Chapter 898
So that's how it is
In Century Langke's laboratory, the air seemed to freeze, with only the faint hum of precision instruments and the soft sound of cooling fans remaining.
Inside the dust cover, the prototype black flash memory chip, about the size of a fingernail and shimmering with a faint light, seemed to bear an excessively heavy burden of expectations.
With his back to the chip that embodied the team's hard work, Lu Yang's gaze was sharp as a knife, piercing through the dustproof glass and landing on Deng Guoshun and Cheng Xiaohua's faces.
He doesn't understand the complex storage unit structures and the underlying logic of read/write control algorithms, but he understands the market, user pain points, and what the digital music storm that is about to sweep the globe will need.
"Engineer Deng, Engineer Cheng," Lu Yang's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable weight as he cut straight to the heart of the matter, "I won't delve into the technical details. I only ask about the results: In practical applications, how much faster will your optimized new algorithm be at downloading a song compared to those MP3 players currently on the market that use older technology?"
Deng Guoshun took a deep breath and tried to make his voice sound confident: "Chairman, after repeated simulations and preliminary tests, under the same network environment and file size, the new algorithm's read and write efficiency can improve download speed by at least 200%! This means that the time users wait for a song to download will be greatly shortened, and the user experience will be significantly improved."
“200%…” Lu Yang nodded slightly. This improvement was within his expectations and also reflected the natural speed advantage of flash memory technology over traditional hard drives.
But this is not enough.
He then raised an even more crucial question, which was also the one he was most concerned about on this trip.
"And what about storage capacity?"
"As I've stated before, I want the first MP3 player we launch at Century Langke to be groundbreaking; it must be able to store at least 100 songs simultaneously. This is one of our core competitive advantages."
"So, to what extent have you accomplished this?"
This problem is like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.
The excitement on Deng Guoshun and Cheng Xiaohua's faces was instantly replaced by solemnity. The two quickly exchanged a glance, both seeing the pressure and a hint of defeat in each other's eyes.
Cheng Xiaohua licked her slightly dry lips, stepped forward, and said in a tone that was both the rigor of a technician and the honesty of facing real difficulties: "Chairman... regarding storage capacity... to reach your goal of '100 songs,' there is still considerable difficulty at present."
Lu Yang's brows furrowed instantly, and the temperature in his eyes dropped: "Difficulty? What are the specific difficulties? Haven't you already optimized the unit structure and algorithm?"
"Yes, Chairman, we have indeed done our best." Deng Guoshun continued, his tone carrying the hardship of overcoming technical challenges. "You may not be aware that the first-generation USB flash drive designed by our team had a basic capacity of 32MB. According to the current mainstream MP3 songs using a compression rate of 128KB, the file size of a song is usually between 4MB and 5MB. That is to say, a 32MB USB flash drive can only store a maximum of 6 to 10 songs."
He paused, then pointed to the chip inside the dust cover: "Now, thanks to our entire team working day and night, even without rest, to the extreme optimization of the storage unit structure and the deep reconstruction of the read and write control algorithm, we have finally increased the capacity of this new flash memory chip to 64MB!"
64MB!
When this number reached Lu Yang's ears, it was like a bucket of cold water being poured on scalding hot coals.
His displeasure was barely concealed.
"64MB?" Lu Yang's voice lowered, filled with obvious disappointment. "So, you've poured your heart and soul into this, only to double the capacity from 32MB...? 64MB, according to your calculations, can only store a maximum of 12 to 20 songs? Far from 100!"
The atmosphere in the laboratory instantly plummeted to freezing point.
Wei Shu stood to the side, keenly sensing the change in Lu Yang's emotions. She didn't interrupt, but her eyes were filled with concern for the R&D team and a deep understanding of the chairman's goals.
Deng Guoshun and Cheng Xiaohua felt an immense pressure coming their way, and fine beads of sweat even appeared on their foreheads.
A 64MB increase is already an amazing breakthrough in the industry, but it seems so pale and powerless in the face of the grand blueprint drawn up by the chairman.
Looking at the disbelief and grievance on the faces of the two top engineers, Lu Yang felt the chill that had accumulated in his heart due to the patent negotiations spread again.
