Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 350 The person who wrote the book and biography of Tang Huan

The tradition of "Time" magazine selecting the man of the year began in 1927, because Charles Lindbergh became the first person in history to successfully complete a single non-landing flight across the Atlantic Ocean, but "Time" magazine did not place him on the list. In order to remedy this embarrassing flaw, we found a way to restore our unprofessional image.

The original man of the year corresponds to Man of the Year in English. Judging from the restrictions brought by the word "Man", it can be seen that the editors who were rushing to work at that time only had a flash of inspiration in their minds and came up with it. Such an idea was not well thought out.

In the original time and space, in 1999, "Time" magazine renamed this title "Person of the Year" to describe it more accurately.

In fact, Time Person of the Year is not the same as a positive honor.

Anyone with far-reaching influence, whether famous or infamous, may be selected, such as Hitler in 1938.

Since Franklin D. Roosevelt, almost every U.S. president has been voted Person of the Year at least once.

It can be said that the election of the incumbent president has become the policy of Time magazine.

It is precisely because many well-respected figures have been selected that many people take it for granted that being the man of the year is equivalent to a kind of loftiness. Even if the instigator "Time" magazine often points out that this is not the case, it cannot reverse people's thinking inertia.

With the miracle created by EA's listing, Tang Huan, who has already appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine, naturally understands the difference.

Tang Huan originally planned to let nature take its course, but Regis McKenna, a public relations consultant, suggested that as the founder, internally, he was already the idol of the company's employees; externally, he was understood by the public, including customers. The first image of the company, so don't be lazy, try to strive for it, and you will benefit a lot.

In this case, Tang Huan had no choice but to take a break from the complicated affairs of Pacific Communications and entertain the Time magazine team in person.

The leader of this group is Michael Moritz, editor-in-chief of the San Francisco branch of Time magazine.

After exchanging pleasantries with Michael Moritz, Tang Huan remembered the other party's information in the original time and space, and found that this person was really not simple.

In the era of the advent of the Internet tide, Michael Moritz, who once wrote a book about Apple's success, switched careers from the media field and joined Sequoia Capital, a well-known venture capital company in Silicon Valley, and became a partner with Don Valentine. partner.And successfully invested in emerging technology companies such as Google, and finally reached a net worth of 30 billion US dollars.

"This is a media support that can be drawn in and shout for their own IT industry." Tang Huan secretly commented on the other party.

"So, you are really the owner of this large company that has been established for more than half a century and this building with the same history, but recently you seem to be deliberately avoiding the media who want to interview the details of this acquisition." Michael Moritz looked at the luxurious and spacious office, and began to get down to business in a relaxed chatting tone.

It was obvious that the young editor-in-chief did not want to conduct a scripted interview, but planned to dig deeper.

"But I still haven't escaped the "Time" magazine's net." Tang Huan laughed, joked, and then said seriously: "The main reason is that this acquisition consumes a lot of money, and I feel deeply pressured, so I decided to temporarily cooperate with Isolate from the outside world, so I can work with peace of mind.”

"Did you work so hard to acquire Pacific Bell because you fell in love with the company's business capabilities?" Michael Moritz asked with interest.

"Other shareholders are more concerned about this, but I..." Tang Huan smiled, "I want to apply my technology and products through this platform to bring more convenience to people's lives."

"Are you going to change the world?" Michael Moritz's eyes lit up. "Before Apple went public, I interviewed Jobs. This was the word he said the most to me."

"In fact, this change should have already begun." Tang Huan showed a proud look on his face, "For example, the desktop publishing system, as far as I know, it has already begun to serve many newspapers."

"Indeed, there is such a system in the office of our magazine." Michael Moritz nodded in admiration, "Let's not mention the field of personal computers for now, let's talk about Pacific Bell first, oh, it has been renamed Pacific Bell now. Communications, as a traditional telecommunications company, how do you plan to realize your ideals on this platform?"

"It can be summarized into two points." Tang Huan stretched out two fingers, "I hope that through my own efforts, the current old-fashioned communication method of making phone calls can be freed from the constraints of cables and venues. More importantly, In addition to transmitting voice, the network provided by telecom operators should also transmit data, video, etc.”

At this point, Tang Huan spread his hands, "Obviously, these ideas did not start with me, and even in reality there have been different degrees of practical applications, such as Motorola's handheld mobile wireless phones, long-established faxes, etc. But they often lack the digital essence of computer technology, and there is still a distance from my ideal."

"Can you be more specific?" Michael Moritz drew a line in his notebook, "Of course, without violating commercial confidentiality."

"When you arrived here, I was discussing this topic with my subordinates." Tang Huan nodded slightly, "For example, the caller ID is a function that allows the receiver to know the number of the call. , this technology that started in 1968 has developed to this day, and it’s time to bear fruit.”

"I'm a layman in terms of technology, but I can try to guess that if Pacific Communications succeeds in providing caller ID, does that mean that the user will need to spend extra money to buy a new phone, and at the end of the day? At least provide a screen where you can see the phone number." Michael Moritz discussed enthusiastically.

"Isn't that good? It's equivalent to creating a new industry and creating a lot of jobs." Tang Huan smiled slightly.

"Of course it's fine. Maybe the president will thank you." Michael Moritz nodded repeatedly and urged: "Please continue to talk about your next idea."

"Email, do you know?" Seeing Michael Moritz's affirmative reply, Tang Huan laughed, "Then you naturally know its advantages. But at present, e-mail is mainly run on the university network. Extending it to the common public switched telephone network will undoubtedly greatly improve people's work efficiency."

