Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 613 Business Opportunities in Information Leakage Panic
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In this personal computer market war, one of the most lethal weapons of IBM-PC compatible computer manufacturers is to provide users with a wide range of models priced under $2000, with acceptable performance.

This is also the most helpless part of IBM. Originally, Big Elephant was not good at this kind of "small profits but quick turnover" business model. The market failure of the cheap model IBM-PC/jr is the best evidence, and the entire IBM- The profit margin of the PC series product line is still being dragged down by the more cost-effective IBM-PC compatible machines, and the pressure to lose money and make money is increasing.

It can be said that US$2000 is an iconic dividing line in the personal computer industry at this stage.If the product price is lower than this level, it is undisputedly low-end positioning. It is mainly aimed at individual users rather than commercial needs. This will have a very obvious impact on the manufacturer's cost, sales volume, profit and other profit factors that balance each other.

Take Apple for example. The 128KB memory model of its flagship product MAC is priced at US$2495. After Apple III, Lisa Computer, and Apple II gradually withdraw from the market, this is also the cheapest model in Apple’s product line. .

Of course, IBM-PC compatible manufacturers who are good at low-price competition and can maintain considerable profit margins also have models above this price.For example, Compaq's original product, the mobile IBM-PC compatible machine "Compaq Portable", is priced between $2995 and $3590 depending on the specific configuration.

The emerging Fangyuan Computer Company naturally does not have as complete a management mechanism as IBM, which has a long history, but it also does not have the bureaucratic habits accumulated over the years, so it can more effectively deal with such low-price competition in the market. tactics.

But having said that, Fangyuan Computer Company, as the setter and promoter of Fangyuan Computer standards, cannot really go out and earn these "hard-earned money". One reason is that it is not worth it, and the other reason is that it wants to give it to its followers. Leave room for living.

Therefore, strictly speaking, excluding those orders from large enterprises and governments, Fangyuan Computer Company has not launched Fangyuan brand computers below US$2000 in the retail market. However, there are several models below US$3000, mainly aimed at teachers, reporters, etc. Special personal user group, and a major attraction is reflected in the randomly carried Zheru software suite.

In other words, to combat the somewhat hysterical IBM-PC compatibility at this stage, we must rely on the Fangyuan PC compatibility, because it has more flexible cost reduction measures based on the Fangyuan PC standard.

For example, in the face of market segmentation, we can make a fuss about the scalability of Fangyuan personal computer architecture. From the macro perspective, we can directly weld the memory sticks instead of memory slots to carry the memory and abandon some expansion slots. From the micro perspective, we can reduce some of the requirements for low-end products. Useless electronic components and wiring.

After some discussions, the results that everyone came up with were nothing more than these.

"This is not enough." Tang Huan said thoughtfully: "Based on your suggestions, and adding another condition, Zheru, Adobe and other companies will cooperate to come up with application software discount plans and hit a combo punch. Even Zheru In terms of the operating system, the FreeDOS license can be provided free of charge for a period of time."

This is another place where the Fangyuan personal computer standard excels in terms of hardware architecture compared to other personal computer standards including IBM-PC. Software developers headed by Zheru have created a new platform for the Fangyuan personal computer platform. Powerful application ecosystem.

As for the most powerful IBM-PC platform among competitors, the only independent software developers that can handle it are Lotus Software and DBase.

As for more software developers, such as MicroPro International, which develops word processing software WordStar, they wander among various hardware platforms and rush to wherever there is profit, refusing to be tied to a single hardware platform.

Among them, Microsoft is an outlier. If you don't consider the operating system MS-DOS specially provided for IBM-PC, it also belongs to the type of independent software developers that strive to take over all popular hardware platforms.

Tang Huan's proposal lifted everyone's spirits.John Chambers further added: "The method of combining software and hardware should not be limited to the direction of attacking IBM-PC compatible machines. Other products also need this kind of fire support. We must take advantage of the four generations of personal computers." launch, launching an all-out war this year."

