Chapter 290 Lianxiang's Major Defeat
Desktop computer sales are definitely a huge hidden danger.
Lianxiang has actually done some analysis and judgment.
The future sales of computer products must be dominated by laptops, otherwise Lianxiang would not be pushing laptops so hard.
Most of Lianxiang's current notebook computer sales come from centralized purchases by government agencies, enterprises and institutions.
Who would have thought that when pushing the laptop computer hard, it would encounter the magical ship of transformation.
With a little more effort, Lu Shan's motherboard was forced out.
With a little more effort, Lu Shan's smart assistant was forced out.
Lianxiang finally realized what it meant to shoot oneself in the foot.
If I hadn't pushed Lu Shan so hard, maybe Lu Shan's pace wouldn't have been so fast.
Seeing that things had come to this point, Yang Qing reported to Liu Dazhi and decided on the next work plan.
The first and foremost task is to immediately contact various departments of Xia State to stabilize the orders for desktop computers. If the orders have expired, take the orders quickly. If the orders are about to expire, find ways to renew the contracts. If the orders have not expired, immediately provide upgrade services. We must hold on to the jobs that are currently in place.
When the Lianxiang marketing team went to do their work, people from related departments also expressed their opinions: "The development of laptops is quite fast. It seems that it will be okay to use laptops for office work in the future. Some brands have a high cost-performance ratio."
This question was raised by more than one person, and it made Lianxiang break out in a cold sweat.
Fortunately, the marketing staff of Lianxiang are very capable and gave ten thousand reasons for purchasing desktop computers and not a small number of notebooks.
First, desktop computers and laptops of the same price have much higher configurations and higher performance and are a market axiom.
Because with desktop computers you don't have to worry too much about the size of the components, you can just stuff the good stuff in there and be done with it.
The laptop needs to consider its own space layout, and many things have to be miniaturized before they can be put in.
If something is small, its performance can hardly be guaranteed.
If you want high performance, you have to spend a lot of money.
Therefore, the public sector does need a desktop computer with higher performance and lower price.
In addition, many of the computers required by the department need to be connected to printers, fax machines, and various other devices. The demand for laptops to connect to external devices is relatively small, and the main purpose is convenience.
Secondly, laptops are difficult to repair, have a short lifespan, cannot be guaranteed in quality, and have a screen that is too small to strain the eyes when working.
Due to the small space, heat dissipation is poor, which causes great damage to components.
Because you can decide the usage time of a home laptop, but once a public computer is turned on, you have to use it all day long.
It is too much of a burden to use laptops to serve the public.
At the same time, laptop maintenance is also a huge problem.
Repairing a laptop is much more troublesome and expensive than repairing a desktop computer. Due to these combined factors, the service life of a laptop is obviously much lower than that of a desktop computer.
The last reason is that desktop computers are easier to upgrade because there is space reserved for any accessories you want to add. Laptops only have so much space that if you want to upgrade you have to replace the original components, which is a pure waste of the original accessories.
Besides, the problem goes back to the above question. Laptop computers have a small space, so the things that need to be replaced have to be specially made. Special-made and miniaturized means expensive. It is really not as easy to get rid of as a desktop computer. You can just buy it from a supplier.
After this round of lobbying, the authorities have indeed figured it out. Under the current circumstances, desktop computers cannot be easily replaced with laptops. Even if they are replaced, they have to try one or two first, and previously planned orders cannot be changed arbitrarily.
Yang Qing felt relieved after stabilizing the orders from the authorities, but his troubles were far from over.
While the marketing team was stabilizing desktop orders, Lianxiang established a dedicated technical department, striving to create Lianxiang's own smart assistant as soon as possible.
The name has already been chosen, it's Xiaole, which means happy and auspicious.
The result is really no way to be happy.
The best technical people in Lianxiang Company were recruited here, and a large number of top programmers in the industry began to tinker with the intelligent assistant.
The idea behind a smart assistant is not complicated, it is just an assistant, but the underlying logic and framework are very complicated.
The smart assistant developed by Lianxiang still has its merits. At least it has made a breakthrough in voice recognition. This will be a product of a few years in the future market. Thanks to Lu Shan pushing this era forward, they were able to make a breakthrough in advance.
However, the finished product was a stupid thing that was completely unusable. Compared with the version made by netizens themselves, the level was very high, but compared with the weakened version of the smart assistant, it was still very poor.
