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Electronic Arts

Trip Hawkins Says Accepting Failure Is The Path Of The Entrepreneurial Journey

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When you are starting something way out of your league, patience is a very important factor. A part of our young generation is going to be future entrepreneurs. And, they are expected to accept failure and be optimistic at every moment of life. The entrepreneurial journey is not a bed of roses especially for those going unorthodox. Our society is not a huge fan of gaming. Building a career revolving around gaming is a far-fetched dream. But, Trip Hawkins proved that one can excel in any field if the person is dedicated to it. Trip Hawkins is the owner of more than one gaming company. But, he became famous all over the world for founding Electronic Arts.

Early Life

Born and brought up in a small of California, Trip Hawkins had a very bright and creative childhood. Both of his parents were equally artistic. Though his father was a part of the growing electronics industry, he later delved into becoming an artist. His mother was a great musician and also wrote poems. Maybe the creative family background of Trip gave him the idea of designing everything of his own.

Trip Hawkins
Image Source: Google Images

Into the gaming world

It was in the 1960s when Trip started playing simulation board games. He played many games but his favorite one was Strat-O-Matic. He became addicted to the game and more than that he was keen about how it is working. The designing part intrigued him and led him to build his own game of a similar type. It was in 1973 that he builds the gaming but failed to sell enough copies of it.

But, this was the eye-opening moment of his life. He was in school using computers like every other kid but in a more advanced way. He really enjoyed the entrepreneurial side of his life. Though he failed in the first try, he made up his mind.

The Perfect Business Mind

It was in the 1970s when Trip was working with computers, coding and game development in a full-fledged way. This was the time when microprocessors for the first time invaded the electronics market. So, this gave Trip the idea of doing thorough research on market demand.

Before launching his own company, Trip studied how many people are having internet access, the rate of public demand and how long it will be there.

Working at Apple Computer

Before founding Electronic Arts, Trip worked at Apple. But, his planning didn’t stop and it took him eleven years for implementing it. The trip also went to Harvard University and there he designed his own course for studying game theory. The trip also did an MBA because he was interested in the business market equally. But, he noticed nobody in Apple wasn’t really a gaming enthusiast.

A gaming Pro with a business degree thus left Apple after working for four years. But, Trip admits that working closely with Steve Jobs helped him a lot in building his own empire.

Founding Electronic Arts

In January 1982, Trip approached Don Valentine, a Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist. He offered Trip office space and he finally accepted it. When Trip established the company he named it Amazin’ Software which was later renamed Electronic Arts. When Trip founded the company he invested $200,000 from his own pocket.

Electronic Arts are headquartered in Redwood City, California. Today, it is known as the second-largest gaming company in the American and European markets in terms of revenue and market capitalization. In 2018, the company’s annual revenue summed up to $5.15 billion. There are almost 9,000 employees working for the company.

After Electronic Arts

In 1991, Trip formed 3DO, a video game console company. After a couple of years, it became the most powerful video game console. In 1996, 3DO became a video game developer but it went out of business in 2003.

But, Trip didn’t give up that easily. In late 2003, he came up with a new video game development company, Digital Chocolate. In 2012, Trip resigned from the company and joined the board of directors of Extreme Reality.

In 2005, Trip became the eighth person to get enrolled in the Academy of Interactive Arts and Science Hall of Fame.

Msi-Logo

Ready, Player One: How MSI Defined the Gaming Industry

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Taiwanese technology giant Micro-Star International has a pan Asia influence and is a IT multinational headquartered in Taipei City. The company deals in the development and production of computer hardware, and related products such as desktops, motherboards, servers and graphics cards. The company is listed on the Taiwanese Stock Exchange. Founded in 1986 by five entrepreneurs, the company has since grown to command considerable market share both within and outside Taiwan.

Humble Beginnings

The founding members of the company are Joseph Hsu, Jeans Huang, Frank Lin, Kenny Yu and Henry Lu. MSI’s five founders worked for Sony before quitting and founding MSI. Sony’s downsizing in 1985 brought the group together, and they pooled in their engineering experience to create MSI in August of 1986. The company opened its first plant in Jung-He city in 1997 and three years later opened another one in Jung-He city. In a bid to raise money for expansion, MSI went public in 1998 on the Taiwanese Stock Exchange. The company found subsidiaries MSI Computer in 2000, and MSI Electronics a year later. They followed this up by opening their logistics center in Netherlands.

