TRN QUANG THNH
MT NGОI VIT THNH CNG LN
TI SILICON VALLEY!

PHM CH
Mr. Thinh Q. Tran,
President and CEO of Sigma Designs
BНC VO K NGUYN CHU

H l nhng ngܩi rt cng quyt, "cng u," dm liu, y ngh lc v i hi thnh cng nhanh vi t vn ling nhng k thut cao. Cng nh k ngh in t ca thp nin 70 thay ǰi ǩi sng th gii, h ang lm o ln mt s quan nim v tiu chun trong kinh t v thng mi Hoa K.

Mt s sinh ra ti y, nhng mt s ln l nhng ngܩi di dn t i Loan, Hng Kng, i Hn v Vit Nam. Mt s c gan lm giu, tnh ton k t trܧc, nhng mt s khc cng ch phn ng nht thi v mt s bt cng, b ganh tung, b ch ui, sa thi, hay ch mun chng minh ܮc rng bit u mnh li gii hn mt ngܩi ch bc lt hay qu bt ti. Hay c hai.

Trong lot bi t cc thng qua, chng ti gii thiu ljn qu Ƕc gi mt s thng gia v sng lp gia cc hng v cng ty thnh cng bc triu ti Hoa K. Vi mt v hi l v ǥc bit, nhng ngܩi phi l gc , v h cha ܮc qu 40 tui. D nhin nhng ngܩi "tui tr ti cao" ny thuc c phi n ln nam.

Ni chung, s thnh cng vng vng ca h hu nh th hin r rt nht trong hai a ht "silicon" v "stockmarket." Vic gii quyt cc vn NJ k thut, cng nh phc v khch hng sao cho tht chu ton, tm tt, v sm a ra ܮc nhng gii php tha ng l hai cha kha ca s pht trin v thnh cng nhanh chng.

Nh vy, ch "customer service" hn l ch quan trng nht trong t in ca cc "entrepreneurs" tr tui ny.

Hm nay, chng ti ǥc bit xin mi qu bn theo di mt ngܩi ti ba khc, tuy tui qu 40, nhng li l mt ngܩi Vit "trm phn trm."

TRОNG HP TRN QUANG THNH

CCH MNG CP TC

Dܧi cu Dumbarton, ni lin pha Bc ca thnh ph Menlo Park pha Ty vng Vnh vi thnh ph Hayward ti pha ng, qun i phng va ǰ b xung, m thm v lng l nh nhng thin thn m nhy xung Ste-Mre lglise ti Normandie vo rng 6 thng 6, 1944 thu no. Ri chng trc ch thnh ph Fremont pha Nam ca Hayward Nj thng tin ljn pha Bc ca Silicon Valley.

Trong khi , trong mt cn phng m ti Fremont, qun th ljn gn t t pha v sp xm nhp. Ting Ƕng v ting n bt u gia tng. Mt tn ch thm thnh bt ng xut hin u ng. Ngܩi hng ca chng ta vi a khu sng laser s ln ngm nhanh ri bp c. Tn ch ri xung sn, ging nh sn st ca mt phng th nghim trong mt cng ty in t quen thuc no . Sau lng n, mt tn ch khc, ri li thm mt tn th ba xut hin. Tt c NJu b bn h. Khi s ch qun xm nhp c v gia tng theo cp s nhn, mt nhn vin k thut ca cng ty t tn ni: "Anh c gi cao sng ln khi u v bn nhanh. Nh vy s c nhiu phm lܮng hn." V ta c tip tc bn. Trong khi cc qun th c tip tc cht ln ra nh r.

Gia bi chin trܩng m mu ca mn nh video, Ch tch kim Gim c ca hng Sigma Designs ti cܩi: "Ch, bo v qu hng kiu ny chc phi vui hn chi cc arcades nh?" Qu tht vy! Anh Trn Quang Thnh kh d ti cܩi vui v ܮc v hng ca anh nh diu gp gi, l nh s lܮng nhng CD-ROMs cu chng bn ܮc, vi kh nng ci tin hnh nh v gia tng tc Ƕ cc "video games."

