Chapter 1421 See the Future!

When Li Mu's heart to acquire Apple was more determined and more urgent, he announced his decision to the senior management of Muye Technology: immediately, a division dedicated to acquiring Apple will be formed, and the plan to acquire Apple will be fully promoted.

The general manager of the business department is Li Mu himself, and there are two vice presidents, one is Ding Jian, the business director who is good at capital operations, the other is the company's CTO Fang Xudong, there are two special advisers, and the other is Louis Martin, who knows the US stock market well. , One is Lei Jun, a genius programmer who became famous as a teenager.

What the entire division needs to do is to have an in-depth understanding and analysis of Apple's current capital structure and business status, not only to determine Apple's capital value, but also to find out Apple's current pain points and directions that may reverse the situation. A complete acquisition plan will also be developed.

After announcing the establishment of the division, Li Mu called Lei Jun and Fang Xudong, two technical talents, to his office.

After the three of them sat down in Li Mu's office, Li Mu said to the two: "Two, for Muye Technology, in the future, we must take root in the entire information technology field, not only at the software level, but also at the core technology level. There's the hardware, so right now we have a couple of really important priorities that you two need to take the lead on."

The two sat upright, waiting for Li Mu's next words.

Li Mu said: "First, sort out the global companies, products and patents in the field of mobile hardware, especially the microprocessor, and give me a detailed document. In the future, we can accept what we can and cannot accept it. take stock;

Second, in-depth study of the current PDA products on the market, especially their hardware and operating systems, as well as the software support for operating systems;

Third, in-depth study of the Symbian system developed by Nokia and several other communication product R&D companies, including the hardware selection of Nokia's product line, to measure the comprehensive strength of the Symbian system and its future development space;"

The two wrote down the three points mentioned by Li Mu in a small notebook with a pen, and then Lei Jun asked Li Mu, "Mr. Li, are you going to make a mobile smart terminal?"

Li Mu smiled slightly and said, "Mr. Lei, what you said in the conference room just now inspired me a lot. I don't know hardware technology, but I can be sure that the future development of science and technology cannot be separated from several trends. : The performance will be stronger and stronger, the power consumption will be smaller and smaller, the volume will be smaller and smaller, and the price will be lower and lower.”

Both nodded in agreement.

Li Mu went on to say: "Based on these four trends, I can basically conclude that in the future, we will be able to obtain a PC that is close to the current stage, or even surpasses the current stage PC, on a device the size of a PDA or a mobile phone. performance.

"

"this……"

Both were a little shocked.

The four trends mentioned by Li Mu are indeed established, and the development of computers over the years has also confirmed this. In the early years, the computer was larger than a high-power diesel generator set, and the power consumption was terrifyingly high, but the computing power used Measured by the current technology, it is extremely weak, and the current PC machine weighs only a dozen or 20 kilograms, but its performance is several times higher than that of the computers of earlier years.

However, this does not mean that computer technology can break through the next barrier and integrate a PC into a small mobile phone.

Both of them are technical talents, so although the two have a long-term vision, they are basically loyal to the technology itself, so it is difficult to imagine that the future technological development can reach the level that Li Mu said, just like a sci-fi author can easily put a Taiwan's nuclear fusion reactor is placed in a shoe, but nuclear experts clearly know how long the road to controllable nuclear fusion is still for mankind.

At this time, Li Mu saw the hesitation of the two and said: "Sometimes your imagination should not be limited by the current technology. Do you know that the author who writes online games at the starting point has already conceived a kind of The new game equipment in the future, it is a kind of helmet. After you wear it, you will have the same game screen as the real person's field of vision, so that you can be completely immersed in the game screen, and it can even distinguish your actions. , you turn your head, the vision you see also turns with you, you run, your in-game screen starts to run, you throw a punch, and your in-game screen also throws a punch."

Fang Xudong scratched his head: "After all, Mr. Li, even if this kind of thing is possible, I'm afraid it will take 30 to 50 years?"

Li Mu laughed and said, "You think it will take thirty to fifty years. I think it will be more than ten years at most, and it may even be shorter."

