The world is in trouble

Chapter 273 Great Fortune! Great Surprise! Victory Horn
Lin Xiao first opened his web browser, entered various website addresses, and opened various web pages.

There's no way around it; this is simulating the behavior of early smartphone users.

Because initially there weren't many apps available, many smartphone users, after buying a phone, would immediately either go online or play games.

In fact, there is a huge pain point for users in the market right now.

That means there are no entertainment devices during a lot of fragmented time and commuting time, as well as when lying in bed before going to sleep or when going out to play.

Laptops are too heavy, and there's nothing to do on a regular phone.

Thus, Sony's PSP was born, and it became a global phenomenon at the time.

However, at the time, PSP games were expensive, there weren't many great titles, and most importantly, the format was limited.

Open various websites, such as Sina and Sohu.

The results are poor; they're either purely PC pages or 2G-era WAP pages, which are too simplistic.

The web pages for smartphones need to be redesigned. They are simpler than PC pages, but more complex than web pages for 2G devices.

Moreover, the PC webpage was already a bit laggy, mainly because the characters were too small, requiring both hands to zoom in, otherwise clicking was very inconvenient.

Then I opened the Facebook page, which led to the Jiayuan.com page.

Effect……

very good!

Because all the websites in the Lightning series were designed in advance.

Next, Lin Xiao opened the various apps inside.

They were all lightning-type.

Listen quietly.

Perfect, so perfect.

This app is actually more compatible and perfect on mobile phones than on computers.

Because mobile phones have a relatively high resolution, they can be designed to be more aesthetically pleasing.

YouTube video.

It's perfect too.

“There’s a problem here. Our prototype uses a Wi-Fi network environment, but my country banned the Wi-Fi standard in 2003 and adopted WAPI instead,” Wu Di said. “But the probability of either Wi-Fi or WAPI becoming widespread in China in a short period of time is still very low.”

"Of course, our first generation of mobile phones will use the 3G standard..."

Wu Di paused for a moment at this point.

Because Texas Instruments hasn't even released their 3G baseband chip yet, damn it.

"But data charges are still very expensive, so whether it's YouTube or Kuaibo, the format outweighs the content."

"In most cases, users still download some important videos to watch on their phones. In the current environment, probably no one is luxurious enough to watch videos online."

"We need to focus on games and reading."

"Lightning Group has developed a reading app and is preparing to integrate online novels from major platforms and charge for legitimate content."

"Of course... it also supports users downloading TXT content for reading."

Damn, another killer app.

In the early days, heavy mobile phone use really was reading, which is why mobile reading platforms were once extremely popular.

"In terms of games, there are two types in total."

"The first type is card and board games, which do not require much data and do not use much data."

Lin Xiao found a lightning game app.

It includes single-player games like Upgrade Tractor, Chess, Go, Dou Dizhu, and many more, mainly for playing on mobile phones.

There are also dedicated game arcades where you can play against real people.

Seeing Lin Xiao enter a Dou Dizhu (a card game) game, the other prototype machines followed suit.

It was quite a feat to finally gather three people.

Surprisingly, there really is a server that supports this?

Familiar music began to play.

Calling the landlord, robbing the landlord, no.

I'll blast...

Three with two.

I only have one card left.

"The second type is purely semi-single-player games."

"Currently, there are two racing games, Plants vs. Zombies, Protect the Carrot, Angry Birds, Temple Run, Fruit Ninja, and more than twenty other games."

Lin Xiao looked at the densely packed game icons on the screen.

There are only two words in my mind: Awesome!
Lightning Games' Fantasy Studio, after two or three years of advance planning, has finally yielded results, hasn't it?

It includes almost all the classic games from the early days of smartphones.

In terms of the richness of this game, neither Apple nor HTC can catch up for several years.

Early smartphone users would have been moved to tears to have these games available.

Of course, later on, you'll need to play large-scale mobile games from companies like Gamesoft, known for their copycat nature, such as Modern Combat and Backstab.

It's basically the mobile version of Call of Duty and Assassin's Creed.

