The world is in trouble

Chapter 325 Continued Glory! The Sky Has Collapsed!

On March 7, 2010, the annual Oscars ceremony was held once again at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

WeChat and Quantum Phone were still present at this year's Oscars ceremony, remaining the biggest sponsors.

Tonight, Lin Xiao, along with the CEO of Dream Vision, the CEO of Sony Columbia, and the CEO of Sony Classic, were all present and seated in the first row, almost in the very center.

Kung Fu Panda was nominated last year, but did not win.

This year, The Graveyard Book was nominated again, and its biggest competitor remains Disney's Up.

Moreover, Lin Xiao was clearly more popular now than he was last year.

Because he was featured on camera very frequently in television programs broadcast globally.

In addition, the host, actors, and director would often mention Lin Xiao when joking around.

Lin Xiao was even the presenter for the Best Original Screenplay award.

However, I don't know how to describe this year's winner of Best Original Screenplay, The Hurt Locker, or whether it deserves the award.

Finally... it's time for Best Animated Feature.

At this time, many people at Dream Vision did not go home, but stayed in the company to watch the Oscars live.

Everyone was holding beer, red wine, champagne, and so on.

Lyon and Zhang Yin were also in the crowd. She was obviously much more relaxed than before, and she had put on makeup again, which made her oriental beauty shine even more.

"This year's Oscar nominees for Best Animated Feature include The Graveyard Book, Up, The Princess and the Frog, The Secret of Kells, and Fantastic Mr. Fox."

"The winner is The Graveyard Book!"

Immediately, the entire audience erupted in thunderous applause.

Meanwhile, cheers erupted from inside the Dream Vision Company.

"Long live the Second Dog Cult Leader!"

"Long live the Cult Leader!"

"Long live the king!"

Zhang Yin jumped up with her boyfriend and shouted loudly, "Long live Master Er Gou!"

Lin Xiao did not intend to go on stage to accept the award, but instead handed the honor to Susan, the producer and CEO of Dream Vision.

As a result, Susan, dressed in her finest attire, stood up from her seat and went straight to Lin Xiao, hugging and kissing him. Then, she took his arm, trying to force him to go on stage with her to receive the award.

Lin Xiao shrugged and then had no choice but to follow her onto the stage.

The presenter for this award was none other than Edwin Catmull, the head of Pixar.

Holding the Oscar trophy reluctantly, he said to Lin Xiao and Susan, "Susan, Lin, this originally belonged to Pixar, and you stole it from us."

"However, if I were to vote, I would still vote for The Graveyard Book. It is just too good."

"Thanks to the appearance of Eastern Fantasy, Pixar is no longer so lonely."

"Of course, there's DreamWorks too, sorry, sorry!"

Then, he handed the trophy to Lin Xiao and Susan.

The two of them held the trophy together and raised it high.

The acceptance speech was then given to Susan.

She naturally expressed her gratitude profusely, covering every detail.

"Finally, thank you, Lin!"

"Thank you to the most handsome boss in the world."

"You are like an angel, fulfilling the dreams of countless people, including mine."

"Even now, I still feel like I'm in a dream, and everything seems so unreal."

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

The Graveyard Book won an Oscar; if it had happened a few years ago, it would have caused a huge uproar in China.

However, by 2010, it had only caused a minor sensation.

Because in many people's eyes, this is just icing on the cake for Er Gou, the leader of the cult.

Not only him as a person, but even the movie "The Graveyard Book" has created too many miracles.

This movie broke the opening weekend box office record, and everyone knew it would definitely break the total box office record, and most likely it would exceed 15 billion.

but……

Everyone still underestimates it.

I didn't expect it to have such a strong staying power; the Spring Festival film season is right after the New Year film season.

In the past, the Chinese film industry saw a lukewarm reception during the Spring Festival season, and it wasn't given much attention. This was because almost all cinemas were located in first- and second-tier cities, while during the Spring Festival, a large number of people returned to rural areas, third- and fourth-tier cities, and even small counties to celebrate the New Year.

The explosive growth of the Chinese film market in recent years has led to a surge in cinemas in third- and fourth-tier cities.

Then, the entire Spring Festival film season suddenly became very strong.

The Graveyard Book and Avatar became the biggest beneficiaries.

Avatar remains incredibly popular worldwide, continuing to amaze everyone and creating a box office miracle.

