Competition: A Driver of Technological Advancement.

A case Study of US Computer Industry.

---------------------------------------

Aboubakar YARI and Venus YARI

----------------------------------------

Abstract :

Since the dawn of man and the birth of technological innovation in Africa, competition had been the major driver of technological advancement. Here, we discuss the impact of competition on technological advancement in modern society, using the United States computer industry case as model. We further analyze for the impact of malicious or unfair competition on inhibition of country development.

Keywords:  Competition; Technological Innovation; Technological Advancement; Country Development

ORGANIZATION:

This discussion contains short abstracts from reference 1 followed by comments, and an analysis and discussion session.

TEXT AND COMMENTS:

Trends in CPU Performance Improvement

Abstract 1 from reference 1 (Section 1)

The History of the 80x86 CPU Family

1970s:

Intel developed and delivered the first commercially viable microprocessor way back in the early 1970 s: the 4004 and 4040 devices. These four-bit microprocessors, intended for use in calculators, had very little power. Nevertheless, they demonstrated the future potential of the microprocessor — an entire CPU on a single piece of silicon2.

Comment 1:The digital revolution

Since the 1970s, Intel developed a digital calculator operating with a its four bits microprocessor. <Digitalization> a technological revolution in the United States, in the early 20^th century is now in the early 21^st century, a dream revolution in many settings of the developing world. <Digitalization> evolved form Intel’s calculator to computers, and now to common household appliances such as televisions. Transition from analogy to digital in image engineering and television as a communication tool, is an objective of many broadcasting companies in developing countries. Unfortunately many of these companies seek merely for consumption of these new technologies acquired as donations in the form of aid. It is a business culture in the United States for big consumer of a product to be indirectly involved in the production process of the products their business depend on, in the form of promotion and funding of research, or directly involved by operating their own research, innovation, and product development programs. To our knowledge, none of these consumer companies in the developing world are directly or indirectly involved in broadcasting technology innovation and development. The Biotech tropicana Systems FACILITATOR incubator unit is at the forefront of developing a <digitalization> capacity focused on digital needs of the developing world.    

Section 2:

8008 and 8080 eight-bit CPUs and the birth personal computer revolution:

Intel rapidly followed their four-bit offerings with their 8008 and 8080 eight-bit CPUs. A small outfit in Santa Fe, New Mexico, incorporated the 8080 CPU into a box they called the Altair 8800. Although this was not the world s first "personal computer" (there were some limited distribution machines built around the 8008 prior to this), the Altair was the device that sparked the imaginations of hobbyists the world over and the personal computer revolution was born.

Comments 2: From hobby research personal initiative to big market.

In the United States, many high tech digital technologies on the market today started from the back of garages, as hobbies, by dedicated and sophisticated innovators. Impact of these innovations on market and society soon attract interest of established specialized academic institutions and large companies that contribute to the advancement of the innovations through critical analysis and support; a culture that promotes technological advancement and country development. Unfortunately, many developing countries failed to develop a culture of interplay of initiatives, positive critical analysis, and support where applicable; a substantial barrier to their development. Many will go for easy aid acquired without any effort thereby inhibiting their own potentials and irrationally dreaming to advance and develop their countries based on resources produced by the effort of people from other nations; welfare states. An analysis of technological innovation and evolution showed no precedent where a civilization developed based on efforts of other civilizations, since the dawn of man. Confronting one development challenge will highlight additional hidden challenges to be confronted. Overcoming these chains of challenges by owned efforts has been the ultimate path to development for all countries developed today. The Biotech tropicana Systems recognize the critical importance of aid under exceptional circumstances, but aid for consumption as a mean of life is harmful to development by deeply hiding the hidden challenges that are the ultimate path to development. There is always a challenge ahead. ‘We must confront it’ to generate ‘new wealth’.    

Section 3:

Intel soon had competition from Motorola, MOS Technology, and an upstart company formed by disgrunteled Intel employees, Zilog. To compete, Intel produced the 8085 microprocessor. To the software engineer, the 8085 was essentially the same as the 8080. However, the 8085 had lots of hardware improvements that made it easier to design into a circuit. Unfortunately, from a software perspective the other manufacturer s offerings were better. Motorola s 6800 series was easier to program, MOS Technologies 65xx family was easier to program and very inexpensive, and Zilog s Z80 chip was upwards compatible with the 8080 with lots of additional instructions and other features. By 1978 most personal computers were using the 6502 or Z80 chips, not the Intel offerings.

