New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 184

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 184. Starting Line (4)

The iPod modification work proceeded smoothly.

Now that I wasn’t alone and could receive help from multiple staff members, I was able to quickly draw the picture I wanted.

“CEO, the firmware modification work is complete. We confirmed that Apple intentionally disabled the video playback function, and we modified the internal code to remove the restriction.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“It wasn’t that difficult. If we didn’t know the internal code, it would have taken time, but since we’ve been sharing code from the firmware design stage, we just needed to change one line of code.”

We couldn’t say we knew everything about Apple.

But we were the place that understood Apple best, more than any other company except Apple itself.

Nexpin and Rollbook had official partnerships with Apple and shared core technologies and information with each other.

“Video playback is possible now, right?”

“I’ll play a simple video.”

Manager Kim executed a file he had downloaded in advance.

After a moment, video began flowing on the iPod’s small color LCD.

A baseball highlight video.

It was such low-quality video that even the jersey numbers looked blurry.

But the moment I saw the batter hitting the ball, I felt tremendous excitement.

“It really can play videos.”

“Not only video playback but games are also possible. Would you like to see?”

“Show me.”

Manager Kim was a famous game enthusiast.

He pressed a button with a meaningful smile.

Instantly, an FPS game hunting demons actually began running on the iPod screen.

“Games are really possible.”

“This is a game called Doom from 1993. It’s a really well-optimized game. It’s called a textbook among developers.”

“Then any game with lower specs would be playable.”

“Tetris or brick breaker are basic, and classic RPGs with small capacity run sufficiently. Back then, they optimized like crazy to save capacity. Many games had less than 40KB capacity.”

From video playback to game playing.

It was the moment when the iPod, which had been a simple music listening device, evolved into a multimedia device.

But it wasn’t enough.

The structure in my head was still incomplete.

The most crucial gear wasn’t turning yet.

“I wish we could add just one more thing here.”

“What function do you mean?”

“I wish it had calling functionality.”

“You want to make phone calls possible with the iPod? Wouldn’t that make it a mobile phone rather than an MP3 player?”

MP3 player and mobile phone.

Actually, distinguishing between the two didn’t have much meaning.

Mobile phones equipped with MP3 functions were already scheduled to be released.

“They’re putting MP3 functions in mobile phones, so there’s no law saying we can’t put phone functions in MP3 players.”

“That makes sense when you think about it. The problem is cost. If we do that, even when commercialized, it would cost at least 1 million won. Would that be okay?”

“Let’s think about it the other way. Even now, people are buying iPods for over 500,000 won. They’re also buying mobile phones for hundreds of thousands of won.”

Manager Kim looked down at the desk.

Three devices were lined up: iPod, mobile phone, and PDA.

“…If one iPod could replace all other portable devices, I’d buy it for more than 1 million won, not just 1 million won.”

“Exactly. If one device could fulfill all functions without needing to carry multiple devices, there would definitely be demand.”

“Adding calling functionality isn’t difficult. We can transplant existing mobile phone parts and modify the software. It would be challenging, but we can make it.”

Of course, it wasn’t an easy task.

Various modules, antennas, chipsets, and circuits all had to be newly transplanted.

Especially to solve space constraints and radio interference problems, we’d have to go through countless trials and errors.

“Manager Kim, please form a team and handle the software.”

“Will Nexpin handle the hardware side?”

“I’m thinking of doing it myself. If we deploy semiconductor personnel and small machinery department staff together, we should be able to make at least a prototype.”

The small machinery factory had experience producing mobile phones in the past.

If we gathered those experts again, making a high-quality prototype wouldn’t be impossible.

“How many development team personnel should I allocate?”

“Use as many as you need. If it’s not enough, we can hire new people.”

“How long should we set for the timeline?”

“The faster, the better.”

“Then I’ll form a team with 30 people.”

“Will 30 people be enough?”

“Too many people actually leads us astray. With 30 people, I can control everything.”

Manager Kim was indeed a developer.

He was already burning with enthusiasm at the thought of creating new software.

I felt the same way.

My hands were trembling with excitement at the thought of turning the iPod into a new form of evolved mobile phone.

***

Tremendous manpower was newly recruited.

President Gelsinger traveled around the United States, Japan, and Taiwan, recruiting engineers in large numbers.

“Branch Manager, we’ve newly hired a total of 207 engineers as of today.”

“Thank you for your hard work. How did the task I asked you about go?”

“You mean the mobile phone experts? While recruiting DRAM engineers, we succeeded in recruiting them as well. About 20 people, competent experts who achieved results at major mobile phone manufacturers from Motorola to Sony.”

This was possible because it was President Gelsinger.

When someone with worldwide fame personally made recruitment offers, trust naturally increased.

Thanks to this, we could bring talented people to Korea, and now I was finally ready to freely draw the picture I wanted.

“I’m sorry for the troublesome request.”

“Not at all. If it’s what the Branch Manager wants, I should naturally do it. And it’s not something else – talent recruitment is naturally something I should step up for. After all, isn’t this work for Daehyeon Semiconductor?”

Recruiting mobile phone engineers was ultimately connected to semiconductors.

Mobile phones and semiconductors had an inseparable relationship.