"One of the main reasons why we have been able to repeatedly win heavyweight orders from the government, military, research institutions and large enterprises is that in addition to being more cost-effective and high-quality than traditional mainframes and minicomputers, our computer products also have clear The roadmap, hardware and software maintenance and upgrades in the coming time are very certain."

"In sharp contrast to this, IBM, and the 'six doors', cannot immediately provide a new generation of products that can compete with the fourth generation of Fangyuan personal computers, and naturally they cannot make any strong promises on future maintenance and upgrades. "

"We can't miss this opportunity easily." At this point, John Chambers made a vicious gesture, "Kill him while he's sick!"

"You can discuss these specific promotion measures." Tang Huan smiled slightly. "Perhaps, I can help you find more interesting business opportunities."

John Chambers, who was very interested, hurriedly asked: "What business opportunity?"

"You'll find out later when you come with me to have a look." Tang Huangao laughed enigmatically, and then said: "When Jack Trammell was the CEO of Kangmaoda earlier, he was very skilled in operating cheap computers. set, which abruptly defeated Texas Instruments, and even the home video game consoles suffered. Now, didn’t he establish a company called Trammell Computer through the acquisition of Atari’s personal computer department to engage in direct sales? A little more support here, maybe you can surprise those arrogant IBM-PC compatibles."

"Okay, I will talk to Jack Trammell specifically when we have a meeting with Fangyuan PC compatible manufacturers." John Chambers nodded in agreement.

……

After the meeting ended, Tang Huan asked his assistant to take a look at the documents about Intel's current situation and found that although its situation was a bit bad, it was not as bad as a leak.

Recently, Intel just announced that it will completely withdraw from the memory business that started and brought brilliant achievements, which really caused quite a stir.

For Intel itself, the change promoted by Andy Grove, who has a tough style, will not hesitate to break an arm - a large number of employees have been laid off, and seven semiconductor factories that produce memory need to be disposed of.

Fortunately, the prospect of strong demand for microprocessors driven by the rapid development of personal computers gave Intel a shot in the arm.

Especially recently, the small group "Six Doors" has been jumping up and down and making a lot of noise, which has invisibly provided a very effective free advertisement for Intel's new generation microprocessor Intel80386.

If Intel can get computer manufacturers to agree to abandon the second supplier system and increase its Intel80386 production capacity, then the company will still have a lot to do in the future.

Therefore, savvy investors are not in a hurry to abandon Intel, and Tang Huan does not need to heel the bottom to prop up the market.

He thought for a while, then contacted Baodao UMC and Singapore Chartered Semiconductor, and provided them with the information that Intel was processing the memory production line, allowing them to decide on their own.

At this time, John Chambers came back and asked, "Don, where are the business opportunities you just mentioned, I am so curious that I can't wait."

"It seems that you are under a lot of pressure as the CEO of a listed company. Once you hear news related to improving performance, you can't calm down." Tang Huan finished the joke with a smile and waved his hand, "Then go Take a look at the Zheru R&D Center, there are some very interesting results there.”

……

When Tang Huan and John Chambers arrived, all the arrangements were ready.

They first walked into the first room, where the furnishings were very simple, with a set of ordinary office equipment, and a clerk was typing.

Then, the two walked into the second room not far away, which was also decorated normally. What was slightly more noticeable was that a television was disassembled and connected to a box device through several wires.

"Let's start the demonstration." Tang Huan waved his hand and ordered.

Confused, John Chambers stared curiously at the TV with many snowflakes on the screen.After a while, intermittent characters appeared on the image, and someone beside him was taking notes with a pen and paper.

The experiment was boring and inexplicable, but fortunately, it didn't take long and it ended soon.

"Do you feel something different?" Tang Huan asked casually, calm and relaxed.

