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Chapter 288 Can Ernst Save Apple?

Cupertino, Silicon Valley.

Sunlight streamed through the glass facade of Apple's headquarters, illuminating Steve Jobs' office.

At this moment, the key figure of Apple was staring at Ernst in front of him, his eyes as complex as an old computer filled with code, expressing regret, lingering fear, amazement, and also a sense of kinship.

He had actually discovered the opportunities in the field of music burning software long ago.

In the past, listening to a song was like doing scientific research. First, you had to put the CD into the CD player, wait for the computer to read it for a long time, and then carefully perform various tedious operations before you could burn it. If you made a mistake in one of the steps, the CD would be burned into a waste specimen.

Not to mention going out to listen to music, carrying a few CDs is like carrying a brick. If you want to listen to an obscure song, you have to rummage through your bag, like you're looking for treasure.

But as soon as Google Tunes was released, Jobs immediately deleted all his ideas about music software, just like a student who had seen the standard answer.

This has always been something he regrets. If he had developed his ideas before Google, he could have replaced Google Tunes, and perhaps Ernst wouldn't have entered this field in the first place.

What he feared most was seeing the iPod. He felt that this music player was created specifically for Google Tunes music management software, a portable music playback device that perfectly complemented Google Tunes, the two being a perfect combination like twins.

If Apple had entered the music management software field back then, Google Tunes, with its iPod, would only have proven that Apple had developed a failed product.

This loss has absolutely nothing to do with the performance of the software itself; it's purely a major mishap due to hardware compatibility issues.

What amazed him was Ernst's brilliant idea. He stared down at the unreleased music player in his hand, admiring it as if it were a rare treasure, unable to look away.

As a perfectionist with a design background, Steve Jobs was willing to guarantee that this thing would be an absolute sensation once it hit the market, with consumers scrambling to buy it and lines stretching from Cupertino to San Francisco.

The iPod's appearance is so perfect and impactful, it's as if it's a combination of technological sophistication and artistic beauty that has been broken down and then pieced back together.

The box, about the size of a playing card, is made of white polycarbonate fiber and set in a mirrored stainless steel shell. It is simple yet stylish, and its unique charm is like a light bulb in the dark, making it instantly noticeable.

Jobs liked it more and more as he looked at it, running his fingers lightly over the casing, secretly marveling at how perfectly the design suited his taste.

In terms of user interface design, the iPod also overturned the traditional concepts of consumer electronics products.

In the past, selecting a song required repeatedly pressing the plus and minus signs, and finding a song later in the list could make your fingers ache.

But the iPod is different. With the scroll wheel, you can select songs with a simple swipe, and the menu moves smoothly like flowing water, maximizing convenience.

This seemingly simple design delivers an unparalleled user experience, so exhilarating it makes you want to scream.

Everything was so perfect, but the perfection of the iPod didn't stop there.

Jobs stroked the iPod's data port, his voice full of emotion, "I never expected that what I thought was a failed development by Apple would be turned into something great by you."

Ernst's eyes practically bulged with laughter upon hearing this; he felt incredibly pleased.

The feeling of showing off in front of the original owner was even more exhilarating than drinking an ice-cold cola—it was just so satisfying.

"There was no other way. We searched all over the world for interfaces and finally found that Apple's Firewire was the most suitable."

He raised his hand and pointed at the iPod in the other person's hand. "With such a large song storage capacity, the transfer speed is a major problem that must be solved."

"Most of the USB interfaces on the market now take about a minute to transfer a song. If I have to transfer hundreds or thousands of songs, I can't expect users to hold their iPods and wait for several hours or even more than ten hours, can I? I guess users would line up on the street to yell at me."

After saying that, Ernst changed the subject, his tone implying that he wanted something in return: "But speaking of which, you should thank me properly."

Jobs was already used to Ernst's shamelessness. He rolled his eyes and retorted without hesitation, "Thank you? You have the nerve to say that for such a paltry fee for using the technology?"

Ernst called him and said he wanted to use the Firewire interface developed by Apple. He didn't think much of it at the time, thinking that the interface was not very useful to Apple, so he readily agreed and even gave a very low licensing price.

Looking back now, he's filled with deep regret.

If he had known earlier that this interface would be so useful and compatible with the iPod, he would have definitely asked for an exorbitant price.

After all, Apple isn't having an easy time either, with annual losses projected to exceed one billion dollars. It would be great if they could make more money to alleviate the pressure.