Early Days and Products

The company built a name for itself by developing state-of-the-art motherboards and graphic cards. FUNTORO, which is a subsidiary to MSI took shape in 2008 as a wing of the company focusing on vehicle infotainment system. That wing now manufactures multimedia peripherals, vehicle infotainment systems and even Autonomous Mobility Robots. During their early years, MSI mainly focused on the design of motherboards and auxiliary cards. That same year, they hit the market with the world’s first over-clockable 286 motherboard.

Three years later, they introduced their 486 motherboard; following it up four years later with a 586 and then a Dual Pentium motherboard. In 1997, MSI launched their Pentium II-based motherboard and MMX, their first graphics card. They upgraded to a Bluetooth and WLAN motherboard in 2002. In 2002, they came out with a set-top box, in 2003, a Pen Tablet and a year later launched a Notebook. They followed this up with an Ultra Slim Notebook and All-in-One PC in 2009.

Aggressive Expansion

The founding five began operations in New Taipei before expanding to Mainland China. The first step of the expansion came in 2000, in the form of setting up a factory in Shenzhen. The company then established a Research and Development facility in Kunshan the next year. Since then, MSI has expanded and now provides services in North America, Central and South America, Europe and Australia.

The company also famously hosts the international gaming event called MSI Masters Gaming Arena or MSI Beat IT. The event began way back in 2010, culminating with Evil Geniuses winning the trophy. The company is headquartered in Zhonghe District, while most of the manufacturing takes place in factories spread all over Taiwan. As a part of their aggressive expansion, the company also owns offices in Europe, Australia and South Africa. They now boast of having a presence in more than 120 countries, across both the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific and Africa.

Entering the Gaming Industry

However, the biggest change came in 2008, when they entered the PC gaming market by launching and sponsoring Fnatic. Their gaming series featured desktops, graphic cards and gaming peripherals which quickly captured the market. They partnered with Tobii in 2015 to design and develop eye-tracking gaming laptops. A year later, they collaborated with HTC to create Virtual Reality experiences. They got into the field of Content Creation in 2018 by launching creator-centric laptops.

Achievements and Further Growth of MSI

MSI ended 2008 within the top 20 of the best Taiwanese Global Brands and followed it up three years later by coming in at number one. By 2013, MSI had been awarded the honour of Taiwan Excellence for fifteen straight years. They were also ranked four on a global list of the best laptops in the world in 2015. Thanks to all these achievements their global market share increased rapidly, and by 2016, they had become the largest gaming laptop supplier.

Chuck Hall

How this Young Eighty-Year Old Continues to Revolutionise Manufacturing

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3D Printing is now a major part of numerous applications, all the way from medicare to aerospace. However, how many of us know about its quiet founder and the story behind its success? Here’s a look at how Chuck Hull became the father of 3D printing.

Wide-spread Use

Surgeons at a hospital in Texas had to separate conjoined twins to save their lives in 1996. However, the operation would result in one girl never being able to walk, or so they thought. When doctors used a 3D printer to observe their bone structure, they found a bone bigger than expected. Hence, they split it, allowing both girls to walk. This was the magic of 3D printing. Hull recalls how the first few surgeries made him emotional, as he saw how his invention could help people.

Origin Story

Chuck Hall is now a young octogenarian who serves as the CTO of the company he co-founded, 3D Systems. Three decades ago he famously printed a cup using stereolithography, which later became 3D printing. At that time, he worked for a company that used UV light to adhere veneers to furniture. Like everyone else within the industry, he hated how difficult it was to prototype new designs.

That is when he first thought of using light to etch layers of plastic to form objects. He tinkered with the idea for over a year and finally adapted a system to do so. When he told his boss about the idea, he gave him a lab to play around during evenings and weekends.

3D Printing Revolution

The class of materials used is “photopolymers” which are acrylic-based liquids until hitting with ultraviolet light. Upon being hit, they turn into a solid which can then be molded. 3D printing, therefore, uses a vat of such liquid and turns it into a solid plastic using UV light. Upon making the project a success, Hull showed it to his wife. The idea really blossomed in the last few years with regard to rapid growth and recognition.

One of the biggest improvements it brought forth was the accuracy achieved in manufacturing. As early designs required the changing of the phase of substances, parts would shrink and get distorted. However, in recent years, that chemistry has vastly improved, ensuring there is no distortion now.

Also, the properties of the materials have improved, from being brittle to great and tough plastics. The whole point of 3D printing, according to Hull is to foster creativity and improve product design and manufacturing. The market growth occurred simultaneously and is now worth over $3 billion worldwide annually.