Comments 3: The important role of competition in tech evolution: Motorola VS Intel.

Intel 8085 brought an advancement in hardware. Motorola MOS 65 brought an advancement in software development; cost reduction, “inexpensive” gave a market advantage to Motorola. Corruption is a critical barrier to tech evolution in developing countries by hindering competition, the key to tech evolution. Competition forced each party to do better to stay in business, thereby promoting tech evolution. Each party must explore its engineering ingenuity to the fullest to stay in business, forcing each party to work harder and smarter.  Countries that cannot control corruption must therefore sit in the back of the tech evolution bus. They stay aid recipients forever. Tigers miracle is an example of the value of tough discipline, hard and smart work to promote competition. The tigers move from aid recipients to aid donors in a quarter of century (1x25 years). Developing countries that cannot control corruption and promote competition still heavily dependent of foreign aid after two quarters of century (2x25 years).  US MCC and UN MDG welcome initiatives in corruption control in developing countries. Applying principles as proposed in the US MCC and the UN MDG, the Biotech tropicana Systems achieved self sustainability in 15 years (2000-2015) and move from aid recipient to aid donor.

Section 4:

Sometime between 1976 and 1978 Intel decided that they needed to leap-frog the competition and produce a 16-bit microprocessor that offered substantially more power than their competitor s eight-bit offerings. This initiative led to the design of the 8086 microprocessor. The 8086 microprocessor was not the world s first 16-bit microprocessor (there were some oddball 16-bit microprocessors prior to this point) but it was certainly the highest performance single-chip 16-bit microprocessor when it was first introduced. 

Comments 4: To keep pace with competition and stay in business Intel fought back with higher performance innovation:

Intel conquered the market back from Motorola with higher performance innovation. A substantial evolution in personal computer technology; an advancement and advantage for computer product consumers. With parallel advancement in software technology such as the Windows series from Microsoft, the US computer industry conquers the world. Increased market translates into increased revenues for private computer companies, and increase tax revenues for government, demonstrating the power of the private sector in developing a modern knowledge based economy. The key to the success of the US computer industry relied heavily on the success of the public sector in corruption control and promotion of competition in the population, demonstrating the importance of the interplay between different sectors of the economy, to achieve overall country development. Failure of one sector can compromise the efforts of the other sectors, and inhibit country development. For expert analysis, see Sachs et al; In Investing in Development.

Section 5:

During the design timeframe of the 8086 memory was very expensive. Sixteen Kilobytes of RAM was selling above $200 at the time. One problem with a 16-bit CPU is that programs tend to consume more memory than their counterparts on an eight-bit CPU. Intel, ever cogniscent of the fact that..........

Comments 5: Marketing Strategy: reaching out to market through smarter design that reduces cost while improving quality at the level technological innovation.

Marketing challenge: ....... designers would reject their CPU if the total system cost was too high,

Marketing Solution: made a special effort to design an instruction set that had a high memory density (that is, packed as many instructions into as little RAM as possible), thereby reducing cost per unit without compromising quality; instead Intel brought an advancement in both quality and performance while reducing cost; a strategy applied by the Biotech tropicana Systems in designing its SMARThivPACK.

Marketing success:

Intel achieved their design goal and programs written for the 8086 were comparable in size to code running on eight-bit microprocessors. However, those design decisions still haunt us today as you ll soon see.

Section 6:

Intel s competitors were not standing still. Zilog created their own 16-bit processor that they called the Z8000, Motorola created the 68000, their own 16-bit processor, and National Semicondutor introduced the 16032 device (later to be renamed the 32016). The designers of these chips had different design goals than Intel. Primarily, they were more interested in providing a reasonable instruction set for programmers even if their code density wasn t anywhere near as high as the 8086. The Motorola and National offers even provided 32-bit integer registers, making programming the chips even easier. All in all, these chips were much better (from a software development standpoint) than the Intel chip.

Comments 6:How competition drives tech evolution and benefits the consumer.

COMPLEXITY reduction or SIMPLICITY strategy is applied here by Motorola to target a segment of the market of software developers or programmers. Motorola advanced software technology by developing programming friendly microprocessors. An advancement in software technology that can make the use of computers more friendly for non educated computer consumers in the general population.