Seeing Jobs' reaction, Ernst immediately adopted a ungrateful look, saying, "Don't be so ungrateful. Once the iPod becomes a hit, Apple's Firewire interface will definitely be promoted, and you can collect patent fees all over the world. That's a considerable sum of money."

The Firewire interface was developed by Apple itself and was only completed last year. However, Apple does not currently need such a high-speed transmission interface, so the project is temporarily a failure.

Now that the iPod has found a new home, the Firewire connector can finally be put to use, and Apple can even collect patent fees from it, turning something useless into something valuable.

But Jobs didn't want to get entangled with Ernst on this topic. He knew Ernst too well, and if they continued talking, this shameless guy might try to take advantage of him and ask for some kind of kickback.

So he quickly steered the conversation back to the iPod, "That's a brilliant idea! How did you come up with the idea of ​​shrinking the hard drive size?"

Ernst smiled and began to teach Jobs, saying, "In my opinion, the iPod is just a miniature computer that can only play music."

"Computers have large storage capacity, but they are too big to be carried around. You can't expect users to carry their computers around to listen to music, can you? Cassette players and CD players can be carried around, allowing music lovers to listen to music anytime, anywhere, but their storage space is too small. They can't hold many songs, and you can only listen to the same few songs over and over again."

"Since they each have their own pain points and advantages, why not combine them to create a portable mini computer that focuses solely on music functionality?"

"After having this idea, I started to think about it. The most critical problem was the size of the hard drive. A 3.5-inch hard drive is too bulky. If it's installed in an iPod, wouldn't the iPod be like a brick? Besides, the iPod doesn't need that much storage capacity."

"So I thought, since we don't need such a large storage capacity, could we reduce the size of the hard drive?"

Ernst looked at the iPod in Jobs' hand with satisfaction and shrugged. "You see, my idea has finally come true. The 1.8-inch 5GB hard drive not only allows the iPod to store up to 1000 songs, but also leaves enough space for the battery so that users can listen to music continuously for more than eight hours."

This is why Jobs felt a mutual respect; he felt that Ernst and he were the same kind of people, both perfectionists and idealists who aspired to create the future.

If he were to lead such a product, he wouldn't dare say he would do a better job than Ernst, but he would certainly change the world completely, just like the iPod.

He frowned, narrowed his eyes, and asked the final question, "iPod, iCEO, iMac, what exactly are you trying to say?"

When he returned to Apple, he specifically created the position of iCEO, and the new computer that Apple was developing was named iMac. Ernst couldn't possibly have been unaware of these things.

Now, the products launched by iTech are called iPods, which, like Apple's iCEO and iMac, all have an "i" in them. This makes Steve Jobs wonder whether Ernst wants to use the same naming system as Apple's products, or whether this guy actually has ideas about Apple itself.

"If I wanted to acquire Apple, I wouldn't have used this name; wouldn't that reveal my intentions?"

Ernst was playing a game of hiding the truth from the truth. He not only had his eyes on Apple, this lucrative company, but he also wanted Apple to become a follower of his i-series.

Jobs thought about it for a moment and realized that Ernst's words made sense.

He didn't really care who would acquire Apple; what he really cared about was, if Ernst really took over Apple, whose opinion should be listened to when the two disagreed on product development?

After all, both he and Ernst are people with their own ideas, and if they really start arguing, the scene would probably be quite a spectacle.

Jobs shook his head, dismissing those random thoughts. He looked at Ernst and said with a hint of teasing, "So you didn't come all this way just to give me this little trinket, did you?"

"In fact, I do need Apple's help. As you know, iTech is a new company with no foundation in sales channels. So I need Apple's stores to help me distribute the iPod."

Ernst approached not only Apple, but also distributors in almost every developed region of the world, so whether or not Apple helped distribute the iPod was irrelevant to him.

The reason he specifically sought out Steve Jobs was because Apple was having a really tough time lately, with annual losses projected to exceed one billion dollars, and the entire company was in a gloomy mood.

Ernst wanted to use the huge sales of the iPod to gradually leave an impression on Apple's shareholders.

Ernst is someone who can bring profits to Apple, and the products he creates align with Apple's philosophy.

Once the shareholders gradually accept this idea, some people will start to wonder: since Ernst is so capable, could he save Apple?

Once this idea is planted in the minds of the shareholders, it will be much easier for him to take over Apple in the future.

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