Don't Be Evil
Yoo Jae-won had insisted on a 64-bit operating system when setting the concept for Android ME with the executives and Alpha Team last year. Naturally, both the executives and the Alpha Team had pushed back, saying it was premature. And with good reason—until last year, there had been no such thing as a 64-bit processor for PCs. When defining what made a computer 64-bit, the most critical factor was the presence of a 64-bit processor. Designing a 64-bit operating system without one seemed like reckless folly.
But Yoo Jae-won had pushed forward anyway. Android ME was an operating system meant to prepare for the 21st century. Even if 32-bit was sufficient now, he predicted that within a few years it would feel painfully inadequate. Memory shortages, in particular, would arrive quickly. The transition to the HD era was accelerating rapidly, and computers were no exception. High-definition graphics and high-quality audio in games required massive resources, which in turn demanded enormous amounts of memory.
The market was already moving in response to consumer demand. As a clear example, the RAM installed in current entry-level PCs was 256 or 512 megabytes. For high-end workstations, one gigabyte had become the standard. The adoption rate of high-capacity memory was remarkably fast. And Yoo Jae-won had poured fuel on that fire.
He had created ID Electronics, a colossal semiconductor company that now held more than fifty percent of the global memory chip market share. And as its president, he had appointed Hwang Chang-gyu—the man who had upheld Hwang’s Law.
If the goal of doubling memory semiconductor capacity every year succeeded, then in just two years, workstation memory capacity would reach four gigabytes. Four gigabytes could not be properly utilized by a 32-bit operating system. With a few clever tricks, it was technically possible to use more than four gigabytes even on 32-bit, but the more workarounds piled up, the more the operating system’s integrity suffered. That was something to avoid.
The same applied to storage. The current mainstream hard disk capacities were eighty or one hundred twenty gigabytes. Hard disk capacities were growing by the day, and within a few years, the terabyte era would arrive. Managing large-capacity hard disks was difficult for a 32-bit operating system.
That was why Yoo Jae-won had boldly decided to equip Android ME with a 64-bit kernel system from the start. He knew that sudden drastic changes were undesirable, so he also planned to maintain compatibility with existing 32-bit applications. Unlike the transition from 16-bit to 32-bit, supporting 32-bit applications on a 64-bit system was not particularly difficult.
Of course, that was something only Yoo Jae-won—with his genius-level programming ability—could say so casually. Even for the Alpha Team, the elite programmers gathered at Android Inc., it had been a challenging task.
In the end, Yoo Jae-won’s intentions had succeeded.
“Programs made for Android 1.0 are running perfectly.”
Yoo Jae-won nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the somewhat crude applications displayed on the True Cinema display. The computer he was currently using was the 64-bit Android ME system scheduled to be unveiled at IDDC 99. He had been running various compatibility tests with it, and one of them involved Keyboard Warrior.
Of course, Android Inc. had assembled a massive beta testing team that was systematically conducting compatibility tests. But Yoo Jae-won was the type who could only feel satisfied after trying things himself, so he was running separate tests.
Keyboard Warrior, created for Android 1.0, ran flawlessly even on ME with 64-bit mode activated. Even when checking the log system that recorded every operation state of the computer, not a single warning message appeared.
Looking at the title screen of Keyboard Warrior, Yoo Jae-won felt a wave of new emotions.
“Now that I think about it, Keyboard Warrior is quite old. There must be a lot of people waiting for a sequel.”
The keyboard was an important interface that would not disappear even in the 21st century. However, with over a hundred keys, it required a bit of study to become familiar with it. Keyboard Warrior was a program that made learning fun for children touching a keyboard for the first time and for computer novices, lowering the barrier to entry.
Thanks to the Android operating system, one could use a computer without much trouble if they could handle a mouse well. But when searching the internet or creating documents, the keyboard became essential.
Since Keyboard Warrior was working well, there was no major issue. However, in the 3D era, the old style with large 2D dot graphics could no longer capture children’s interest.
“After IDDC 99 ends, I should make it in full 3D.”
Ever the ambitious man, Yoo Jae-won opened the scheduler on his computer and entered “Keyboard Warrior 2 production.”