However, users will soon lose interest in these games and eventually settle on games like Honor of Kings, Genshin Impact, PUBG Mobile, and Honkai Impact 3rd for a long time.

But the game content that Lightning Games created for first-generation mobile phones was truly three to five years ahead of its competitors.

"Currently, Fantasy Studio has plans to port Dungeon Fighter Online to mobile phones, but of course it will be very difficult, and it is just a plan."

Lin Xiao opened Plants vs. Zombies and started playing.

It was fine at first, but after level 20, there was noticeable lag.

"There's no way around it, we definitely need to keep optimizing. After all, none of us have much experience. These games were developed before our system was even released, so there are bound to be a lot of conflicts and bugs."

"But we still have enough time."

Lin Xiao opened the temple to escape.

This lag was even worse, but Lin Xiao wasn't discouraged at all.

This is because the ecosystem of early Android phones is different, with all sorts of different systems and even different SoCs.

The reason Apple is so great is that its software and operating system are perfectly compatible.

Lin Xiao's phone will also be perfectly compatible. Although it will be open source, and it's hard to say what will happen to other apps after that, at least our internal ecosystem will be incredibly smooth.

Next, Lin Xiao opened the Facebook app.

The page is well-designed, and at high resolution, it displays much better than on a computer.

However, when you delve deeper into the content, such as the related communities...

It didn't last long before it got stuck in a long lag and then crashed.

"There's no way around it; Facebook's database is too large, and the entire adaptation and optimization process will take a very long time," Wu Di said.

Lin Xiao: "No problem, we have plenty of time."

Developing a system early on also has a huge advantage: a simple ecosystem and a small number of apps.

The key is that users have low expectations, so they are easily satisfied.

Based on the ecosystem it has developed so far, it is far superior to Nokia's Symbian.

It's so much better than Microsoft's semi-smartphones.

Even if it was the first generation of Apple? So what?
Its current ecosystem is also very barren. In some aspects, we have a higher starting point than it, at least in games, we have far surpassed it.

Wu Di: "Our Lightning Group has the largest internet ecosystem in the country. So our main focus going forward is to conquer three companies: Tencent's QQ, Alibaba's Taobao, and Baidu. That should be enough."

"Regarding mobile internet access, we will adopt a very cumbersome method."

"It's about sharing your computer with the internet via USB."

Lin Xiao: "How similar is our system to Google's Android system?"

Richie and Chris exchanged a glance, then said, "They are very similar."

Because two of the four founders of Android were at X Research Institute, Lin Xiao gave him a higher position, a higher salary, and more shares.

“But it doesn’t matter, it’s a completely unsolvable case,” Chris said. “Because Android’s early achievements were very limited, and after joining Google, they started from scratch in many areas.”

"We're the same here, but because your guidance is so strong and your goals are so clear, we've avoided a lot of detours."

“Perhaps, maybe, Google’s Android system is better, better at the underlying level, but…” Chris paused slightly.

Lin Xiao: "Because they are just talking theory without any real combat experience."

In November 2007, Google established a mobile technology alliance to win over hardware manufacturers.

It wasn't until September 2008 that HTC released its first Android phone, the G1.

On the contrary, Lin Xiao's side is doing both software and hardware.

In fact, Lightning Group occupies half of the ecosystem.

Even if the initial technology is weaker, with practical application using mobile phone hardware, progress will be rapid.

Of course, many mobile phone manufacturers may embrace Google's technology alliance and join the Android ecosystem in the future, which is inevitable.

But... as long as the ecosystem developed by Lightning Group is strong enough.

It could really develop into a killer app like WeChat or WhatsApp.

If Facebook becomes even stronger and more irreplaceable, it can then counter hardware manufacturers.

In short, the key to developing a mobile operating system in the early stages is strategic direction, not technical issues. It is much, much, much simpler than in the mid-to-late stages.

Because at the beginning everyone was in the process of acquiring land, everyone was starting from scratch.

If you try to break in during the mid-to-late game, once everyone has occupied their territory, it will be extremely difficult.

"Moreover, our UI is really good; the more you look at it, the more pleasing it becomes," Chris couldn't help but say.