The more we secured mobile phone technology, the more Daehyeon Semiconductor’s competitiveness would rise together.

“With over 200 new personnel added, things will get much busier from now on.”

“I’ve been struggling for days allocating new personnel. Still, it’s 100 times better than struggling without developers.”

“Please take good care of things.”

“I’ll make sure Daehyeon Semiconductor becomes number one in the industry in terms of technology. Oh, and I’ve arranged for the mobile phone experts to commute to the building right next to the Nexpin office.”

“Thank you.”

I immediately headed to the building where the experts were waiting.

Originally, I wanted to prepare their office inside Nexpin headquarters.

But since there were no vacant rooms left, as an alternative, we purchased the adjacent building and set it up as a temporary office.

5 minutes.

That was the time it took to move from the Nexpin building to the adjacent building.

To someone else, it might be a trivial 5 minutes, but to me, it was annoying time.

5 minutes a day, 10 minutes round trip.

70 minutes a week, 3,650 minutes a year.

Time wasted just on simple movement.

I should buy a large building.

To eliminate unnecessary travel time.

I needed a super-large building that could house all departments together.

With such thoughts, I entered the office.

20 newly recruited mobile phone engineers.

And including 20 experts who moved from Daehyeon Semiconductor and Nexcon, a total of 40 people were waiting for me.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jung-hoo, who will be working with you from now on.”

“I’ve heard a lot about this. What kind of work should we be doing?”

A middle-aged man in work clothes stepped forward.

A veteran who had made dozens of small machines at Nexcon.

It was Park Deok-hun, the manager in charge of A/S.

“The place where you’ll be working from now on is the Prototype Department. It’s a place that creates products that don’t exist in the world yet.”

“What specifically should we do?”

“It’s simple. You just need to implement the functions I want, by any means necessary.”

No matter how well I explained, it would be difficult to make them understand at once.

What engineers needed wasn’t words, but blueprints.

I handed them the blueprint for a new type of iPod that I had prepared in advance.

“You really want us to make this? To add call functions and video playback to an iPod, we’d have to cram components all over it.”

“That’s fine. It doesn’t matter if it looks ugly, as long as it works.”

Starting with Manager Park, everyone took turns looking at the blueprint.

The foreign engineers let out crude sighs in their respective languages.

“Do we really have to make this?”

“That’s why I’ve brought together experts from each field. Call functions, Wi-Fi, and video playback. You can each take charge of making one function. I’ll provide unlimited parts and equipment as needed.”

Making a finished product would be difficult.

But dividing up each function and making them one by one wasn’t that difficult.

Of course, the integration process of combining all these separate functions into one would be very challenging, but I could somehow solve that part.

“We’ll try making it for now. However, I can’t guarantee it’ll work properly.”

“I don’t need results right away. It’s fine if the prototype doesn’t come out this year. And there will absolutely be no penalties just because there are no results.”

“Well, that’s good for me. If I can play around with parts in a quiet office instead of a noisy factory, I’m satisfied with that.”

The employees’ expressions visibly relaxed at the mention of no penalties.

If this atmosphere continued, they might think to just sit around and kill time.

“There are no penalties, but there are rewards. I’ll give bonuses to individuals or teams that implement functions. And if the prototype I want is completed, I’ll give everyone a 400% year-end bonus.”

“…You’re saying we get bonuses just for making it?”

“That’s right. And those results will be reflected in performance evaluations too. The entire team that completes the prototype will become top priority candidates for promotion.”

The employees’ expressions changed dramatically once again.

Bonuses and promotions.

These were the rewards all office workers wanted, and the Prototype Department was no exception.

“You really mean it just has to work, regardless of appearance?”

“That’s right. And if it’s completed within a month, I’ll give a separate special bonus.”

“…Understood. Can we start working on it right now?”

Instead of answering, I nodded my head.

At that moment, the employees began moving in unison, centered around Manager Park.

Even the foreign engineers communicated through gestures as they grabbed tools and took their positions.

***

Just 2 weeks.

The Prototype Department had already produced a prototype.

“It really doesn’t look good, but we’ve added all the functions the Branch Manager wanted.”

“It’s hard to call it an iPod anymore.”

It was enough to be called a monster in the shape of an iPod.

Dozens of modules and components were crammed around the main body.

The unorganized network lines were tangled like living nerve stems.

“We’ve even applied the software sent from Rollbook.”

“What do I press for the power button?”

“The internal power was insufficient, so we connected external power separately. Press the button in the center and the power will come on.”

Manager Park’s fingertip stopped above the button.

When I nodded, he carefully pressed the button.

Instantly, the air in the office became as still as if it had stopped.

Everyone held their breath and stared at the monster in the shape of an iPod.

Whirrrrr—!

The main body began vibrating with a sharp electrical sound.

It sounded like a beast awakening rather than a machine.

And on the LCD screen appeared an interface completely different from existing iPods.

But it wasn’t an unfamiliar screen to me.

I had set the direction for the interface design and conducted the final inspection myself.

“Aside from the screen transition speed being a bit slow, it’s working properly.”

“This is the best we can do with the hardware built into the iPod.”

“Let’s check the call function first.”

A keypad was dangling from the right side of the iPod.

I entered my mobile phone number on the keypad and pressed the call button.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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