Speaking, Li Mu said sternly: "You must understand that the society we live in, technology is developing explosively, and if you push it forward twenty years, if you tell a computer expert that the overall space of a computer may be like a drawer in the future. It is very large, and its computing power will be ten times or even a hundred times higher than that of existing computers. He will definitely say that your brain is broken, but isn’t that the reality? Compared with the computers of 20 years ago, the difference between the computers of today and the Not a little bit, since it is possible for a computer to be reduced from the size of a room to the size of a drawer, why can't it be reduced to the size of a cell phone?"

The two looked at each other, and their hearts were a little loose.

Lei Jun said: "Mr. Li, what you said makes sense. We are indeed stuck in the current technological environment, so our imagination is somewhat lacking."

Li Mu nodded and said, "Look, there are more and more computer users now, and people's demand for computing is also growing. However, no matter how much lower the price of a PC is, or how strong people's purchasing power is, even if it is as strong as 13 One hundred million people have a computer, but people’s computing needs are still not fully met, why? Because there is no way to enjoy mobile computing, once he leaves the computer, he loses the computing power and the right to enjoy computing.”

"Similarly, the same is true of the Internet. Even if 1.3 billion people in the country have computers and all computers are connected to the Internet, when people stand up and leave the room where the computers are placed, they will not be able to enjoy the services of the mobile Internet. ."

The two nodded solemnly.

Li Mu went on to say: "Think about the development of the communication industry. It is precisely because human beings have the need for communication that someone invented the telegraph, but the cost of the telegraph hardware is too high, the operating cost is also high, and the communication method is single, which cannot meet the needs of most human beings. Therefore, someone invented the telephone. However, even if a telephone is installed in everyone's home in the world, once they leave their home, it is equivalent to cutting off the communication with the outside world. This is the communication industry in that era. The most fatal weakness, that's why someone invented the mobile phone, you see now, the penetration rate of mobile phones is already very high, and it will only increase."

"That's right." Lei Jun said very seriously: "If you look at it this way, mobile computing and mobile Internet will definitely become the next development direction of the Internet!"

Fang Xudong also agreed and said: "Mr. Li, your example is too convincing. All our previous thoughts were focused on PC-based Internet technology and services, but if we look at the long-term, the future will definitely be Towards portable and mobile development.”

Li Mu said with a smile: "The real era of mobile Internet may take a long time to come, but if we can recognize the direction and trend of this future development in advance, we can stand out among all similar enterprises."

After that, Li Mu added: "Look, mobile phones now can support JAVA program operation and GPRS network access. Companies like Saipan and Microsoft have developed special operating systems for mobile phones, which have already gone away. In the forefront, why can't we develop our own mobile operating system like them?"

Fang Xudong was dumbfounded and said: "Mr. Li, even if it is a mobile operating system, the technical reserves and manpower, financial resources, and time costs required behind it are very huge. We don't have this foundation at all now, and there is an operation like Microsoft. System overlord, the future mobile operating system is likely to be dominated by his family..."

Li Mu smiled slightly: "I'll answer your questions separately. You said that we don't have the technical reserves and capabilities. That's right. We don't have this foundation, but what if I bought Apple?"

Fang Xudong's expression became more frightened...

"If Apple is acquired..." Fang Xudong said excitedly: "With the foundation as the foundation, the difficulty of deriving a mobile operating system will be greatly reduced!"

Li Mu nodded and said with a smile, "I'll answer your second question next. Do you think Microsoft occupies most of the market on the PC side, so of course it can occupy the vast majority of the market on the mobile side?"

Fang Xudong asked Li Mu: "Isn't that right? Even if Microsoft hasn't made a big effort yet, once he does, I believe that whether it's Apple, Symbian or Palm will be hard to resist."

Li Mu shook his head and said: "You are a technician, you must know that in the PC field, it is indeed impossible to do Windows. This is not only related to the strategic positioning of the two companies, but also to the current general environment of the computer industry;

Compared with the routine that the Apple system is only sold with the whole Mac computer, the operation of the PC is much more flexible. Users can not only buy PCs of various brands to match Windows, but also buy a variety of hardware by themselves. Assembling a computer to match Windows has created a large number of PC manufacturers and hardware manufacturers for the PC industry, while Apple is only fighting alone;

Whether it's a large number of branded PCs, or a larger number of DIY hardware manufacturers, it leads to two situations:

The first is the huge productivity jointly supported by a large number of enterprises, which will lead to the output of PC machines and PC hardware hundreds of times that of Apple, and the coverage strength is also much greater than that of Apple;