DISCUSSION: General Rule In Tech Innovation:

To reach out to market and achieve high competitiveness, reduce COST and COMPLEXITY to achieve LOW COST and SIMPLICITY, while improving QUALITY.

In principle Intel strategy focuses on reducing hardware cost while improving quality to reach out to market; A COST REDUCTION strategy. Motorola avoids confronting superior hardware engineering capabilities of Intel, and targets a different segment of the software developers market by engineering processors that are easier to program; A COMPLEXITY REDUCTION strategy.

The Biotech tropicana Systems applied both cost reduction and complexity reduction strategies in the design of its set of HIV surveillance technologies for the developing world. Our strategy further like Intel integrates marketing strategy with tech design strategy by addressing the marketing competition issues at technology innovation level, not at the level advertisement and diplomacy. Some critics argue that our <COST> and too low and may kill the market. We argue that this conclusion arose from incomplete analysis of a complex system designed to reduce COMPLEXITY for the user, while not only promoting market, but also contributing to the shaping of an inexistent to chaotic developing world tech market.

With respect to COST, we fix our CD4 counting system to $10 USD, 5 times more than the $2 USD per test of the Partec, Germany, CD4 counting system. The Partec CD4 counting system is built on Radiobiology technology applying principles of Biophysics. We hypothesize that the German company can still make profit at $2 USD per test, based on the design principle used. The Biotech tropicana Systems CD4 counting technology is built on principles of Biochemistry. We cannot afford a lower than $10 USD test, based on the required capital investment for system development. We promote market, instead.

Yet, our CD4 counting technology is still more competitive at $10 USD test, when integrated into our set of HIV surveillance technologies. The Partec system is implemented as a <STAND ALONE> CD4 counting technology. The Biotech tropicana Systems CD4 counting technology is integrated into a set of three services package, comprising CD4 counting, viral load measurement, and drug resistance testing. Our three service package design gives us a competitive edge over all other Biotech company to our knowledge, operating in the developing world.

Furthermore, our  three tests design is the first in the developing world to comply with the three tests standard as recommended by the USA panel of the International AIDS Society. Most developing countries performed only a single CD4 test because of cost and complexity of the two other tests. Considering the availability of funds and expertise in the developing world, the World Health Organization guidelines recommended CD4 counting supplemented by clinical monitoring of symptoms. Viral load was added as optional, and a population based drug resistance survey was recommended. The WHO approach makes laboratory monitoring possible in the developing world, but required a large input of clinical monitoring in hospital settings. Our HIV surveillance package advances the WHO approach with two additional laboratory tests while alleviating the demand on the weak developing health system. We therefore introduce a substantial advancement to laboratory monitoring of HIV patients in the developing world, while reducing COMPLEXITY and alleviating overall monitoring COST.

Another basis of the superiority of our three test system is its impact on shaping an inexistent to chaotic developing tech market in general.

A naive analysis may suggest that our $ 10 USD per test may kill the market for the $ 150 USD  to $ 200 USD of automatic drug resistance testing systems, such as the APPLIED BIOSYSTEMS (ALAMEDA, California, USA) drug resistance testing system. Our educated analysis argues the contrary. Far from killing the market for the automatic systems, our semi-automatic SMARThivDRmos will increase market for the automatic systems, in the developing world.

The market promotion power of our SMARThivDRmos lied on its implementation strategy. First, we avoid to develop a protocol that would implement SMARThivDRMos as a <STAND ALONE> system. The technology is integrated in our three services pack. Secondly, SMARThivDRmos like its parent SMARThivPACK is implemented as second level integrated system in SMARThivGLOBALmos. Our explorations indicate a zero (0) market reach of the automatic drug resistance testing systems, in the western part of Africa. These systems built based on principles of electronics and bioinformatics are just too complex for implementation, maintenance, and output analysis to secure a market place in the developing world. Implementation of SMARThivGLOBALmos SHALL require reference centers that necessitate at least one automatic drug testing system for one block area of service by SMARThivGLOBALmos. The life gains and development gains that implementation of SMARThivGLOBALmos brought in the developing world could justify a reasonable introduction of the automatic drug resistance testing systems in these settings.