Tang Huan pointed to Michael Moritz's notebook, "Just like the manuscript you are writing now, after it is completed on the computer, you can dial up to the server through the modem and send the email to the headquarters. After receiving, it can be directly put into the desktop publishing system for processing. Isn’t this more efficient than the traditional way of submitting manuscripts?”

Michael Moritz was fascinated and asked eagerly, "Then when will the application you mentioned be launched on the market?"

"Network communication requires a protocol, and mail servers need large-capacity equipment to store data... and other problems need to be solved one by one. It is not easy to give a definite timetable for the time being, but it will definitely not be as careless as the current market application environment. It doesn't matter." Tang Huan waved his hand confidently.

"I really can't wait. I hope the price of these services will not be unattainable at that time." Michael Moritz laughed and made a joke.

"You don't have to worry about this issue. After all, if these applications are only limited to a limited high-end circle, they will not only lose their original meaning, but will also fundamentally damage our commercial interests." Tang Huan made it clear that he This capitalist will not slaughter ordinary consumers unscrupulously.

"Your changes to Pacific Communications will take at least a while before you can see the effect. Let's talk about some of your companies in Silicon Valley."

While flipping through his notebook, Michael Moritz asked gossipingly, "Among all the companies, is EA the most profitable? Are game consoles more profitable than PCs now? And this difference, will it Wouldn't it cause you to be biased and unbalanced in the allocation of technology research and development resources?"

"Actually, in the eyes of us technicians, game consoles and personal computers are microcomputers with common attributes, but the former specializes in game entertainment, while the latter focuses on comprehensive and general-purpose functions. Although in the market now, it seems There is some difference in consumer enthusiasm for the two, but not enough to affect the direction of our research and development. After all, in some technologies, the two are the same.”

Tang Huan did not directly answer the other party's question about profitability. As a listed company, the information released by EA is detailed enough. Its business capacity is several miles ahead of Atari, which ranks No. 2. There is no need to add Fang Yuan. Computers and philosophical software are used to further increase the hatred value of all kinds of envy, jealousy and hatred.

In particular, Tang Huan was really tired of hearing the title of upstart in Silicon Valley. Anyway, he has already achieved the title of billionaire, so it's better to be bored and make a fortune.

"There are reports that the No. 1 thrones in the three fields of video games, personal computer hardware and software are currently occupied by your EA, Fangyuan Computer and Zheru Software. Is this really the case? It is so shocking. Amazing achievement, how did you do it in just a few years?"

Michael Moritz took out a form and showed it to Tang Huan, "This wonderful information with rich pictures and texts, which makes people understand at a glance, was processed by Zheru's spreadsheet software CGrid. The ubiquitous product, let My immediate reaction was that it was authentic and believable."

"At present, EA's status in the video game industry, judging from the comparison of the data on the stock market, should be the hegemony that people often say. As for Fangyuan Computer and Zheru Software, it is not easy to jump to conclusions. After all, Apple Computer, IBM-PC , and Osborne’s first-generation machine, which is famous for its portability, also performed well. Perhaps it is more accurate to say that EA, Fangyuan Computer, and Zheru Software have considerable influence in the industry.”

Tang Huan, who didn't want to be too aggressive in making money, tried to guide Michael Moritz to focus on the technology and the product itself.

Fortunately, the other party is also very knowledgeable and interesting, "You pioneered the industry, invented spreadsheet software, and made your first pot of gold for your business. Personal computers equipped with various spreadsheet software, including CGrid, were sold on Wall Street. Even like a calculator, it has become a necessary office equipment, which has a great impact on the world. With this product, you can get shares in Apple and become a billionaire at a rocket-like speed. Your entrepreneurial trajectory seems to be much smoother than that of Apple's Jobs and Woz, are there no other episodes in this process?"

"Everyone's career start is different. Whether it goes smoothly or not, I don't think it makes much sense, but there are indeed a lot of things to talk about."

Tang Huan smiled loudly, stood up and invited, "Why don't we go to the office in Cupertino to talk, there is everything you need, including my personal, business partner's, and the whole team."

……

From the founding of Zheru to the present, Tang Huan has been paying attention to preserving photos related to various events.

These materials were first placed in Tang Huan's office, and later accumulated more and more, and a company history museum was specially set up to display them.

When Michael Moritz was brought here, he was immediately attracted by the dazzling array of beautiful things in front of him.

He stared at a group photo of Tang Huan in the middle, Jobs and Gates side by side, and muttered to himself, "History seems to have frozen here."

"It's not as exaggerated as you said." Tang Huan said sincerely to Michael Moritz: "If you think our team's work in Silicon Valley is creative and successful, you might as well write down this experience for everyone to share. "

Michael Moritz's eyes became brighter and brighter, and he asked tentatively, "Is this an officially authorized biography?"

"This can be considered, but you can't always focus on me personally, but you should pay more attention to my guys. They have been diligently contributing their own strength in the process of following me to change the world with IT. It deserves the corresponding historical memory.”

Michael Moritz was completely attracted by the idea of ​​writing a book and biography for the hottest company in Silicon Valley, and he agreed immediately.

Ever since, Tang Huan encouraged Simone, Chambers, Gerstner and others to accept interviews from Michael Moritz and other Time magazine reporters.

Before Christmas, everyone not only received generous material rewards, but also received an honor. It can be said that everyone is happy.

The controversy within Time magazine regarding Person of the Year has finally come to an end.

　It's amazing, not only the cover of the work, but also the title of the chapter, "Zhu" is automatically replaced with "Zhu", drunk.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)