ICQ Development Handover
Tom Kalinske moves with the speed of California whirlwind.
He had just dropped Nakayama Takuya off at "Silicon Valley Online" when he stepped on the gas and drove back to Sega Headquarters in Redwood City. The office door wasn't even fully closed before he grabbed the phone.
"Frank? It's me, Tom! You complained to me last time about not being happy at Apple and wanted to move around? Yes!"
I have a new company that's short of a top manager. Are you interested?
"Hey, Joanna! The queen of headhunting! Find me someone—the most financially savvy, the best at investing, and the most discerning eye in all of Silicon Valley! I want him to help me spend money! Budget? There's no budget!"
The entire executive team at Sega of America Headquarters heard their CEO's powerful roar, and everyone craned their necks, wondering what madness their boss was going through this time.
Meanwhile, at Silicon Valley Online, Nakayama Takuya convened a handover meeting with Nohara's Japan team and Harry's United States team.
The atmosphere in the conference room was completely different from what it had been a few days ago.
The Japan engineers were no longer reserved, and the United States engineers were no longer nonchalant. They had just won a brilliant victory together, and their eyes now held a tacit understanding like that of comrades-in-arms.
"Gentlemen," Nakayama Takuya, standing in front of the whiteboard, which had no architectural diagrams drawn on it, only three letters written on it: ICQ.
"BBS is our first step in taking over the high ground, but it's more like a public square."
ICQ will be our tentacles reaching into every user's desktop and into their private lives.
He turned to Nohara, the group leader.
Nohara understood immediately, turned on the projector, and the screen immediately displayed the nascent ICQ interface and complex backend source code structure.
This is the culmination of countless sleepless nights their team spent in Tokyo.
"Starting today, this project will be taken over by Harry's team to complete the subsequent development and launch," Nakayama Takuya announced.
A barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashed across the faces of the Japan team members, as if they were about to send away a child they had raised with their own hands.
Harry and his United States colleagues' eyes lit up instantly, as if they had discovered an undiscovered gold mine.
Harry couldn't help but whistle. "Wow, this software has really interesting features, especially the 'FaceWord' suite it includes!"
Nakayama Takuya walked to the whiteboard, picked up a pen, drew a solid box next to ICQ, and wrote "User Account System" inside the box.
"Harry, Nohara- san will hand over all the source code and documentation to you. I have only one request, which is also the most important one."
His pen tip pressed heavily on the square.
"ICQ's login function must be based on an independent, universal, and absolutely secure architecture. In the future, all our online services, including BBS, and even other online services we may launch, must be able to log in directly through this account system."
"I don't want a chat application account; I call it a ' Silicon Valley Online Passport '!"
Harry understood immediately upon hearing the word "passport".
His breathing quickened; this was no longer a simple project, but the gateway to an ecosystem! Whoever controls the gateway controls the future of the internet!
"What about the security level?" Harry pressed, his expression more serious than ever before.
"To put it simply," Nakayama Takuya said without hesitation, "I want you to build it like a bank's vault. I don't want our users to one day find their 'passports' can be easily stolen."
"Got it!" Harry patted his chest, a geeky, enthusiastic smile spreading across his face. "I know a few DEFs..."
I've invited those guys from CON (the world's leading hacker conference) to be my consultants. They'll use every means possible to perfect our system! I guarantee it'll be even more robust than the Pentagon's firewall!
The group leader Nohara, listened with a mixture of fear and excitement.
Hiring hackers as security guards? Only these United States lunatics could come up with such a thing.
The handover process proceeded smoothly and efficiently.
A few days later, Nakayama Takuya and Nohara's group prepared to return to Japan.
In the airport departure hall, Tom Kalinske came to see him off. He wasn't wearing a suit today, but a casual polo shirt, and he looked refreshed.
"I've got my eye on a CEO, and we're actively recruiting. We've also found an investment director—a formidable figure from Wall Street." Tom gave Nakayama Takuya a big hug and whispered with a smile in his ear, "Don't worry, I'll do everything I can to get things done."
"Good job, Tom." Nakayama Takuya patted him on the back with a smile. "Don't forget to send regular briefings to Tokyo, and use more US dollar signs; they like that."
"Haha, I get it!"
Takuya smiled meaningfully and continued, "Then it'll be tough on you with the concentrated release of games over the next few months. Make sure you empty the pockets of North America players."
"No problem, we won't let them leave the money to Nintendo," Tom Kalinske said confidently.
After saying goodbye to Tom, the group headed towards the boarding gate.
Following behind Nakayama Takuya, Nohara Leader Nohara watched his youthful figure, and the fatigue and shock of the past few days finally turned into a sigh.
"Executive, this trip to the United States has truly felt like a dream."
"The dream has only just begun, Nohara- san." Nakayama Takuya turned around and smiled.
Just then, an employee from the United States headquarters jogged up and, panting, handed Nohara a fax he had just received.
"Mr. Nohara, this is an urgent fax from headquarters in Tokyo."
Nohara took it with a puzzled look, and his expression changed after just one glance.
He strode to Nakayama Takuya's side, his voice low and tinged with tension. "The executive director sent an inquiry letter from headquarters' Finance Department. They want to know why Sega of America suddenly incurred a huge increase in server purchases and bandwidth leasing fees without budget approval---"
Nakayama Takuya took the fax and glanced at it.
The above is a question unique to Japanese companies, worded precisely and coldly, every word exuding the authority of "following the rules".
There was no panic or even a trace of helplessness on his face; he simply sighed softly, as if he were displeased with a note that had been written incorrectly.
He turned to the panting United States employee and instructed, "Go, fax back to this number all the newspapers that have reported on ' Silicon Valley Online ' these past few days, especially the sections in the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times."
"Huh?" The United States employee was taken aback, not understanding what this meant.
Team Leader Nohara was also annoyed. "Executive Director, aren't we going to explain this? What about the Finance Department— "
"An explanation?" Nakayama Takuya casually folded the inquiry letter in half, stuffed it into his pocket, then patted Nohara on the shoulder with a playful smile on his face.
"Nohara- san, a few front-page articles in the Wall Street Journal are more effective than a 10,000-word report for dealing with these accountants who only know numbers and not the market."
He paused, then added something to the employee.
"After sending the fax, please include a separate message."
Nakayama Takuya gazed at the plane about to take off in the distance. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of dominance.
"Just say that I approved the funding. If they still have questions after reading the newspaper, have them prepare coffee and ask me in my office when I return to Tokyo."