Chinese chip gives 'nutty professor' the last laugh
Wednesday, December 18, 2002
technology.scmp.com
HUI YUK-MIN
Chu Bong Foo is considered by some to be somewhat of a nutty professor. He was the fellow responsible for the Chinese character inputting system on computers.
But he is not your average IT devotee. The vice-chairman and largest single shareholder of mainboard-listed Culturecom Holdings has a love-hate relationship with technology and a severe dislike of Microsoft.
The Informer spent some time finding out what Mr Chu is up to.
Despite having been immersed in the development of software for nearly half a century, 65-year old Taiwanese veteran Chu Bong Foo hates technology.
"I'm actually very anti-technology. That's why I've entered into this business. You need to master technology to be able to be against it."
Mr Chu is not a teacher, but everyone calls him Chu Laoshi, which literally translates as "professor Chu", because of his contribution to the software industry. He is not a professor by title, either, but is treated like one - and a nutty one at that.
Most of his life has been spent developing new technologies, purely because he wants to build an IT utopia - a place where affordable technology can help people solve problems.
Mr Chu was considered a pioneer for developing the Changjie Chinese character coding system some 20 years ago, allowing Chinese speakers to use computers.
Recently, he successfully developed a Chinese version of the Intel processor chip, which is capable of processing Chinese characters at high speed and is a product he believes will be revolutionary in the computing world.
The chip - known as the SCS 3210 - will be produced by IBM and sell at less than half the price of an equivalent Intel chip. It will enable PC makers to produce computers that can be sold for less than 2,000 yuan (about HK$1,894) to Chinese users.
The product, endorsed by the University of California, Los Angeles, represents the first step to achieving Mr Chu's IT utopia.
He has strong feelings on the idea of computers for all. He is anti-Bill Gates and gets very vocal about it. He says he hates Microsoft because he claims it makes computers for IT elites.
With his new chips, Mr Chu believes life will be different for ordinary people in China. They would be able to afford a computer and connect to the IT world.
Does this make him nutty?
No. Mr Chu was considered barmy because of his efforts in developing Chinese processing technology. It was not meant for making money.
Once he had developed the Changjie system, he gave it to any user for free.
"I'm not interested in making money. But I've the technological capability and want to do something to help those who don't know technology."
He said one of Microsoft's biggest sins was enlarging the wealth gap between IT elitists and ordinary people, and he intended to narrow it.
"I have enough money to use and enjoy good life. I'm about to roll into a coffin. What's the point of having a lot of money when I don't have any kids?"
But Mr Chu wants it for his shareholders. "I want Culturecom to make money. I want shareholders of Culturecom to make a profit."
Collecting about HK$50,000 a month salary from Culturecom, Mr Chu works 365 days a year without taking holidays, because he does not feel the need to.
"For me, work is the way I entertain myself," he said.
He believes the future lies not only in the development of high technology, but also in technology that people can actually use easily.
"There are tens of millions of people engaged in technology development. We have technological know-how, but the key is whether you have the right direction.
"My direction is, very simply, put yourself in the consumer's position - What can people use and how can they use it?." |