TRNH CHIU V I, NHNG KHNG CN "SLIDES" NH HI TRНC...

y l mt bܧc tin c th xem nh "cch mng" khi cc chips MPEG video accelerator cards v k thut REALMagic Overlay ca hng Sigma Graphics cung cp cho ngܩi s dng nhng hnh nh video vi nhng Ƕng tc bao qut, y v chi tit hn, tc tay chn nhc nhch t nhin hn. Hn na, REALMagic gip cho cc "th v" ha ܮc nhng hnh nh (nh v cc ads qung co) tuyt p hn, cng to m thanh digital tht trong tro cho cc my in ton PCs v ting nhc stereo "ni" hn Dolby na. Ngoi ra, vi k thut mi ny, ngy nay khi phi lm mt bui gii thiu vi hnh ri (slides, graphics....) hoc nhip nh Nj k li mt cu chuyn hay tܩng thut mt bin c, dy hc, hoc ngay c to s tiu khin cho m ng, thuyt trnh vin khng cn phi s dng nhng my ri hnh (projectors) nh xa na. Tt c ܮc a ln mn nh "big screen" digital.

"REALMagic" VI ACCELERATOR CHIP V K THUT MPEG

Nh pht trin k thut REALMagic, cng ty Sigma Designs ch to ܮc bn sn phm r rt: REALMagic chips Nj dng cho cc video playbacks v graphics; REALMagic playback cards Nj gn thm vo cc PCs, to ra kh nng b tc "full motion video" vi cht lܮng "digital." REALMagic Producer, mt sn phm gi phi chng cho php to ܮc nhng phim video nh ngh khi dng mt my in ton vi Windows 95; v REALMagic Software titles, bo chng ܮc cc chng trnh gio dc i thoi trc tip, gii tr v lm ta cho cc phim in nh.

Do cng d hiu ti sao bao nhiu hng ln ch to cc my PC in ton xin ܮc cng tc vi Sigma, v h tha hiu tm quan trng ca cuc cch mng MPEG ca hng Sigma. Mi hi u nm nay, hng Midwest Micro, mt "tay c" dn u nhng hng bn qua bu in, ng s dng k thut tm th MPEG ca Sigma v cho gn vo nhng PCs mi nht ܮc tung ra th trܩng. Hng in ton khng l NEC ca Nht cng ghi tn mun cng tc. Cc my c nhn mi PC8900 ca NEC s ܮc trang b k thut REAL Overlay ca Sigma, v do s "giao dch v ni chuyn" 100% ܮc vi tt c cc th graphics khc trn th trܩng. chu ton vn NJ cng tc k thut mu nhim ny, Sigma nay bt tay vi SMART Modular Technology cng to tm th MPEG. Th ny ܮc dng Nj a h thng MPEG vo nhng my in ton, v lm nhng bui gp g hoc thuyt trnh vi multimedia thun li v d dng hn, ǥc bit cho nhng chuyn gia thng mi phi bay phi c i xa thuyt trnh.

C tܪng tܮng bn ang ljn gp mt ngܩi khch mun mua nhu liu ca bn, bn ch cn m my in ton laptop ra l c mt cuc thuyt trnh y mu m v m thanh ni ri. Khi phi dng VCRs, khi phi my ri hnh bi ln bng. phi nhc u! Hay c tܪng tܮng mnh c kh nng MPEG trn h thng Internet ca hng. V Sigma cng gii thiu sn phm chung vi Hewlett-Packard, mt hng in t khng l ni ting khc ca Silicon Valley.

Nay th Sigma tr thnh mt cng ty s mt cung cp MPEG cho quc ni M cng nh hi ngoi. Tuy cn l mt k thut trnh by t ܮc ngܩi gc Vit chp nhn (cha ni ljn ngܩi M trng), multimedia, ܮc ko xung mt tiu chun hp l, thc tin, v cng t tn km hn nh k thut REALMagic ca Sigma.

SNG TO TNG LAI...

Ngy nay, cng ty Sigma ca anh Thnh cung cp chng trnh nhu liu REALMagic Application Programming Interface (API) cho trn 1,200 nhm v cng ty s dng (REALMagic Developers), v do , va kin to nhng hng ch qung co tn k cho truyn hnh v cc ngnh thng mi, va o t gia tng tin li cho Sigma Designs. Khi vo thng T nm nay, Sigma loan bo mua t hng Active Design, chuyn v 2D v 3D accelerator chips for PCs, c th xem nh Sigma ton quyn v a ht multimedia presentation trn th gii.

