Chapter 319 Involvement
Why was Fujitsu so nervous after hearing that people from Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric were arrested?
That's because Fujitsu's compatible computers are slightly related to some of IBM's technologies.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the global computer market was basically concentrated in the business sector.
At that time, there was no concept of personal computers, let alone the related microcomputer market.
However, although computers are developing slowly, they have been widely used in the business field.
Among them, IBM's mainframes occupy more than 70% of the global market.
The so-called mainframe, in layman's terms, means that a company shares a server and a storage system.
Then, the company's employees use their respective operation ports to aggregate the data or information that the company needs to process to a large server for analysis.
This is similar to a local area network, the difference is that the computer operated by the employee does not have processing capabilities, it is just an input port.
All data is aggregated to the mainframe server and then processed centrally by the server.
This system is a mainframe, which to some extent replaces the configuration requirement that each employee has a computer.
From the perspective of a company's cost of use, the cost of a mainframe is much cheaper than that of N personal computers.
Therefore, mainframes are widely used in the business field, especially in banks, insurance companies, airlines, railway systems, government agencies and other companies that require large amounts of computing. They are the largest customers of mainframes.
Since the demand is huge and the prospects are broad, it is not surprising that traditional arts are put to use in daily life.
Starting from the 1970s, Japan began to learn from IBM under the organization of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry.
What did you study? IBM mainframe manufacturing, of course.
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry brought together six domestic companies with computer businesses and provided them with a large amount of R&D funds and policy support.
The six companies were divided into three groups, and targeted learning began for different mainframe companies in the United States.
Among them, Hitachi and Mitsubishi formed a group and their object of study was IBM.
Fujitsu and Sharp formed a group, and their learning object was the American company Amdahl.
This company is IBM's biggest competitor. In order to obtain its computer technology, Fujitsu has even been trying to acquire a stake in Amdahl.
In addition to using their traditional skills, these companies organized by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry also carry out reverse engineering.
Another way to develop mainframes is to get involved in the production details of mainframes through IBM's foundry in Japan.
With the unethical support of the Neon government, after more than a of efforts, IBM's 70% of the global mainframe market has now been compressed to around 50%.
The biggest beneficiaries among them are Hitachi and Fujitsu, which are Japan's largest mainframe manufacturers.
However, in recent years, as IBM's technology has continued to upgrade, it has become increasingly difficult for Hitachi and Fujitsu to imitate its mainframes.
A mainframe not only includes hardware design, it is also an organic whole that combines software and hardware.
Mainframes must use software packages, compilation systems, and operating systems tailored specifically for them to run smoothly.
This is a very closed ecosystem, with only hardware but no software. The compatible computers produced by Hitachi and Fujitsu are useless.
However, it is precisely because of this closed nature that mainframes have characteristics such as high reliability and high security that are deeply trusted by enterprises.
The cheapest mainframe starts at $200,000, so the profit margin of such a high value-added product is naturally not low.
Therefore, even if they encounter some difficulties, Hitachi will not give up this part of the profit.
Just like the 3081K mainframe launched by IBM last year, the processor architecture and compilation system have all been upgraded, and security has been greatly improved.
Hitachi, which had been using IBM mainframes as prototypes to make compatible computers, became anxious.
Unable to crack its compilation system and processor architecture, it would take Hitachi about three years to produce its own compatible computer.
Over such a long period of time, IBM's mainframes have gone through two or three iterations.
Therefore, when Hitachi and Mitsubishi accidentally obtained the first ten volumes of technical information on IBM's 3081K mainframe, they felt like they had found a treasure.
And because there was only half, the company was eager to launch an IBM-compatible model.
Hitachi and Mitsubishi took the risk and tried to use IBM's internal relationships to steal the remaining technical information.
The director of the Kanagawa factory believed the FBI's phishing agents so easily because he urgently needed the remaining information from IBM to develop his own compatible computer.
Hitachi and Mitsubishi, who were in a hurry, were also set up by IBM and the FBI and caught red-handed.
As a member of the learning alliance, Fujitsu was extremely nervous after hearing the news.
Logically speaking, Fujitsu and Sharp learned from Amdahl, which seems to have nothing to do with IBM.
But we know our own business. Fujitsu's compatible computers also refer to IBM's design a lot.
Not to mention the hardware, even a lot of software is imitating IBM's design.
Michiyoshi Mazuka knew that the processor architecture of his mainframe was somewhat similar to that of IBM.
And Ryuji Tokita was also very clear that many interfaces on Fujitsu compatible machines were common with IBM.
The reason why compatible computers are called compatible computers is that they can be seamlessly connected with IBM mainframes in terms of operating system and software.
It would be fine if it was just compatibility, but unfortunately, Fujitsu did not obtain IBM's authorization for all this.
Their operating systems and software are nominally developed independently, but many of the kernels are derived from IBM's designs.
Now IBM has taken ruthless action and joined forces with the FBI to send people from Hitachi and Mitsubishi to jail.
