Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 20 The Giant Unawakened Upstart Runs Away
Eastern United States, Armonk, New York, IBM headquarters, Frank Cary, chairman of the board and CEO, is in a routine meeting, listening to the work reports of various departments.

After all matters were handled, Cary glanced at his managers and slowly said, "Regarding the evaluation of personal computers, are there any new plans for me to see?"

Everyone looked at each other, and one of them said: "Although the market attention of microcomputers is increasing, their performance is low and their application fields are really limited. It is better to let them develop. When the prospects are clear, we will acquire the best company that survives the fittest. Stepping in, with IBM's deep background in computing, there is no problem with catching up from behind."

"The anti-monopoly investigation by the Ministry of Justice is still ongoing. It is best not to simply rely on acquisitions." Someone immediately refuted.

"The remaining time of this administration's term is running out. I believe that our lobbying partners will play a positive role in the policies of the next president. When the antitrust investigation is over, the sword of Damocles hanging over our heads is removed. Now, our business methods will naturally no longer be in such a dilemma."

Cary frowned as he listened to the arguments among his men. These arrogant guys were still immersed in the glory brought by the huge success of mainframes and minicomputers, and they had such contempt for the value of personal computers. It was so obvious and really annoying, but a giant like IBM had its own unique operating model, and it was not just a matter of words. Cary had no choice but to wave his hand, "So be it. I hope that in more than a year, personal computers will become more popular." The market won’t leave us too far behind.”

……

The west of the United States, Cupertino, Silicon Valley, Apple offices, company executives and other directors are happily discussing the successful development of the European market, and Tang Huan, with bloodshot eyes, is also present.

After the successful demonstration a few days ago, the second batch of orders was immediately signed. In addition, Tang Huan launched the Italian version of the office software requested by the other party, and several more partners were immediately added.

European character languages ​​like English are relatively simple to process in computers, but East Asian languages ​​represented by Chinese characters are a bit tricky. The cheap computer developed by Tang Huan was originally intended to face this market, and the problem cannot be avoided.

Thinking of the brilliance of the 80s RB economy and the soaring of the four Asian tigers, Tang Huan raised his hand and rubbed the stubble on his chin. Technology and experience must overcome this difficulty. It is estimated that the foreign devils engineers under him will complain again.

"Don, although French, Spanish, and Italian are available, you can't ignore other foreign language versions. There are still a lot of virgin land in Europe waiting for us to develop." Tang Huan's body.

Damn, Jobs is really a weird guy. He has encountered countless obstacles with him, and he always gets more and more frustrated, and takes the initiative to strike up a conversation. He wants to be gay, but I don't like it.

Because of Teresa Teng's incident, Tang Huan's temper has gradually become hotter recently.

"Otherwise I will launch the Russian version immediately, and you will sell Apple computers to Moscow?" Tang Huan asked sarcastically.

Upon hearing this, Jobs high-fived excitedly, "This is such a wonderful idea. Let the Soviets use our Americans' computers for work and create a sense of dependence. Thinking about it, I feel like I'm shaking all over, as if I've taken a hallucinogen." Same."

Seeing this guy's divergent reaction, Tang Huan rolled his eyes. Your non-mainstream cultural content doesn't have any new tricks, except for psychedelic drugs.

However, Jobs did have the magical charm that is said to be deceptive, and even Markkula, who has always been a gentleman, was a little moved, and even made a joke, "If we can do it, maybe the president can give it to him." Apple awarded the medal."

Hearing this, Tang Huan frowned. Not to mention, people like Apple did it. In 1985, Reagan, then President of the United States, awarded Jobs and Woz the first National Medal of Technology in the White House.

"Tang, how is your cheap computer or game console project going? Don't let this delay your software business." Jobs circled around Tang Huan like a blood-sucking mosquito, never letting go of anyone in public. Opportunity to attack and prick.

At Apple, Tang Huan was reluctant to mention the details of this project, but he had to explain to the doubtful eyes of other directors, "I am developing a game console project, and there will be no conflict of interest with Apple Computer. , everyone, don't worry."