The second is the ubiquitous and fierce competition caused by so many companies and such huge productivity. There will be competition among PC manufacturers, and there will also be competition among hardware manufacturers. That’s why Shenzhou jumped out to attack PCs. market, and the cost of DIY hardware has also dropped again and again, which ultimately leads to the continuous reduction of the cost of PCs, and the continuous reduction of costs has greatly improved the expansion speed of PCs. This is also the case with Mac computers. Can never catch up. "

Speaking of which, Li Mu suddenly made a big turn and said, "The DIY industry of PCs has become a tradition, which Apple cannot reverse, and even Microsoft cannot reverse, but you must understand that mobile phones are not PCs, they are equipped with ac computers, hardware and software. Match it and sell it as a whole! This means that the powerful advantages of PCs facing Mac computers do not exist in the mobile phone market!”

Lei Jun said excitedly: "Mr. Li is right! All Nokia mobile phones in the future may be equipped with Symbian system, but consumers can't buy another mobile phone and install Symbian by themselves, let alone DIY one by themselves. When the mobile phone comes out to install Saipan, the future mobile phone market must be a device that integrates software and hardware. In this way, Microsoft has lost the foundation of high firewood in the field of hardware DIY, and companies like Apple are equivalent to standing on the same level. A starting line!"

Li Mu snapped his fingers and said with a smile: "If we acquire Apple and develop a mobile operating system based on the basis, we have two choices, either to license the system and cooperate with major mobile phone manufacturers; or, we also go with Apple's The old way is to develop the system by ourselves, produce the hardware by ourselves, and sell them in bundles. The former allows us to quickly spread out, and the latter allows us to lock our business lines and lock in more profit margins. If our operating system is similar to Saipan, Microsoft There is no great competitiveness in comparison, then we choose the former, throw the product out, and directly compete with them at the manufacturer level. If our operating system is much stronger than theirs, then we choose the latter, and lock this kind of thing. Advantages, to create our own mobile phone brand, no matter what, the mobile Internet will be the future trend, we must plan ahead, whether it is hardware or software."

For Li Mu, the possibility of acquiring Apple also gave him a good opportunity to enter the smartphone market. In his eyes, a smartphone in the true sense is the full-touch and multi-touch technology pioneered by the iPhone. The new era of Steve Jobs' greatest creation.

Jobs started preparing for the iPhone in 2005, and officially announced the IOS and the first-generation iPhone in January 2007. It can be seen that it took Apple more than a year to develop the IOS and the iPhone. If he wins Apple this year, he will start immediately. It is still unrealistic to develop iOS and iPhone. After all, it is possible to develop a product like the iPhone if the hardware can keep up. Therefore, Li Mu expects that he can launch the iPhone and iOS system in the second half of 2006. It is already very good.

Before that, the smartphone field was completely dominated by early operating systems like Saipan. Until the explosive rise of Apple in 2010, the mobile phone market in the middle was just Nokia's back garden, making Nokia's income so huge that it was difficult to imagined profits.

And Li Mu is now preparing to acquire Apple. If he really takes Apple down, why not develop a castrated version of IOS system that is comparable to Saipan? This castrated version of iOS does not need to consider touch control, nor does it need the huge structure of the official version of iOS. As long as it can beat Saipan, you can go grab money from Nokia first.

Apple has accumulated 20 years of technology on the Internet. It took more than a year to develop iOS on this basis. If a castrated version of iOS is developed, I am afraid that it will be almost half a year. The castrated version of iOS can suppress Nokia's momentum first, and at the same time help iOS Early access to market users.

More importantly, the castrated version of iOS can be launched two years ahead of the official version of iOS. In the past two years, Li Mu can use the influence of Muye Technology to attract major software vendors around the world to develop software based on the castrated version of iOS and create iOS software. Ecology, in this case, when the official versions of iOS and iPhone come out, it will not be a newborn calf, but a gorgeous upgrade of an old bird.

In the last life, the iPhone was in Apple's hands. From the birth of the first generation iPhone to the global popularity of the iPhone 4, it took Apple three and a half years. However, if he could use the castrated version of iOS to warm up in 2004-06 , By the time the iPhone was launched in the second half of 2006, the goal that Apple had achieved in three and a half years may have been achieved within three months!

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