Continued Success

He patented this design in 1986 and then founded 3D Systems to commercialize the new technology. The company raised over $6m from investors and customers, as he used videotapes to show people how it worked. Their first product came out in 1988, becoming a sensation amongst aerospace and medical equipment manufacturers. Soon enough, GM and Mercedes-Benz became regular customers and the company just took off.

However, Hull predicted the year he invented the concept that it would take 30 years for it to be a commercial reality. That has proved correct as the widespread commercial use of 3D printers has started only in recent years. However, now that they have, the possibilities are truly endless with every industry from food making to pharmaceuticals are finding a use for it. In the future, the company will assist Google with its next-generation phone.

Legacy

Hull has 93 American patents and 20 European ones to his name. Rather than retiring to the suburbs, he has decided to keep working at his company. He now serves as the VP and CTO, holding stock worth $20m and 3D Systems makes over $500m annually. The company is growing and expanding constantly, coming out with new and innovative products.

It recently launched the Ekocycle Cube in collaboration with Black-Eyed-Peas fame Will.i.am. Will.i.am served as the chief creative officer for the project which came out as a daily use printer costing $1,199. Stepping down has never been an option for Hull, who continues working with the same passion he had decades ago.

Quantum Computing

How Benioff Paul’s Quantum Computing Theory Formed The Foundation Of Quantum Computers?

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Quantum computing brings new spectacles that changed many things about conventional computing. No doubt, traditional computing is efficient. But a large data handling using classical computers that utilizes conventional computing might fail. However, a quantum computer could perform such a complex computation. In the 20th century, Quantum computing was a rising field for research. That time, Paul Benioff helped with his research in quantum information theory. Also, it proved the theoretical possibility of a quantum computer. In fact, he introduced the world for the first time that computers could operate as per the law of quantum mechanics.

Paul Benioff’s Journey

Paul Benioff is an American physicist, well known for his research in quantum computing. In 1970, he started research on the non-classical method of computation. In a short duration, he proposed the theoretical feasibility of quantum computing. Other than this, he researched various fields of chemistry, physics, and mathematics.

Image Source: Google Images

Early life

Paul Benioff was born in Pasadena in California on May 1, 1930. Paul’s father was a seismology professor at the California Institute of Technology. Also, his mother was English graduated at that time. Apparently, the well-educated family background must be helpful to developed interest in science.

Education

For an undergraduate degree in Botany, Benioff attended the University of California, Berkeley. In 1951, he completed his under-graduation course. After that, he worked for TracerLab in the field of nuclear chemistry. In 1959, after returning to Berkeley Paul obtained a Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry.

Career

Paul starts his career as a post-doctoral fellow at the Weizmann Institute of Science. He completed that internship in 1960. After that, he worked for six months as a Ford fellow at Niels Bohr Institute. It was the well-known institute of that period. In 1961, he grabbed the chance to work at Argonne National Lab. In fact, he worked there until 1995. During 1961-1978, he worked in the chemistry division. However, after 1978 he changed his division to Environmental impact Division.

Apart from that, he was a visiting professor at Tel Aviv University in 1979. He taught the quantum mechanics foundation which was his research topic. Also, he worked as a visiting scientist for two years at CNRS Marseilles.

Research in Quantum Computing

In the 1970s, he began research in the non-conventional computing method, i.e., Quantum computing. In the early stages, he presented several research papers in this field. Later, he published a complete description of Turing Machines’ quantum mechanical model in 1980. This model was based on Charles H. Bennett’s reversible Turing machine. However, Paul Benioff’s theoretical presentation on the quantum computer was efficient enough to eliminate the dissipation of excessive energy.

At the same time, it was reversible. In fact, his research paper was first that showed reversible quantum computing is theoretically possible. Based on his research, many other scientists discover the field of quantum computing. Surely, Benioff formed the foundation for quantum computing.

How Benioff’s research set the foundation for quantum computers?

In 1982, he published a revised paper on quantum mechanical Turing machines. Based on this, Richard Feynman developed a universal quantum simulator. Furthermore, based on Benioff and Feynman’s research, other scientist Deutsch showed the power of quantum computers. He proposed that with quantum computers, computational problems can be solved faster. Because the classic computer was not effective in handling large numbers.