He wasn't deliberately making things difficult; rather, he clearly had the world-shaking specifications of the original Apple iPod imprinted in his mind—5GB! 1000 songs in your pocket!
He suppressed his frustration and decided to drop this "bombshell," both to exert pressure and to seek another possible solution:
"I'm not trying to make things difficult for you. I understand the challenges of overcoming technical difficulties. But the market won't wait for us to slowly climb up!"
Lu Yang's gaze sharpened as he scanned the two engineers. "I have a very reliable source, from inside Apple across the ocean. They're secretly developing a brand new portable music player, likely codenamed 'iPod,' meaning 'music warehouse'! Do you know how much memory they're planning to equip the first generation with?"
He paused deliberately, letting the concepts of "iPod" and "music repository" take hold in everyone's minds, before slowly and deliberately dropping the parameter that was astronomical for 1999:
"5GB!"
"What?!" Deng Guoshun exclaimed in shock, his eyes widening as if he had heard something out of a fairy tale.
“5GB?! This…this is impossible!” Cheng Xiaohua shook his head violently, his face filled with extreme shock and strong disbelief. “Chairman, did you…did you mishear our unit? Or is this a smokescreen? 5GB! This is absolutely impossible! If they are also using the same new flash memory technology as us, with the world’s most advanced semiconductor manufacturing process, it is absolutely impossible to manufacture a single flash memory chip with a capacity of up to 5GB in such a short time! This is completely beyond the limits of current technology! Mass production is even more of a pipe dream!”
The two top engineers' unwavering skepticism, based on their professional knowledge, cast a shadow of self-doubt over Lu Yang's mind.
Could there be discrepancies in the historical details?
Or has his memory become blurred over time? Wasn't Apple's iconic "1000 songs in your pocket" slogan for the first iPod based on a 5GB hard drive?
But Lu Yang's confusion only lasted for a moment.
His strong willpower and grasp of the "general trend" immediately overwhelmed this doubt.
He firmly believed that his strategic direction was correct, that Apple's iPod was bound to exist, and that it would inevitably have a revolutionary capacity.
The question is, how did they achieve this?
"My sources are highly reliable and absolutely true." Lu Yang's tone was resolute, and he once again exuded a powerful aura.
"What I really want to know is, if it's not using this new flash memory technology you're working on... then how exactly did Apple manage to do it? Do they possess some kind of advanced, completely unknown storage technology?"
Lu Yang's question was like a key, instantly unlocking the minds of Deng Guoshun and Cheng Xiaohua that were imprisoned by the "flash memory" mentality.
Cheng Xiaohua suddenly slapped his forehead, his eyes flashing with sudden realization: "Wait! Chairman! I understand! There's another possibility! A possibility... that we've overlooked with our habitual thinking!"
He turned to Lu Yang excitedly, speaking rapidly: "Boss, the Apple company you mentioned, they probably... don't have or plan to adopt the new, high-capacity flash memory technology at all!"
"Your friend may have only heard about their product's amazing capacity target, but they don't know the technological path they've taken to achieve it! If they really can launch a 5GB player soon, then that's the most likely scenario."
Cheng Xiaohua's voice carried an excited tone, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun. "They're still using old-fashioned, mature mechanical hard drive storage technology! They've just taken hard drives to the extreme of miniaturization!"
Deng Guoshun immediately realized what was going on and chimed in, “Right! Cheng Gong is right! Chairman, you may not be very familiar with the hard drive field. As far as I know, international giants like Toshiba and Hitachi have been investing in research and development of micro hard drive technology. Currently, there are already commercially available 1.8-inch or even smaller 1.0-inch micro hard drives on the market! Although they are much larger than our flash memory chips, their capacity… can easily reach over 1GB!”
Cheng Xiaohua nodded vigorously and added, "That's right! The highest capacity of a 1.0-inch micro hard drive is said to be 1GB. But what about a 1.8-inch drive? If Apple spares no expense and collaborates with hard drive giants on deep customization, demanding that they provide samples of micro hard drives with higher capacities in the short term... for example, pushing the platter density and storage technology of a 1.8-inch micro hard drive to its limits... then achieving the 5GB capacity you mentioned is theoretically entirely possible! Although this would lead to a larger player size, increased power consumption, and reduced shock resistance,... in terms of the single metric of capacity, they can indeed achieve it!"
