[Chapter 628: One Step Faster, One Step Faster]
William White's first stop is San Francisco, where his memory manufacturing facility has started producing 32 MB memory modules. At this rate, 64 MB memory will also be completed by early next year.
This speed leaves their competitors, including Japan and South Korea, in the dust. It's also a bitter pill for those companies that abandoned dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) to swallow. The birth of the internet has rapidly increased the demand for semiconductor products, from CPUs to memory modules and storage devices.
What frustrates Silicon Valley companies the most is that they once had a monopoly advantage in this industry chain. Now, leaving aside the four-nation battle for CPUs, the dynamic memory business has nearly been wiped out except for one company -- White Systems. Ironically, White Systems doesn't want to share the spoils. In fact, they would rather collaborate with Japan than grant licenses to American companies.
"I won't give in. Let them all go bankrupt. Do you know how much trouble these guys have caused me, Tom?" William exclaimed.
"Yeah, they were raking in the profits back then. They never considered South Korea a threat. And now they regret it," Tom replied, wiping the sweat from his brow.
"You know what, Tom? The Koreans have their eyes on the memory business. Seagate is still hesitating, and the Big Blue is still dragging their feet. Given the current state, they still cling to their mainframe systems."
"Sir, this time they've really caught a tailwind. The establishment of that website has completely overloaded their capacity. You know, if they can't produce in time, they want to shift gears."
William White found himself speechless at this turn of events. Everyone is in it to make money; if he can't produce, outsourcing is obviously the next step. But what's their stake in my dynamic memory? If they can't produce in time, they just need to ramp up their own capacity.
William couldn't understand the mindset of these IT moguls. Seriously, they trust the Japanese, and they trust the Taiwanese, but they don't trust their own country and Europe? Fine, those two might be easier to control. If they didn't play fair, they could still be robbed. But think they could get a leg up from me? Not a chance.
The technology for dynamic memory is pretty much the same across the board. William estimates that Samsung lag behind him by only six months. Europe and Japan are about the same level. The most embarrassing aspect was the U.S., with a gap of nearly 18 months. White Systems had already ceased production of products under 1 MB, while they were still cranking those out.
Memory modules accrue greater value with larger capacities. Products below 1 MB have practically no future. As he pondered that all these technologies were exported from the U.S., this awkwardness became even more apparent. It seemed the bald eagle's self-destructive gene was still quite powerful.
...
"Ha ha, Andy, what did I tell you? William White wouldn't bother with Micron."
"Moore, we've talked about this guy before. Ha ha, old friend, he really praises your Moore's Law."
"What a jerk. We have no way to control the yield; that's no way to run a factory."
Intel's CEO was furious. Though William White had avoided direct competition with them, he was still ungrateful. To him, the GPU market also held large prospects, and more importantly, there's no AMD stirring the pot.
William's refusal to find a second supplier was precisely because of AMD. With Intel in the game, as long as he didn't act foolishly, he simply wouldn't look for an alternative supplier in the U.S.
"Andy, with such a large shipment volume, our next step is..."
"Old friend, we can't drag this out. Motorola's 6900 is impressive. If it weren't for the IBM's issues, I think we'd be facing serious problems."
"Don't worry about that. Why doesn't William White have a follow-up plan? I've heard the CPU department at Motorola has a lot of dissent. Other than low-power CPUs, their other R&D projects have been scrapped."
"You're saying he knows IBM is intentionally suppressing him?"
"Ha ha, right. He's a smart guy. He won't waste his efforts on fruitless endeavors."
"Whatever the case, we need to speed up. IBM isn't in good shape. This internet storm has made Compaq's orders surpass theirs."
The two top brass at Intel were clearly uneasy. The competition in the IT industry was cutthroat. Commodore, which had been doing well a few years back, was now struggling. Apple, after ousting Jobs, hadn't enjoyed much comfort either.
That's how the IT industry works: if you don't have speed, you'll soon find yourself eliminated. An 18-month gap is the tipping point. It's less about how impressive Moore's Law is and more about needing to adapt within that time frame.
...
"How's our 64 MB memory coming along?"
"Chairman, the earliest will be next March. We've calculated that we're roughly three months behind the Americans."
"Sigh, after such a huge investment, it's still not enough?" Lee Kun-hee felt somewhat despondent. Ever since White Systems surpassed them, he's been thinking of how to catch up. Unfortunately, others just have deeper pockets.
"Chairman, that foreign guy is crazy. If our estimates are correct, they're going to incur severe losses."
"You don't get it. At his level, money is not an obstacle. Now that he's succeeded, someone will cover those costs. By the way, Park In-young, what do you think about their proposal for comprehensive cooperation?"
"Chairman, there's a conspiracy behind it. Given their strength, they don't need to do that."
"Perhaps, but we don't have much time. If I remember correctly, their LED technology is ahead of ours, right?"
"It is, but just by a little. Chairman, why is he doing this? Wouldn't it be better to keep control in his hands?"
"I've studied him closely lately. This guy doesn't like direct management. Just look at Motorola."
"He is indeed a strange character."
"Alright, I've made up my mind. Set up an appointment; I need to talk to him."
...
William White was acutely aware that Samsung was different from him; they were solely focused on semiconductors, while he was merely a side player.
Then the question arises: since he might face setbacks in the future, wouldn't it be better to collaborate while he still holds a leading advantage?
The Japanese are already finished; if their economy collapses, those semiconductor companies will retract investments. If America strikes at this moment, one William White alone could not withstand it.
What? You suggest sabotaging them?
Ha ha, a move or two would suffice. Seriously, Washington isn't his family's establishment. Besides, once old Bush falls out of favor, his good days will be over. At least not as comfortable as now.
They say fortune flows in cycles; there's a lot of truth to that. The reason why the Donkey and the Elephant alternate rule is precisely due to this principle.
You've had your share; it's high time you get lost so we can take our turn.
And then, another cycle begins.
Time was running short for William White. The industries that would cause him trouble needed to be organized right away.
Ha ha, when those guys finally think about stirring trouble, they will be astonished to find they're just a step behind.
"Filson, next year, just next year, all the industries I have will go public."
"Sir, that would put a lot of pressure on us."
"Let's start with those key enterprises first. If that doesn't work out, we'll turn it over to a trust company."
"Sir, is the Justice Department going to stir up trouble again?"
"Filson, don't you think we're already too big?"
"I get it, sir," Filson said no more. William White had stated a fact that was hard to argue against.
*****
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