booktalesy Chapter 249 Entering the Consumer Electronics Field
Chapter 249 Entering the Consumer Electronics Field
Chapter 249 Entering the Consumer Electronics Field
I don’t know if the three of them forgot to check the almanac before going out for sea fishing today, but a full hour has passed since the yacht stopped and they started fishing, and they haven’t seen a single big fish weighing more than 15 pounds, let alone the bluefin tuna they were looking forward to.
A few seagulls occasionally skimmed across the sea, uttering a few clear cries, which only made the fishing scene seem more desolate, or even mocking.
Larry Ellison would occasionally glance up at the sky, then down at the calm sea, looking like an old farmer waiting for a harvest but facing a drought. "The fishing isn't very good today," he muttered, seemingly to himself, but also with a hidden meaning.
Ernst was already furious because he was the only one on the boat who hadn't caught a fish yet, and hearing Larry Ellison's indifferent words only made him angrier.
He turned his head abruptly and retorted irritably, "Spit it out if you have something to say."
His tone was so aggressive it was as if he was about to breathe fire. After all, it was rather strange that he hadn't made a single bet in this impromptu fishing game, and anyone would be unhappy about that.
Larry Ellison was rebuffed by Ernst's temper, but he wasn't angry at all. Instead, he chuckled twice, his laughter carrying a hint of slyness.
He rubbed his hands together and said slowly, "We need to set a time limit for our bet, right? We can't just keep going on like this. What if we don't catch any fish by dark? Then the bet will be pointless."
Ernst's eyes narrowed instantly upon hearing this, knowing that the old man was up to no good.
But he suppressed his anger and calmly asked, "What suggestions do you have?"
Larry Ellison raised his wrist smugly, glancing at the expensive watch on his wrist, then deliberately cleared his throat. "Don't say I'm bullying you. It's just past three o'clock now, how about we finish at six? Three hours is enough time to decide the winner, right?"
His smug, "How lenient I am with you!" attitude made Ernst's teeth itch with rage.
"Are you kidding me?" Ernst immediately lost his temper, raising his voice eight octaves.
The biggest fish we've caught so far is Larry Ellison's, weighing 13.8 pounds. If it really takes three hours, my chances of winning are slim.
Normally he wouldn't care, but today was too weird. Even Larry Ellison's big-butt secretary caught several fish, but he didn't catch a single one. It was really strange.
Paying money is fine, saving face is important.
"We agreed that this trip would be a deep-sea fishing trip, and I think that as long as it ends before we return tomorrow, it should be counted as part of the betting time."
When Ernst refused, Larry Ellison immediately resorted to shamelessness. He stubbornly insisted, "What if there's a typhoon tonight and we have to turn back early? Then we won't have time to fish. We can't let this bet be suspended because of the weather, can we?"
"We'll talk about it when the typhoon comes." Ernst was too lazy to argue with him, and angrily reeled in the fishing line. When he looked, he saw a live sardine still wriggling on the hook, thrashing back and forth in pain.
He casually cast the fishing rod out again, muttering to himself, "This is unbelievable."
Seeing Ernst's expression, Larry Ellison couldn't resist fanning the flames again, "If your technique isn't good, it's not good. Don't make excuses. I think three hours or a day is the same for you; you won't catch any fish anyway. You're just trying to stall for time, aren't you?"
His words were clearly a provocation.
"Okay, we'll do it your way, it'll end at six."
Ernst agreed so readily not because he was truly provoked by Larry Ellison's goading, but because he was calculating that his luck was really bad today. Even if the betting game went on for a long time, he probably wouldn't catch a bigger fish than Larry Ellison. If he lost, he lost.
Anyway, there's still time. I can play Larry Ellison again tomorrow. Maybe my luck will be better then. I have to win this match.
"Ha!" Larry Ellison's face lit up instantly when he heard Ernst agree.
He looked down at Jobs, who was sitting on the other side of Ernst, and said excitedly, "Steve, you heard that clearly. You have to testify for us so that no one can back out later."
The smugness in his voice was almost overflowing.
Jobs shook his head helplessly, watching the two men arguing like children over a fishing bet, and he felt both amused and exasperated.