"The environment here is very ordinary." John Chambers shook his head boredly, and he still didn't forget to make a joke, "It's just that this TV and the recorder next to it are a bit weird, making them look like spies."

Tang Huan smiled noncommittally, just as the recorder handed over the recorded file, and another person brought a printed document from outside that still smelled of ink.

After Tang Huan compared the contents of the two documents, he handed it to John Chambers, "This is the result of the experiment."

"Is this typed document typed out by the typist in the first room?" John Chambers asked inexplicably while flipping through it.

"Yes, but that's not the point." Tang Huan explained leisurely: "To be precise, it is the content that once appeared on the CRT monitor screen of that computer."

John Chambers subconsciously groaned, and then he suddenly realized, his hand shook, and the document fell to the ground with a snap.

Quickly bending down to pick up the document, John Chambers quickly compared the contents of the two documents, then walked to the TV to look at it, and then turned back to Tang Huan with a look of disbelief on his face, "Is this TV The TV, combined with this box device, can steal information from the computer screen in the next room."

"If you don't believe it, you can repeat the experiment again." Tang Huan shrugged, "It's just right, I want to confirm it too."

This time, John Chambers no longer found the experimental process boring, nor could he sit there and wait patiently. Instead, he kept shuttling back and forth between the two rooms, sweating profusely from his work. He doesn't have the demeanor of the CEO of the world's highest market capitalization company at all.

After checking the latest experimental results, John Chambers, who was shaking his head, exclaimed that it was incredible, and then said with fear: "Doesn't this experimental result show that interested people can hide outside the office building and steal our business?" confidential."

"It is indeed possible." Tang Huan nodded calmly, "But not only us, but everyone, will face the risk of information leakage caused by the electromagnetic radiation of the CRT monitor screen."

Having said this, Tang Huan stood up, walked back and forth a few steps, and then slowly continued to explain: "It must be pointed out that this method of information leakage is just one example; such as mechanical vibration caused by typing on the keyboard, The same purpose can be achieved by intercepting information packets on the network; it can even launch side-channel attacks on cryptographic systems through information such as power consumption and time differences."

"This... this is too scary!" John Chambers put his hand on his forehead. "This makes me feel that even if I am sitting in my own office, I lack a basic sense of security."

"There is no way. With the advancement of technology, these issues that only the military and intelligence agencies need to consider are now also touched in the public research field." Tang Huan smiled lightly and then looked at John Qian jokingly. Burse's face asked: "John, don't you think your mental state is very representative of those executives? There are unlimited business opportunities here. And now that we have studied this result, we can naturally come up with corresponding solutions. .”

John Chambers is at least one of the world's top CEOs, and he has already developed the tolerance and insight he should have.

He quickly regained his composure and asked thoughtfully: "This research result reminds me of an anti-information theft program called 'Tempest' that is vaguely involved in the process of dealing with customers such as the military and government." safety regulations.”

"That's right, it's about the business opportunities it generates." Tang Huan snapped his fingers, "Simply speaking, the older the equipment, the more thoroughly it has been researched. Therefore, although they still work well, they must be given to us. There is room for new products. The drive to upgrade will naturally generate orders.”

John Chambers, who had cooperated for many years and had a tacit understanding, nodded knowingly, "Then when will this research result be announced to the public?"

"Of course it will be published in an authoritative academic journal immediately." Tang Huan replied slowly with a twinkle in his eyes.

……

As expected, when the experimental results of eavesdropping on the content of CRT monitors by detecting the electromagnetic radiation emitted by them were made public, the relevant sensitive fields suddenly fell into panic.

The U.S. National Security Agency, which responded first, immediately sent representatives to Cupertino in Silicon Valley non-stop to find out what happened.

Various large research institutions, including Bell Labs, were also a little restless and called for consultation.

Even the British Broadcasting Corporation on the other side of the Atlantic sent a team to interview with an incomprehensible motivation.

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(End of this chapter)