Chapter 405 Another Year
The negotiations between Shirakawa Kaede and Toshiba were generally considered to have resulted in a verbal agreement.
Firstly, SIC's chip licensing fee was indeed very low, and Toshiba could not find any reason to refuse.
Secondly, exchanging flash memory, which is not even perfect in theory, for processor chip technology is a good deal no matter how you look at it.
Toshiba did not enter the processor chip field before because this part of the market was almost negligible at the time.
However, the rapid development of personal computers in recent years has caused these major manufacturers to shift their focus to CPUs.
If the current trend continues, the processor chip market will become very substantial within ten years.
This is also the reason why the five big gangsters started to target SIC. Everything is for the purpose of making arrangements in advance.
However, Intel, Motorola and other industry leaders are owned by the United States, so if they want to use them, they can only pay money.
So at this time, the existence of SIC becomes quite glaring. Why should you pay money when you can get it for free?
But apparently their plans have not been going smoothly recently, and SIC's power has somewhat exceeded the expectations of several major semiconductor manufacturers.
This is also the reason why Toshiba now accepts mutual authorization. If forcing it doesn't work, then let's sit down and talk.
In addition, the mutual compromise between Fujitsu and Hitachi made the original alliance meaningless, leaving only an empty shell.
Yes, before talking with Toshiba, Shirakawa had already reached an agreement with Fujitsu and Hitachi.
Fujitsu, needless to say, has a long history of cooperation with SIC. They both belong to the Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank camp, so the two companies are naturally friendly from a historical perspective.
After Shirakawa Feng expressed the willingness to open up the license, the other party immediately promised not to respond to the calls of other companies on processor chips in the future.
Hitachi's reason is that they are still stuck in the IBM espionage case and cannot extricate themselves, while SIC's technology is clean and has nothing to do with the United States.
So from the perspective of supply and demand, it most hopes to obtain SIC's authorization and then use the processor chip it designed.
With these two companies' betrayals in the past, Toshiba had no pressure to compromise.
The so-called alliance is a gathering of interests, but conversely, it can of course be disbanded because of interests.
Among the five companies, three turned against us.
The remaining Mitsubishi, NEC, as well as Sharp, Ricoh, Rohm, Sony, Panasonic and others, have shown no signs of compromise.
That's right, apart from the Big Five, all other Japanese companies with chip businesses want to get a piece of the pie.
These include Sony and Panasonic, which have good cooperation with Shirakawa Electric.
Business is business, there is cooperation and competition.
Baichuan Feng would not be angry about this, as he would do the same.
But Baichuan Feng had no intention of compromising with them.
Not only will SIC not compromise, but its future processor licensees in Japan will only be the current three, with no additional licensees added.
If three out of the five companies compromise, then the goal will be achieved. If the others want to use it, they will have to pay for it.
There is no doubt that even if SIC opens up some licenses, the top-performing CPU will still be SIC's exclusive product.
Authorization is authorization, but that does not mean taking out your most advanced technology.
SIC will only open up the parts that were gradually eliminated after it has ensured that it has at least two generations of technological advantages.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be like teaching the apprentice to starve the master to death? He wasn't that stupid.
Moreover, the CPU companies that can survive in the future will be those with the most advanced technology.
Just look at what happens to Intel and AMD in the future and you will know. Among so many chip design companies in the world, how many will survive in the end?
Even big companies like Motorola and Texas Instruments have given up related businesses, which shows that the CPU industry is a winner-takes-all industry.
If nothing unexpected happens, the three companies in Japan that have obtained SIC authorization will most likely abandon the computer CPU business in the future and enter the industrial equipment CPU field.
Of course, this is a later story. Now that he has dealt with the three companies, Baichuan Feng can breathe a sigh of relief.
As for the remaining companies that are still prepared to get something for free, Baichuan Feng still has a lot to deal with.
They will even continue to push it forward at the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. After all, the influence of so many companies combined is still huge.
But this is no longer so urgent for SIC.
This is a protracted battle, and victory will come if we drag it out.
…
After solving SIC's urgent problem, Baichuan Feng can finally take a break.
His children have been born for more than a month, but Baichuan Feng has not spent enough time with them.
Shirakawa Kaede, who had finally had a rest at home that day, picked up one of his children in each hand and prepared to go for a walk in the courtyard and bask in the sun.
As a result, I hadn't taken two steps when I felt a warm sensation in my arms.
"Hey." He looked down at his arm, the wet mark was slowly expanding, "You two did this on purpose, right?"
"Ha~" Yuko Tanaka, who was with him, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
She spent a month in the hospital and is now back home.
Although there is no concept of confinement in Japan, doctors still recommend that mothers lie down and rest as much as possible in the first month .
As for Shirakawa Kaede's family, they can just stay in the luxurious suite for a month.
Now that Yuko Tanaka has almost recovered, the first thing she did after being discharged from the hospital was to make a fitness plan.
Don't be fooled by her gentle and weak appearance, she has a strong sense of crisis.
Restoring your figure is the top priority, even more important than eating.
Seeing Baichuan Feng's embarrassment at this moment, she laughed at first, then hurriedly took the child and prepared to change the diaper.
But there was no need for her to do these things. Soon, two confinement nannies who were pushing strollers not far behind came forward to take over the matter.
"Let them be busy, and walk with me first." Shirakawa Feng took Tanaka Yuko's hand and slowly walked towards their own garden.
