Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 424 Compaq Wants to Pick IBM's Peach

After watching the display of the features of the Intel 80286 third-generation Fangyuan computer, Andy Grove and Gordon Moore couldn't help showing happy smiles on their faces.

It is true that Intel has added many advanced features to the Intel 80286, but if this microprocessor is to be used in practice, it must be supported by the manufacturer.

Compared with the 8086-bit address bus of the Intel 20, the Intel 80286 expands to a 24-bit address bus, that is, the maximum memory space that can be supported is 16 MB.

But on the IBM-PC platform, it is almost impossible to access the memory space of 1 MB and above at present. There is no reason why Big Blue does not want products such as personal computers to threaten its own high-end products in terms of performance. The reasons are included.

However, the Fangyuan computer platform does not have this limitation. The entire Fangyuan computer product line from low-end to high-end strives to be superior in all aspects, and it will not deliberately draw a prison on personal computers.

This is why Intel is more interested in Fangyuan Computer than IBM. Of course, it hopes that Intel 80286, which has many advanced features such as protection mode, can enter the high-end market and open up new fields.

Seeing that Andy Grove and Gordon Moore were fascinated by watching, Tang Huan smiled slightly, sat in front of the Intel 80286 prototype, turned off the electronic form CGrid, but kept the word processing WordEasy running, and then edited Deng Lijun's "A Faint The first CD from the "Affair" album was loaded into the drive and the music player started.

With Deng Lijun's soft singing, Tang Huan began to use WordEasy to write the manuscript.

Andy Grove and Gordon Moore, who saw this scene for the first time, straightened their eyes.

"Are you sure, our Intel 80286 is really inside this host?" Gordon Moore asked Andy Grove in a low voice.

Before Andy Grove could answer, Tang Huan, who had excellent hearing, interjected: "Of course, I'm about to open the main box and talk to you about the technical details."

With the slamming of the Enter key, the unique running sound of the printer sounded. However, during this period, the music player paused several times, but the entire computer system did not crash due to this.

"I see, the performance of Intel 80286 still needs to be further improved." Tang Huan spread his hands.

"Sure, sure." Andy Grove's head clicked like a chicken pecking at broken rice.

The engineers turned off the Intel 80286 and opened its main chassis, and suddenly a wave of heat rushed to the face.

"Look, Intel 80286, and Intel 80287, the floating-point coprocessor, are here." Tang Huan raised his hand jokingly.

Andy Grove and Gordon Moore smiled knowingly while looking at the motherboard, and saw their own microprocessor as they wished.

"In the past six months or so, the defects of Intel 80286 have been almost eliminated, and it is time to show its talents in the field of microcomputers."

Tang Huan's affirmation made Andy Grove and Gordon Moore feel refreshed.

"According to the experience summed up by my engineers, the Intel 80286 that the three generations of Fangyuan computers need to be equipped with should not be lower than 10 MHz. Now this 12.5 MHz Intel 80286 is capable of multitasking. You just saw it. When it arrives, it can only be said to be passable. Therefore, I hope that there is a clear indicator for further performance improvement, and it is best to reach 20 MHz as soon as possible.”

Hearing this request, Andy Grove, who just kept agreeing, had a look of embarrassment flashing across his face.

In fact, the current Intel 80286 produced by the Intel factory is mainly 6 MHz and 8 MHz versions. After all, this microprocessor integrates about 13 transistors, and the operating frequency cannot be increased just by thinking about it.

In order to please Tang Huan, the highest-end model with limited production—the 12.5 MHz version—was sent over.

But according to Tang Huan, the version of Intel 12.5 below 80286 MHz will be reduced to a commodity, and will not be favored by the three generations of Fangyuan computers.

If so, the economic benefits are difficult to calculate.

"In addition, if the coprocessor Intel 80287 really plays an auxiliary role in floating-point operations, its operating frequency must not be lower than 12.5 MHz." Tang Huan's addition made Andy Grove grin subconsciously.

"Actually, I have two major dissatisfactions with Intel 80286 - it is not a 32-bit CPU; once the processor enters protected mode, it cannot support the real mode of Intel 8086. Especially the latter, it gives the software system direction Lower compatibility brings troubles that cannot be ignored.”

Speaking of this, Tang Huan sighed, "But these problems are obviously impossible to be solved in the Intel 80286 generation, so it can only be made up through the manufacturing process. You know, Motorola's MC68000 already has a 20 MHz Version."

Perhaps the last sentence had an effect. Andy Grove, who looked at each other with Gordon Moore, clearly agreed, "Okay, Intel will supply according to Tang's requirements."

"It will be easier if everyone has a consensus." Tang Huan stretched out a finger, "According to the standards just mentioned, 12.5 80286 MHz Intel 10, and no less than 12.5 80287 MHz co-processor Intel 5."