Deng Guoshun concluded: "So, Chairman, they're taking a completely different path! Instead of pursuing the compactness, low power consumption, high shock resistance, and future potential of new flash memory technologies, they're using existing, mature but bulky micro hard drive technology to achieve brute-force stacking in capacity! Their iPods' core storage components are very likely custom-made, high-capacity micro hard drives purchased from these hard drive giants!"
“Purchase… specially made micro hard drives…” Lu Yang murmured repeatedly, the fog in his eyes completely dissipating, replaced by a sharp light that saw through the essence of things.
That's it!
Fragments of memory about the somewhat "bulky" image of the first iPod instantly became clear in his mind.
Apple has never been a pure inventor of underlying technologies. Its greatest strength lies in the ultimate integration and optimization of existing mature technologies, as well as the unparalleled packaging of user experience!
They don't need to build 5GB of flash memory from scratch. They just need to find a supplier that can provide 5GB micro hard drives, then cleverly fit them into their own "elegant" casing, add a user-friendly dial and software, and they can shout the amazing slogan of "putting 1000 songs in your pocket"!
While Century Netac's choice of flash memory initially resulted in it being outmatched in terms of capacity, it possesses overwhelming advantages in terms of size, power consumption, shock resistance, quiet operation, and future cost reduction curves and capacity improvement potential!
This is a strategic divergence regarding the choice of technology roadmap: Apple chose the "shortcut" of maximizing capacity at present (relying on external supply chains), while Lu Yang bet on flash memory technology, which represents the future and is more disruptive and autonomous (although it was difficult in the early stages).
Lu Yang felt a sudden sense of clarity, but at the same time, a stronger sense of urgency welled up within him.
Once Apple's iPod is released, its massive storage capacity will undoubtedly allow it to quickly capture the high-end market and establish a brand benchmark.
Century Netac must launch its own products as soon as possible. Even if the initial capacity is inferior to its competitors, it must differentiate itself in terms of speed, size, battery life, price, and localized experience. Furthermore, it must accelerate the iteration of flash memory technology and wait for the inflection point in flash memory capacity and cost—that will be the moment that completely changes the game!
"Alright!" Lu Yang suddenly raised his head, all the confusion and displeasure on his face vanished, replaced by a firmness born of clear decision and a hint of excitement. "I understand! I completely understand!"
He looked at Deng Guoshun and Cheng Xiaohua, his tone decisive: "Then, let's proceed with the plan you've just achieved! Based on this new 64MB flash memory chip, combined with your optimized read/write control algorithm, let's go all out to advance the research and development and production of the core memory components for our first-generation MP3 player! Get an engineering prototype out as soon as possible!"
"No problem, boss! Don't worry! We guarantee to complete the task!" Deng Guoshun and Cheng Xiaohua replied in unison, relieved and full of fighting spirit.
Although they cannot yet compete with the imagined "iPod monster" in terms of capacity, they firmly believe that they are on the right technological path.
"Okay!" Lu Yang nodded emphatically, his gaze sweeping over every face in the lab brimming with technical enthusiasm. "Time is of the essence; Apple won't wait for us. I need to see progress! Sister Wei Shu, do everything you can to ensure the resource needs of Langke are met!"
"Understood, Chairman!" Wei Shu replied immediately, his eyes gleaming with efficient execution.
Lu Yang didn't linger and turned to stride towards the laboratory exit.
The heavy dustproof door slid open silently behind him, and the distinctive smell of the laboratory was quickly diluted by the air in the corridor.
A black Mercedes-Benz S600 was already waiting downstairs.
Lu Yang opened the car door and got in, then said to the driver, Xiao Jiu, in a deep voice, "I'm not going back to the company, just take me home!"
The car drove smoothly and swiftly out of the Century Langke Park and merged into the busy afternoon traffic of Shenzhen.
Lu Yang leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest, but his mind was racing, alternating between the faint glow of flash memory chips and the urgency of Apple's impending iPod launch. Outside the car window, the glass curtain walls of skyscrapers reflected the blinding sunlight, like the flashing blades in the fierce business battles of this era. (End of Chapter)