He put down his drink, ignored Larry Ellison, and looked at Ernst, asking curiously, "Are you planning to enter the electronics industry?"
Ernst's expression instantly turned somewhat strange upon hearing this. The MP3 player project was top secret; practically no one knew of its existence.
Very few people at Google knew about this project. Besides them, only Robert Iger and Craig knew about it. How did Jobs find out about it?
Could someone have tipped them off? Ernst quickly considered the possibility, but then thought that was simply impossible.
Robert Iger and Craig had no prior acquaintance with Jobs and had absolutely no connection with him.
While people at Google knew Jobs, they understood the importance of this project even better.
Google's future looks very promising, much better than Apple's. Who would be foolish enough to offend Ernst for Steve Jobs' sake?
The MP3 player project was one of Ernst's major plans. If someone were to give up a high-paying job at Google and risk being fired for leaking secrets to Jobs, it would be absurd and completely illogical.
Ernst suppressed his doubts and tried to regain his composure. He looked at Jobs and asked calmly, "Why did you suddenly ask that?"
Seeing that Ernst was still pretending to be confused, Jobs couldn't help but purse his lips and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Still pretending to be confused with me? I've studied your company's Google Tunes software carefully, and I have to say, it's absolutely a groundbreaking innovation that greatly facilitates users and makes it much easier for everyone when dealing with music files."
When Google Tunes was mentioned, Ernst breathed a slight sigh of relief; so that's why.
This software was indeed released on October 1st, a release date that coincided with the email battle.
As the media has reported, Google has been changing the world.
The emergence of Google's iTunes software has undoubtedly brought about a major reshuffle in the music industry, making the previously relatively professional operation of burning CDs more accessible and commonplace.
With just a computer, anyone can easily create their own CD.
Even the world's music giants were misled by the apparent functionality of Google's Tunes software. They and Wall Street investors naturally associated it with MGM's recent moves in acquiring online music copyrights.
Everyone now believes that MGM's large-scale acquisition of online music copyrights was a prelude to Google's move.
They believe that Google will next allow users to purchase music copyrights online through Google Tunes and then directly produce personalized CDs that users like.
This is indeed a good idea, as it can meet users' personalized needs, but it may not necessarily make money.
Because the cost of albums sold by music companies in physical stores is relatively lower, theoretically the price is the same as that of a blank CD.
However, Google's Tunes software is different. Google has to pay a lot of online music copyright fees, which is a considerable expense.
Furthermore, physical albums can boost sales and increase revenue during key periods by offering price reductions or bundling deals.
However, if the price of online music is set too low, it will definitely not be profitable, while if it is set too high, users will not be willing to pay.
In addition, the penetration rate of computers is also an issue that cannot be ignored.
Music companies sell physical albums to a global audience, allowing users to purchase them regardless of whether they have a computer or not.
But online music is different. If users want to buy and create personal CDs through Google Tunes, they must have a computer. The market size is huge compared to physical albums.
However, what Ernst didn't expect was that the launch of Google Tunes brought an unexpected benefit.
Influenced by Google's iTunes software, everyone unexpectedly guessed the intentions of MGM and Google. Sony's negotiations on music network copyrights have begun, and Era Music's attitude on this matter has also shown signs of softening.
Jobs didn't care what Ernst was thinking. He continued, "I don't believe you would do a losing business. Although Google iTunes seems to make things more convenient for users, the costs behind it must be considerable. You must have other plans."
At this point, Jobs turned to look at Ernst, his eyes fixed on his face, his gaze so sharp it seemed he wanted to detect something.
He continued, "I've already looked into it. The number of users of Google iTunes is indeed growing rapidly, but so far, it's only a little over two million users. This number is just a drop in the ocean compared to your investment in Google iTunes."
Ernst remained calm as he looked at Jobs and said slowly, "So, you're judging my intention to enter the consumer electronics market based solely on this?"
In Ernst's view, this reason was far from sufficient, and even somewhat hasty.
Jobs shook his head. "There's one more thing, and that's the real reason I'm convinced you're interested in entering the consumer electronics market."