NGA PHI...

Anh Thnh chng minh k thut ca Sigma cho mt khch hng qua mn nh v i ca mt chic monitor. "y, anh nhn i !" Hnh mt con nga nh b, di khong 15 phn ang l m chy qua mn nh. Mt hnh nh nh b ph sng, khng r lm, vi nhng Ƕng tc hi "c git." Ri anh Thnh bm "con chut," v ni: "By gi coi ny!" Nh mt php mu nhim, hnh ln vt ln, chim c mn nh, trong khi ting v nga v nhc vang rn trong tro, theo m thanh ni. Mt anh Thnh cng ti sng ln nh n pha !

Nguyn thy, multimedia ܮc sng to Nj tha mn nhu cu trnh by mt s videos ngn khong 30 pht vi ting nhc digital v mt vi hnh graphics chn lc m thi. Nhn mnh l ch "ngn." Bi v trn cng mt lc video, m thanh, v graphics rt tn km, nu ta mun c phm cht tt nh phim in nh, li qu xa l vi a s k s, hoc k thut cng cha vo thi by gi. Ko hnh nh li, ch chim mt gc ca mn nh, th d hn. V li, nu ch di khong 30 giy cho mi "spot" th tng i d lm hn l vi loi "full motion video."

Nhng c l phi gii thch i cht v vn NJ k thut hi-tech ny cho qu bn džc.

MPEG VIDEO ACCELERATOR CARDS V CD-ROM

"Full motion video" l loi hnh nh video bn xem thng thܩng trn my truyn hnh, tc vi tc Ƕ chy 30 hnh mi giy, v mi hnh c hai phn hoc "sn" (fields). Ch trn mn nh l bt c nhng ch g bn thy, chng hn nh tn ca xܧng ngn vin, hoc tn nhn vt ang ܮc phng vn, tn thnh ph, th trn... Nhng "hnh v" (graphics) rt r rng, sch s, ti thm v khng b "rng ca" gn ba. "Digital audio" l loi m thanh bn thܩng nghe ܮc qua cc CDs.

MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) l tn vit tt ca phng php "p video tiu chun," thܩng dng Nj chuyn v ghp chung hnh nh video vi m thanh cho loi phim video tht s, v chi ܮc trn cc my in ton nh hoc ti s, hng.

Vn NJ lm th no a cc videos v ang c vo h thng CD-ROM Nj dng ܮc trong cc my PCs ti gia nh k thut REALMagic, l b quyt gip cho Sigma Designs tr thnh mt cng ty v i, bn ܮc 43 triu M kim trong nm 1995, v tip tc tin mnh. Ngoi nhng cng ty nh hܪng li ܮc k thut ny, v gip h kin to nhng phim gii thiu, qung co ngn, hoc nhng bui thuyt trnh t tn km nhng li rt y chi tit v tnh cch hp dn tng ng vi nhng phim di hn. C nhn ti gia cng ܮc li khi t to ra nhng ch, ta v phim qua CD-ROM, "edit" nh nh ngh. H qu phn khi vi k thut tn tin ljn ng lc. Nht l khi cuc "n nm" gia Sigma Designs v CD-ROM li y h v, lm ln tinh thn cc "tay chi" video games qu snh si vi mn nh chy nhanh !

Anh Thnh cho bit thm: "Chng ti tm ܮc nhng ta NJ vi phm cht cao ri cho vo k thut Full Motion Digital Video ca mnh. Sau em ra xin giy php, bn quyn, ri tung ra th trܩng." chnh l nhng sn phm duy tr ch ng thܮng phong cho Sigma Designs t nht mt thi gian vi nm.

T MIN GI BUT WISCONSIN N...

ng ra, anh Trn Quang Thnh khng h c nh ra m hng ring ca mnh. Sinh trܪng trong mt gia nh Sign vi 9 anh em, anh Thnh l mt ngܩi con ngoan ngon, chm hc, vi mng tr thnh k s. Tuy cha mnh l ch nhn mt s khch sn ln min Nam, anh cng khng h ngh rng tng lai s phi n tip khch du lch v ni nghip cha mnh. n nm ln 18, anh ܮc i du hc sang M, v ghi danh ti University of Wisconsin Madison. Ch sau 3 nm, anh ra trܩng vi bng C nhn khoa hc k s in (BS in Electrical Engineering). "Nhng ri ti khn thm mt t," anh mm cܩi, "Ti c mt b ch sng vng Vnh, nn quyt nh dn lin sang y. Anh bit khng, ma h rt nng v p Wisconsin, nhng..."

