Author: quiet thoughts

Chapter 312 CD-ROM

Hongchuan Maple came to Fujitsu to see how its own chips perform in computers.

After Bu Nao learned about the relevant configurations of computers in the current era, he had some new ideas.

Regardless of whether it is a Chinese ROM card, floppy disk, etc., they all belong to external devices, which are also called peripherals in later generations.

Why are all those peripherals integrated outside the computer host in the future, but now they are sold separately as accessories?

The reason is probably because their prices are too high.

The Chinese character ROM card can be handled by an input method in the future, but now it can be realized by making it into a hardware device.

The price of a Chinese character ROM card is as high as 30,000 yuan, which is more expensive than the core accessory chip of the computer, accounting for about a quarter of the total price of the computer.

The price of HAL Research Institute is very cheap. According to Hongchuan Kaede, NEC is preparing to develop similar hardware, and the price is likely to exceed 40,000 yuan.

If the Chinese character ROM card is integrated into the computer host, its selling price will increase by 20% to 30% out of thin air.

As we all know, the already high price of computers makes it even worse for ordinary users.

And floppy disks are even more amazing. One floppy drive plus one floppy disk costs about 180,000 yuan per month, which is much more expensive than a computer!

If it is provided as a standard accessory of the host, it means that the price of the entire set of equipment will soar to more than 300,000 yuan per month.

That price, let alone ordinary users, even Hongchuan Feng finds it unbelievable.

Therefore, whether it is a Chinese character ROM card or a floppy drive, it can exist as an optional peripheral.

But it can also be found that Ruming's computer hardware has seriously slowed down the speed of computer development.

The price of a floppy disk of several hundred KB is almost as high as that of a computer, which is simply unimaginable.

As the core driving force for the development of information technology, computers are the basic unit of the birth of the Internet.

The exchange, transmission and sharing of data and information are the responsibilities it should bear.

Only in this way will computer technology continue to advance and make people's lives more convenient.

Among them, data storage devices such as floppy disks share part of the responsibility for information exchange.

But its high price will obviously put most people away.

Not to mention that information transmission promotes technological progress, today's floppy disks are just luxury accessories, and few ordinary people will buy them.

Well, considering the advancement of computer technology, Hong Chuanfeng felt that it was necessary to develop portable storage devices.

Alas, in the final analysis, not only the price, but the market is too fragrant.

A floppy drive costs several hundred dollars, which is a clear money grab!

Hong Chuanfeng said that he would definitely criticize this kind of business without seeking face in person.

Capitalism is indeed very bad, with blood flowing from every pore.

Cough~ But that blood also smells like money.

So what technologies does Hongchuan Maple have that are related to storage?

The answer is no CD, or to put it another way, CD!

In the minds of the world, CD has always been synonymous with music.

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear it is a CD disk that stores music and a CD player that plays music.

But CD is not actually a storage format, and music is one of the contents it stores.

In addition to the music format CD-DA, there are a series of extended formats such as CD-R, CD-I, and CD-ROM.

Of course, those extended formats are rarely available now, because Sony has focused all its attention on the music CD format.

After all, that was one of Norio Ohga's original purposes in developing CD technology, and therefore, with Sony's unremitting efforts to promote it, CDs and music were almost tied together.

The reason why people mistakenly think that CDs have such a labeling impression is that Sony's promotion is not the most important reason.

But Hongchuan Feng did not ignore the application of CDs in other fields, such as optical discs that still exist after the millennium.

That's because after seeing the floppy drive, he thought of another storage-related medium, CD-ROM.

SIC has been intensively studying this format for nearly two years. If it is coming to an end soon, the dawn is in sight.

The reason why Hongchuan Kaede decided to develop that CD format was because he saw its potential as another storage format.

Although Sony continues to focus on music CDs, Hongchuan Electric has not stopped exploring the expansion of CDs in other fields besides music.

After Mingmi compared floppy disks, Hongchuan Feng suddenly discovered that optical disks might also have great potential.

Why? According to Ruming's specifications, the capacity of a CD is about 700MB.

No. 700MB, no 700KB. Compared with the capacity of the floppy disk, it is definitely a dimensionality reduction effect.