The nature of the case has completely changed. Just as the newspaper said, this is a case of industrial espionage, it is a crime!
What’s even more exaggerated is that IBM is preparing to initiate international accountability procedures.
The FBI has already issued an arrest warrant in Japan. None of the people involved in the behind-the-scenes deal, including the director of Hitachi's Kanagawa factory, will be able to escape.
The FBI is so overbearing that they arrest people in daily life just like they arrest people at home.
Michiyoshi Mazuka and Ryuji Tokita were frightened by IBM because Fujitsu itself was also in trouble.
But even so, Shirakawa Feng still didn't understand why Fujitsu urgently notified him to come here.
"Mazuka-san, since Fujitsu has nothing to do with this industrial espionage case, why are you two so nervous?
What is the matter that requires me to come here so urgently?"
In response to Shirakawa Kaede's question, Mazuka Michiyoshi pondered for a long time before speaking with an embarrassed expression.
"Mr. Shirakawa may not know that some of the design inspiration for Fujitsu-compatible computers came from IBM.
According to internal information, IBM is conducting a thorough investigation of all compatible computers on the market, especially in Japan.
If certain infringements are discovered, it could be troublesome.”
Baichuan Feng roughly understood that IBM was starting to settle scores, and the six members of the Neon Study Group were all a little panicked.
In the past, infringements would result in lawsuits and disputes at best, and they have experienced this too many times.
With the Japanese government protecting its own people, it is normal for cross-border lawsuits to last for several years.
Therefore, Fujitsu and others did not care much about the so-called infringement before.
At worst, under pressure from the United States, they can just sign an agreement privately and pay some compensation, and that's it. They don't even have to bow.
But this time it is different. The Hitachi incident was classified as industrial espionage, which is a violation of the law and must be taken seriously.
In particular, they are not satisfied with the arrest of Hitachi and Mitsubishi's liaisons in the United States, and are now launching a cross-border manhunt.
None of the senior Hitachi engineers, the Kanagawa factory manager and other senior executives who had previously participated in the incident could escape.
This is quite scary. Being in a US prison is no joke.
As direct senior executives of Fujitsu's related businesses, Michiyoshi Mazuka and Ryuji Tokita were so frightened that they broke out in cold sweats several times.
After all, they are the main persons in charge of Fujitsu's study group.
One is responsible for hardware architecture, and the other is responsible for software design. If IBM wants to use this incident to expand the scope of its attack, it may really be able to track them down.
Because Hitachi and Fujitsu will not go bankrupt, but their employees will be arrested for breaking the law.
Therefore, it is understandable that Michiyoshi Mazuka and Ryuji Tokita were so worried all day long.
Baichuan Feng nodded, and roughly understood the whole thing.
As expected, he had no sovereignty and was in the wrong, so he was beaten by his master without even the chance to fight back and was at the mercy of others.
"Please rest assured, Mr. Mazuka, if Fujitsu is indeed not involved in this matter, it is just that part of the design was referenced by IBM.
Then you two can rest assured that the dispute between Fujitsu and IBM is at most a software licensing dispute, which can generally be resolved through economic means. "
It's software infringement, so just pay compensation and that's it.
Even if Fujitsu could take the initiative to communicate with IBM about the licensing issue, this matter might not even make a splash.
After hearing Baichuan Feng's comfort, Jianzuka Michiyoshi immediately waved his hand.
"Fujitsu certainly had no involvement in this matter. It was all a misunderstanding. Who would have known that something like software could have copyright?"
Yes, the computer industry was just developing. At that time, Japanese people had no concept of software copyright.
It was only after the IBM espionage case that the general public realized that software also has copyright.
It was truly a wild era, with everything growing wildly.
The reason why people in later generations attach great importance to copyright and crack down on piracy is that they have stepped on countless landmines during their development.
Growth is always accompanied by pain, which is a problem that any country will encounter during its development process.
However... after eating the melon, Baichuan Feng thought about the purpose of his coming here.
"By the way, Mazuka-san and Tokita-san, you two haven't told me what this has to do with me."
I'm not involved in your compatible computer business, so you can't blame me .
Michiyoshi Mazuka and Ryuji Tokita looked at each other, their faces somewhat hesitant.
In the end, it was Michiyoshi Mazuka, who had relatively more contact with Shirakawa Kaede, who spoke up and explained the reason for the matter.
"Rumor has it that IBM is seeking to inspect the design of all of Hitachi's computer businesses because of this incident.
This includes but is not limited to compatible computers, and it is likely that personal computers are also within the scope of review.”
Reviewing the design of a computer? Bai Chuanfeng's eyes widened. This request was a bit too much.
It is roughly equivalent to showing others your own software and hardware design, inside and out, without reservation.
There are no business secrets at all, and even your own cutting-edge technology may be learned by others.
Suddenly, Shirakawa Feng was startled. "Fujitsu here... ?"
"It's just a rumor, a rumor..." Michiyoshi Mazuka began to wipe his sweat again.
Although the other party tried his best to explain, Baichuan Feng's face had already darkened.