Lin Xiao: "In Chinese terms, you're just like a peddler praising his own wares."

Because Chris and Da Li were in charge of UI design.

Chris: "No, no, the main reason is still because of you, BOSS. You gave us a very clear direction and logic, which saved us from taking countless detours."

"Android is a technology-driven company, not a user-driven company, so we are really ahead of the curve in terms of user comfort."

Lin Xiao reluctantly played with the prototype. The system was far more complete and excellent than he had imagined. Just as Wu Di had said, the most difficult part wasn't the technology, but the strategic direction.

Although it may sound a bit sentimental, this truly marks the beginning of a new era.

However, things got a little awkward a few minutes later!
My phone crashed!
After a few minutes of waiting, it restarted directly.

It's okay, it's okay!
It's already amazing.

....................................

Lin Xiaofei flew to the United States.

The following day, Dreamworld, Facebook, Sony Columbia, and Susan Collins watched the movie "The Hunger Games" together.

After watching, everyone gave a token applause.

Even Susan and Collins looked slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she whispered in Lin Xiao's ear.

Lin Xiao: "Why should I apologize?"

Susan: "I made it a bit too childish. It's a very profound theme of dystopia, but I couldn't achieve the same depth as your 'The Graveyard Book'. It's okay in words, but when it's adapted for the big screen, it feels weird, like it's childish and ridiculous. I brought in a lot of my habits from writing children's plays."

The other party was, after all, a professional writer, and immediately grasped the essence of the matter.

Like Coco, The Graveyard Book is a simple yet profound work.

Many Pixar works, such as WALL-E and Toy Story, are simple yet profound.

Use the simplest story to illustrate a very simple truth.

You won't find it childish; you'll only find it deeply moving.

The Hunger Games uses a complex story to tell a complex truth, but it doesn't quite explain it well; in short, it's all flashy and complicated.

I didn't feel much from reading the book, but after watching the movie, I thought it was so damn childish.

There are many similar works, such as Ender's Game, whose original influence is even greater than that of The Hunger Games.

However, the film adaptation was a failure.

It's just that people don't believe it.

Of course, there are many other examples of popular works being adapted into movies that failed, such as "The Chronicles of Narnia," whose influence is comparable to that of "The Lord of the Rings."

But... the Hunger Games was a success, an unparalleled success.

It just so happens to resonate with the rebellious and immature values ​​of most teenage viewers.

Of course, this movie is barely acceptable, with ratings of around 7 on both Douban and IMDb.

After reviewing the documents, the parties held a meeting.

“As you all have seen, the final product is just barely passable.” Amy Pascal said to Susan Collins, “Darling, I don’t mean anything by it. As one of the authors and as the producer, you’ve done your best.”

"You've done a great job."

"But everyone can see that it is definitely not a great work."

"Tom? What do you think?"

Tom Bernard, a familiar face to Sony's classic filmmakers, said slowly, "It's not a great movie. In terms of pure film quality, it's not as good as 'The Last of Us'."

"It doesn't have the same extraordinary significance as Kung Fu Panda."

“Lin, the success of ‘Journey to the End of the World’ was entirely your doing,” Tom Bernard said, “even though it was written two and a half years ago.”

"But I still have great respect for your talent. How much do you think we need to spend to promote it?"

Historically, this film was produced and distributed by Lionsgate, with a promotional cost of approximately $5000 million.

How to describe Lionsgate movies?
A second-tier film company? A second-tier distribution company? The king of B-movies?

Sony Columbia, on the other hand, is one of the six major Hollywood studios, an absolute powerhouse.

A production cost of $7000 million and a publicity cost of $5000 million are already enormous sums for Lionsgate.

But for Sony Columbia, it was a piece of cake. So when Lionsgate saw the global box office of "The Hunger Games" ($6.94 million), they were completely stunned.

Fuck...

Lionsgate has finally met its match?
How can it be so good? What makes it so good?
Moreover, Lionsgate's publicity strategy was very simple: buy ads on CNN and repeat the trailer for "The Hunger Games" ten times a day.

