Chapter 170 Steve Jobs in 2000

Author: Crow One

Chapter 170 Steve Jobs in 2000

Zhou Xin has only two words to describe Bill Gates' confidence, and that is envy.

Zhou Xin, who came twenty years later, is not that familiar with the case of Microsoft being sued. However, this is a case that has attracted the attention of all media for several years.

In such an environment, people who don't understand can become aware. You can have a deeper understanding of this matter just from news reports.

Zhou Xin internally evaluated that if he had done these things, just perjury would have caused him to lose the case and not be able to stand up.

If it had not brought about any butterfly effect, Microsoft had successfully overturned the case and escaped the fate of being split up after the District Court of Columbia had issued a verdict.

"I also believe that Microsoft will get what it wants in this lengthy lawsuit." Zhou Xin said.

Bill Gates changed the topic: "Since you believe so much that Microsoft will win the final victory, then instead of investing in Apple, which cannot see the future, it is better to buy Microsoft stocks.

Microsoft’s valuation is currently at an absolute low, and it will return to its peak after the court’s ruling.”

Zhou Xin thought to himself, I didn't say you could win, I just said Microsoft could get what it wanted. It seems Bill misunderstood me.

He heard from the other party's words that Bill Gates has always been a little bit resentful about Apple, maybe not about Apple, but about Steve Jobs.

"I also bought shares of Microsoft, but compared with Apple, Microsoft's market value is too high, and it is unlikely that I would buy a 5% share price.

Apple is different. I only need to spend 300 million US dollars to buy the placard line, which is less than a fraction of the market value of Microsoft." Zhou Xin said.

Bill Gates: “Well, I haven’t paid attention to Apple’s market cap in a long time.

you're right."

"Apple will decline from its peak precisely because of a series of incorrect strategic plans adopted in the 1990s.

The reason why I returned to Apple is to get Apple back on track. Judging from the results of the past two years, there is no doubt that the route I chose is the right one." Jobs said.

Because Zhou Xin holds more than 10% of Apple's shares. For an old company that has been in decline for a long time, this shareholding ratio is already a major shareholder.

Although it is not the largest shareholder, it is also an influential shareholder. Apple's shares do not have a structure of different rights for the same shares.

This also means that during the subsequent board change, Zhou Xin will be able to obtain a board member seat and up to 10% of the voting rights.

This is still estimated based on the current shareholding ratio. If Zhou Xin continues to purchase Apple shares, his voting rights will continue to increase.

For Apple's actual managers, Zhou Xin's opinions are an important indicator that must be referred to.

Jobs met Zhou Xin for this purpose. He wanted to know whether Zhou Xin would hinder his strategic planning.

Because he met Bill Gates and Steve Jobs respectively, Zhou Xin could clearly feel the difference between the two.

Bill Gates clearly seems to have reached the peak of his life and has lost his future goals after resigning from the position of CEO of Microsoft. He looks very peaceful.

Jobs, who was born in the same year as Bill Gates, had bright eyes and still appeared to be a tough business maniac even when facing Apple's major shareholders.

The difference between the two lies in their life goals. Bill Gates knew that it would be almost impossible for him to start a business after leaving Microsoft and create a company that surpassed Microsoft.

Jobs, on the other hand, left half his life and returned to the company he was the founder of, but the company still looked half-dead. He hoped to lead Apple back to its original position.

After listening, Zhou Xin nodded and said: "I understand that if any company wants to achieve long-term development, it needs a clear and correct strategy.

I also know something about Apple's past failures, and why Apple has not achieved the same success in the personal PC market in the past ten years.

To put it harshly, it can be described as failure.

There are various opinions in the media, why users don't like closed systems, and the open source operating system of Windows is suitable for ordinary users.

What’s more, the personal pc market continues to shrink, and the general environment is not good.

In my opinion, these are not reasons. Compared with Apple's products in the 1980s, the key is that Apple's products in the 1990s did not have the points to attract users.

Is a closed ecology good? It was successful in the past, why can’t it be successful now? Could it be that user preferences have changed so much in just ten years?

Users used to be able to accept bundled sales of software and hardware, but now they can’t?

The key is that in the past, there were few choices for personal PCs on the market. Apple's software could perfectly meet the needs of some users, which could not be met by other personal PCs equipped with Windows operating systems.

After the 1990s, Windows computers could also do whatever Apple could do, and Apple lost its competitiveness.

The innovations you made in the past two years, attracting users through appearance design, are only temporary solutions. Without innovation from the software level, appearance alone will not be sustainable."

After Zhou Xin finished speaking, Jobs had a new understanding of Zhou Xin. At least he really understood the product. Even if he had never made a personal PC, he could still point out the essence of Apple's past failures.

