AWB Chapter 114 Country
Chapter 114 Country
At six in the morning, the temperature in Jinan was still below zero. Ling Yun, wrapped in a coat, walked down the steps of the plane, where Li Mo was already waiting at the airport arrival gate, holding two jianbing guozi (Chinese savory crepes).
"Bought on the way, while it's still hot." Li Mo handed one over. "Dell's team is arriving tomorrow. There are six of them: two purchasing agents, two quality engineers, one technical expert, and a vice president leading the team."
Ling Yun took the jianbing (Chinese crepe), took a bite, and walked towards the parking lot. "Itinerary?"
"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, factory tour and production line inspection. In the afternoon, sample testing and standard verification. The day after tomorrow, business negotiations." Li Mo started his Santana. "The samples of the optical mouse are ready, fifty sets. The production line is also debugged and ready for small-batch trial production at any time."
The car drove towards the city center. Outside the window was a typical scene of an industrial city in northern China in the 1990s: a stream of bicycles, factory chimneys belching steam, and newly erected apartment buildings with their "GG" signs.
"What about the motherboard solution?" Lingyun asked.
"In the lab," Li Mo said. "We've prepared three plans as you requested. Alex has also come and will be staying in Jinan for a week."
"Let's go to the lab first."
At 8:30 a.m., at the Shandong University laboratory of Xinghuo Technology.
The laboratory is located in a three-story building. A sign hangs at the entrance that reads "Spark-Shandong University Joint Optoelectronic Laboratory".
Alex was adjusting a circuit board in front of an oscilloscope when he saw Ling Yun enter. "Ling!" Alex's Mandarin had a strange accent. "Long time no see!"
"Sample." Ling Yun reached out his hand directly.
Alex took three motherboards out of the anti-static cabinet and laid them flat on the test bench. Each board was labeled with a scheme number: A1, B2, and C3.
"Solution A1, standard ATX architecture," Alex pointed to the first board, "Supports Intel Pentium and AMD K6 processors, three PCI slots, integrated audio card. Cost-conscious."
「方案B2，性能优化型。」李默接话，「四层PCB，优化了电源设计和信号走线。超频稳定性比A1提升30%。集成我们自己的10/100M网卡晶片。成本高15%。」
"Solution C3," Alex picked up the third board, which was noticeably smaller, "Micro-ATX form factor. Aimed at compact desktops and potentially future mini PCs. It retains only the core functionality but includes pads for a UHSB interface."
Lingyun picked up the C3 motherboard and carefully examined the component layout. "How do we solve the heat dissipation problem?"
"We designed a heat spreader on the back." Alex flipped the motherboard over and pointed to the copper-colored area. "Passive cooling, which can support Pentium 200MHz running at full speed under an ambient temperature of 25 degrees Celsius."
"Test data".
Li Mo handed over a report. Ling Yun quickly flipped through it.
Option A1, estimated cost: $42 (minimum order of 1,000 pieces).
Option B2, estimated cost: $58.
Option C3, estimated cost: $51.
Performance testing, electromagnetic compatibility, high temperature and high humidity environment testing... the data is all complete.
"Which one would Dell want?" Lingyun asked.
"Based on historical procurement patterns, there's a 70% chance it will be A1 and a 30% chance it will be B2," Alex said. "They pursue the ultimate cost-effectiveness."
"What if we use it ourselves?"
The lab was silent for a few seconds.
"For my own use?" Li Mo repeated.
"Spark Technology needs its own computer brand." Ling Yun put down the report. "I've decided on the name: 'Starlight.' Initially positioned in the mid-to-high-end market, emphasizing design and performance. It will use our motherboards, our optical mice, and come pre-installed with the Starry Sky operating system."
He looked at the three motherboards: "The C3 solution has the most potential. It's compact, aesthetically pleasing, and technologically advanced. But cost optimization is needed."
"If we can achieve a scale of over 10,000 units, the cost of C3 can be reduced to $47," Nelson calculated. "But we'll need to redesign some of the circuitry and use more integrated chips."
"I'll give you two months," Lingyun told Alex. "Make the C3 solution: first, cost less than $45; second, thermal support up to 233MHz processors; third, reserve UHSB and possible future graphics card acceleration interfaces."
Alex nodded.
2 PM, Xinghuo Electronics Factory
Factory manager Ma Baoguo led Ling Yun on a tour of the production line. Inside the workshop were newly added SMT placement machines and wave soldering ovens, with workers wearing anti-static suits operating on the assembly line.
"This line was installed last month," Ma Baoguo said, pointing to a production line. "It specializes in making keyboards. It has a daily production capacity of 1,000 units, with a yield rate of 98%."
"What about Dell's order?"
"The samples have been sent to the US for testing. The feedback is good, except they want to change the logo from silkscreen printing to laser engraving, saying it's more wear-resistant," Ma Baoguo said. "If a big order comes in, we'll need to hire another 200 people and work in two shifts."
"We'll hire," Ling Yun said. "Are there enough dorm rooms?"
"There's an old building behind the factory that's being renovated; it'll be ready for use next month."
At the end of the workshop is a separate area marked with yellow lines. The sign reads "Pilot Production Line for Optoelectronic Mouse".
There are only five workstations online, with a female worker sitting in front of each workstation, assembling optical sensors using a microscope.
"How much can you do each day now?" Lingyun asked.
"Fifty," Ma Baoguo said. "The sensors are manually mounted, which is slow. Engineer Li said the automatic mounting equipment will arrive next month."
Lingyun picked up a finished product. The mouse was small and compact, with a matte black casing and a semi-transparent scroll wheel. There was no ball on the bottom, only a red dot.
"Test data?"
"400dpi resolution, twice that of a ball mouse." Li Mo handed over the test report. "The button lifespan is rated at five million clicks, but the actual test showed eight million clicks. The cable pull test passed."
Would Dell be interested?
"I'm not sure," Li Mo said honestly. "Their purchasing list doesn't include individual mice. It's all keyboard and mouse sets, and they're using the lowest-cost solution. Our optical solution costs eight dollars per unit, which is more expensive than the ball-type sets they're currently using."
"Then give them an irresistible reason to refuse," Ling Yun said. "Let's do a demonstration: play Doom with our optical mouse, and compare it to a ball mouse. Show the precision and zero latency."
"What are the selling points of a gaming PC?" Li Mo asked, puzzled.
"Yes. Dell's high-end line needs differentiation, and optical mice can be a selling point that will help boost Dell's sales." Lingyun is very confident in promoting optical mice.
"Okay, I'll make the arrangements in advance. Finding a gaming expert in our internet cafe is quite easy," Li Mo replied.