In the Chinese market, its final box office still exceeded 1.3 billion yuan.

However, as a work by Er Gou, "The Graveyard Book" ultimately grossed over 20 billion!
The entire market was thrilled, or even trembled with excitement.

This data completely exceeded all expectations and predictions.

Just last year, the entire market was desperately trying to break through one billion, but now it has directly broken through two billion.

This isn't just breaking through the ceiling; it's literally lifting the sky off the ground.

Of course, roughly half of the box office revenue generated by this film should be attributed to 2010.

Even so, the total box office revenue of Chinese films in 2009 reached 119 billion yuan, almost doubling compared to historical figures.

And this increase in data is almost entirely due to Lin Xiao's efforts.

Over the years, this has brought tremendous growth to the entire market.

Of course, it also comes down to the growing consumption demands of the people, because historically, China's box office revenue in 2010 increased by 70% compared to 2009.

The Graveyard Book has grossed over $12 billion worldwide.

It became Sony's highest-grossing film of all time worldwide.

Therefore, the Oscar win for this film is merely icing on the cake.

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

On another battlefield.

Or rather, for Lin Xiao, it was the most important main battlefield.

In February, Google's most important flagship phone, manufactured by HTC, and Google's first-generation Nexus One, was officially released.

This phone is almost unrecognizable compared to its historical counterparts.

Compared to previous Android phones, this is a true flagship.

Whether it's the appearance, the workmanship, or the internal configuration, it's all flagship-level.

First, it uses Qualcomm's MSM8260 processor, the first to use a 45-nanometer process, and its performance is comparable to Quantum Technology's X1.5.

In addition, since it is still a 4-inch screen, it did not aggressively upgrade to 720P, nor did it conservatively choose 480P. Instead, it chose LG's 640P.

Furthermore, in terms of the camera module, we are finally able to obtain Sony's IMX145 sensor.

Basically, all the mainstream configurations have been maxed out.

Google also held a spectacular launch event for the phone and conducted a massive global promotional campaign.

And they even tried to steal the title of "King of Machines".

In a sense, it was a success.

This phone truly created a sensation. At the time, it was met with endless praise from the media.

"This is the best of times because the fierce competition among the three camps has propelled the entire technology industry forward at a visible pace, ultimately benefiting global consumers."

"This is a true flagship phone from Google, a product that is in no way inferior to the Quantum NOTE."

Many video bloggers and testing media around the world have given objective evaluations.

"This product is the best in the world in every aspect."

"Whether it's system smoothness, system aesthetics, screen, industrial design, SOC performance, camera performance, etc., it is in no way inferior to the Note of Quantum Technology."

"The only shortcoming is still the entire system ecosystem. But Google has been working hard to make up for it, and basically any app can find a corresponding alternative."

This seems like a remarkable comeback for Google.

Whether it's Google, HTC, or even global mobile phone manufacturers, they are all eyeing this product.

If its sales explode, causing Android's market share to rise again and begin to catch up with Quantum Technology's X operating system.

Then the vast majority of mobile phone manufacturers will once again firmly stand their ground and continue to side with Android.

Google and HTC are also very willing to spend money, launching massive advertising campaigns globally, completely following the quantum technology approach.

Meanwhile, Google is aggressively pursuing its acquisition of Motorola.

If the acquisition is successful, it will be a shot in the arm for the entire Android camp.

In addition, Motorola has a vast number of patents, which will likely lead to another patent war between Google and quantum technology.

News media around the world are almost all following this mega-acquisition.

This negotiation is much earlier and much more urgent than in history.

Even authoritative media outlets have begun tracking the progress of the acquisition's success.

Many television stations, telecommunications experts, and economists have offered their commentary.

"This acquisition is very, very important to Google, and of course it is also important to quantum technology."

"Once Google acquires Motorola, it will have a very strong brand backing and a super strong base."

"Of course, the most important thing is that Google can wield the patent stick more fiercely and start a patent war."

"As the pioneer of mobile communications, Motorola possesses an astonishing number of core patents. With these patents, Google can not only wage a large-scale patent war on quantum technology, but more importantly, it can exert patent intimidation on mobile phone manufacturers worldwide."

“We know that Qualcomm is behind Google’s Android, while Texas Instruments is behind quantum technology in the communications field. Once Motorola is fully owned by Google, it will have strong control over patents. At that time, other mobile phone manufacturers will likely be more determined to side with Google’s Android in order to avoid patent sanctions from Google.”