It’s a pity that it’s winter now, and many flowers, plants and trees have withered, so there’s not much to see.
"What is Long San busy with recently?"
Ryuzo Tanaka is the younger brother of Yuko Tanaka, and is actually a little older than Kaede Shirakawa.
But since he is his brother-in-law, Shirakawa Feng also called him "Ryuzo".
"I've been thinking about becoming an actor recently, but things haven't been going well." Speaking of her younger brother, Yuko Tanaka couldn't help but laugh.
He graduated from a serious drama department and was also interested in becoming an entertainer.
Why do young people nowadays only want to be entertainers? Baichuan Feng smiled.
"Can I help you?"
"No need," Yuko Tanaka shook her head, "Let him train for two years first."
Artists who have never experienced hardship will not have a sense of awe for this profession.
Yuko Tanaka firmly believed this, so she did not want to give her brother a back door.
Otherwise, with her own energy, it would be very easy for her to arrange a relationship now.
Since she didn't need it, Baichuan Feng didn't ask any more questions.
“By the way, if it’s possible next year, why don’t you help me look at the comics at Tokuma Shoten to see which characters are suitable for making toys.
Gaode has a poor sense of smell in this area. Although it has launched several figures, the results are not ideal. "
Yuko Tanaka likes reading, and sometimes she also likes to write and draw by herself.
Shirakawa Feng saw some of the cartoon characters she had drawn, and they were quite kawaii.
Since she is interested in this area, you might as well find something for her to do.
Isn't it a good match for her to design characters for action figures?
Sure enough, when Tanaka Yuko heard this, her eyes lit up and she asked with some interest.
"Designing character toys for comics? Well... I'll try later?"
"Hayi, it's okay, just believe in yourself~"
Having just given birth to a child and retired from the entertainment industry, Baichuan Feng was worried that she would not be able to get used to it for a while.
So it would be better to find something interesting for her. Gaode's business has been half-dead anyway, so it's a good opportunity for her to practice.
…
Time flies, and before December at the end of the year, Baichuan Feng flew to North America again.
The main purpose is to see Keiko Matsuzaka. It is not easy for her to be pregnant alone.
I spent more than half a month with her there and also discussed some business matters .
Especially at Apple, Jobs proudly took him to admire the Macintosh series of computers.
As the predecessor of Mac, it was also the first graphical operating system to appear.
Although the functions are still relatively simple, it is shocking enough for people of this era.
This computer will be launched in January next year, equipped with SIC's 80281. It not only carries high hopes for Steve Jobs, but also for Shirakawa Kaede.
However, after experiencing the Mac computer, Baichuan Feng also gave some suggestions.
For example, the design of operating logic, and the strong suggestion to CEO Steve Jobs to increase the 128K memory to 512K or even 1MB.
In response to Boss Qiao's doubts, Bai Chuanfeng directly told him that he would know the answer by trying multiple programs on his existing Mac computer for a week.
Of course, Apple conducted a series of tests, and he no longer paid attention to it after he made his suggestions.
Improvement takes time, and everything requires patience, waiting for the day when Macintosh shocks the world.
In the last few days before the end of the year, Baichuan Feng flew back to Neon in a hurry.
As it is the end of another year, it is time for Shirakawa Holdings to hold its annual review as per tradition.
Compared with last year, the number of participants in this year's conference is larger.
With the profitability of Shirakawa Energy and LCD factory, the heads of these two factories are obviously much more confident this year than they were last year.
After more than two years of continuous investment, Shirakawa Energy finally came up with a well-known product like the chewing gum battery.
Since April and May, the design has been applied to products of Shirakawa Electric and Sony one after another. After more than half a year, it has not become a hit, but it has gained a certain degree of popularity.
According to internal statistics, by the end of the year, Shirakawa Energy had shipped nearly 20 million gum batteries.
This is a statistics of all sales at home and abroad.
The largest consumption is in portable CD players, each containing 4 sections. The domestic sales of Neon alone amount to over one million units, which means over 5 million sections.
Adding the numerous series of Walkman and new models from Sony, the total number is almost this much.
The manufacturing cost of batteries is actually not high, and profits are made by selling in large quantities.
The retail price of 450 yen can guarantee a profit of at least 250 yen.
If calculated in this way, Shirakawa Energy will have a profit of more than 5 billion yen this year alone.
Even if the 600 million yen invested in the previous two years is removed, Shirakawa Energy still has considerable retained profits.
The person in charge of Shirakawa Energy can of course stand up straight with confidence since the factory he is in charge of is making money.
And if nothing unexpected happens, this number will be even larger next year.
In addition to the increasing popularity as the market expands, Sony, Panasonic, and Sanyo will also have to pay patent fees.
Shirakawa Electric has reached an agreement with them, and several companies have joined forces to promote chewing gum batteries in their products.
And for every battery they produce, they need to pay Shirakawa Energy 45 yen in patent fees.
In return, Shirakawa Energy gave them the formula for chewing gum batteries and authorized their production.
Collecting patent fees is a high-end way of playing. Compared with the patent fees, the profits of one's own battery factory may become a drizzle in the future.
In addition to the battery factory, which turned losses into profits, the LCD factory's profits this year also made great strides compared to last year.
Not to mention the TN screens used to supply its own products, the real profit comes from the revenue generated by that brain-opening product.