“By the way, I’m curious how many people will be able to fully utilize 64-bit mode on launch day.”
The forward-looking 64-bit mode naturally only operated on computers equipped with 64-bit processors. Moreover, to properly utilize 64-bit mode, one needed at least four gigabytes of memory installed. Looking at the entire world, the number of individuals who owned PCs with such high-end specifications would not be many.
“The system transition period probably won’t take too long. AMD really pulled off something big.”
The silver lining was that AMD had delivered a massive hit timed perfectly for IDDC 99. The name of the new CPU was the AMD Athlon 64 X2. It was certainly more intuitive than the incomprehensible cosmetic name Tiffany used.
Breaking it down, “Athlon” was the brand AMD had created for their new CPU after Intel abandoned the 586 naming and launched the separate Pentium brand. The “64” signified that it included 64-bit extension instructions—commonly known as x86-64. It maintained compatibility with the existing x86 instruction set while extending it to 64-bit. Thanks to this, existing 32-bit applications could be used without any significant modifications.
Since AMD had a cross-licensing agreement with Intel, Intel was also planning to fully support AMD’s x86-64 instructions. As Android Inc.’s partner company, AMD had been provided samples of the 64-bit processor since last year, which had made it possible to develop Android ME as a 64-bit operating system.
But there was something even more important than the 64-bit part. The X2!
It looked as if they had simply borrowed the version notation from Glide, the most popular 3D library in the current computer industry. But the meaning was different. In Glide, X2 or X3 were simply version names, but in Athlon 64 X2, it meant multiplication. The world’s first dual-core processor—and a 64-bit one at that. That was the new product AMD had prepared.
“A real dual-core…”
Intel had broken through the cursed 1GHz barrier and even reached 1.3GHz. They had also used a technology called Hyper-Threading to make a single physical processor appear as two logical processors. In old programs that did not support multithreading, the performance improvement was minimal. But in professional tasks like video encoding that did support multithreading, it showed quite a significant effect.
While Intel had been charging ahead like this, AMD had shown no notable results. As a result, Intel’s market share had skyrocketed while AMD’s had plummeted. But it wasn’t that AMD had been incompetent and unable to respond—they had been preparing a secret weapon.
A true dual-core was that secret weapon. While Intel’s Hyper-Threading was merely an imitation, AMD had integrated two independent processors onto a single chip. The flagship model operated at 1.2GHz, while the mainstream model was prepared at 1GHz. Although the clock speed was somewhat lower than Intel’s latest models, the real dual-core offered advantages that made that drawback negligible.
Yoo Jae-won had known in advance that AMD was preparing a 64-bit processor. But he had only learned a few days ago that it was a true dual-core. That had doubled his surprise.
“Still, couldn’t they have given their partner companies a heads-up?”
Preparing a secret weapon was fine, but this one had been kept far too secret. If anyone was AMD’s top priority partner, it was the ID Group. When they had first built the cloud computing system, they had used AMD CPUs, which had dispelled much of the skepticism the market had held toward AMD.
Because AMD felt about two percent short compared to Intel, it had been struggling in the server market, where strict stability was required. But once Yoo Jae-won’s cloud computing system became the trend, AMD had finally been able to gain a foothold in the server market.
Not only that—many models of ID Technology’s finished computers had adopted AMD CPUs as well, generating considerable revenue. Among finished computer manufacturers, ID Technology and TG Computer were among the very few that were favorable toward AMD.
Nevertheless, samples of this Athlon 64 X2 model had only been sent to ID Technology ten days before the official press release was distributed.
Yoo Jae-won saw the potential immediately. In old programs that only supported single-core, it would fall behind Intel. The slower operating speed meant it couldn’t catch up. But in heavy programs that used many cores, it demonstrated its true worth. It was twice as fast as Intel’s latest models.
What was disappointing was that if Athlon had also supported a technology like Hyper-Threading, the performance would have been even better. Unfortunately, it was still unsupported. At least once Intel adopted AMD’s x86-64 architecture, AMD would also be able to use Hyper-Threading. From the next generation onward, they could look forward to a fierce, sparks-flying competition.
