When Li Mu's determination to acquire Apple became more determined and urgent, he announced his decision to the senior management of Makino Technology: starting immediately, he would form a business unit specifically for acquiring Apple and fully promote the plan to acquire Apple.
The general manager of the business unit is personally served by Li Mu, and there are two vice presidents, one is the commercial director Ding Jian who is good at capital operations, and the other is the company's CTO Fang Xudong. There are two special consultants, and the other is Louis Martin who knows the U.S. stock market well. , one is Lei Jun, a genius programmer who became famous at a young age.
What the entire business unit needs to do is to conduct an in-depth understanding and analysis of Apple's current capital structure and business status. It must not only determine Apple's capital value, but also find out Apple's current pain points and possible directions to reverse the situation. A complete acquisition plan must also be worked out.
After announcing the establishment of the business unit, Li Mu called two technical talents, Lei Jun and Fang Xudong, to his office.
After the three people sat down in Li Mu's office, Li Mu said to them: "Both, for Makino Technology, in the future we must take root in more core technologies in the entire information technology field, not just at the software level, but also at the software level. There’s hardware, so right now we have a few very important priorities that we need you two to take the lead on.”
The two of them 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 microprocessors, and compile a detailed document for me. In the future, we will collect what we can and fight for what we cannot. buy shares;
Second, conduct an in-depth study of the PDA products currently on the market, especially their hardware and operating systems, as well as the software support of the operating systems;
Third, conduct an 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, and measure the overall strength of the Symbian system and its future development space;”
The two of them wrote down the three points mentioned by Li Mu in a small notebook. Then Lei Jun asked Li Mu: "Mr. Li, are you planning to make a mobile smart terminal?"
Li Mu smiled slightly and said: "Mr. Lei, what you just said in the conference room inspired me a lot. I don't understand hardware technology, but one thing I can be sure of is that the future development of science and technology is inseparable from several trends. : The performance will become stronger and stronger, the power consumption will become smaller and smaller, the size will become smaller and smaller, and the price will become lower and lower."
Both of them nodded in agreement.
Li Mu continued: "Based on these four trends, I can basically conclude that in the future, we will be able to achieve a level of performance that is close to or even beyond the current PC on a PDA or mobile phone-sized device. performance."
"this… "
Both of them were a little shocked.
The four trends mentioned by Li Mu are indeed true, and the development of computers in recent years has also confirmed this. In the early years, computers were larger than a high-power diesel generator set, and their power consumption was terrifyingly high, but their computing power was not enough. Measured by today's technology, it is simply weak to the extreme. Today's PCs weigh only a dozen or twenty kilograms in total, but their performance is several times higher than that of computers in 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 they have a long-term vision, they are basically loyal to the technology itself. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine that future technological development can reach the heights that Li Mu mentioned, just like science fiction authors can easily A nuclear fusion reactor is placed in a shoe, but nuclear experts know clearly in their hearts how long mankind still has to go before controllable nuclear fusion.
At this time, Li Mu saw the hesitation of the two people and said: "Your imagination should not be limited by the current technology. Do you know that the author who writes online game novels on Qidian.com has already conceived It is a brand-new gaming equipment in the future. It is a helmet. After you put it on, you will have a game screen that is the same as a real person's field of vision. This will allow you to be completely immersed in the game screen, and it can even Determine your movements. When you turn your head, the field of view you see will also turn around with you. When you run, your image in the game will also start to run. If you punch, your image in the game will also punch."
Fang Xudong scratched his head: "After all, it is a novel, Mr. Li. Even if this kind of thing is possible, it will probably take thirty to fifty years, right?"
Li Mu laughed and said: "You think it will take thirty to fifty years, but I think it will only be more than ten years at most, and it may even be shorter."
As he spoke, Li Mu said sternly: "You have to understand that in the society we live in, technology is developing explosively. If you push forward twenty years, if you tell a computer expert that the entire computer space in the future may be like a drawer, then Large, and the 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 the actual situation like this? Compared with the computers of today, there is a huge gap between the computers of twenty years ago. Not just a little bit, but since it’s possible for a computer to shrink from the size of a room to the size of a drawer, why can’t it be reduced to the size of a mobile phone?”
