Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 237

"My products will not have these redundant expansion slots." Jobs shook his head and made a positive statement.

Yes, it was still as narrow as in the original time and space, Tang Huan was almost angry.

However, Jobs is good at one thing. He can express a certain degree of respect to people with real skills. Looking at the second-generation Fangyuan computer in front of him, although he didn't say a word of praise, he didn't say a single word. Disdain.

After looking at the hardware inside the case, Jobs turned his attention back to the operating interface on the monitor.

The disk operating system used by Fangyuan Computer is not named after the company name and then the abbreviation DOS as is common practice in the industry, but is called FreeDOS, which is Tang Huan's tribute to the original open source community.

The reason why Jobs was attracted by the second-generation Fangyuan computer was because Tang Huan asked Simonyi to design a menu system on FreeDOS. Although it was far from the ideal GUI in his mind, it was enough to bring convenience to ordinary users. If you bring the optional mouse, the effect will be even better.

Of course, the menu system that Jobs saw was not as effective as Windows in the original time and space, but was similar to the IDE environment of the Turbo C editor.

In fact, this mechanism is reflected in the first-generation Fangyuan computer and the three major commercial software. Although it does not perform as well as the second-generation Fangyuan computer equipped with MC68000, it can be called practical rather than decoration.

"Does it mean that you have no plan to develop a graphical user interface?" Jobs stared at Tang Huan and expressed the biggest question in his heart.

"Not in the short term, the difficulty is too high." Tang Huan shrugged frankly, "It can even be said that this task is a bit too great."

"I like to do great things." Jobs muttered, got up and left, but he did not forget his promise, "You can rest assured that I will not stare at this thing again, and it is nothing more than that."

"That's good." Tang Huan smiled lightly, sent Jobs away, watched him drive away in the newly purchased luxury car, thinking in his heart that sooner or later Ruskin would tragically hand over the control of the MAC project , and after Jobs has mastered this project as he wished, he will definitely recruit a lot of people, so Apple will have another personnel change.

……

Zheru finally regained his composure, and Tang Huan began to finally evaluate the computer system specially developed for Stephen Hawking, a second-generation Fangyuan computer that provides special input methods, electronically synthesized voice, English thesaurus, and a customized version of the word processing software WordEasy.

Hawking is a scientist, so this version of WordEasy not only provides support for various mathematical symbols, but also adds a rather powerful typesetting function suitable for the fields of mathematics and physics, which is a bit similar to the American computer professor in the original time and space. Donald Ervin Knuth is the open source software TeX written by Donald Ervin Knuth.

Because Hawking's mobility is limited, it is particularly important to find various BUG tests. For this reason, this customized version of WordEasy was installed on the second-generation Fangyuan computer and sent to nearby Stanford University, Berkeley University of California, etc. for professors Use it for free, and look for potential problems.

Unexpectedly, there were not many defects in the report, but a lot of fragmented orders were received one after another, which is a bit exaggerated.

Originally, according to the preliminary plan, the second-generation Fangyuan computer will only be fully rolled out in Asia in the few months before the end of the year. In the United States, it will mainly be integrated with the database EBase and various information management systems, and sold to commercial users as a whole.

As a result, there are now customers making demands through retail channels.You have to do the sales that come to your door, so just take them. Anyway, the customers in these universities are of high quality. Even if there are problems, they can be easily serviced and solved.

However, among these orders from the academic world, Tang Huan actually discovered the name of that Knuth, which not only made him a little dumbfounded, but he borrowed the TeX that the other party was still writing at this time, and he should actually pay some copyright Take the trouble to think about it.

Knuth has a more famous Chinese name - Gao Dena, which he took before his visit to China in 1977. The suggestion came from the help of Chu Feng, the wife of Chinese computer scientist Yao Qizhi.

Knuth can be called a pioneer of modern computer science and the winner of the Turing Award in 1974. His book "The Art of Computer Programming" is one of the most respected reference books in the computer science community. 20. "American Scientist" magazine once ranked this book among the top 12 books along with Einstein's "Relativity", Dirac's "Quantum Mechanics", Richard Feynman's "Quantum Electrodynamics" and other books. The [-] most important physical science books of the century.

The famous National Security Agency - NSA, the National Security Agency of the United States, likes to hire PhDs in mathematics and computer experts to collect and analyze foreign and domestic communication data. However, Knuth rejected its job invitation in 1968 and was hired He became a professor in the Department of Computer Science at Stanford University and concentrated on learning.

The reason why Knuth wrote TeX is because the current very rough typesetting level has affected the printing quality of his masterpiece "The Art of Computer Programming", so he finally decided to write a typesetting software by himself in a typical hacker thinking mode.