In order to divert the attention of these interests-oriented guys, Tang Huan quickly changed the subject after speaking, "I think Apple should be more active in its marketing strategy. It should not be limited to the scope of commercial use, but should popularize home computers and consumer appliances. concept, after all, there are a large number of game programs on the Macintosh platform."

Because of their frequent confrontations with Jobs, Scott and Tang Huan had a comrade-like relationship, so he was the first to respond to Tang Huan's proposal, "Tang's idea is good, do you have any ideas for implementation?"

"Find some entertainment stars, preferably young and beautiful girls, and make a series of advertisements. After all, young people are more receptive to the latest technological products." Tang Huan nodded to Scott.

A director living in Los Angeles took up the conversation, "Then we need to find some famous Hollywood child stars. As far as I know, Brooke Shields and Jodie Foster have a good image, and besides English In addition, they seem to understand some languages ​​​​of other European countries such as French and Italian, which is very suitable for our Apple computers to support multiple languages.”

Everyone was in a good mood and the work efficiency was naturally very high. Tang Huan's casual proposal was passed without any hindrance. I don't know if it was because as Tang Huan's role became more and more important, his position on the board of directors correspondingly increased. It’s also because it’s getting higher and higher.

Tang Huan didn't bother to find out the reason, but this ad reminded him of Celine Dion who was about to return to Canada because the summer vacation was coming to an end. Why don't you recommend this little lolita to participate, to increase your experience and earn a little extra money, Subsidize the family, the little girl's family is still quite poor.

……

Tang Huan returned to Zerone's office and continued to work overtime. The company's logistics support in terms of food, rest, etc. was in place, so his life was not inconvenient.

Simeone has officially taken office, and has led the WordEasy project team and competitor WordStar to fight each other in terms of software functions and market demand. He enjoys this almost warlike atmosphere, and working overtime has almost become a routine. .Of course, Tang Huan would not treat this capable man badly, and he had already used the means of winning over high salary, shares, and friendship with friends.

Strictly speaking, the cheap computer designed by Tang Huan is more similar to a word processor, but in addition to the built-in WordEasy, it also has CGrid, which has covered most of the functional needs of small and medium-sized companies.

The two softwares are directly stored in the read-only memory, which can not only speed up the operation efficiency, but also effectively prevent piracy, but the software upgrade is somewhat troublesome.

The mainstream read-only memory that supports erasing and writing functions on the market is erasable programmable read-only memory, that is, EPROM. When rewriting the data inside, the circuit board needs to be removed, and ultraviolet radiation is carried out through the reserved quartz window. Time-consuming may reach the order of hours.

Intel developed the Electronic Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory last year, that is, EEPROM, which can omit the trouble of EPROM needing to be removed from the circuit board to be rewritten by ultraviolet radiation. Software maintenance is very convenient, but I can't say whether the technology of this new product is mature, and the price will definitely not be low, but Tang Huan still plans to find a time to visit Intel for this.

Because there are many ready-made solutions in their minds, the hardware design of cheap computers and game consoles is progressing rapidly, but they have encountered some obstacles in terms of software, such as support for Chinese characters and Japanese. Fortunately, the reborn people know the right direction to solve the problem. The time and resources consumed by the project can be controlled more clearly.

In addition to various technical considerations, Tang Huan has also thought about the names of cheap computers and game consoles in advance. The name of the computer is taken from the Confucian cultural meaning of Tianyuan place, called Fangyuan Computer. As for the game console, he almost The word "little bully" came to mind instinctively.

It would definitely be a very interesting thing if this unoriginal word could be used to name a game console and stir up trouble in the American market. Tang Huan couldn't help but smile knowingly every time he thought about it.

But every time you step into a new field, it means you will face new opponents. Nintendo, Sega, and Sony in the game console industry are not easy to deal with, but what madmen need is this kind of challenge. The thrill of killing the Quartet.

(End of this chapter)