Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 163 Talent Arrives
New York 45, Roundtable Conference.

There were only two people at the table this time: Chen Xuebing and Ren Ying.

The person opposite me had an entire desk.

In addition to the screen opposite, there are three interface images on the computer.

Image 1: At the top of the interface are two long frame components, each containing a colorful image, corresponding to "Album" and "Calendar". Below are several small squares, corresponding to "Clock", "Music", "Games", and "Camera". At the bottom of the interface, there are three icons that are partially visible, indicating that the interface is not finished and can be scrolled down.

Image 2: The interface features a calendar with an ocean background. Below the image are four small folder icons, corresponding to "Lifestyle," "Entertainment," "Other Functions," and "Settings."

Image 3: The interface background is still ocean, with 16 icons, 12 at the top and 4 at the bottom. The four at the bottom correspond to "Phone", "Messages", "Camera" and "Music" respectively.

"Chairman, these are three homepages created according to your requirements, corresponding to the dazzling mode, drawer mode, and minimalist mode respectively. For comparison, we used images with similar color tones."

Chen Xuebing nodded: "Why is it a little burnt?"

"This image is quite large. It will be much clearer if the resolution is adjusted to 640×480 for a 3.6-inch screen."

"Oh, this... could you combine the drawer mode and the minimalist mode? For example, with two apps... if you long-press one and move it to the other, could you merge them into one folder?"

Chen Xuebing's words sparked a discussion on the other side.

Many people have started taking notes.

"It should be possible," someone replied.

Chen Xuebing became interested, put his hands on the table, and leaned closer to the computer, asking, "How long will it take to make a basic product with this interface?"

"Two months."

"I think a month and a half should be enough."

The answer came quickly from the other end.

Chen Xuebing was astonished: "So fast?"

Someone laughed.

"Chairman, HCI (Human-Computer Interaction), which is what you call UI design, is difficult because of its interaction concepts and operational logic."

"This is an industrial approach. The most classic example is the instrument panel in an aircraft cockpit. Older cockpit instrument panels all had buttons—round buttons, plastic buttons, metal buttons, and rotary buttons. The design of the instrument panel had to ensure that even pilots wearing gloves could feel that they hadn't pressed the wrong button."

"What we need to do is to allow users to experience this kind of interactive feeling while beautifying the interface."

"You came up with the design ideas; we're just responsible for implementation. A beautiful interface isn't difficult. We have plenty of time to optimize it over the course of a year."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuebing couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth.

Damn it, I knew we could catch up!

Before he could even enjoy the news for two seconds, Lu Weibing coughed and said, "This system can only run on a computer. This is based on the long-term development of the Linux system in the computer field. To achieve the effect you want on a mobile phone... it might be extremely expensive."

“I know.” Chen Xuebing stroked his chin. “The reason we’ve assembled such a comprehensive technical team is to solve how to run it on a mobile phone. Since the UI design isn’t a big problem, let’s talk about the issues that need to be addressed today.”

"Chairman, there are many problems, both in terms of software and hardware."

Dr. Zhang Hongbin from Jilin University, who is temporarily serving as the design team director, gave a speech.

"Our chip design and system development team worked with the UI design team for a period of time and found that the core of completing this interaction concept is multi-touch. All other interactions are derivatives of it, which is also the key to completing finger touch."

"But this technology is probably not as simple as you think, that capacitive screen manufacturers can provide."

“Through our research, we found that this technology was first developed by Bell Labs, and the technology originated almost entirely from the United States. Currently, New York University and Microsoft are both researching it. In addition, a company called Fingerworks invented a multi-point CNC soft keyboard, whose characteristics match your description, but it has now been acquired by Apple.”

At this moment, Huang Xiaohai, Zhang Hao's assistant who had worked in the United States, interjected: "Chairman, I've noticed that your aesthetic design approach is very similar to Apple's Aqua (the trademark name for Mac OS X's GUI). Their skeuomorphic design is very famous in the United States, and Steve Jobs highly praised it, believing that simulating the texture of real objects can make customers feel more immersed, reduce the learning cost, and reduce users' fear of technical operations... Apple has also acquired a company with this technology. Did your design approach refer to Apple and learn about the development progress of some of their projects? If so... we can study their system more."

This wild speculation stemmed purely from Chen Xuebing's boasting to Zhang Hao at the dinner table, claiming that he had a powerful investor in the United States.