Knuth believes that it only takes half a year, in the second half of 1978, to complete TeX.But obviously he was overly optimistic. There is still a long distance between scientists and commercial software providers, so he was attracted by the WordEasy Hawking version of the second-generation Fangyuan computer.

Tang Huan has always wanted to set up a consulting team composed of famous computer experts, but he can take this opportunity to put it into practice.

At this time, Chambers came back from Las Vegas, and he reported to Tang Huan the preparations for COMDEX.

With the foundation of last year's first session, not only the organizers, but also the future Sands gambling king Adelson has experience, Zheru is also familiar with it, and has already come up with a complete plan, so Tang Huan does not need to go He was worried about that, so he handed over the task of this consulting team to the other party.

"We can use this opportunity to further infiltrate the second-generation Fangyuan computer into the field of education." Chambers said brightly.

"Currently, the second-generation Fangyuan computer is slightly more expensive and has a waste of performance. It is estimated that only limited occasions such as administrative departments and libraries will be interested. However, the first-generation Fangyuan computer and Apple computer are suitable for students to learn computer principles." Tang Huan Shaking his head slightly, "You can try it."

"I met Gates on the road. He will come over for a visit soon." Chambers nodded and changed the subject.

"He should be busy with the IBM Chess Project, how come he has time to come to Silicon Valley?" Tang Huan frowned, a little puzzled.

"Microsoft is also developing BASIC for Atari personal computers, and he also wants to take over the version on our second-generation Fangyuan computer platform." Chambers smiled, "Atari is also getting bigger and bigger now. Game consoles and personal computers are also included.”

"It's burning money. It's like a laboratory, incubating many projects in a rush. If you scratch your nose and eyebrows, you will suffer a lot soon." Tang Huan was too lazy to care about Atari's life and death.

Moreover, recently, the other party has been very unrestrained in the authorization of the Atari 2600 platform. As long as the money is invested, video games can be developed. There are more and more inferior works.

Although he knew that such chaos was reborn in the original time and space, Tang Huan was still dissatisfied with it. It was unkind to be so crazy before it was destroyed.

Tang Huan turned his attention to Microsoft again, and said in a deep voice, "Gates is planning to bet on both IBM and us at the same time."

In Tang Huan's view, BASIC, no matter how simple and easy to use, belongs to the category of programming languages. After having the three major commercial software, this product is not indispensable, at least it is the case on the Fangyuan computer.

Just as he was talking, Gates arrived as promised, and his intention was just as Chambers had just said.

"Is Microsoft busy enough? Haven't you already taken over IBM's project?" Tang Huan asked casually.

"It's completely busy. Microsoft has been providing BASIC for different types of platforms from various manufacturers, and it has long been familiar with it." Gates replied with a smile.

Everyone is in the same industry. If there is a turmoil, it is inevitable to get news, especially Microsoft BASIC has become a standard program, and it is rumored that IBM is researching a new generation of personal computers.It is normal to choose Microsoft as a partner, just like Tang Huan entered the hardware field and developed a personal computer, which is already known to everyone.

However, information is also divided into grades and levels. The secrets about the operating system must have been covered up by BASIC. Gates had a proud thought in his mind.

"Has Microsoft already obtained IBM's prototype?" Tang Huan continued to ask unmoved.

"We can complete most tasks using simulators. We don't need prototypes yet." Facing Tang Huan's gaze, Gates felt a little guilty when he spoke.

"Well, that's a bit troublesome. We didn't prepare a simulator. After all, we can solve software problems by ourselves." Tang Huan spread his hands regretfully.

"That's right, just use the prototype directly. It's more convenient when debugging the program." Gates changed his tone, and added deliberately, "I heard that the work computer provided by Zheru to COMDEX is a newly developed computer. The products that have been released are classified as samples, which are somewhat inaccurate, and should belong to mature products, but the sales channels have not yet been fully rolled out."

"Bill, don't block me with your words." Tang Huan couldn't help but laugh a little, "Answer me first, has Microsoft got IBM's prototype? I just want to know the progress of the other party's project. I have no other meaning. I will continue to talk in private. If you don’t give me this little face, how can you do business?”

Gates scratched his head and weighed the pros and cons. He felt that even if he confide in secret, it would not have any impact on a behemoth like IBM, and it was more important to sell Tang Huan as a favor.

Thinking of this, Gates made the most sincere expression on his face, "Since you insist on getting to the bottom of it, I will risk the law and tell you."

"This is a good friend. I don't want to take advantage of a big company like IBM." Tang Huan got up and poured two glasses of red wine while bewitching, put them on the tea table, and chatted with Gates.

