Phi-Fic Chapter 424 Operational System "Spark OS"
Chapter 424 Operational System "Spark OS"
February 22, 2003, Beijing, Xinghuo System Technology.
Wang Jianguo stood in front of the whiteboard, with more than twenty engineers sitting across from him—all core members of the system technology team. Several words were written on the whiteboard: microkernel, touch, power consumption, and app store. The atmosphere in the meeting room was somewhat heavy—everyone knew that Desktop System 3.0 had just been released, and the team hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath before a new tough battle was upon them.
"Starting today, the mobile OS project is officially launched, codenamed 'Spark OS'. Our goal is to tailor an operating system suitable for mobile devices based on the microkernel architecture of the Spark desktop version. We will retain core modules such as memory management, process scheduling, and the file system, while rewriting the graphical interface framework and designing entirely new touch interaction logic."
An engineer raised his hand. "Mr. Wang, the desktop kernel has about two million lines of code. How much should we cut back?"
Wang Jianguo said, "The goal is to keep it under 500,000 lines of code. It's not just about deleting code, it's about refactoring. Remove all modules from the desktop version that are unsuitable for mobile devices, and streamline and optimize the suitable modules. Startup time should not exceed three seconds. Multi-touch gestures should be smooth and responsive. App store interfaces should be reserved. Power consumption optimization is the highest priority. Every milliwatt must be saved."
Another engineer asked, "When will the team arrive?"
Wang Jianguo said, "The people in this room now are the first batch. We'll recruit another thirty people next month. By the end of the year, the team will expand to over one hundred. By the end of this year, we'll release our first interactive prototype. By the end of next year, we'll release a developer beta version. The year after that, we'll officially launch it."
A few seconds of silence filled the conference room. Wang Jianguo looked at them and said, "I know time is tight and the task is heavy. But we can't afford not to do this. The era of desktop systems is passing, and the mobile era is arriving. If we don't seize this opportunity, we will be left behind by the times."
After the meeting, Wang Jianguo returned to his office. He had just sat down when the phone rang; it was Li Mo.
"Mr. Wang, how do you plan to design the graphics framework for the mobile OS? Our GPU team needs to know the interface specifications."
Wang Jianguo said, "It's still in the design phase. The initial idea is to be compatible with OpenGL ES, but to create a custom abstraction layer for Spark. This way, when the GPU core is replaced in the future, the upper-layer applications won't need to be modified."
Li Mo said, "Okay. Then we'll follow this approach for our GPU drivers. Also, regarding power consumption, Mr. Liang mentioned that controlling leakage current in the 0.18-micron process is a challenge. Can you do some optimizations at the OS level?"
Wang Jianguo thought for a moment, "Dynamic power management. The CPU frequency will be dynamically adjusted according to the load, the screen brightness will be adaptive, background applications will be frozen, and all sensors will be turned off when not in use. We are designing all of these."
Li Mo said, "Okay. We'll synchronize our progress weekly."
After hanging up the phone, Wang Jianguo leaned back in his chair. Spark OS, the StarCore chip, the Fingerworks touchscreen, and the Xinvino OLED—these four pieces of the puzzle were being developed simultaneously in Beijing, Shanghai, Delaware, and Shenzhen.
Any delay in any piece of the puzzle would delay the entire StarPhone project. Lingyun's timeline was: prototype in 2004, mass production in 2005.
Two years, just two years.
He picked up a pen and wrote another line on the whiteboard: Spark OS, with the goal of releasing a developer beta version in 2004. After finishing, he stared at that line for a long time. Then he lowered his head and continued drawing the architecture diagram.
While he was scratching his head over designing the architecture, Lingyun arrived in Cupertino, Apple's headquarters.
Ling Yun got out of the car, and Jobs was already waiting at the door.
He was wearing his signature black turtleneck sweater, Levi's jeans, and New Balance sneakers.
His hair was a bit whiter than the last time I saw him, but he looked very energetic.
He saw Ling Yun, smiled, and walked over.
"Ling, welcome."
The two shook hands, and Jobs stepped aside to lead Ling Yun inside.
The lobby was quiet, with white marble floors and white walls. Behind the reception desk hung a huge Apple logo, an apple with a bite taken out of it.
They didn't go into the conference room. Instead, Jobs led Lingyun through the lobby and into the garden at the back.
Several apple trees were planted in the garden, their leaves lush and green, and sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground.
Jobs walked ahead, at a slow pace. Ling Yun followed behind, half a step behind.
"Ling, iPod sales surpassed 30 units last month, and the board is very happy. The marketing department is planning a new generation of products, the iPod Mini, which will be smaller, cheaper, and come in more colors. But I told them that the Mini is not the future. The real future is integrating the iPod, mobile phone, and internet device together."
Ling Yun nodded without speaking. He knew the iPod's sales were capped at 40 units, offering no surprises. The board's happiness stemmed from their projected sales of only 10 units. Having witnessed Apple's future sales figures of tens of millions of units, Ling Yun felt no interest in such figures.
Jobs stopped, turned around, and looked at Ling Yun.
"Ling, you've also thought about mobile phones, haven't you? My people talked to Fingerworks about it, but yours refused. I didn't understand at first, but then I realized—you want to do it yourself; you're making phones."
Ling Yun did not deny it. "Steve, I am indeed doing it."
Steve Jobs stared at him for several seconds, then smiled—a knowing smile. "I knew it. I guessed it the day you acquired Fingerworks. Touchscreens, mobile chips, operating systems—you're laying the groundwork for mobile phones."
"Are you also developing mobile phone technology?"
Jobs nodded. "We have an internal project, codenamed 'Purple.' It's been in development for two years. The goal is to release it in 2007. Ling, do you know what that means?"
Ling Yun said, "That means we'll become rivals."
“More than just competitors.” Jobs took two steps forward and stopped under an apple tree. “We’re the same kind of people. We both see the future, and we both want to make it happen. But there’s only one future, and only one market. Who do you think will win?”
Ling Yun stood beside him, looking at the apple tree. "Steve, the market is big enough to accommodate two companies. We can each do our own thing, but we can cooperate on the supply chain and technical standards. In the future, I hope for fair competition."
Jobs was silent for a few seconds. "Fair competition," he repeated, then turned to look at Ling Yun. "Okay. We can cooperate on the supply chain. But on the product, I won't give you any advantage."
Ling Yun said, "I'm a major shareholder of Apple, you know. I don't need you to give way, because I'm not going to lose no matter what. If you win, I win too; if I win, I win even more!"
The two looked at each other for a few seconds, laughed, and then simultaneously reached out and shook hands.
Steve Jobs said, "Ling, I have something to say upfront. If one day your product and my product meet on the market, I will do everything in my power to beat you."
Ling Yun said, "I can do that too."
Steve Jobs smiled. The two continued walking, stopping at the end of the garden. Jobs suddenly said, "Ling, do you know why I admire you?"
Ling Yun looked at him.
"Because you're like me, not doing this for the money, but to change the world."
Ling Yun didn't speak, but Jobs patted him on the shoulder. "Come on, I'll show you the Purple prototype."