enjoyebooks Chapter 378 Notebook Prototype
Chapter 378 Notebook Prototype
In Jinan in November, the wind was already biting cold. Outside the window, everything was gray and the clouds hung low, suggesting it might snow. The sycamore trees had all lost their leaves, leaving only bare branches stretching out.
Ling Yun sat at his desk with a document spread out in front of him—Qilu Microelectronics' R&D progress report for this month.
There was a knock on the door, and Wang Jianguo pushed it open, carrying a laptop. Its silver-gray casing was thinner and lighter than most laptops. He placed the laptop on the table and sat down opposite him. He was wearing a dark blue jacket, zipped up to his neck, and his face was slightly red from the cold. He rubbed his hands together and said, "President Ling, it's done."
Ling Yun looked at the computer. Wang Jianguo turned it on and pressed the power button. The screen lit up in a few seconds—Ling Yun counted in his mind, about six seconds. The Star System's startup screen flashed briefly: a blue starry sky, white shooting stars, and then it entered the Starlight page.
The Starlight app's interface is clean and simple, with only a few icons: a file manager, a browser, a text editor, and a terminal. The mouse pointer is white, and it's very responsive and smooth when you slide it across the screen.
Wang Jianguo turned the computer around for Ling Yun to see. He said, "The boot time is six and a half seconds, which is about 30% faster than the x86 version. The x86 version takes about nine seconds with the same hardware configuration. It's not that x86 is slow; it's that the ARM architecture is inherently suited for low power consumption and fast boot. The instruction set is streamlined, so it doesn't require as much initialization."
Ling Yun pulled the computer over, swiped his finger across the touchpad, opened the file manager, clicked on a few folders, and closed them. He opened the browser, loaded a local webpage—the speed was acceptable. He opened a text editor, typed a few words, and deleted them. He looked up at Wang Jianguo and asked, "What about the power consumption?"
Wang Jianguo pulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket and unfolded it, placing it on the table. Several lines of numbers were written on it, handwritten by himself; the characters were small but clear. He pointed to the first line and said, "The x86 version, with the same configuration, has a standby power consumption of 15 watts and a full load power consumption of 45 watts. The ARM version has a standby power consumption of 5 watts and a full load power consumption of 16 watts. Its power consumption is one-third that of the x86. The battery lasts for eight hours. The x86 one only lasts two hours."
Lingyun asked him, "How's the performance? How does it feel to run?"
Wang Jianguo said, "Regular office work is no problem. Typing, browsing the internet, checking emails, and making PPTs are all smooth. Opening large Excel spreadsheets is a little slow, but acceptable. Watching videos is also fine, not high-definition, just regular VCD quality, no lag. Programming software for learning runs smoothly. I've tested the compilation environments for Python, Java, and C; small projects are no problem, larger ones are a bit slower. For those requiring high-performance computing, like 3D rendering, video editing, and large databases, it can't run. But nobody uses a laptop for these tasks. Who would use a laptop for rendering? Rendering is done on workstations, desktops, the kind with dozens of cores. Who uses a laptop for that? CAD and EDA are also no good. Drawing circuit diagrams and doing PCB design requires high-precision graphics, and ARM GPUs aren't enough. Besides, those software programs don't even have ARM versions, requiring recompilation, which is a huge workload. I don't plan to do that for now."
Ling Yun closed the laptop and placed it on the table. He looked at Wang Jianguo and asked, "What's the biggest problem users encounter?"
Wang Jianguo thought for a moment and said, "It's about getting used to it. People who are used to Windows will find the Xingchen system unfamiliar. The interface is different, the operating logic is different, and the software is different. Although we've built a compatibility layer so it can run some Windows programs, it's slow and unstable. Users will complain. The second problem is the software ecosystem. We have WPS for office software, which is enough. We have Xingmang for browsers, which is enough. We have email clients, PDF readers, and simple image processing software. But we lack professional software. We don't have Photoshop, AutoCAD, MATLAB, or SolidWorks. Designers, engineers, and researchers can't use it. Ordinary users have no problem; they can type, browse the internet, watch videos, write emails, and make PPTs. We did a test with twenty ordinary users, including students, teachers, company clerks, and government officials. After a month, the feedback was okay. Most people said it was enough for their daily needs, but some software was missing, so they had to find alternatives, which was a bit troublesome. A small number of people said they weren't used to it and still wanted to use Windows."