"The prototype will not be delivered to Microsoft headquarters in Seattle until early next month, and we and IBM still have some cooperation details that need to be discussed. Recently, Ballmer has been staying on the East Coast to deal with these matters."

Gates carefully selected some disclosures, but never mentioned the operating system. This is a product with a platform significance that he has always dreamed of. The less people know about it, the better.

Tang Huan was very satisfied when he inferred the progress of the chess plan from Gates' few words and then used the information obtained from other channels to support it.

As for the operating system, Tang Huan didn't ask. After IBM-PC and Microsoft DOS entered the market together, he could use the platform open agreement reached with Gates when he went to Seattle to see Silicon Valley One to make a fuss.

"Bill, it's interesting. We're happy to cooperate. The BASIC project is easy to talk about." Tang Huan and Gates touched the crystal cups, "But there is one thing, I can provide you with the prototype debugging program after Microsoft gets the IBM prototype. You can understand my purpose."

"Understood, even if IBM knows the technical secrets of Fangyuan Computer, it will not be easy to modify the products that have been basically designed." Gates nodded empathetically.

"That's what it means." Tang Huan clapped his hands and smiled, "Come on, I'll take you to have a closer look at the new generation of personal computers."

When Gates saw the second-generation Fangyuan computers of Intel 8086 and MC68000, he couldn't help being stunned. He only knew that Tang Huan had dabbled in the field of personal computers, but he didn't expect that the other party's stall was so large, and Gates Roberts understands technology far better than Jobs, and he also understands what it means.

"How is it possible that you developed two kinds of personal computers at the same time." Gates murmured.

"It's just that the CPUs used are different, and the software platforms are compatible. It can't be said that they are two kinds of personal computers." Tang Huan pretended to be modest.

"That's even more difficult." Gates became more and more distraught, and Tang Huan's technological research and development strength gave Gates a sense of powerlessness and despair.

"I have a lot of people under my command." Tang Huan gave a sloppy look.

"You don't have to be modest. When IBM invested billions of dollars in developing System/1960 in the 360s, it already used its own experience to prove that the more people there are, the faster the project development will be." Gates smiled bitterly and shook his head. , "There is a problem with management level. It is incredible that your company has expanded so fast but still maintained such amazing efficiency."

The more Gates talked, the more dejected he became. He had the old idea that Zheru would have indigestion because of his rapid growth, and eventually fell into civil strife like MITS, and finally ended in dismay.Thinking about it now, the idea is ridiculous.

Seeing that Gates seemed to be hit, Tang Huan quickly patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him: "You should read the technical specifications of the second-generation Fangyuan computer, which is the most practical."

Gates nodded, but he soon fell into deeper despair. Although he did not get the IBM prototype, Gates had seen and understood the specifications that came with it. It was obviously inferior to the personal computer in front of him. From this point of view, Come on, wouldn’t it mean that the operating system DOS, which I had high hopes for, would die before it was born?

No, you must be prepared with both hands, and you cannot hang yourself on the big tree of IBM.

Compared with Jobs, Gates can naturally see more information on the technical level. The former is ignorant and fearless, and only thinks that I can make a better product than this, while the latter knows the technical background and plans. to gain a foothold on this new platform.

But no matter how hard they racked their brains, the vision and ability of Jobs and Gates were only limited to their respective hardware and software fields, and could not be compared with the combination of software and hardware created by Tang Huan. A series of important practical functions realized by the card is the best comment on this method.

Seeing that Gates was staring at the FreeDOS interface, Tang Huan couldn't continue to accompany him. After apologizing, he went to prepare for the UK trip.

During this period, he called Lin Qingxia to ask if he could go with him, but Lin Meiren simply replied, "I'm busy, don't try to coax me to be your companion anymore, and you will never be fooled."

"You can't guard against me." Tang Huan hung up the phone with a proud smile, and came to England alone, met Stephen Hawking, and presented him with a special second-generation Fangyuan computer.

Tang Huan has never forgotten his origin, so he is very interested in concepts such as black holes, space-time, dimensions, string theory, time travel, and parallel universes. The problems that Hawking is thinking about can satisfy this kind of concept. I'm curious, but unfortunately the other party has some difficulty communicating because of ALS. The second-generation Fangyuan computer sent this time can be regarded as helping others and helping myself, the best of both worlds.

It can be said that Hawking and Tang Huan hit it off, because although his condition is not as severe as it was decades later in his previous life, he still relies on a wheelchair to move around, and his speech is slurred. He often needs someone close to him like his wife to translate in order to communicate with him. Outsiders communicated smoothly, but Tang Huan was an exception. When they met for the first time, the two could communicate freely without using a third party. Tang Huan also told a few jokes, which made Hawking very happy.

(End of this chapter)