In our SMARThivPACK, we deliberately avoid to introduce systems with cost closed to that of the automatic systems, that would put us in competition with those giants. Instead, we design an implementation strategy that pulls the giants in areas where they could not otherwise succeed without us, thereby promoting not killing the market for the giants.

Furthermore, a success of SMARThivGLOMALmos as designed would for the first time establish a large scale systematic and organized tech market in the developing world that could be integrated and easily supervised through the global tech market systems, such as stock markets. We initiate a structured stock market that is continent wide applicable in Africa: SASEP. Our SASEP framework is designed to be integrated in the global stock market systems.  Our SMARThivGLOBALmos implementation approach would therefore create market incentives in the developing world, not only for biotechnologies but for all technologies. Beyond all speculations, the superiority of our SMARThivTECHS is clearly established through objective, and quantifiable parameters.

From 2000, through a rigorous and disciplined incubation process, we  passed an international scientific peer review of our first system we put out by 2007: the  Biotech tropicana Systems SMARThivDRmos; within the average of 5 to 10 years incubation period for most biotechnologies. Additional subsystems that make up the  Biotech tropicana Systems SMARThivTECHS will soon follow to establish the hegemony of the  Biotech tropicana Systems in laboratory of HIV patients in the developing world. While negotiating the implementation of our SMARThivTECHS, additional systems in FOOD, ENERGY, and ENVIRONMENT are by now at advanced stages of incubation, bringing us closer to our ultimate objective, world leaders in Biotechnology for the resource poor settings. Made in Biotech tropicana Systems: simply unbeatable. Owned and operated by Aboubakar YARI & Venus YARI.

Critics also characterized our operational approaches to be heavily scientific, when we are claiming to be a private Biotech business. Here, we must clarify that we are a business of scientific knowledge. Exploratory, technology innovation and development activities relied on applications of scientific knowledge. To achieve acceptance  by the scientific community, exploratory and development activities are conducted strictly according to applicable scientific methods.  Validation procedures applied by accredited government entities that a country will require for implementation of a technology on their territory also relied on scientific principles. We therefore organized scientific activities and business activities in different entities. All scientific activities are coordinated by the Biotech tropicana Systems incubator platform. Upon graduation a product is implemented by a unit under the supervision of the Biotech tropicana Corporation business platform. Administrative capacity and legal capacity are embedded in the Biotech tropicana Corporation business platform to assist in administrative procedures with governments and legal proceedings with judicial authorities. With respect to ownership, we place the  Biotech tropicana Corporation business platform under the authority the Biotech tropicana Systems, the owner of all units. Operations in the the Biotech tropicana Systems are therefore governed by:

1. Scientific authority
2. Administrative authority
3. Legal authority, and
4. Ownership authority, controlled by the founders.

Daily activities in the Biotech tropicana Systems are the interplay of the four levels of authority. The design complexity of the system may confuse a non member who has not taken the Biotech tropicana Systems training program.

To secure scientific peer reviews of our work and validation by government entities, the Biotech tropicana Systems will therefore not negotiate an applicable scientific principle, at the levels of exploration and technology development. Even where, in practice most system technologies that pass an international scientific peer review will pass a validation test, the Biotech tropicana Systems will not permit an administrative rule under the supervision of a government to overrule an applicable universal scientific rule, under no circumstance.   

!!! Bingo. We hope you like this tech story. That’s one the scientific journalism function of Biotech tropicana,IncCOMMUNICATOR, designed to inform the population on the importance of science for society, in a technically reader friendly format. Biotech tropicana,IncCOMMUNICATOR incubator is also developing an advisory capacity to advise decision makers on the importance of science for country development. Informing the population on who we are and what we do is a mean to improve the relations of Biotech tropicana Systems with the global populations it serves. Advising governments on the importance of science, technology, and innovation for their development programs is beneficial to both parties, as recommended in ‘Innovation: Applying knowledge In Development’.

Principle: for the Biotech tropicana Systems, development starts with the development of the Biotech tropicana Systems.

ANALYSIS:

Historical Background:

1998-1999: Short abstracts of UN documents published on website discussed the millennium project. The Biotech tropicana Systems concept of alternative technologies for the developing world is initiated in a 100 pages note book.

2000: UN General Assembly adopted the millennium development goals with 8 set objectives.

