Android 95: The Silicon Valley Premiere

The historic launch of the Android 95 series and the Office 95 series for mobile application processors took place at a massive convention center in Silicon Valley. Back when Yoo Jae-won's company had just been founded, he had to squeeze his announcements into major events like Comdex. Now, he could fill an enormous convention center all on his own. The event was even being broadcast live across North America on cable television. Of course, only Yoo Jae-won's presentation segment was aired, but CNN dedicated a full thirty minutes of live coverage to the Android 95 launch. Naturally, this arrangement was the result of perfectly aligned interests with Ted Turner, the founder of CNN. Turner was one of the major shareholders in Android Inc. and had extremely high expectations for the Android 95 announcement.

Yoo Jae-won lived up to those expectations, captivating thousands of guests in a single moment. For reference, the large convention center in Silicon Valley had a capacity well into the tens of thousands, so a few thousand attendees would normally leave noticeable empty seats. However, they had deliberately limited entry to the main event hall. They weren't selling paid tickets; entry was first-come, first-served. In contrast, the experience zones remained open to the center's full capacity, leaving no room to even stand. Of course, sales of Android 95 had also begun. There were no special bonuses for the first edition, yet even with a massive sales booth equipped with twenty POS terminals, long lines of eager buyers stretched endlessly.

In the midst of this lively atmosphere, Yoo Jae-won began his formal presentation for Android 95.

Dressed casually in jeans, a white shirt, and an ivory knit sweater, Yoo Jae-won was the very embodiment of confidence.

As he spoke, Yoo Jae-won advanced the slides to display FPS figures from various games, ranging from Doom 2 to the recently released RTCW. The data had been gathered by testing multiple games on identical hardware while varying only the operating system. The “up to twenty percent” improvement wasn’t limited to specific metrics; even Doom 2, which had been so thoroughly optimized that further gains seemed impossible, showed more than a ten percent increase.

With Yoo Jae-won’s dazzling commentary, the slide on the screen changed to showcase one of Android 95’s proudest features: video wallpapers. By offloading video playback to 3D acceleration cards, the system could loop short clips of moving auroras and jellyfish gracefully swimming through water, creating an explosion of visual delight. Anyone paying close attention would notice the same footage repeating, yet the beauty was so captivating that it was easy to simply lose oneself in the display. The system didn’t loop the video endlessly, however. When a full-screen application launched, the wallpaper would pause, dedicating the computer’s full power to the active program.

The visual enhancements didn’t stop at the desktop. The default color depth had been set to high-color 16-bit, making the icons themselves far more vibrant. Higher resolutions also enlarged the icons for better visibility. In addition, translucent glass-like effects had been applied to the file explorer and various other Android applications. Comparing the new Android 95 desktop to the 2.0 version revealed a night-and-day difference.

After finishing his discussion of performance and visuals, Yoo Jae-won naturally moved on to the next slide: security.

The method was remarkably straightforward. Instead of handing sensitive personal information over to internet companies, users would enter it themselves. Yet repeatedly entering the same data every time would be cumbersome, so the system would store the information on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the user’s own computer and automatically fill it in when needed. That data would be encrypted with a special algorithm and saved in a dedicated secure storage space.

Yoo Jae-won operated the NewEgg 2 computer connected to the main event hall’s massive screen. It was a machine running the Android 95 Gaming Edition Adware version. Since NewEgg 2 computers normally shipped with a pre-installed operating system, the adware version wasn’t standard, but they had chosen the lowest tier specifically for this announcement. The deliberate choice was meant to prove that even the lowest-grade version delivered perfect optimization and security from the start.

Yoo Jae-won gave a live demonstration. Since he had no intention of revealing his real account, he created a temporary ID and entered the number from a prepaid gift card he had prepared. He then immediately navigated to a home shopping site—specifically, the P Market. It was one of the two projects selected during the company’s internal venture competition at the beginning of the year. Rather than the company listing products itself, P Market acted purely as an intermediary. Individuals or businesses who wanted to sell goods online could upload their own items.

The audience’s reaction was tremendous as they watched him complete an online purchase in just a few clicks. Nearly everyone present had experienced the frustration of reaching the payment stage during online shopping only to give up. While shopping sites with one-click payment features made the process simple, such features had not spread quickly. The reason was fees. To consumers, it was a meaningless surcharge no different from using a card in real life, but for sellers, adding a one-click payment button to their site represented a rather burdensome percentage. In contrast, using the Secure Area’s auto-fill function maintained the same fee ratio as real-world transactions, making it far less burdensome. Of course, creating a shopping site that supported the Secure Area required updating the website to comply with Android Inc.’s secure communication standards, but even accounting for that, it was still significantly cheaper.

There were countless other new features Yoo Jae-won didn’t have time to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mention. Major improvements to the language input system and minimized reboot scenarios were impressive enough to warrant their own dedicated presentations, but he boldly omitted them. After all, there was one more new product to unveil at this event.

It was ID Office 95. Each program featured significantly enhanced new functions, and the entire suite natively supported the latest web standard, HTML 2.0. It also led the way in office software by enabling collaborative work over the internet and supporting web hard drives. ID Office, which had already been so far ahead of its competitors alongside the Android operating system, now surged forward even more sharply. The open-source camp embracing Linux seemed to be working hard on something, but ID Group’s pace of innovation was simply faster.

