Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 293 Samsung's Ambitions for Semiconductors

"Boss, when can our AutoCAD be launched into the market as an official product? Now the version number has reached 1.0." John Walker, the person in charge of the AutoCAD project—John Walker and Mike Riddle—Mike Riddle, glanced at a gap, In order to condense the research and development results of my own hard work and enthusiasm, I came to inquire about future arrangements.

Tang Huan smiled slightly. The group of technical elites he had won over could be described as a perfect combination of talent and entrepreneurial beliefs. None of the tasks assigned to him were lost, and even the opportunity to become an independent portal was not easy. Get it just right.

"If your group envies Adobe, looks at other people's scenery, and if you are anxious, you can make an appearance at COMDEX next month." Tang Huan joked, "Of course, as long as you don't worry about being robbed of the limelight by C++."

John Walker laughed dryly, "Let's wait."

During the development of AutoCAD, part of the work used C++. He knew how attractive this brand-new development tool was. , naturally want to avoid the limelight.

"My suggestion is to choose COMDEX at the end of the year, and I will also make careful preparations for its debut."

Tang Huan pointed to the second-generation Fangyuan Computer Ultra, "In the actual sales process of Illustrator and Photoshop, there is a fact that has to be paid attention to, that is, users of these professional software need a training program if they want to achieve a qualified operation level. the process of."

Speaking of this, Tang Huan shook his head, "And this time difference has affected sales expectations to a certain extent. The past is the teacher of the future. Since AutoCAD can be put into use in advance, you might as well use this summer vacation to select some college students to do it. For warm-up users, train them in advance, so as not to be so passive at the time.”

Compared with office software such as spreadsheets and word processing, professional software such as Illustrator and Photoshop do require users to operate at a certain level.

After all, even in the past life when Photoshop has become a synonym for the field of image processing, PS is also a professional job. Not everyone can casually improve the appearance of their photos to a satisfactory level.

"It's because we didn't think carefully." John Walker nodded suddenly.

Mike Riddle chimed in, "I've heard that designers who have recently been able to pass the Photoshop exam and get a certificate from the training and certification center are very popular with employers in the media industry."

"Rare things are more valuable." Tang Huan laughed loudly, "Be patient, CAD is a professional application field that deserves our caution. And there is another advantage of waiting until the release of AutoCAD in the second half of the year, using Yipeng/Holder processor The workstations should come up with samples, and AutoCAD will be more useful."

Seeing that people like John Walker and Mike Riddle had been appeased, Tang Huan added, "I have decided on the name of the new company for you. It is called Autodesk. You should understand what this means."

John Walker showed excitement on his face, "Understood, just like the army, we have our own designation and organizational system."

Computer Aided Design——The idea of ​​computer aided design or CAD has a long history. In 1963, Ivan Edward Sutherland, who obtained a doctorate in computer engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology—Ivan Edward Sutherland, as part of his doctoral thesis, wrote developed a program called Sketchpad, which is considered a major breakthrough in computer graphics.

In terms of hardware, it used the early tube monitors and the light pen that was just invented at that time.

If the operator drags a node on the graphical user interface, all the paths connected to it will change positions at the same time. Compared with the development level of that era, this technical realization is very remarkable.

Sketchpad uses the same concept as the object-oriented application software that is emerging now. It is the first interactive computer program and has become the blueprint for many interactive systems.

Therefore, Sketchpad is considered the beginning of CAD, and Ivan Edward Sutherland won the Turing Award for this achievement.

In the original time and space, Autodesk was the pioneer in realizing the technology of CAD tools on the personal computer platform.

In 1982, in San Rafael, Marin County, which is connected to downtown San Francisco through the Golden Gate Bridge, John Walker and 12 other programmers pooled $59000 to establish Autodesk and simultaneously launched the first product AutoCAD, version 1.0 , can run on two 16-bit personal computer hardware platforms - IBM-PC and Victor 9000.

Another great software product of Autodesk is 3D Studio Max, which has had a historic impact on CG production, and many Hollywood blockbusters and classic games have used this tool.

Compared with the famous names of its own products AutoCAD and 3D Studio Max, the company name of Autodesk itself seems a bit low-key, but it is in line with the kingly way of making a fortune in silence. It is listed in the Nasdaq 100 index constituent stocks, which can show its How is the performance.

Compared with the original AutoCAD 1.0 in Time and Space, users had to memorize each command or consult the operation manual. This AutoCAD 1.0 guided by Tang Huan in Time and Space has a friendly menu interface, and its functions have also been enhanced a lot.

Tang Huan has already asked the marketing staff to sell AutoCAD to large manufacturing companies such as Ford and General Motors. Anyway, there are real objects to demonstrate, so I don't believe they can't impress them.

Seeing that James Cameron had obtained the opportunity to operate the second-generation Fangyuan computer Ultra, and was eager to experience it, Tang Huan walked over and explained, "I'll ask you to get a pass for the R&D center. "Terminator" script, while forming a computer special effects team."

"We must live up to our mission." James Cameron solemnly stated.

……

For the aggressive IBM-PC, Tang Huan's strategy is very simple. This year, let Apple IIe and Osborn's first-generation machines entangle it in the low-end market.

In fact, IBM-PC itself will face the siege of a large number of 8-bit personal computers in this market.