Quantum computing- Centre of Attraction

Benioff continued his research and published many papers. Also, several other researchers followed his research and came up with new discoveries in the field of quantum computing. Soon, quantum computing became the topic of attraction. The industrial sector, banking sector as well as government agencies kept a constant eye on this field. In fact, this field became an attraction for many other scientists. Presently, quantum computing is a fast-growing research sector that offers applications in cybersecurity, cryptography and many other fields.

Other researches of Paul Benioff

Other than quantum computing, he researched nuclear reaction theory. Also, he conducted research to show the relationship between physics and mathematics foundation. In fact, Benioff continues research in physics after retirement.

Later Success

Benioff honored with many prestigious awards. Includes, Quantum communication award for the International organization in 2000. Also, he awarded with Quantum computing and communication prize from Tamagawa University, Japan. In 2001, he honored with Special University of Chicago medal for his extraordinary performance at Argonne National Lab. Furthermore, Argonne Lab held a conference in Benioff’s honor for his work in quantum computing.

Today, his contribution to quantum computing enables the field of research for quantum mechanical models, quantum robots, and other quantum computing topics.

Bitcoin Image

Nakamoto Mystery Worth Billions of Dollars: How Bitcoin founder Nakamoto left with no trace.

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Bitcoin has emerged as a game-changer in world-economics attracting millions of users and buyers. An international digital currency that took the world by a storm at the start of the decade still continues its run. Rewarding investors handsomely, and turning them into millionaires has made this commodity very valuable. However, one of the most fascinating aspects of Bitcoin is its founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. This mystery remains unsolved as people know little about him. After releasing this commodity which forever changed the dynamics of international economics, he disappeared. Here’s a look behind the scenes at the mystery and the success of the Bitcoin.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a type of decentralized digital currency or cryptocurrency, having no banks or administrators. This currency goes from one person to another, without relying on middle-men, via a network. The system works on the principle of block-chain technology through which transactions are verified and recorded in a public ledger. The idea started taking shape in 2008 by a person or group who used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The platform went open source in 2009 and quickly gained popularity. People started trying to learn more about, and ‘mine’ these bitcoins to exchange them for other currencies and products. By 2017, over 4.8 million unique users had their own cryptocurrency wallets.

Bitcoin Image

Nakamoto Creation of the Bitcoin

In August 2008 the domain name “bitcoin.org” was registered and within a couple of months, Satoshi Nakamoto authored a paper titled “Bitcoin: A Electronic Cash System”. It came out as open-source software in January 2009 with Nakamoto’s identity remaining unknown. The author himself mined the first block, called the genesis block two days after launching. Hal Finney became the first receiver when Nakamoto sent him 10 bitcoins, and soon enough other people joined the chain. The first commercial exchange occurred in 2010 when 10,000 coins gave Laszlo Hanyecz two Papa John’s pizzas. Since then, the coin has become an international phenomenon and currently, one single Bitcoin costs around 5.5 lakhs!

Disappearance and Mystery

Nakamoto mined around a million bitcoins and disappeared in 2010, leaving everyone in shock. Before leaving, he handed over the network key to Gavin Andresen, who became the lead developer at the Bitcoin Foundation. Silk Road was a major investor early on, carrying out transactions worth more than $214 million. The coin started 2011 at $0.30 and grew to $5.27 by the end of the year, having hit $31.50 in June. Alternate coins soon came out with the first one being Litecoin, which came out in 2011. A year later, Bitcoin rose to $13.30 and in the same year, investors and developers found the Bitcoin Foundation.

Explosion and Growth

In 2013, the industry really exploded and the Bitcoin grew exponentially, starting the year at $13.30 and ending it at $770. The same year, FinCEN built some regulatory guidelines for the bitcoin, making it a legal entity. A huge hit came in late 2013 when the People’s Bank of China banned Chinese institutions from utilizing bitcoins. After two years of constantly rising and falling prices, in 2016, the prices steadily rose to $998. In 2017, the prices sky-rocketed, hitting their highest value of $19,783.06 on 17th December 2017. In 2018, the prices fluctuated, mostly staying above $5000, being negatively affected by hacks and thefts. Also read

Who is Nakamoto?

As the Bitcoin grew, Nakamoto’s importance grew with it, with him being a figurehead to the entire institution of digital currency. Most discussions regarding the future development of the bitcoin constantly feature his name. Also, the founder also holds cryptocurrency worth around $5.8 billion, making him an important investor. While people made numerous efforts over the years, the search for Nakamoto’s identity has proved difficult and elusive. Here’s a look at the three most probable candidates.