After leaving Apple to start a new business, Jobs had a clearer understanding of Apple's previous decline, and sometimes it was indeed clear to those who were watching.

He also believes that Apple's failure lies in the increasingly fierce competition in the entire market. As the market competition becomes fiercer, the competitiveness of Apple's products does not advance but retreats.

Later generations will think that Apple's board of directors kicked Jobs out, so the relationship between Jobs and Apple's board of directors was very poor.

Yes, the past was very bad. Twelve years had passed between the time Steve Jobs returned to Apple and the year he was kicked out.

In the past twelve years, Apple has had more than one change from its backing shareholders to board members.

Since the board of directors in the past two years invited Jobs back, it shows that they trust Jobs, and that Jobs is willing to come back also shows that the relationship between the two parties is good.

Not to mention, Apple's current strategic plan was formulated by Steve Jobs and the board of directors.

Therefore, Zhou Xin is a variable for Apple, a variable they did not expect.

Jobs knew that Apple couldn't stand the trouble. If Zhou Xin's ideas for Apple's future development were inconsistent with their plans, Apple's development would be seriously hindered.

You must know that Zhou Xin is not just rich, he has a great say in the product field.

Not to mention the board of directors, even Jobs himself must listen carefully to his opinions.

"Newman, you are right, Apple needs further innovation and more innovation.

But relying on personal PCs, it is difficult for us to surpass it.

Apple's operating system can be optimized in terms of user experience, and we can polish the details to perfection so that users will pay for Mac OS.

For example, I returned to Apple in 1997 and launched Mac OS 8, which achieved pretty good results.

If I remember correctly, one million units were sold in two weeks.

This is good, but it's not enough.

This kind of experience optimization can only help Apple survive and become one of the surviving technology companies in Silicon Valley.

Apple is no different from computer manufacturers such as Dell and HP that rely on Windows operating systems to survive.

I want to do much more than that. We need to innovate and achieve breakthroughs elsewhere.

We need to find areas that Microsoft currently does not cover and achieve breakthroughs, so that we can help Apple become a great company again."

Zhou Xin asked: "So do you have any ideas?"

Jobs said: "Mobile phones, only mobile phones can carry Apple's dream of returning to its original position.

I have been observing the mobile phone industry for a long time, and it is a rapidly developing industry.

It only took less than five years to go from being a communication tool for a few people to almost everyone in America having a mobile phone today.

The mobile phone is also a carrier of information, and it is not fundamentally different from a computer.

Computers are also carriers of information, but compared to the chips in mobile phones, computer chips are much more powerful.

But I believe that with the advancement of technology, the chip performance of mobile phones will become more and more powerful.

And when that time comes, mobile phone operating systems will become the next explosion point.

What Apple needs to do is to achieve sufficient success in the field of mobile operating systems.

We haven’t seen the arrival of a technological inflection point yet, but I believe that time is getting closer.”

Apple has not yet made a music player, that is, the idea of ​​​​an iPod.

They didn't come up with the idea until April 2001, then quickly developed the iPod and released it in the fall.

Zhou Xin was surprised by the sharpness of the other party's vision, and he saw the prospect of mobile phones only in 2000.

He said: "Yes, I am also optimistic about the mobile phone industry. Do you know matrix?"

Jobs said: "You know, the Matrix is ​​my favorite place to stay while I'm waiting for my wife to go shopping.

The matrix store has a great sense of design, and staying in it brings me a lot of inspiration.

It would be great if matrix sells coffee. I know that is your company, a great company. If the shareholder behind it is not you, we have all had the idea of ​​acquiring matrix.

The matrix keyboard is full of design beauty. It is perfect from appearance design to user experience. The only drawback is the price and the technical threshold is too low. Products that copy matrix on the market only cost $100.

This makes it difficult for matrix to be competitive."

Yes, after the matrix keyboard was released, imitation keyboards began to appear in less than half a year.

The original version costs 500 US dollars, while the replica only costs 100 US dollars. The difference is not very big. Except for belief, few people will spend the extra 400 US dollars.

Of course, there are also users who buy because of Zhou Xin's reputation and Matrix itself. Relying on these users, Matrix barely maintains a balance of payments.

"We expect to launch the matrix mobile phone this year, which will be a very different product.

I also believe that mobile phones will be the next important carrier for information interaction, and I believe that when the matrix mobile phone comes out, it will bring you some inspiration."

When a person thinks very much like you, and what you want to do is done by the other person first, even if you know that the other person is your competitor, you will still admire the other person involuntarily.
To be continued...