And I will continue to expand the territory and consolidate the mid-to-high-end market. Next year, with the further reduction of manufacturing costs, I will encounter and fight with IBM-PC in the mid-end market.

The hardware side is so far away, but the software side is about to actively attack, and use various means to suppress the so-called new troika created by Don Estridge.

Seeing that the work arrangement in Silicon Valley was almost done, Tang Huan planned to leave for Los Angeles. At this time, Lee Kun-hee from Samsung came to visit again.

A generation of Fangyuan computer has already taken root in South Korea. With the strength of Samsung, it is naturally easy to sell, and it has become Li Jianxi's brilliant performance, which can be called fame and fortune.

Apart from licensing fees, Tang Huan's main source of income is software, and the two parties have cooperated seamlessly.

But in fact, he has always been on the defensive at the software level. Even if some technology transfer is inevitable, it still depends on the progress of industry standards in the Korean market.

In other words, Samsung can obtain the technology of Fangyuan Computer and Zheru, but only if its industry standards are mastered by Tang Huan to some extent, such as Korean coding.

Tang Huan hid this kind of thinking very well, and Samsung didn't notice it. The relationship between the two parties can be regarded as a sweetheart, and many important things have been entrusted to him.

Li Jianxi came here specifically to introduce semiconductor memory production technology. Samsung's ambitions for this industry are very strong and obvious.

In order to help Li Jianxi, Tang Huan was quite troubled, because the other party's goal was very high, and what he wanted was the patent of 64KB memory, which belongs to the latest technology in the semiconductor industry. How can it be possible to share it with others when it is treasured to make money for yourself?

When the next-generation new technology matures, the profit of 64KB memory will not be so lucrative, but you can consider squeezing the remaining value and transferring it.

Fortunately, there is one thing about Samsung that Tang Huan appreciates, that is, they have a clear understanding of reality, understand their position in the industry, and know what to do.

In order to obtain the latest 64KB memory patent, Samsung has a very clear attitude and is willing to pay a high price, Bao Jun is satisfied.

Regarding Samsung's strategy, Tang Huan knew it well. It was nothing more than exchanging money for time. Since he entered this highly competitive field as a newcomer, he should set the starting point higher and save the previous technological exploration process.

In fact, in the original time and space, Samsung played the same routine - imitate the opponent first, and then eat the opponent, otherwise Tang Huan would not be vigilant.

You must know that Samsung, which is on the road to rise, enters almost every new field it fancyes later than its competitors.

For example, the home appliance business is 51 years behind Panasonic; the semiconductor business is 10 years behind Intel...

But the end result is that Samsung's latecomers come out on top.

It can be said that Samsung is a most outstanding follower, never shying away from learning and imitating.

In the process of technology research and development, "reverse engineering" is an important step for Samsung to break through, that is, to introduce technology by paying patent fees, and then learn by imitation, and then transform it into a research and development direction suitable for Samsung's own use.

The example of semiconductor business development is like this. The gap between Samsung and its American and Japanese counterparts is that 64KB dynamic memory technology lags behind by 4 years; 64MB dynamic memory technology is at the same level in the industry;

The semiconductor memory chip industry is characterized by scale dominance, and the fight is entirely about money and continuous investment, and Samsung has the most advantage in this regard.

Since its strategy is so right, Tang Huan is naturally willing to give a favor to make this protracted battle in the semiconductor industry more exciting.

With the sword of "not bad money", Tang Huan finally found a semiconductor company for Samsung that is open to money. It is Micron Technology located in Boise, Idaho.

Compared with Intel, Texas Instruments, and MOS Technology, Micron is currently a newcomer to the semiconductor industry. It was established in 1978 by four founders, Ward Parkinson, Joe Parkinson, Dennis Wilson, and Doug Pitman, with funds from local Idaho The four businessmen initially only provided semiconductor design consulting services, which shows that their financial resources are limited.

However, Micron's situation changed immediately after being spotted by a big money owner.

This person is John Richard Simplot—John Richard Simplot, a billionaire, the JR Simplot Company he founded—Simplot Company, is an agricultural company that operates potatoes, and its main customers are McDonald’s, KFC and so on.

The combination of a high-tech company that develops semiconductors and an agricultural tycoon who sells potatoes seems to bring a sense of joy, but Micron has received real money. This year, it established its own wafer manufacturing plant with an area of ​​4600 square meters. , and directly produce 64KB DRAM chips.

After his subordinates inspected Micron's factory in the name of purchasing, Tang Huan started the negotiation. However, he didn't have much time to talk himself out, so it would be very important to have Chambers on board.

At the beginning, Micron executives such as Ward Parkinson were taken aback by a data-rich industry analysis report.

In terms of the 64KB DRAM market share, Japanese companies accounted for 5.00%40.00 in the first half of the year, while American counterparts accounted for [-]%[-]. It is expected that the situation for the whole year will not deviate too much from this.

By next year, the advantages of Japanese companies will become more obvious.

Ward Parkinson is unwilling to believe this fact, but when he thinks that the provider of this report is one of the few major manufacturers in the world, game consoles and computers consume a lot of CPU and memory every month, so he is naturally very concerned about the market. sensitive.

Damn Japanese, we were just lucky enough to get a capital injection from a billionaire, built our own factory, and were about to make a fortune, but you ruined the market so rudely.

(End of this chapter)