Chen Xuebing thought to himself, "Holy crap!"

How did you even guess that?

At the same time, he felt a pressure.

Apple builds its R&D on a foundation of massive internal resources, while Apple itself started from scratch.

Fortunately, he possesses a unique foresight in design.

We need to release the first-generation product as soon as possible, get the platform up and running, and begin real technological accumulation.

With this thought in mind, looking at the group of young technicians who had gathered in Shenzhen from all over the country, Chen Xuebing's tone became serious:

"I admit that I drew inspiration from other sources when developing these ideas, but I never restricted your creativity. I know that Western technology is often seen as something unattainable. I named this project 'Tao' (The Way), a name that may not sound appealing, but its meaning is that I hope to have a Chinese interpretation in the mobile phone industry. You are the younger generation in China's IC design field, a pioneering generation. I hope that from now on, you will demystify the West, stop blindly following its lead, find our own 'Tao,' and create your own heaven! I can tell you my plan: for the first generation of products, we will combine the strengths of many to create a Chinese brand. From the second generation onwards, we will truly move towards a Chinese core!"

The voice was passionate, and everyone in New York 45 turned to look at them, stopping the typing.

There was a long silence on the other end.

No one expected that a boss who ran a pirated machine business would have such audacity.

Zhang Hongbin on the other end of the video stood up.

"Chairman, just for what you said, I'll make a solemn pledge: even if I don't eat or drink, we'll design the first version of the Heavenly Dao System's CPU within a year and a half!"

Lu Weibing, quite the mood manipulator, slammed his hand on the table: "The chairman's words are brilliant! Let's build our own Tiangong! I propose that our first CPU be named 'Tiangong-1'! What do you think?"

"it is good!"

Seeing that the crowd was getting excited and everyone wanted to applaud, Chen Xuebing coughed and raised his hand to stop them.

Good grief, you've even taken the name of China's first manned spacecraft.

However, it's worth taking advantage of this trend.

"Let's deal with the immediate issue first. Besides Microsoft, NYU, and Apple acquiring this company, are there any other options for multi-touch? Let's forget about technical branches and start with this soft keyboard. If all else fails, we can buy some keyboards, take them apart, and learn from them. I don't believe we can't copy it."

Apple's multi-touch technology definitely comes from this. Since there's a physical object, there's no need to waste time; if it doesn't work, just take it apart and copy it.

“We have a way.” Zhang Hongbin, who was standing, said, “The origin of the technology can be traced back even further. In 91, a professor at the Dahlmore Institute for Perceptual Artificial Intelligence developed a digital service desk that allowed users to touch and drag images on the touchscreen with multiple fingers at the same time. This technology is relatively old, and the United States will not restrict it. We can find this professor and ask him to grant us permission to conduct research.”

Chen Xuebing touched his chin.

"Is this research institute big? Can we just bring people over here?"

Multi-touch chips are an indispensable functional component since the advent of the smartphone era. They are also one of the system-on-a-chip components located on the phone's motherboard and can be manufactured, produced, and sold independently.

If this technology can be scaled up and a first-mover advantage can be gained, this sector alone could have a market capitalization of at least tens of billions in the future. Technological accumulation will also contribute to the future market capitalization of Singularity Technology, so starting from this technology is a very good direction.

“Um, it seems to be in Ohio.” Huang Xiaohai thought for a moment and said, “This research institute is one I found out. It’s not well-known and probably not a large one. I’ve also looked at their graduate teaching materials… In the United States, large research institutes generally focus on research, while small research institutes usually prioritize teaching and obtain funding by recruiting students and graduate students and applying for government grants.”

Chen Xuebing nodded. "A small research institute? That means they're broke."

He immediately made a decision: "Then let's think of a way to poach them directly. If it's inconvenient for them to come from the United States, I'll contact Emerson and go through their Canadian channels."

When everyone realized that the boss was serious, they started whispering among themselves.

Finally, Hsu Wen-feng, a Taiwanese engineer from SMIC, made his statement.

"Let me do it."

With the issue resolved, Zhang Hongbin reiterated:
"To achieve the desired functionality, some sensor processors are also needed, and there are very few domestic manufacturers of these."

"Then we'll contact foreign manufacturers to buy them, but we need to be careful to keep it confidential. We shouldn't show them the blueprints. We should send people to learn from them, and then assemble them ourselves. For this project, I won't make excessive demands on internal staff, but for external procurement, we must keep confidential everything that needs to be kept confidential."

