box will be able to provide traditional TV channels, and it can also provide users with programs from the Internet, such as podcasts on Himalaya Radio.

It doesn't even just provide American local TV programs. A user who uses a Stargazing set-top box can also choose to watch programs from Canada, Britain and other places in America after Stargazing opens up markets in other regions. Then how many TV channels can he watch? Five hundred, one thousand, or even two thousand TV channels?

With so many TV channels, and even customized channels specially recommended for them, can’t they attract users to the TV?
In the future, the star-gazing set-top box can also recommend similar sports games, TV series, and movies to users based on their habits and preferences, thus increasing user stickiness. Of course, it can also place advertisements for this industry!"

Hearing what Li Dongling said, Bill Gates, Ed Fleiss and others couldn't help but take a deep breath.

If the star-gazing set-top box can really achieve this, it can provide users with NBA basketball, European football, Canadian ice hockey and other programs at the same time, and can also watch TV series from Fox, ABC, HBO and other TV stations across platforms. Even if the user subscribes to it himself, it will be much better than those traditional TV stations.

“Of course, in terms of technology, set-top boxes may not be mature enough at present, and the Internet speed requirements of set-top boxes cannot be met at present.

We still need to get the authorization cooperation from the TV station, and the advertising revenue sharing with the TV station in the future, etc., all of which require agreements, but the star-gazing set-top box is definitely the future of the TV industry and should also be part of Microsoft's living room strategy!"

Li Dongling complimented Bill Gates and gave the credit for the living room strategy to Microsoft. It is useless for Dongling Hi-Tech to have this thing, it is just a gimmick, and now it is just playing with expectations.

But this gimmick is a panacea for Microsoft. Believe it or not, as long as Bill Gates formally proposes the living room strategy at the Microsoft board meeting, Microsoft’s stock price will definitely rise!
The outside world is also observing what Microsoft's next move will be. If it fails to take the step of expansion, then Microsoft will be trapped in the software industry. Its revenue and performance have become predictable and it will no longer be able to give people surprises. What is stock speculation about? It is expectations, the future, and the amazing returns of dozens or hundreds of times in the next year. If the result is stagnant, then how can Microsoft's stock price be hyped and its market value be increased?

In the past, it seemed that Microsoft was obsessed with game consoles and suffered huge losses, but its stock price actually rose because it was expected that as long as it could grab the market, the annual revenue from game consoles and games would be one or two billion US dollars.

And in fact, it is true. The game console business can earn Microsoft nearly 20 billion US dollars in revenue every year. Compared with the more than 10 billion US dollars lost when expanding its territory, it is worth it!
“However, Stargazing can launch a digital video recording device as a transition period before launching the set-top box project.

When using this device, when users come across their favorite TV programs, they can record them and watch them at any time. It also provides functions such as automatic, pause, and skip, allowing users to skip plots they don't want to watch.

In addition, a search function can be added to the device to make it easier for users to find recorded programs!
Dongling Hi-Tech can cooperate with Microsoft first to test the digital video equipment for stargazing, and then jointly develop the Internet set-top box project! "Li Dongling said with a smile, seeming to be very considerate of Microsoft.

(End of this chapter)