"So I can't quite understand why Quantum Technology isn't joining this acquisition battle. We think Quantum Technology is the one that needs Motorola's massive patent portfolio the most. Although the price of over 10 billion US dollars is staggering, Quantum Technology has the backing of an entire country, so they might be able to come up with the money."

The global media are hyping it up more and more.

They have even repeatedly captured photos of meetings between the Google team and the Motorola team.

Moreover, representatives from both Google and Motorola have been making statements to the world, making the progress of the acquisition increasingly clear.

Microsoft, which initially caused some ripples in this acquisition, now seems to have fallen silent.

Many media outlets have concluded that Microsoft has likely given up completely.

Otherwise, given Microsoft's style, if they were to get involved in the negotiations, it would definitely cause a huge uproar.

Everyone still vividly remembers that in 2008, when Microsoft was going to acquire Yahoo!, the entire process, from the initial announcement to the end of negotiations, lasted about six months.

During that period, this acquisition dominated the most important pages of global technology media for a full six months.

Of course, the negotiations ultimately failed.

As it turns out, Microsoft's decision to abandon the acquisition was a wise one, because Yahoo! is now truly in decline, and even the so-called Silicon Valley queen Theresa May couldn't turn things around.

This so-called queen of Silicon Valley is not as magical as one might imagine.

Yahoo's financial reports may have looked slightly better in the short term, but that was due to cost-cutting measures; Yahoo has made little progress in increasing revenue.

Conversely, since Jerry Yang left Yahoo, Twitter, which has focused on its core business, is making rapid progress.

So the current Queen of Silicon Valley has changed; it's not the so-called Theresa May, but rather Wu Lingxi, the CEO of Facebook.

Although Facebook still stubbornly refused to go public, its valuation at this point far exceeded that of Yahoo! Group.

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

As April arrived, negotiations between Motorola and Google intensified.

More and more information is being released.

Everyone could almost see the progress bar for the acquisition's success, reaching 70%.

80%.

90%.

95%.

Just when everyone thought the dust had settled.

Suddenly, a secret was revealed: it wasn't Google that successfully acquired Motorola, but Microsoft.

When this secret was first revealed, no one believed it; they thought it must be fake news.

Because of the constant stream of fake news during this period, there were even reports of quantum technology joining the acquisition battle.

Moreover, this is not Microsoft's usual style.

But...more and more signs suggest that this may not be fake news.

Google's statements on this matter have become more low-key.

The result was on April 28th!
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer officially announced to the media that Microsoft's acquisition of Motorola has been a great success.

The CEO of Motorola also stated that the two sides have basically reached an agreement.

Microsoft will acquire Motorola's mobile devices division for $159 billion.

The next step for this acquisition is to be approved by major political systems around the world.

Almost immediately after both sides announced the success of the negotiations, relevant Chinese departments made a direct statement at an official press conference.

"We have received the information you provided. Our Department of Commerce has, in principle, approved Microsoft's acquisition of Motorola."

Everyone was taken aback.

Damn, you're reacting so proactively?
The EU and Japan have not yet responded.

Have Microsoft and Motorola already submitted relevant reports? Normally, China is usually one of the last to respond, isn't it?
However, many people understood.

Under normal circumstances, Chinese departments are able to use this power to gain leverage, so they will use it cautiously.

However, this acquisition is very beneficial to Quantum Technology, and most importantly, Quantum Technology and Microsoft may have already reached a number of agreements.

That's why China responded so quickly.

Japan's response has also been quite positive.

Not only Microsoft is putting in a lot of effort, but even Masayoshi Son is putting in a little effort as well.

As one of the most important shareholders of Quantum Technology, this acquisition is also very much in his interest. The decision was made after multiple discussions with Lin Xiao: kill Google's Android first, and deal with Microsoft's mobile operating system later.

Therefore, it is highly likely that Japan will approve the acquisition soon.

It was at this moment that Microsoft launched a powerful counterattack!

He formally sued HTC for infringing on several Microsoft patents and demanded a sales ban on HTC phones in the US market.

This powerful punch came earlier than anything in history.

Microsoft harbors deep resentment towards HTC for betraying them.

This blow was like the sky falling down on HTC.

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Note: I'm done for the day. Could you please keep giving me your monthly votes, my benefactor? Thank you so much!

(End of this chapter)