Lingyun asked him, "Is it getting hot? How's the heat dissipation?"
Wang Jianguo said, "ARM chips generate little heat, so passive cooling is sufficient. We explored several cooling solutions and ultimately chose a graphite patch with a metal backplate. After running continuously for eight hours, the back temperature was around 40 degrees Celsius, which wasn't hot to the touch. It's fine to use it on your lap. The x86 chip, on the other hand, gets so hot after just one hour that you can't put it down."
Ling Yun nodded, looked at Wang Jianguo, and asked, "How's production going? Can Ma Baoguo take over?"
Wang Jianguo said, "Yes. We can find suppliers in China for the casing, motherboard, and battery. The casing is made by a factory in Shenzhen, using aluminum-magnesium alloy, die-casting process, and sandblasting treatment. The weight is kept under 1.5 kilograms. We designed the motherboard ourselves; it's a four-layer board, and most of the components are domestically produced. However, the screen is a Sharp, 14-inch, with a resolution of 1024x768. The battery is made by a factory in Huizhou. We invested in them, and they converted a production line specifically for laptop batteries. It has an eight-hour battery life and can be charged 500 times. The total cost of all these components is about four thousand yuan."
Ling Yun walked back to the table and sat down. He picked up the computer, turned it on, and looked at the desktop again. He opened the browser, loaded a few news websites, and the speed was acceptable. He closed the browser, opened the terminal, and typed a command. A bunch of characters scrolled across the screen, finally stopping at the cursor. He looked at the screen for about ten seconds, then closed the computer and placed it on the table. He looked up at Wang Jianguo and said, "This version can be released. First, make a prototype for the media to review and for users to try. We'll gather feedback and make further changes. Once it's finalized, mass production will begin in the first quarter of next year."
Wang Jianguo nodded, took out a notebook from his pocket, opened it, and scribbled a few notes. He closed the notebook, looked at Ling Yun, and said, "Mr. Ling, there's one more question."
Ling Yun looked at him and asked, "What's the problem?"
Wang Jianguo said, "Name. What's this series called? Alienware has its own brand, and Spark Electronics also has its own brand. Which one does our ARM laptop belong to?"
Ling Yun thought for a moment and said, "Let's call it Starlight Laptop, ARM architecture, Spark OS, Spark brand. Three 'stars' together. Alienware will continue making high-end gaming laptops, x86 architecture, Windows OS and Starry Sky OS. The two sides won't compete. Users who want to play games will buy Alienware. Users who want to do office work or study will buy Spark. Let's make it clear."
Wang Jianguo nodded and wrote down those words. He stood up, put the computer into a gray laptop bag, and zipped it up.
He slung his bag over his shoulder, stood in front of the table, and looked at Ling Yun. He said, "Mr. Ling, I've been in this business for twenty years. I started with the 286, then the 386, the 486, and the Pentium, and I've come this far."
"We used to use everything from foreign companies. The CPUs were from Intel, the motherboards were from Taiwan, and the operating systems were from Microsoft. What we made ourselves were the cases, power supplies, keyboards, and mice. Low value-added products. Low profit margins, low technological content, if others lowered their prices, you wouldn't survive."
"Things are different now. The CPU is designed by ourselves, based on the ARM architecture. Although its performance is not as good as Intel's, it has low power consumption and low cost, making it suitable for mobile devices. The operating system is developed by ourselves, the Spark system. Although its software ecosystem is not as good as Windows, it is sufficient, secure, and controllable. The motherboard is designed by ourselves, and the battery is made by ourselves. The entire computer, except for the screen, memory, and hard drive, is made in China. We will definitely be able to make the screen, memory, and hard drive in the future. I have been doing this my whole life, and today I can say that I have accomplished something."
Ling Yun didn't speak. He just quietly looked at Wang Jianguo, a veteran who had been working in the industry for many years, and felt a mix of emotions.
Wang Jianguo slung his laptop bag over his shoulder and said, "President Ling, I'll be going now. I'll keep an eye on the prototypes. We'll produce ten engineering prototypes next month for the media to review."
Ling Yun nodded and said, "Go."