The two of them looked at each other, feeling a little relieved.
Lei Jun said: "Mr. Li, what you said makes sense. We are indeed somewhat stuck in the current technical environment, so we lack imagination."
Li Mu nodded and said: "You see, there are more and more computer users now, and people's demand for computing is also increasing. However, no matter how the price of PCs is reduced, no matter how strong people's purchasing power is, even if it is as strong as 13 One billion people each have a computer, but people's computing needs are still not fully satisfied. Why? Because they cannot enjoy mobile computing. Once they leave the computer, they lose their computing power and the right to enjoy computing."
"Similarly, the same goes for the Internet. Even if 1.3 billion people across 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 mobile Internet services. .”
The two nodded with solemn expressions.
Li Mu continued: "Think about the development history of the communication industry. It is precisely because humans have communication needs that someone invented the telegraph. However, the cost of telegraph hardware is too high, the operating cost is also high, and the communication method is single, which cannot satisfy most human beings. communication needs, so someone then invented the telephone. However, even if a telephone was installed in every home in the world, once they left home, they would be cut off from communication with the outside world. This was the role of the communications industry in that era. The most fatal weakness is that someone invented the mobile phone. You see, the penetration rate of mobile phones is already very high, and it will only get higher."
"That's right." Lei Jun said very seriously: "Looking at it this way, mobile computing and mobile Internet will definitely become the next development direction of the Internet!"
Fang Xudong also said with special agreement: "Mr. Li, your example is so convincing. All our previous thoughts were focused on Internet technology and services with PC as the core. However, if we look at the long term, the future will definitely be Toward portable and mobile.”
Li Mu smiled and said: "The real mobile Internet era may take a long time to arrive. However, if we can recognize the direction and trend of this future development in advance, we will be able to stand out among all similar companies."
Having said that, Li Mu added: "Look, today's mobile phones can already support JAVA program running and GPRS network access. Companies like Symbian and Microsoft have developed dedicated operating systems for mobile phones, and they have already developed special operating systems for mobile phones. At the forefront, why can't we develop our own mobile operating system like them?"
Fang Xudong was stunned and said: "Mr. Li, even if it is a mobile operating system, the technical reserves, manpower, financial resources, and time costs required behind it are also very huge. We don't have this foundation at all now, and there are operations like Microsoft. System overlord, the future mobile phone operating system is likely to be dominated by his family... "
Li Mu smiled slightly: "I'll answer your questions separately. You said we don't have the technical reserves and capabilities. That's right. We don't have this foundation. But what if I acquire Apple?"
Fang Xudong's expression became even more frightened...
"If Apple were acquired..." Fang Xudong said excitedly: "With MacOS as the foundation, the difficulty of deriving a mobile operating system will be greatly reduced!"
Li Mu nodded and said with a smile: "I will answer your second question next. Do you think that since Microsoft occupies the vast majority of the market on the PC side, it will naturally occupy the vast majority of the market on the mobile side?"
Fang Xudong asked Li Mu: "Isn't it right? Even if Microsoft hasn't exerted its power yet, once it does, I believe it will be difficult for Apple, Symbian, and Palm to resist it."