The more the two companies competed, the better it was for both Yoo Jae-won and consumers. Through competition, they could obtain far better products than in the original history, and at cheaper prices.
“We should adopt it for the new iWorks model, right?”
Although the star of this year’s IDDC 99 was Android ME, there were many supporting actors. Among them were the completely new Egg series, the iWorks, and the second-generation iWorks Notebook models.
The Egg series, which had reached New Egg 2, had only received minor small-scale updates over the following few years, with no news of a new model. The all-in-one design with a cube-shaped body and a monitor floating above it had been a tremendous innovation when first seen, but now it had become a familiar sight.
Finally breaking its long silence, the next version was scheduled to be revealed at this IDDC 99. True to New Egg tradition, they had prepared a bold yet highly refined design. As a result, the motherboard for the next New Egg computer had been made in a form that was on an entirely different level from assembled PCs.
The CPU had already finished mass ordering, so it could not be suddenly changed to the Athlon 64 X2. The CPU adopted for the next New Egg was, naturally, an Intel model. For experts like Yoo Jae-won, dual-core was certainly helpful, but for those using games and general applications, it was still premature.
On the other hand, the iWorks had no choice but to adopt the Athlon 64 X2 for the opposite reason. The programs that iWorks users ran consumed a lot of memory and were heavy. It was a field where the power of dual-core could truly shine. Moreover, the iWorks had far superior expandability compared to the New Egg. Since its body was in a big-tower form, it could easily handle the terrifying heat output by the Athlon 64 X2.
“An AMD CPU in the highest-spec iWorks model…”
The meticulously crafted iWorks was a workstation acknowledged by professionals. Although it was more expensive than same-spec models from Dell, HP, or Compaq, those who sought the absolute best chose the iWorks. The fact that an AMD CPU was being adopted for the high-end model of such a series was certainly something worth commemorating.
The key question was whether they had the ability to maintain this advantage consistently.
“The biggest variable is probably that Dr. Lisa is with me, right?”
The biggest reason the flow had diverged so dramatically from the original history was Yoo Jae-won himself. The variables created by the movement of this being who existed outside all norms had been powerful, and the companies that took direct hits had undergone massive changes.
If one were to pick polar opposites, it would be MS and AMD. MS had vanished into history, while AMD had begun to surpass Intel. For now, they had failed to achieve high clocks due to heat issues, but once the process became finer, both the heat problem and the high-clock problem would naturally be resolved. It was already clear that next year’s model would allow AMD to surpass Intel.
The question that remained unresolved was whether AMD could maintain this overtake. In particular, the fact that Dr. Lisa Su had come to ID Technology was an enormous crisis for AMD.
“Well, it’ll work out somehow.”
That was as far as Yoo Jae-won’s thoughts went. Looking back at the original history, Dr. Lisa Su had only begun to stand out at AMD after 2015. Ten years from now was still unknown territory even for him. It would be good if AMD did well, but even if things didn’t go as well as before, they probably wouldn’t collapse completely.
The reason he could be so certain they wouldn’t collapse—despite calling the future unknown territory—was simple. AMD’s products were the leading candidates to be used as the CPU for the video game console that the ID Group planned to enter the market with.
Sony and Nintendo had adopted custom PowerPC or Motorola CPUs, but Yoo Jae-won intended to boldly use a PC CPU as-is. Of course, it would be customized slightly differently, but it wouldn’t be completely different. The reason was simple: to reduce costs and to allow the development environment of the Android operating system to be utilized as-is.
Sony had seen this as a drawback, but Yoo Jae-won did not consider it one. That was why the ID Group’s video game console was being made in a form almost identical to a PC.
“Then, are the first-day and second-day items set with this?”
IDDC 99 had been decided to be held over three days, just like last year. The first day would be centered on Android ME, while the second day would feature the announcement of the next New Egg, the iWorks, and the second-generation iWorks Notebook. With the announcement of the ID Group’s entry into the video game market added on top, both the hardware and software fields were truly overflowing with riches.
That didn’t mean the third day would lack impact. The theme for IDDC’s third day was the internet. They planned to announce renewals and new features for various ID Group internet services, including NextCom.