Just as the guests began to sense that the presentation was winding down after the explanation of Office 95, Yoo Jae-won shouted:

Once again, President Remington wheeled a cart onto the center of the stage. The audience erupted in cheers and enthusiastic applause. This was already the third time, so it seemed Remington’s appearance at ID Group’s new product launches was becoming a cherished tradition.

The veil covering the cart was pulled away, revealing the magnificent form of the iWorks to the world. It featured the aluminum case that had become the symbol of ID Technology, and the design was revolutionary, with one side made of reinforced glass that offered a clear view inside. While the NewEgg 2 had many rounded curves, the iWorks—as a computer built for professionals—was dominated by bold, thick straight lines. This gave it a much more solid appearance and a certain weighty dignity.

But the real surprise was yet to come. When the power was turned on and booting began, green LEDs inside the case lit up, delivering a visual impact unlike anything seen in ordinary computers. Some attendees were seeing a water-cooling system using acrylic tubes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the first time. The sight of fluorescent green coolant flowing past the CPU and 3D acceleration card felt like staring at an alien machine.

Yoo Jae-won kept his words brief. He concluded his presentation by playing a video clip that summarized the performance of professional applications running on the iWorks. But the show was far from over. Soon after, the leader of Android Inc.’s Alpha Team and researchers from TG Computer who had directly participated in iWorks development would take the stage to demonstrate highly technical features and answer questions.

Yoo Jae-won, having stepped down from the stage, headed straight for the sales counter. Although there were no special bonuses, he had planned a small event where he would personally sign the products sold on-site. Some large retailers and specialty software stores were running their own giveaway events, but the crowd’s reaction was far more enthusiastic toward Yoo Jae-won’s autographs. It was, without question, a perfect new product launch event.

From Thanksgiving through Christmas and into the New Year, for over a month the United States had been in a festive mood. The place generating the most substantial profits during that time was, of course, ID Group. After all the anticipation and minor controversies, Android 95 had officially launched, the long-rumored iWorks had gone on sale, and John Carmack’s new title Quake had been released. For gamers, it was a string of days that felt like one long celebration.

The explosive growth in computer adoption rates was most clearly felt with Quake. While RTCW’s first-week sales had been impressive, Quake sold two hundred thousand more copies. RTCW had moved 1.12 million units in its debut week, whereas Quake surpassed 1.3 million. Development costs had been fully recouped from first-week sales alone; from this point on, every copy sold was pure profit. Server operating costs would be a continuous expense, but multiplayer itself prevented piracy while also attracting new players, so it wasn’t a major issue.

Moreover, the preparations John Carmack had made from the beginning for e-sports exceeded all expectations.

John Carmack, who had come all the way to San Francisco for the Quake launch event, delivered astonishing news. The finals, scheduled for early March next year, would be broadcast by the sports-specialized network ESPN. Even better, it would air on Saturday evening—perfect prime time. It was quite a bold move for a channel that normally broadcast Major League Baseball and NFL games across North America to air e-sports.

Upon closer inspection, the timing had been perfect. Major League Baseball’s spring training hadn’t started yet, and the NFL season had just ended, leaving a awkward gap with nothing obvious to air. On top of that, recent data showed that ESPN’s vulnerable viewing demographic was people in their late teens to late twenties. The network had apparently decided to fill the lull with a small, event-style competition to capture that audience. Even so, the significance was considerable.

In Korea, the ongoing PC bang Warcraft tournament didn’t even have television coverage, let alone internet streaming. People simply gathered at the relevant PC bang on the day of the match to watch, then posted their thoughts on internet communities. In contrast, Quake was starting with ESPN. Although it was only a one-time experimental broadcast, if the response was positive, there was a high chance the coverage would continue. And even if ESPN didn’t pick it up, there were plenty of other cable networks available.

The real question was whether the buzz could be sustained. People might watch out of novelty now, but it was still too early to say that gaming as a genre had truly entered the mainstream. Moreover, FPS games had such rapid screen transitions that they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were inherently less entertaining to watch. Still, as the first official broadcast of its kind, it would become a historic milestone remembered in many ways moving forward.

Yoo Jae-won was determined to pour every ounce of his know-how into designing the finals stage so that this event could never fail.

“Did you call for me, Chairman?”

The person Yoo Jae-won met after John Carmack was Vincent Greenhill, President of ID Investment. He seemed to have even more gray hair than when they had first met, yet his eyes and overall aura still overflowed with passion. Managing hundreds of billions of dollars with extraordinary returns apparently made age nothing more than a number.

Investment banks and securities firms typically released year-end summary reports along with forecasts for the coming year. ID Investment had never done so before. Such reports were usually issued to attract investors, but ID Investment didn’t need to—money flowed in on its own. Moreover, owner Yoo Jae-won had focused more on recruiting investors in Korea than in the United States. In Korea, simply having Yoo Jae-won’s name attached was more effective than any advertisement.

Vincent Greenhill accepted the order without hesitation. Yoo Jae-won’s decisions had never once been wrong. Besides, issuing a report wasn’t particularly burdensome. ID Investment was filled with talented individuals who had been stars on Wall Street. With several partner economic research institutes as well, producing a credible report would be simple.

Naturally, Yoo Jae-won’s decision to issue the report was because of Korea.

A massive economic crisis was now less than three years away from striking Korea. Yoo Jae-won’s first measure in preparation for that crisis was this very report from ID Investment.