One is that the success rate of voice recognition is very low, and audio input cannot be accurately converted into demand. A large number of demands have to be typed and communicated with Xiaole.
The description is very accurate, but Xiaole Assistant still cannot integrate the required key information. It still follows the old search method of Baidu, which is to link the search website by itself. Users still need to spend a lot of time to filter the information by themselves.
Second, his intelligence is too poor and his learning ability is very weak. He feels like a person with a bad memory.
We have just solved a problem, but we cannot summarize the experience.
When faced with the same question from the customer, the same method is used as last time. If it is Coco Assistant, the information that the user integrated last time is directly told to the user. Because Coco Assistant is perfectly integrated into the operating system, it is fully aware of every change in the system.
Why is there such a big difference?
The root cause is that the algorithm logic is not smart enough.
Coco Assistant can analyze, remember, and learn like humans, but Lianxiang's Xiaole can only work mechanically, one at a time, and has no ability to accumulate.
Lu Shan has mastered the results of many difficult mathematical problems, and his thinking logic has long been far ahead of the times. Lianxiang itself continues to work hard in the field of computers, and there is no major breakthrough in applied mathematics, so it is impossible to catch up with Coco Assistant. Unless Lianxiang also has a super-powerful mathematician who can transform the mathematical results.
These reasons were beyond Yang Qing's understanding. His perception was that anything could be accomplished by gathering together programmers who were good at computers. He had no idea of the role of mathematics in this, and his perception was much worse than Warwick's.
"Good-for-nothing! Good-for-nothing! I spent so much money and employed so many people, but at this moment, all of them failed!" Yang Qing was defeated after using Xiao Le's assistant.
"Lu Shan's team only has a few people to come up with Coco Assistant, and their salary is only over 10,000 yuan a month! Look at you guys! The starting salary is 30,000 yuan, and you are all just eating for free!" Yang Qing continued to scold.
The head of the technical department said nothing. He felt very aggrieved. His achievements would have been amazing at any time, but he just encountered a freak like Coco Assistant.
"Get lost!" Yang Qing impatiently drove the head of the technical department away, and then became annoyed and sulked. The circle is so small, and Lianxiang's big move can't be hidden from his peers. Now that there is no news, everyone knows that this matter is likely to fail, or there will be no results in the short term.
Domestic colleagues quickly adjusted their attitude and dared not spend money to try to get an assistant.
Lian Xiang, who is so powerful, couldn’t do it, so I’d better forget about my own foundation.
Many domestic computer vendors have already started to plan to cooperate with Lu Shan as soon as possible. At most, they can just provide ODS, as they have Coco Assistant anyway.
Yang Qing came out of Liu Dazhi's office in a depressed mood. His boss was very unhappy and his life was very difficult.
Just now, Liu Dazhi asked him how he planned to solve the problem. Yang Qing said stubbornly that maybe he could find some foreign talents or introduce a foreign team, which might be a solution.
As a result, Liu Dazhi said, if foreigners are really so awesome, why is there no Coco Assistant until now?
Yang Qing could only bite the bullet and say again that maybe someone was already experimenting with it but hadn't made it public.
Foreign technology is better than domestic technology. This has been a basic understanding for a long time. If Chinese people cannot solve the problem, they have to find foreigners. This is normal. But this time, because of the variable Lu Shan, this law has failed.
Just when Yang Qing was thinking about where to find talent, someone said he wanted to meet Yang Qing and said he had a way to help Yang Qing develop an intelligent assistant.
Yang Qing was confused... and even more confused. What kind of person was this and why was he so arrogant?
Seeing Yang Qing's puzzled look, the secretary quickly explained: "He said he is from Microsoft's Xiaguo headquarters, and his name is Jack. I heard him speak so confidently, so I told you. If you think he is a liar, I will ask him to leave right away!"
As he spoke, the secretary turned around, and Yang Qing suddenly had an idea: "Bring the person over here!"
Anyway, Yang Qing has nothing to lose, and the situation will definitely not be worse than not being able to develop a smart assistant. What if it really is an opportunity?
Jack walked into Yang Qing's office with a relaxed pace. He was wearing a neat suit and his hair was parted back, looking very energetic.
"Hello, Mr. Yang!" Jack's tone was as relaxed as his footsteps, as if what he wanted to discuss was very simple.