2002: UN General Secretary convened a team of scientists (task forces) to analyze the goals and propose strategies to achieve the goals. Led by professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, the scientific task force presented its reports to the UN General Secretary by January 2005. The reports stressed the importance of including the private sector and promoting sciences, technology, and innovation in developing countries to give the poor the means to address their problems by themselves. The task force also stressed the importance of controlling corruption and promoting good governance in the public sector.

2002: At the Inter American Development Bank, president George W. Bush announced a new global development concept termed the millennium challenge account (mca). Early 2004, the US Congress adopted the millennium challenge account act, and founded the millennium challenge corporation (mcc) to implement the program. The mcc aims to improve global security through poverty elimination. Like the UN MDG, the US MCC aims to reduce poverty by empowering the private sector and controlling corruption and promoting good governance in the public sector.

Case Analysis:

The Biotech tropicana Systems (bts) adjusted its biotechnology for the developing world program to align with these new global development trends. The bts will operate in the private sector through biotechnology innovation adapted to the needs of the developing world. Biotechnology innovation, development and commercialization will proceed through incubation of multiple systems technologies in parallel. Our approach was proven successful, despite disturbances in some pockets of resistance to the new global development  concepts.

Our analysis points to malicious to nasty competition as the sources of disturbances. Our hypothesis is supported by facts of calculated attacks particularly on our working capacity. The attacks are repetitively aimed to our work equipments in a pattern that targets specific essential work equipments. A reasonable conclusion is that the attackers aim to incapacitate the bts and prevent us from moving forward in our work. Where, the equipments are essential to our work, we are forced to replace them.

The dynamics of repetitively investing in the same equipments put a heavy burden on our cash capital, forcing us into credits our management capacity could avoid without the attacks. The calculated attacks on our cash capital hypothesis is further reinforced by unreasonable delays to refusal to pay  our company for properly performed application programs  consistent with terms of contracts. The repetition and the specificity of the attacks indicate non randomness. They must therefore be carry out by structured trained personals. A logical hypothesis is that these trained personals are sponsored by malicious competitors who have interests in preventing us from advancing in our work.

Despite the attacks, applying our smart strategies we successfully achieve our objectives within the average timeframe of incubation compared to related biotechnologies. We successfully manage our funds to productively invest over $ 100.000 USD with a credit balance of less ½($ 1000 USD); less than 0.5% of our internal cash capital. We successfully complete our SMARThivTECHS incubation subprogram under the HEALTH program, and move to the expansion phase to FOOD, ENERGY, and ENVIRONMENT biotechnology programs.

The Biotech tropicana Systems are definitively and irreversibly set as a major player in the business of biotechnology for the developing world. With the accumulation of innovations of high market value, we achieve self sustainability and move from aid recipients to aid donors, in 15 years of strict application of guidelines set forth in the new way global development concepts. We urge the malicious competitors to follow us, for their own success.

From conception, to innovation and expansion, future work in the Biotech tropicana Systems will focus on refining our methodologies to develop higher competitiveness. Digitalization and automation to achieve higher precision for our system biotechnologies is a priority project of the Biotech tropicana Systems.  

CONCLUSION:

From concept, through innovation and expansion, to refining, the Biotech tropicana Systems introduced a new way business for development approach in the developing world. Our new approach is engineered to align with the new way global development trends in the UN MDG and the US MCC. Our innovation  establishes itself in the developing world despite spots of resistance. We must address the importance of our smart strategies in overcoming the barriers set by the spot of resistance.

Like a reward to our contribution to the UN MDG and the US MCC objectives to promote the private sector involvement in sustainable development processes in developing countries, in 2016 the United Nations adopted a new Sustainable Development Goals.

Beyond its security objectives, the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation produced a great impact on overall development of the developing world. Countries aiming to benefit from the one time large capital input in their economies, start fighting corruption and adopting good governance principles before they are even admitted to the program, creating a favourable business environment for the private sector. Unfortunately a minority of developing countries fell in the back of the bus, by adopting corruption as the rule of governance. We hope they will catch up soon to join us in the new way to success.

The Biotech tropicana Systems are a private Biotech Company dedicated to promoting, applying, and developing affordable biotechnologies adapted to the needs for the developing world. Owned and operated by Aboubakar YARI & Venus YARI.