CI M CA THUNG LNG SILICON VNG VNH

Tht ra, anh Thnh cng chng cn phi ni ht cu. Ai ai c l cng bit rng tiu bang Wisconsin l mt ci t lnh khng l t thng Mܩi ljn thng T, c khi ko c ljn thng Nm na.

Ri anh vo i hc Stanford, t v m p, Palo Alto, hc thm mt vi nm na Nj ly bng Cao hc in. Ra trܩng, anh xin ngay vo lm k s design cho Amdahl, mt cng ty rt mi vo thi , do mt cu k s li lc ca hng IBM nhy ra lm ring, tip tc sng ch nhng my in ton s loi IBM, thܩng ܮc gi l mainframe computers.

Anh Thnh th l tip: "Ti vi hng khong 7 nm, cho ljn khi ng ch Gene Amdahl li mun ra sng lp mt cng ty khc. Cc entrepreneurs thܩng rt thch " cng ty mi" lin min! D nhin l ti cng cun gi... theo chng !"

TIP TC MA RU...

Hng mi Trilogy qu tht l mt trong nhng hng "ni tin" ܮc sng lp vo thp nin Silicon Valley, tc ch vi s s... 260 triu M kim thi. Anh chia s: "Tht ra, chng ti cng ch tip tc lm nhng g chng ti thܩng lm Amdahl m thi." Nhng mi ch sau mt nm, anh bt u thy my en ko ti. "Chng ti lm qu sc mnh v chm lo qu nhiu d n khng l cng mt lc. Mi d n ngy cng rc ri, phc tp hn. Bܧc nhng bܧc khng l trong ngnh ny l iu rt tt, nhng c l thi im cn qu sm. Ti cm thy s nan gii hn nhng g mnh tnh t trܧc nhiu !"

Cng vo thi gian , hng IBM a ra nim "kin trc m ca" (Open architecture), tc l bt m tt c cc cu trc trong my in ton mnh, k c a cc s ca my cho k s ngoi nghin cu v ty nghi s dng.

Theo li anh Thnh, "Trܧc giai on , chng ti phi lm kin trc ngܮc, ngha l phi m mm Nj tm hiu my ܮc gn ra sao, dng nhng b phn g, u, ǥt th no... Vi kin trc m ca chng ti d dng p dng nhng kin thc nghin cu ܮc t my mainframe sang thng cc PCs, tc my in ton c nhn."

HELLO SIGMA DESIGNS!

Vo ma thu nm 1982, anh Thnh bt tay vi ba ng nghip ca Trilogy, Jimmy Chang, Jason Chen v Steve Weingaten, nhy ra sng lp Sigma Designs. Thu u ǥt tr s ti thnh ph Santa Clara, cng ty ch to nhng "th tr nh" cho my PCs. L do cc th rt thnh hnh l v cc PCs ca IBM thi by gi ch "nh" ܮc khong 640 ngn bytes tin tc m thi. a s cc hng NJu ch to "th tr nh" loi ny (memory cards), v chnh l nhu cu nht thi ca th trܩng. "Ngy nay, ngay ch my ci my nh quay phim video cm tay c b c v i, nhiu tr nh hn c my ci PCs thi !"

Cng ging nh a s cc hng xut pht t thung lng Silicon vo thi , Sigma Designs cng khi u t mt ci garage trong nh, nhng iu khng cn tn ti lu na. Sn phm ca Sigma bn chy nh tm ti, nn chng bao lu phi ri tr s Santa Clara, di qua mt vn phng rng 20 ngn b vung San Jose. Ri cui cng ljn ǥt tr s ti mt vng xܪng hng ni ting ca thnh ph Fremont, cch San Jose khong 20 dm pha Bc.