Hmm? This scene seems familiar, like I've seen it somewhere before.

Lin Xiao: "Will Sony Classics foot the bill for this advertising, or will I share the cost?"

This time, Lin Xiao really couldn't wait to share the advertising costs.

Because he is the largest producer, he is already entitled to a large share of the profits. If he can also get a share from distribution, he will make a fortune.

Tom Bernard: "So, tell me, roughly how much will the advertising cost?"

Lin Xiao: "Around 60 million US dollars, most of which was spent on television advertising and the internet. Facebook and YouTube were the main platforms for advertising."

Immediately, everyone's expression turned strange.

Isn't this just like transferring money from one side to the other?

Tom Bernard: "Lin, want to talk privately?"

Lin Xiao: "Okay."

The two went to another office.

“Lin, if this movie is just a promotional film for Facebook in the US, then its mission is accomplished, because Facebook in the US is already very, very successful.” Tom Bernard: “But for me, it’s just a movie, and I’m concerned with whether I can make money distributing it. You pay most of the production costs, but if the promotion costs are $60 million, then the global box office needs to be at least $200 million for me to barely break even.”

"From a friend's perspective, tell me, should I ask you to share the advertising costs?"

For the previous film, "The Last Days," Tom Bernard was unwilling to pay for the more than ten million dollars in promotional costs, but Lin Xiao ended up paying half of it and also taking a share of the distribution profits.

As a result, "The Last of Us" grossed $2.7 million worldwide.

Lin Xiao was short of money, and the revenue sharing from "The Hunger Games" was extremely important to him.

Because in eight months, he will have to repay more than $900 million in loans.

According to Lin Xiao's estimate, the global box office of "The Hunger Games" may be higher than in history because it has more hype. The first-place winner of the American talent show, can the ugly duckling turn into a swan?

This female protagonist embodies the hopes of countless female college students across the United States.

Therefore, even if Lin Xiao pays half of the advertising costs, he can ultimately get several times the return.

Sony Classics felt that spending $60 million was far too risky.

Lin Xiao: "You know I'm very, very short of money right now, but I'm very, very willing to spend $3000 million, or even more, on advertising so that I can take a share of the distribution profits."

"But from the perspective of friendship and long-term strategic cooperation, I advise you to bear all the publicity costs alone."

"Although it hurts me to say this, because it could cost me tens of millions of dollars in net profit."

Tom Bernard stared at Lin Xiao in surprise: "You actually think so highly of it? I could tell you didn't think much of this movie."

Lin Xiao: "The quality of a film and its box office performance are not entirely proportional."

Tom Bernard: "How much do you think it will gross?"

Lin Xiao: "What's your estimate?"

Tom Bernard thought for a moment: "I have a very bold estimate: $1 million in North America and $2.5 million globally."

Lin Xiao: "Then my estimate is higher than yours."

Tom Bernard: "How much higher?"

Lin Xiao: "Much, much taller."

Tom stared at Lin Xiao for a long time. The two had been dealing with each other for several years, and so far, all of their partners fully recognized Lin Xiao's character and morality.

“I won’t give you a chance. Sony Classics will cover all the advertising costs. It’s just sixty million dollars, right? We can afford to gamble that,” Tom laughed.

Lin Xiao made a gesture as if he had been shot in the chest.

But everything he said was true.

From a short-term profit perspective, he should indeed take advantage of the other party's lack of confidence, spend a portion of the publicity expenses, and then take a portion of the distribution profits.

But considering his long-term interests, he decided to tell the truth.

Sony Classics will probably be surprised to the point of being shocked by the final box office results.

..........................................

Next, Sony Classics announced that The Hunger Games will be released globally on July 13th!

They also spent $60 million on advertising, with $20 million of that going into online advertising, focusing on YouTube and Facebook.

In the Chinese mainland market, the film will be jointly distributed by Sony Classics and Bona Film Group.

However, Lin Xiao doesn't have high hopes for the film's box office performance in China.

Historically, it only had 1.34 million RMB.

After finalizing this, all that's left is to quietly wait for July 9th to arrive, and for the Hunger Games to explode in popularity.