Satoshi Nakamoto
Image Source: Google Images

In 2014, Newsweek stated that Dorian Nakamoto is Satoshi Nakamoto via an article, creating a storm within the crypto-environment. The article claimed several similarities between the two, including a Japanese connection and similar philosophies. However, Dorian denied these claims, but still profited from it as people gifted him 67 bitcoins worth $273,000.

Australian scientist, Craig Wright announced in 2015 that he had been involved with bitcoin for a while. This led to large-scale investigations with people claiming he was Nakamoto. However, over time, the proof came out which unraveled Wright’s claim to being Nakamoto. Even Ethereum cofounder Vitalik Buterin, who is in most cases silent came out against him. Conspiracy theorists have even stated that the founder could be a group of companies. For example, Samsung + Toshiba= Satoshi and Nakamichi +Motorola=Nakamoto! Like “Finding Nemo”, the quest for finding Satoshi Nakamoto is on, and let us hope we get a name soon enough! However, in spite of this mystery, the industry continues to grow, being already worth billions of dollars.

John Cioffi

How John Cioffi Gave Life to the Internet Through the Broadband

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Most of us cannot imagine a world without the internet now. We depend on it for everything from reading this article to shopping for groceries. However, forty years ago, the internet barely existed with the World Wide Web years away. Since then we have come a long way to technology such as 5G and crypto-currency, thanks to the internet. For most of this, we have engineer John Cioffi to thank. He realized that the copper wires used as phone lines could supply fast data to homes. This move made it possible for homes to get the internet without creating new networks. Years later, Joseph Lechleider turned that dream into a reality, and modern broadband came to be. Here’s a look at how those two men singlehandedly revolutionized modern-day internet and our lives.

What John Cioffi Did

Cioffi realized while at American Bell Laboratories in the 1970s, that someday the entire world would use the internet. However, making this affordable wasn’t an easy task. To make the process affordable, he imagined using copper telephone wires which have been around since a hundred years earlier. He moved to Stanford University by the end of the ’70s and began working on this concept. He tried to fit hundreds of data channels alongside phone conversations without causing disturbances. Cioffi named the technology DMT or Discrete Multitone. However, the high interference of the lines became a problem. So he built a device to switch data between channels to prevent this, creating the first broadband modem.

Joseph Lechleider’s Contribution

Cioffi’s broadband modem lowered the interference but not for high rate data sending. By then, Joseph Lechleider was working as an engineer at Bell Labs which had become Bellcore. He discovered that sending large data in one direction and smaller in the opposite could solve this problem. Hence, this process became the basis for the Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line technology. ADSL technology works great for people who don’t need to upload much data.

Broadband becomes Universal

Cioffi founded Amati in 1992 to build broadband modems, while companies such as BT began working on ADSL technology. Meanwhile, customers began using dial-up modems to access the internet via their phone lines. Since DSL required signal processors, they were too expensive to implement early on. However, as the 2000s rolled in, microchips became more affordable and internet connections became over a hundred times faster.

Cioffi then successfully worked on Dynamic Spectrum Management to make the transmission even faster. Soon enough, John Cioffi became the Father of DSL, with over 100 patents in the field. He works on projects to improve internet speeds and is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Lechleider died in 2015 becoming inducted into the US National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2013.

Continued Success

Cioffi also served as a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University, supervising over 100 Ph.D. students over two decades. He left Stanford in 1991 to found Amati Corporation, building the world’s first DSL modem. The modem soon became a gold-standard as it was 4 times faster than its competitors, also being the first to transmit live television via a phone line. He sold Amati Communications to Texas Instrument for $440 million three years after taking it public in 1995. Cioffi returned to Stanford, to research on Dynamic Spectrum Management and vectored VDSLs, which will soon be launched in the US.

In 2003, Cioffi founded ASSIA which now has over 80 million worldwide subscribers and retired from Stanford six years later. The company makes software and hardware for companies involved in providing users high-speed Internet services. His wife works as the Executive Vice President owing to her keen sense of people, and management skills. His design for the VDSL powers almost 98% of the 500 million DSL connections the world now uses.

DSL accounts for more than 70% of the world’s broadband, more than even cable and fiber combined. ASSIA controls 90% of the U.S. market with regards to DSL management software, with its product making about $100 million annually for its users. The company began with three people, and by 2011 had over 170 employees. With the DSL industry has grown to one worth over $120 billion worldwide, it goes without saying that we have a lot to thank Cioffi for.