Apple's first-generation research and development was top secret. All personnel were mobilized, and the release of the current iMac was postponed. The doors to the research and development department had multiple layers of security, all with combination locks. Researchers ate, drank, and relieved themselves inside. The sign on the outermost door read "Fight Club".

In the movie Fight Club, the first rule of Fight Club is: Don't talk about Fight Club itself.

Chen Xuebing also had an attitude that "stolen things are worthless." Otherwise, if today's discussion were at Apple, they would have to call each person into their office individually to give them instructions.

"By the way, has the programming language for developing the software been decided yet?" He remembered this important question and asked.

This determines the future development environment of the ecosystem.

The technicians on the other side exchanged glances.

"The architecture is written in C, the framework and RALL are used, and the cross-platform application uses JAVA."

"As long as you install a Java Virtual Machine, you can enter the Java ecosystem. We develop our system based on Linux, which is compatible with Java, so of course we'll use Java. Their software community has the largest number of users."

"JAVA's codebase is also much richer, with a longer history, and solutions to many problems are easier to find."

Everyone started talking at once.

Open source, community, learning resources, cross-platform compatibility, application areas.

Chen Xuebing sighed upon hearing this.

They are all other people's barriers.

"Now that it's open source, if we develop our own programming language based on their platform, wouldn't that be copyright infringement?"

The other side fell silent.

Lu Weibing smiled and said, "Chairman, if you use your most basic emotions to think about it, do you think they would agree?"

Chen Xuebing was speechless.

"Even if they don't do a good job, they might not necessarily sue," someone said.

Someone laughed again: "Yes, if you do well, they'll consider you a brother and incorporate what you develop into their language library."

They were all meant as jokes.

Zhang Hongbin coughed and said, "Chairman, if we really have this capability, it's not difficult. We can just buy a license from Sun Microsystems. It's just very expensive. The price will depend on the value of our development and we will have to develop it based on their agreement framework."

"Oh."

Chen Xuebing had been studying hard lately and felt he had a good understanding of the entire mobile phone system. Today, he was going to have an in-depth discussion with the researchers, but as soon as he asked a question, he was ridiculed by them.

Researchers are all fucking bad people, they think too highly of themselves, they even dare to make fun of their own fathers.

He also lost interest.

Zhang Hongbin then asked several more questions.

It's all about money.

The main issue is that Chen Xuebing has high requirements. Based on the price inquiries over this period, many of the items involve the latest technology, and the prices exceed the budget.

Half an hour later, the short research and development discussion came to an end, and Lu Weibing gave a concluding speech.

"Chairman, the cost of developing such a mobile phone is probably no less than 5000 yuan. How much do we sell it for? If we add tariffs, is there any possibility of exporting it?"

The discussion left Chen Xuebing somewhat disheartened; the selling price would likely far exceed Apple's, and the crucial operating system wouldn't even be as good.

He felt that perhaps it was a problem of the times.

There are 20 months between June 2007 and now. Technological iterations must be incredibly rapid these days.

Some things may have to wait.

But we need to figure out a way to release it before Apple does.

Just as I was about to speak, the phone rang.

The very first sentence brought a smile to Chen Xuebing's face.

"You're lucky."

Do you know who Lin Bin's master is?

Chen Xuebing nodded slightly: "I know, Kai-Fu Lee, what's wrong?"

If it weren't for Lin Bin's master, he might not even know who Lin Bin was.

Kai-Fu Lee's career is truly remarkable. He was a darling of Silicon Valley, and at the height of his success, he returned to China to help college students start their own businesses.

Chen Xuebing had followed him on social media.

Lei Jun was surprised: "It seems you really did your research. I only found out today."

Chen Xuebing smiled calmly: "What is it? Just say it."

"Kai-Fu Lee just left Microsoft to become Google's Global Vice President and President of Greater China this July. Lin Bin has no backing at Microsoft and is thinking of leaving. He's considering going to Google or starting his own business. I've intercepted your contact and asked him to come and check it out with you."

"He seems quite interested in the vibrant city of Shenzhen."

"However, you don't have much time. Microsoft has sued Kai-Fu Lee, saying he violated his non-compete agreement. His work scope is restricted until January 2006. Once he starts to make his mark at Google, he will definitely recruit his top protégés. You'd better offer good terms to poach Lin Bin before then."

(End of this chapter)