As the main producer, he could earn hundreds of millions of dollars from box office revenue sharing and DVD and videotape sales.

Just then, Lin Xiao received a phone call from Masayoshi Son.

"Is it in the United States?"

Lin Xiao: "Yes."

Masayoshi Son: "California?"

Lin Xiao: "Yes."

Masayoshi Son: "Then let's go to Research Institute X and have a chat."

………………

The following day, Lin Xiao and Masayoshi Son met at the X Research Institute.

"First of all, you have less than eight months left to repay the loan." Masayoshi Son: "According to the contract, if you cannot repay this money, most of the shares of Dreamworld, Facebook in the United States, and YouTube overseas will belong to SoftBank Group."

"Based on their current valuations, your losses are astronomical, but so far you've been spending money and haven't seen any returns on your dollar assets."

"From a friend's perspective, I hope you can make money quickly so that you can pay off this huge debt of more than 900 million US dollars."

"But from a business perspective, if you really can't repay the money by then, I will not hesitate to execute the contract."

Lin Xiao: "I understand, thank you for reminding me, Mr. Sun."

Masayoshi Son: "The second thing is that Google is calling for the formation of a mobile technology alliance to win over a large number of mobile phone manufacturers. You should know that the core of a mobile operating system is not technology, or even the ecosystem, but the positioning of a large number of global giants."

"Google has the backing of many giants and has already gained immense power."

"But the support of SoftBank and Yahoo is too weak for your mobile operating system."

"Although you are a shareholder of ARM, ARM is destined not to take sides."

"So, have you ever thought about siding with another giant?"

Lin Xiao: "You mean... Microsoft?"

Immediately, Masayoshi Son was stunned, staring at Lin Xiao in disbelief and asking, "You...you have unique sources of business intelligence?"

Lin Xiao said, "No, I'm actually eager for your sharing."

Masayoshi Son said, "It's just an intention, only an intention. Microsoft has some interest in acquiring Yahoo!"

This matter was truly exposed in February 2008.

Unexpectedly, they've already gained interest and attention.

Masayoshi Son: "Although Microsoft is now the largest mobile operating system supplier, even if it's just to compete with Google or to share the risk, they can still invest a sum of money, such as our X Research Institute."

"In this way, X Research Institute can barely be considered part of the Microsoft ecosystem."

"This will be more advantageous in promoting this mobile phone system in the future. It will also benefit your reputation in China."

"Moreover, your Fallout 3 can also enrich Microsoft's game industry chain."

Lin Xiao: "Mr. Sun, two years ago, Wu Lingxi and I flew 5,000 kilometers to Washington to meet with Microsoft CEO Steve. We even made an appointment a week in advance. But even though he was at the company, he refused to see us and only sent a mid-level manager from the public relations department to fob us off. This was a huge humiliation."

"Besides, the so-called investment in Research Institute X is entirely your wishful thinking; Microsoft has no such intention at all, right?"

Masayoshi Son: "Microsoft's acquisition of Yahoo! Group is an astronomical figure, while its investment in X Research Institute is a small figure. They can be discussed together as a package deal, and Jerry Yang is willing to cooperate."

Lin Xiao: "That means we're begging Microsoft for investment, begging for protection, begging to join the Microsoft ecosystem. And even after we get a stake, they still won't give us a second glance or any support, because their focus remains on their own mobile operating system."

Masayoshi Son: "Having this title is better than having none."

Lin Xiao: "Mr. Sun, do you know what I'm thinking?"

Masayoshi Son: "I know."

Lin Xiao: "Isn't Microsoft currently focused on building its Xbox gaming empire? I'm going to make one classic game after another to beat it. I'll crush its halo, and crush Fable 2."

"I want people to come begging me to let my game be added to their Xbox platform."

“I can accept its investment in X Research Institute in the future, but not now. It’s when its mobile phone system fails and it actively begs to invest in my X Research Institute.”

"Instead of me begging for it."

Sun Zhengyi stared at Lin Xiao with his small eyes. Although they had been friends for several years and were very familiar with each other, his face still twitched slightly when he heard these words.

