Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 31

Seattle, the offices of Microsoft Corporation.

Gates was sitting in a chair, shaking his body constantly. This was his signature move when he was thinking.

Rubinstein put down his coffee and said in a joking tone, "Bill, everyone is an old friend. To be frank and honest, I really put a lot of pressure on you when I negotiated the BASIC licensing contract with you for IMSAI. You won't come Still brooding about it now."

"That's not the case. You were really scheming at that time, while I seemed young and ignorant." Gates changed his sitting position and said lightly.

Rubinstein laughed heartily, "Today, you have become a talented and strategic boss. How to convince you to accept my point of view is really hard work for me. Let me express my opinion. What do you think?"

Gates seemed to have considered the stakes enough. He sat upright and said, "According to your theoretical analysis, your WordStar directly conflicts with Don's software, and Kildare's CP/M sales will increase." Because of the Macintosh's impact on other computers with Intel microprocessors, but not Microsoft, every personal computer uses BASIC, whether it's a Macintosh or a TRS-80 by Dondy, it seems that I don't It takes energy to wade through this muddy water.”

Rubinstein showed such an expression on his face, "The personal computer market does not need to be dominated by one company now. If that is the case, the resources in Tang's hands will accumulate more and more, and he will definitely extend his tentacles into other fields and rob us of our living space." , Now he already has spreadsheets, word processing and MA. Besides, Bill, don’t say that you are not tempted by CGrid’s ability to absorb money, the evenly matched situation is beneficial to you and me.”

Gates smiled noncommittally. Tang Huan is not only working on three projects at the same time, but also has a database. However, there has been no movement until now. He is probably stuck in the quagmire of technical research and cannot extricate himself. Even if he wants to enter other fields field, may also be powerless, and may not pose any new threats to Microsoft.

There is really no need for me to mess around with this treacherous guy like Rubinstein.

Furthermore, Zerone is expanding too fast. The software development company should be small and lean in scale, so as to cope with the rapidly changing situation of the high-tech industry. However, it has already surpassed a hundred employees in less than half a year, so it is bound to become The organization is bloated and inefficient, and the hidden crisis may break out at any time. We have seen too many failure examples in the past few years.

Let’s just say that the alliance that Rubinstein is launching may not necessarily be fatal, but if they join forces to fight a price war and spare Zerone’s blood, it is estimated that the process of collapse can be accelerated.

Seeing that Gates was not enthusiastic, Rubinstein shook his head with a wry smile, "So, you didn't intend to participate."

"Not entirely, I will stand behind you and cheer." Gates had a childlike smile on his face.

Rubinstein nodded, got up and said goodbye, and after sitting in the driver's seat of his car, he finally couldn't help being annoyed, and slammed the steering wheel hard, "This petty idiot can only be self-righteous."

……

To be honest, Tang Huan couldn't help being a little proud of forcing his competitors to join forces to deal with him so quickly, but he was also a little surprised that the gap between them would be so large that it would arouse public outrage.

So Tang Huan planned to drive around and observe the situation of the personal computer market up close.

Of course, it is impossible to have that kind of superstore like Computer City at this time and here, but there are some relatively famous chain stores.

For example, the Bitcoin chain store established in 1975, from which Jobs and Woz received orders for the first generation of Apple machines, thus discovering the opportunity to start a business.

Another example is a chain store called Computer Park, which was established not long ago but has good momentum of development. It was invested and established by Millard, the boss of IMSAI.

The "King of Shanzhai" IMSAI collapsed due to poor management, but the boss ushered in a second spring in other industries. I have to say that shopping malls are really fickle.

What Tang Huan walked into now was the computer garden store, which contained many types of microcomputers.

Obviously, such a large-scale store cannot accept the manufacturer's monopoly terms of only selling one product.

Tang Huan's gaze fell to the most eye-catching position. The computer located here must be the most popular in the market.Unsurprisingly, an Apple second-generation machine was placed there, and the exquisite packaging boxes of CGrid and WordEasy, as well as various function expansion cards, surrounded the Apple machine with stars.

"This computer is the latest model Apple2Plus, with a 5.25-inch disk drive, 48K of internal memory..."

A salesperson is hard at work explaining to two customers, "Only the Macintosh can display the full functions of CGrid. After you buy it back, office clerks will be able to operate it without too much training. Various financial and sales Statistical reports, the results can be produced on the same day, and if you buy an additional printer, you can also print them out. Think about it, don’t the bosses just care about this thing.”

Tang Huan heard this from the side and smiled silently. This person is quite professional and knows the product very well.

Tang Huan glanced at other types of computers again, and it could be said that no one cared about them.

For example, Comodo's PET computer, like Apple2, uses a 6502 microprocessor.

It is said that Comodo almost bought the start-up Apple, but was frightened by Jobs’ lion’s mouth, and felt that the price was not worth it, so he developed the type of personal computer in front of him. I guess those people regretted it now.

Another well-known personal computer in the store is Tangdy's TRS-80, which uses the Z80 microprocessor and is quite well-designed in design, featuring a compact size.

Because the TRS-80 mainly relies on RadioShack, a more powerful national chain sales network, for marketing, it has obvious advantages in market channels. Although the functions are obviously inferior to Apple computers, the price is correspondingly much lower, so the sales volume has been good.

Judging from this store alone, Tang Huan's software and Apple Computer really overwhelmed competitors. No wonder Rubinstein was jumping around in a hurry.

Well, I did steal your job. I can understand your feelings, but I cannot tolerate your behavior.

After learning about the cutting-edge market situation, Tang Huan planned to return to the company to arrange countermeasures.

He was not driving fast. When he passed by Wilkes Bashford, a high-end clothing store, he remembered his upcoming trip to Southeast Asia. He would definitely attend many business events at that time, so he should prepare a few more formal suits.

So Tang Huan parked the car and walked into the store.As a result, he met Jobs.

Recently, Jobs has changed a lot.For example, he quit LSD, stopped following a strict vegetarian diet, and spent less time in meditation.

In addition, there is another point. It is said that Jobs picked up another girl, an employee of Regis McKenna Company, and he started a formal relationship.

After seeing Tang Huan, Jobs was slightly taken aback, and then greeted him enthusiastically, "Tang, let me introduce you, Barbara Yasinski, my girlfriend."

As he said that, Jobs leaned closer to Tang Huan's ear, and continued braggingly, "This is a beautiful woman of Polynesian and Polish descent. She is much better than the girl you found in New York."

Tang Huan remained calm and replied in a low voice: "So, can she dance? You know, a woman who has received dance training can easily make various postures, you know."

The smile on Jobs' face suddenly froze, and his eyes widened.

"I'm sorry, this is privacy, I'm too talkative." Tang Huan shrugged apologetically, "I'm going to pick out two sets of clothes. I'll see you later."

(End of this chapter)