"Oh?" Ernst's curiosity was immediately piqued. "What is it that makes you so sure I'm going to enter the consumer electronics market?"
Jobs smiled slightly and said slowly, "You visited Compaq the day before yesterday, didn't you? And you even talked for a long time with several of their executives."
I never expected that Steve Jobs would even know about this.
Yes, Ernst did go to Compaq, and his purpose was very clear: to solve the supply chain problem.
In the existing global supply chain system, Compaq Computer Corporation is undoubtedly the one that has mastered it the most.
As the world's second-largest computer company, Compaq has always shipped a very substantial amount of products, but its production capacity has never been an issue. No matter how strong the market demand is, there has never been a shortage of stock or customers having to wait for their orders.
This is remarkable and rare in the industry. Nowadays, any large company that launches a blockbuster product often faces temporary supply chain shortages and insufficient production capacity, resulting in supply falling short of demand and missing market opportunities.
Compaq, on the other hand, has never experienced such a situation, thanks to its robust supply chain system.
Ernst was well aware that the global industrial system had undergone a major transformation, and that the supply chain would become a company's most critical core competency in the future.
In the near future, the supply chain may even determine the life or death of a company. It is no exaggeration to say that whoever controls the supply chain controls the world.
Unfortunately, although the supply chain system was invented by Americans, they did not truly master it.
The originator of the modern supply chain is actually Ford Motor Company. Back in the 20th century, the production model of the automobile manufacturing industry was still very backward. Car manufacturing was done by dividing workers into groups, with each group of workers responsible for manufacturing a car, from assembling parts to completing the whole vehicle.
This production model not only places extremely high demands on the quality of workers, requiring them to possess comprehensive skills, but also generates a large amount of surplus labor.
Most importantly, labor costs are also very high. Because workers need to participate in the entire car manufacturing process, they must be all-rounders with multiple skills. Such talents are very scarce in the market, so wages naturally rise accordingly.
To change this situation, Ford did something that will go down in history: it designed an assembly line production model for the then-popular Model T.
Ford broke down the entire car manufacturing process into 84 steps, with each worker responsible for only one step, repeating the same operation every day.
After this production model was implemented, the effect was immediate. Ford's annual automobile production soared from 10,000 vehicles to 1 million vehicles, earning Ford the title of "King of Automobiles" and establishing a solid position in the automotive industry.
However, with the significant increase in production, new problems have also emerged.
Although Ford's production capacity increased, its upstream suppliers could not keep up, causing Ford's sophisticated production line to be forced to stop frequently due to supply shortages, which resulted in huge losses for Ford.
Faced with this problem, Ford's solution was simple and brutal: since upstream suppliers couldn't supply the goods, they would manufacture them themselves.
As a result, Ford began to invest heavily in upstream industries, controlling almost every aspect from raw material sourcing to parts manufacturing, and building its own supply chain system.
While this solved the problem of labor redundancy, it created industrial redundancy, making the company's operations increasingly cumbersome and less flexible.
Later, when Toyota visited Ford, they were deeply inspired by this assembly line production and supply chain model. They learned this model from Ford and modified and upgraded it according to their own actual situation, forming a more efficient and flexible supply chain management system, which later became the world-famous Toyota Production System.
Compaq's supply chain system can be said to have been learned from Toyota, but in some aspects, Compaq has innovated and optimized it, making it more complete than Toyota's supply chain system, truly surpassing its predecessor.
Ernst knew very well that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the MP3 player would be officially launched by the end of this year or the beginning of next year.
Once MP3 players are launched, they will likely face huge market demand, at which point supply chain issues will become a key factor restricting product sales.
Therefore, his visit to Compaq Computer Company was aimed at recruiting some talent in supply chain management to completely solve the supply chain problems in the MP3 player production process.
Ernst sat there in silence for a long time without saying a word.
Seeing his expression, Jobs took it as a yes and continued, "So you're planning to release a CD player?"
In his view, Google's iTunes software and music copyrights are both related to music playback, so it is reasonable to launch a more compatible CD player.
Ernst didn't answer Jobs' question directly, but smiled mysteriously and kept him in suspense, saying, "You'll find out in time."