Microsoft is the world's number one technology giant, with a global reach. Why would they come begging to you?
Your assets and influence are nothing to them.

That's true, Microsoft is very powerful, but it also has many strategic flaws, which it hasn't been able to fix even more than a decade later.

But in Masayoshi Son's view, Lin Xiao really has a feeling of a hero fighting against a dragon when it comes to Microsoft.

But what bothers Lin Xiao the most right now is Microsoft and Google.

Especially domestically, these two forces, leading a large number of public intellectuals, launched a frenzied attack on Lin Xiao and the Lightning System.

For more than two years, the smear campaign and defamation have never stopped.

We must completely destroy Lin Xiao, this internet hero.

Then, they established a myth of submission to them.

In the United States, Microsoft and Google are somewhat adversaries. But in mainland China, they are united in their efforts to suppress Lin Xiao and the Lightning Group.

Masayoshi Son said helplessly, "I knew this would be the result. We've been dealing with each other for four years, I know you too well."

....................................

At Texas Instruments, the SOC that Lin Xiao requested has been designed in a full 18 months.

In just one and a half years!

It burned through about 400 million US dollars, and that was based on the reference design provided by ARM.

One tape-out after another.

Of course, things are not like they will be a decade or two from now, when each tape-out will cost tens of millions of dollars.

However, a million-level budget is still necessary.

This kind of money-burning method is simply unsettling.

At this time, Liang had been working at Samsung for over a year. Because of his connections, X Research Institute even considered whether to cooperate with Samsung Semiconductor.

However, in the end, the plan was abandoned.

Samsung did briefly have a slight lead over TSMC, but it is still behind for now.

The key point is that Lin Xiao had Texas Instruments design 45 nanometers as the standard, while TSMC's 45 nanometer process has only just become mature.

Therefore, the failure rate of this chip fabrication process is terrifying.

The boss at Texas Instruments was trembling with fear.

At that time, the manufacturing process was not as advanced as it would be more than a decade later, so the success rate of chip fabrication could still exceed 30%.

But the first failure, the second failure, the third failure, the fourth failure...

Not only Texas Instruments was questioning its existence, but the X Research Institute was also questioning its existence.

Is there something wrong with our design?
Should we send it back for a redesign?

Who knows how much that will cost?
The key issue is that it would be a huge blow to one's self-confidence.

For the past few months, Lin Xiao has been receiving calls all the time saying: chip fabrication failed.

After continuous revisions and modifications, everyone pinned their hopes on the fifth tape-out.

If it fails a fifth time, then that would truly be...

The fifth attempt also failed!

As a result, the two sides had to hold another high-level meeting. What's next?

The three parties discussed the problems involved and whether major changes to the design were necessary.

In that case, the cycle would be delayed by at least six months, and the phone's release would also be delayed by more than six months.

All I can say is, please don't!
Damn it, Er Gou's luck should have turned around starting in May of this year.

There should be more and more breaking points.

How can a series of failures of the most critical chip be explained?

If it really is reverted and undergoes large-scale changes, then Lin Xiao's money will truly be completely insufficient.

Because it is a completely new process, the cost of tape-out is very high. If there are problems with the design itself, then there is no point in continuously tape-outing and failing. It will only waste money and time.

After dozens of hours of meetings, the three parties decided to do it again!
Let's take another gamble.

The sixth tape-out process was carried out.

Therefore, sometimes you really have to believe in the concept of luck.

6 Month 18 Day!
Lin Xiao watched the sunrise from the mountaintop.

Then, he received a phone call.

The other person's voice was trembling.

"Lin, our design is flawless, flawless!"

"It's a problem with TSMC's process technology; their 45nm process is not yet fully mature."

"Our chip has been successfully taped out!"

Even a big boss like Ricky Tampton sounded like he was about to cry tears of joy at this moment.

..............................

Note: I'm a little early now, I'll be even earlier tomorrow. My benefactor, the dreaded double monthly votes are here! I almost dare not look at my ranking. If you have any monthly votes, please grant them to me! I would be eternally grateful!

(End of this chapter)