More importantly, the manufacturing cost of optical disks is definitely cheaper than that of floppy disks, because its main base material is plastic, and some rare materials are used in the surface coating.

However, the materials used for the thin coating are limited, so the cost is naturally much lower than that of floppy disks.

The CD-ROM disc also has a flaw, that is, it cannot read information, but cannot erase or modify the information.

The floppy disk can both read and write information, which is one of its advantages.

Despite this, Hongchuanfeng still feels that CD-ROM has great potential.

As a storage medium, CD-ROM still has broad application prospects.

Databases, text and graphics data, software, etc. can be stuffed into ROM discs for long-term storage.

Especially for content distributors, CD-ROM is definitely a boon.

Since it has broad prospects and low cost, of course I want to give Hongchuan Maple a try.

A floppy disk has a floppy drive, and a CD has an optical drive. That makes sense.

A floppy drive can be sold for 400 US dollars, and his optical drive can be several times cheaper than mine. How can you be conscientious?

The capacity is larger than that of a floppy disk, and the price is lower than that of a floppy disk. Hongchuan Feng does not believe that there will be no market for optical disks.

Moreover, the principle of an optical drive is very similar to that of a CD drive. The laser head reads the information on the disk and then analyzes it.

Even the optical drive is much simpler than the CD player. It does not need to output music, it only needs the original data.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was feasible. Even Hongchuan Feng and Hongchuan Feng were a little distracted when they watched the on-site computer display.

After all, it was the first time that the SIC chip had reached the public. Hong Chuanfeng quickly gathered his thoughts and focused on it.

After observing the performance of FM-7 with people from Fujitsu, everyone was very satisfied.

As a low-cost phone, it performs well in all aspects, and even has some small highlights. I believe its performance in the market will not be too bad in the future.

And before leaving, Hongchuan Kaede had already received a hint from Matsuka Moriichi.

As long as FM-7 meets market expectations, then SIC's 16-bit chips will not be considered for subsequent high-end computers.

With those words, Hong Chuanfeng already felt confident that he was very confident in his own chips.

After handling the Fujitsu matter, Hongchuan Kaede went to SIC again.

The first thing you should do when you get there is pay attention to the development progress of CD-ROM. Heitaro Nakajima, who is currently taking over the project, said that after the CD player is on the market, you may be able to see the results.

Even after thinking about it, Heitaro Nakajima and Hiroshi Ogawa were fully supporting the development of CD players at this time.

The CD format can wait until the CD player is released, and then focus on improving it.

Anyway, the research and development has come to an end, and Hongchuan Feng can't wait for it at that time.

Time is like the wind, and it has passed by me in a light breeze.

By the time Hong Chuanfeng had finished her work at the club, it had already entered eastern May.

On a sunny afternoon, Daiichi Bank, Nomura Securities, and Yu Arai, who is in charge of Hokuto Bank, all gathered at Hongchuan Electric in Ota District.

Hong Chuanfeng, who was walking at the head of the conference room, looked at the people coming from all directions in the east and secretly sighed that that day has finally arrived.

No, tomorrow Hongchuan Electric will launch its first financing, and it will also be the first period of financing in the market.

There is quite a month to go until the end of June, which will also mark the third anniversary of the establishment of Hongchuan Electric.

According to the regulations of the Financial Services Department, Hongchuan Electric can apply for registration on the third anniversary.

As for the question of whether it is on the market, the matter has already been decided.

When First Bank came into contact with Hongchuan Electric for the first time and provided some help, it was already destined for Hongchuan Electric's path to the market.

When Neon Club develops to a certain extent, it will inevitably come into contact with several traditional chaebols, passively or actively, which is unavoidable.

After all, Neon controls 60% of the total output value. It is no exaggeration to say that they are present in every aspect of the economy.

Hongchuan Electric is insulated from society and has an independent existence outside of Neon, so it is bound to have some intersection with the chaebol.

To be honest, Bu Nao did not object to the presence of Hongchuan Electric in the market, nor did he object to contacting a chaebol like Daiichi Bank.

Although being in the market means that the company's financial reports must be made public, I no longer deny the company's interests.

But is it one of the only ways to further expand the influence of Hongchuan Electric in the market?
To be continued...