Li Mu shook his head and said: "As a technician, you must understand MacOS. In the PC field, MacOS will never be able to surpass Windows. This is not only related to the strategic positioning of the two companies, but also to the current environment of the computer industry. related;
Compared with Apple's MacOS system, which is only sold with Mac computers, the operation of PCs is much more flexible. Not only can users buy PCs of various brands to match Windows, but they can even buy various The hardware assembles a computer to match Windows, which creates a large number of PC manufacturers and hardware manufacturers for the PC industry, while Apple only works alone;
Whether it is a large number of brand-name PCs or a larger number of DIY hardware manufacturers, it has led to two situations:
The first is the huge productivity supported by a large number of enterprises, which will lead to the production of PCs and PC hardware hundreds of times that of Apple, and the coverage intensity will be much greater than that of Apple;
The second type is the ubiquitous fierce competition caused by so many companies and such huge productivity. PC manufacturers will compete with each other, and hardware manufacturers will also compete with each other. That’s why Shenzhou jumped out to attack the complete PC market. market, and the cost of DIY hardware has also dropped again and again. These have ultimately led to the continuous reduction of the cost of PCs, and the continuous reduction of costs has greatly increased the expansion speed of PCs. This is the case for MacOS and Mac Computers can never catch up. "
At this point, Li Mu suddenly made a U-turn and said: "The PC DIY industry has become a tradition. This is something that Apple and even Microsoft cannot reverse. But you have to understand that mobile phones are not PCs. PCs equipped with Windows can be DIYed." , but no mobile phone can be DIY, any mobile phone is like Apple's Mac computer, with software and hardware matched and sold as a complete machine! This means that the powerful advantage of PC over Mac computer does not exist in the mobile phone market! "
Lei Jun said excitedly: "Mr. Li is right! All Nokia mobile phones may be equipped with Symbian system in the future, but consumers cannot buy other mobile phones and install Symbian themselves, let alone DIY one." When Symbian is installed on mobile phones, the future mobile phone market must be a device integrating software and hardware. In this way, Microsoft has lost the foundation of the hardware DIY field and is on the same level as companies like Apple. 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 MacOS, we have two options, either to license the system and cooperate with major mobile phone manufacturers; or we can go Apple's old path is to develop its own systems, produce its own hardware, and package and sell them in bundles. The former allows us to roll out quickly, while the latter allows us to lock in business lines and lock in more profit margins. If our operating system is similar to Symbian , Microsoft is not very competitive in comparison, then we will choose the former, throw out the product, and directly compete with them at the manufacturer level. If our operating system is much better than theirs, then we will choose the latter and lock it down. With this advantage, we can build our own mobile phone brand. No matter what, mobile Internet will be the future trend, and we must plan in advance, whether it is hardware or software."
For Li Mu, the possibility of acquiring Apple also gives him a good opportunity to enter the smartphone market. In his eyes, the real smartphone is the full touch and multi-touch technology pioneered by the iPhone. A new era, which was also Jobs' greatest initiative.
Jobs started preparing for the iPhone in 2005, and officially announced IOS and the first-generation iPhone in January 2007. It can be seen that Apple took more than a year to develop IOS and iPhone from beginning to end. If he wins Apple this year, he will start immediately. Developing iOS and iPhone is still a bit unrealistic. After all, it is possible to develop products like iPhone only if the hardware can keep up. Therefore, Li Mu predicts that it will be good if he can launch iPhone and iOS system in the second half of 2006.
So before that, the field of smartphones was completely dominated by early operating systems such as Symbian. Until the explosive rise of Apple in 2010, the mobile phone market was simply Nokia's back garden, allowing Nokia to earn huge profits that were difficult to Imagine profits.
And Li Mu is now preparing to acquire Apple. If he really takes over Apple, why not first develop a castrated version of the IOS system that benchmarks Symbian? This castrated version of iOS does not need to consider touch control, nor does it need the huge architecture of the official version of iOS. As long as it can beat Symbian, it can compete with Nokia for money first.
Apple has 20 years of technology accumulation in MacOS, and it took more than a year to develop iOS on this basis. If it develops a castrated version of iOS, it will probably take more than half a year. The castrated version of iOS can suppress Nokia's momentum first, and at the same time help iOS enters the market early to attract 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 Makino Technology to attract major global software vendors to develop software based on the castrated version of iOS and create iOS software. Ecology, in this case, when the official version of iOS and iPhone comes out, it will not be a newborn calf, but a gorgeous upgrade of the old bird.
In the previous life, the iPhone was in the hands of Apple. It took Apple three and a half years from the birth of the first-generation iPhone to the global popularity of the iPhone 4. However, if it could preheat it with a castrated version of iOS from 2004 to 2006, , by the time the iPhone is launched in the second half of 2006, Apple may have achieved the goal that it took three and a half years to achieve in three months!
(End of chapter)