EM VIDEO TH THIT VO TH GII CA VGA DIGITAL GRAPHICS

Jimmy Chen, mt trong nhng k s nguyn thy ca cng ty, nay iu khin vn phng Hng Kng, cn Wiengarten v Chan th ra lp hng ring ri. Vo nm 1983, t cc "th tr nh," Sigma hin nhin chuyn qua vic ch to nhng "upgrade kits" Nj nng cao kh nng ca cc computer hard drives. n gia thp nin 1980, Sigma t to ra mt cuc cch mng nho nh cho mnh khi tung ra Color 400, th graphics u tin Nj dng cho cc mn nh VGA. Th ny gia tng theo cp s... nhn Ƕ chi tit v nt r rng ca hnh nh trn my ca monitor.

Anh Thnh by t: "Nhng th chng ti lm ra thi c kh nng v phm cht tng ng vi cc th VGA ngy nay." Tht l qu xut sc! Nhng anh Thnh cng rt khim nhܩng vi cng trnh ca mnh, ch tr li vn tt v phm cht ca th: "Vng, th Color 400 rt thnh cng."

STATE-OF-THE-ART

Vo thi im , Sigma chuyn qua ch to nhng th v vit ra nhng chng trnh nhu liu cho cc cng ty vi lܮng h s ti liu kch x. Cc hng bo him, ngn hng, s nh n... NJu c th "r" bng my scanners cc giy t, ti liu ca h ri cho vo cc da in t Nj xem xt v džc li bt c lc no sau . Nh th, h trnh ܮc phi lm vic vi c hng tn giy t xung quanh. "Nhu liu ca chng ti tht l thܮng hng i vi nhng cng ty loi ny."

Phn khi vi phm cht VGA ca mnh, hng Sigma khi u vic ch to nhng my mn nh monitor cho mnh cho ph hp hn vi cc chi tit cao ca cc hnh nh graphics ca Sigma Designs. "Mt thi gian, lm n cng kh, nhng t t chng ti c th thy phn li teo nh li, cho ljn lc khng cn li ti chnh na nu c tip tc trong th trܩng ny. Do , nm 1992, chng ti lp ra mt nhm nghin cu v tng lai ca MPEG Digital Video."

Anh Thnh gii thch tip: "Anh thy khng, vi multimedia, ai ai cng mun ܮc mt th: full motion video v m thanh digital, v h NJu mun phi c ngay lp tc."

n nm 1993 th b chips MPEG u tin cho PCs ra ǩi. Khi khch hng nhn thy sn phm, h NJu tht ln: "! Bao nhiu vy?" Cu hi ny rt quan trng v cho ljn ngy nay, ni ljn multimedia, d l bin to, "cho php dng" hoc "play back," NJu rt tn km. Cng ln ca Sigma l em gi c xung mt Ƕ thp, c th ai ai "chi" full motion video vi m thanh digital CD, cng mua ni. ", chng ti tng ni v cuc cch mng y!"

CHIC MERCEDES EN

Ngy nay, anh Trn Quang Thnh mi bt u ܮc hܪng nhng kt qu ca m hi nܧc mt t my nm nay, ht cn phi cm ci trong nh xe ca Jason Chen na. Khng cn phi "i cy" nhng ngy di l th, overtime lin min na! Anh cho bit: "Thng thܩng, ti ljn s vo lc 8 gi sng, ri cho ljn 7 gi ti." i vi mt ng xp hng, gi gic nh vy cng tng i phi chng. Thm mt iu na cng chng minh phi chng s thnh cng l chic Mercedes en u ti ch s 1 ca hng. Theo li gii thch ca anh: " chu, nhng ngܩi quan trng nh ngay c cc chnh tr gia ni ting, NJu i xe Mercedes en c." C l cc "tay b" M cng theo tro lu ny lu ri, nu anh Thnh cn cha Nj .

GIA NH V TNG LAI

Anh quan nim rng gia nh rt quan trng, nn ngy cng dnh thm nhiu th gi cho v v bn con trai. Vinh, 12 tui, ln nht, ri ljn Quang v Khim. Huy ch mi ln 2. Ba a ln hin nay i hc ti mt trܩng cng gio t.

Tuy cha ch no cho bit nh ni nghip cha, Vinh v Quang c l tha hܪng ܮc cng vic, tc l "job" ngon lnh nht ti Sigma Designs. Anh Thnh ti cܩi: "Ma h, ti n lm vic y, th ln th xung my computer games mi nht ca chng ti!"

Nu ܮc lm vic ma h kiu ny, c cu no li chng thch nh?

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