"Let me introduce myself first..." Jack took thirty seconds to introduce himself. He was indeed an employee of Microsoft's Xiaguo region, and it would be easy to find out if you looked him up.
In fact, he is similar to a salesman, hanging a Microsoft sign, pulling business for Microsoft, doing one thing for a living, and providing various services.
Similar to a broker.
Yang Qing obviously didn't have much trust in such a person, but this guy was a Microsoft employee after all, so he might really have a way.
So he got straight to the point and said, "You said you could help Lianxiang create an auxiliary software that's as good as Keke Assistant. How do you plan to help?"
"It's very simple. Coco Assistant looks powerful, but in fact it has been under development in the United States for a long time and has now entered the stage of actual experiments. Its name is Xiaobing. It will be released in some time. If Mr. Yang is interested, I can help Lianxiang get the right to use it." Jack said very calmly.
Microsoft XiaoIce was released on May 2014, 5 in the life before Lu Shan's rebirth. It was an intelligent chat robot created by Microsoft (Asia) Internet Engineering Academy. It was positioned for girls between the ages of sixteen and eighteen and was an intelligent AI with personality traits.
Originally, it should not have been pushed to the forefront at this time, but its establishment was actually not a secret, even Yang Qing had heard about it.
The difference is that Lu Shan's appearance advanced its time of appearance.
Those mathematical papers provided logical and cognitive breakthroughs.
This has accelerated technology around the world.
Combining the previous information, Yang Qing quickly determined that what Jack said was probably not a lie.
"Can you really introduce this kind of laboratory research content into Lianxiang?" Yang Qing was a little unconvinced.
"There's really no way to guarantee it. I can only act as a matchmaker and give it a try."
"Then its performance..." Yang Qing was unsure. This matter concerned the strategic decision of Lianxiang as a whole, so he had to be cautious.
Jack took a sip of coffee and said sincerely, "Mr. Yang! You also understand what Xiaguo's current technological level is in the field of artificial intelligence. Foreign countries have already begun to realize unmanned industrial layout.
The overall level gap is so huge, and Xiaoice is a product of scientific research, so its performance is absolutely powerful.
Besides, XiaoIce's research and development is a joint project of many world-renowned universities. Xiaguo's Shuimu and Yanjing University barely got the admission ticket and did some marginal work. Do you think it's amazing?"
Yang Qing understood what Jack meant. If we talk about the ranking of Xiaguo University in the world, it is really terrible. It is not as good as Toyo University, South Korean University, and even the University of Hong Kong in the south.
Seeing Yang Qing's expression soften, Jack struck while the iron was hot: "The overseas team has been established for many years. Their investment and hard work in this area are unimaginable to the people of Xia. To be honest, if XiaoIce had not recently entered a new stage of development and was short of money, the XiaoIce project might not have given everyone the opportunity to participate.
Anyway, I am not very sure, so I can only do my best. "
"Can you give us some data so we can test it?" Yang Qing didn't listen to everything Jack said, but he obviously believed half of it.
"Sure! I'll give you the data for testing later."
“What is the approximate price of the cooperation?”
“We haven’t come to an agreement yet, but please prepare at least 7 million yuan in funds to be on the safe side.”
Yang Qing frowned and said, "How about this, I'll apply to the higher-ups, and you hand over the data to me as soon as possible. If approved, please come to Lianxiang to give a presentation as soon as possible."
"Okay! I hope our cooperation will be successful!" Jack was also decisive. After saying goodbye to Yang Qing, he went to prepare.
Yang Qing told Liu Dazhi the news.
"I have indeed heard of Microsoft XiaoIce. She is very famous in the entire artificial intelligence field." Liu Dazhi's eyes sparkled.
"We can ask someone to inquire at Microsoft. During the last AI conference in the United States, Microsoft did have the idea of collaborating with computer manufacturers to promote XiaoIce."
If we review the conversation between Jack and Yang Qing, we can find that Jack did not blindly promote Xiaobing's strength, nor did he keep talking nonsense. Instead, he kept showing weakness and creating an atmosphere of uncertainty for Yang Qing, so that Yang Qing would let down his guard.
If Jack took on too much responsibility right from the start, Yang Qing might not be willing to spend time on him.
Jack was very frank and said bluntly that he was just a salesman and that he would earn income if he got orders.
In fact, it is easy for Yang Qing to find this kind of information, so he just said it openly. If he was secretive, it would make the cooperation unclear.
(End of this chapter)
