Steal the enemy's base at the start and build a technological empire.

Chapter 204 Windows Version of Star Browser

Ling Yun thought of Xingyu and immediately asked, "What about the Xingyu plugin? How well is its integration with the browser?"

David walked to another test machine. On this machine, the Starry Sky Browser sidebar was open, and the Star Language chat window was floating next to it.

"We've implemented two integration methods," he demonstrated. "The first is a persistent sidebar. After logging in, users can operate on the friend list and chat window from the sidebar. The second is a separate window with shared state. Users can open the Xingyu client outside of a browser, and messages are synchronized between the two."

"How much delay?"

"Within the local area network, the message latency between the browser sidebar and the standalone client is less than 50 milliseconds." David pulled up the monitoring data. "In the public network environment, the average is 200 milliseconds, which is acceptable."

"What about file transfer?"

"This is achieved by downloading the component through a browser." David sends a file, and the browser pops up a download prompt. "Users can choose to save it directly or send it to a friend using Star Language."

Are there any security risks?

"We've implemented a sandbox isolation system," David said. "Files downloaded by the browser cannot be directly accessed by the Star Language plugin. Explicit user authorization is required before the file is sent to the plugin. This prevents malicious websites from stealing local files through the plugin."

Ling Yun nodded. He walked to a corner of the testing area, where a stack of test record books was piled up. He picked one up and flipped through it.

Each page records test cases, execution results, and problem descriptions. Some pages have "Fixed" written in red pen, while others say "Pending Verification." The handwriting varies, some is neat, some is messy, and some even have illustrations next to them.

"Who's responsible for filing these records?" he asked.

"Me," David said, "Every day before I leave work, I compile the day's test issues into an electronic version and send it to the development team. After fixing them, I update the status."

"The efficiency is too low." Ling Yun put down his notebook. "Develop an internal system. Testers can submit issues directly in the system, which will be automatically assigned to the corresponding developers. After a fix is ​​completed, the system will automatically notify the testers to verify it, and the status will be updated automatically."

"We need a web development team."

"We'll bring two people from the Xingyu team over for temporary support," Ling Yun said. "The system will be online within two weeks."

"it is good."

The testers began packing up their things, preparing to leave work.

"Want to go get some late-night snacks?" David asked.

"Wait a minute." Ling Yun walked to a test machine that had just been turned on and sat down.

He opened the Star Browser and entered Yahoo's URL. The page loaded quickly, in about two seconds. He scrolled the page, clicked links, and opened new tabs. All the operations were seamless.

He then logged into Xingyu and sent a message to his other account, which arrived instantly.

He then opened a bank website that used ActiveX, and the page prompted that "Internet Explorer is required." He clicked the provided IE download link, and the page redirected to the Microsoft website.

"The user experience is alright," he said.

"We've made a lot of detailed optimizations," David said, standing behind him. "For example, the progress bar animation when the page loads, the estimated time when downloading files, and automatic recovery after a crash. IE doesn't have any of these."

"Okay." Ling Yun closed the browser, stood up, and said, "Keep it up. Aim for a launch on New Year's Day. Before launch, I'll come to the test server every day."

"every day?"

"Every day." Ling Yun picked up his coat. "Let's go now, let's get some late-night snacks, it's on me."

David laughed: "Okay, Denny's downstairs is open 24 hours."

As I stepped out of the office building, the night wind blew, and it was quite cool.

Several programmers who had just finished their night shifts were sitting in Denny's, with coffee and fried eggs in front of them. Lingyun and David found a corner seat.

After ordering, David finally asked the question he had been holding back all night:

"Boss, are you rushing to release the Windows version because Microsoft is going to invest in ICQ?"

Ling Yun looked up at him: "How did you know?"

"Fiona spoke to me," David said. "She said Microsoft might get involved earlier than expected."

"Yes," Ling Yun said. "So we need to race against time. Before Microsoft and ICQ complete their integration, we need to secure our users. The Windows version is key, because most users are still using Windows."

"So, what about our competition with ICQ...?"

"The competition will definitely intensify," Ling Yun said, "but it also presents an opportunity. Microsoft's entry will accelerate market expansion and the popularization of instant messaging will also speed up."

Microsoft's style is closed; it controls the ecosystem. If ICQ falls under Microsoft's control, many liberal users and developers will switch to us. What we need to do is open up and provide developers with a better option.

Instant messaging will become the application that occupies the most user time every day; it is a natural user entry point for sharing links, shopping, applications, and so on. By opening up our API, we can attract a large number of developers to develop peripheral products based on Xingyu as the foundation of our ecosystem.

Late-night snack time: fried eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee.

The two ate in silence for a while, then David suddenly said:

"Boss, I have an idea."

Tell me about it.

"We can build a 'Import Favorites from IE' function into the Star Browser," David said. "Many users are reluctant to switch browsers because migrating their favorites is troublesome. If we can import them with one click, we can reduce the migration cost."

"It's possible," Ling Yun said, "but we need to be careful not to give the impression that we're 'stealing' user data. We need to clearly indicate that user authorization is required."

"clear."

"Also," Ling Yun put down his coffee cup, "contact the team at Xinghuo Internet Cafe in China to develop a 'Internet Cafe Version' of Xingmang. It should include pre-installed commonly used domestic websites, optimized download speeds, and integrated network management tools."

"Internet cafe version?"

"Yes," Ling Yun said. "The internet cafe market in China is booming, and it's an important user entry point. The internet cafe version needs to be simple, stable, and easy to manage."

"I've got it."

The next day, when Lingyun arrived at the office building, the development team was already at work. The test machines were humming, and the engineers were discussing a rendering bug.

Ling Yun stood at the entrance of the testing area for a few minutes, then returned to his office.

He sat down and began processing the backlog of emails.

The first email was from Ni Guangnan, with an attachment of a list of laboratory equipment to be purchased by Qilu Microelectronics. He quickly glanced at it and commented: Agreed.

The second email was from Ma Baoguo, reporting on the progress of the land procedures: the survey had been completed and the planning permit was being processed. He replied: expedite the process.

The third email came from Carly, whose Star Language user base had surpassed 1.5 million, with the Windows version accounting for 40%. He replied: Keep promoting.

The fourth email was from Sequoia Capital, inviting him to meet with Larry and Sergey from the search engine team next week. He replied: Sure.