Hearing such pleasant numbers, Andy Grove and Gordon Moore immediately smiled. Intel, which has suffered setbacks in its main business of memory, needs a large order to boost morale.

As for whether Tang Huan has the ability to digest so many CPUs, Andy Grove has no doubts at all.Tang Huan wanted Intel 8086 thousands of times before, but these microprocessors were quickly consumed by products such as personal computers and printers.

If IBM hadn't acquired 20.00% of Intel's shares and disrupted the supply of Intel 8086, Intel would definitely have had a more pleasant cooperation with Tang Huan.

Up to now, there is no doubt that Tang Huan's ability to digest CPU and memory has become stronger.

With the approach of going public, Fangyuan Computer has increasingly officially disclosed its own data.

Although September has not yet arrived, according to the orders that have been placed, in this upcoming financial year, Fangyuan PC sales exceeded 60 units, crushing IBM-PC under its feet.

Even though Commodore and other low-cost PC manufacturers have an advantage in hitting new highs in sales, don’t forget that their products priced below $500 can’t compare with Fangyuan PCs that focus on high-end markets such as enterprise applications.

Even though the microprocessors of Fangyuan PCs have Motorola series, Intel series, MOS Technology series, Zilog series and other branches, and there are second supply sources to share the profit, Intel still gets considerable benefits from Fangyuan Computer.

The big cake that Tang Huan threw out without any hesitation made Andy Grove think about it.

Big Blue has obtained all authorizations of Intel 80286. With its powerful technology and manufacturing capabilities, Intel seems to be of no use, or simply kick IBM away and embrace Fangyuan Computer's thigh.

You know, Fangyuan Computer is now among the ranks of Fortune 500 companies in full swing.

Intel, which has been established for more than ten years, has reached this standard as early as the end of the 1970s, but it still has to be honestly ranked behind Fangyuan Computer.

Andy Grove was thinking about this, when Tang Huan changed his subject and said: "I have an additional request, which is the content of today's visit, especially this order. Intel can't take the initiative for at least three months. Disclosure to IBM."

"Okay, even if the other party comes to ask, we will pretend not to know." Andy Grove glanced at Gordon Moore who came with him, and with a meaningful smile on his face, he readily agreed.

……

People who have ideas about IBM are not limited to Silicon Valley in the western United States. In an office in Houston, Texas, several people are discussing enthusiastically. The sign hanging on the door is Compaq Computer Corporation - Kang Cypress Computer Corporation.

In February of this year, three senior managers of Texas Instruments: Rod Canion--Rod Kenyon, Jim Harris--Jimmy Harris and Bill Murto--Billy Merton, because the management of Texas Instruments has become increasingly The more lack of confidence, so he resigned and contributed 1000 US dollars each to jointly create this small company named Compaq.

The business direction set by this small team for the company is to enter the rising personal computer industry and manufacture a powerful personal computer at a reasonable price. It is estimated that this idea is also influenced by Texas Instruments' production of personal computers and Commodore's competition in the low-end market. Exhilarating impact.

"After careful investigation during this period, we decided to choose the IBM-PC with almost completely free technical standards as a breakthrough." Rod Kenyon explained to Benjamin Rosen, the biggest investor sitting across from him.

Although he is not in Silicon Valley, Benjamin Rosen is still a venture capitalist with a keen sense of smell. Before that, he invested in the electronic form VisiCalc and made a small profit, which can be regarded as his first victory in the IT field.

Benjamin Rosen was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1933. His father was a dentist and his mother was a secretary. His family was well off.

In 1954, Benjamin Rosen received a bachelor's degree from Caltech, followed by a master's degree from Stanford University in 1955.

In 1961, Benjamin Rosen obtained an MBA from Columbia University Business School and entered Wall Street to work on stock analysis in the electronics industry.

In 1965, Benjamin Rosen jumped ship to the investment banking giant Morgan Stanley, where he worked for 15 years.

It can be said that Benjamin Rosen belonged to the group of people who first realized the great value of personal computers as a business tool, so much so that he himself once held an Apple II in his arms and tried to explain the advantages of this new machine to investors. importance.

Morgan Stanley, as one of the stock issuers of Apple's IPO, Benjamin Rosen, who is a senior technical analyst and vice president, can naturally take this opportunity to witness Silicon Valley's overnight success, so he resolutely Ended his career at Morgan Stanley so he could focus on venture capital.

In 1980, Benjamin Rosen and LJ Sevin co-founded the venture capital firm Sevin Rosen Funds in Dallas, Texas - the Sevin Rosen Fund. Rod Kenyon’s small team came from this institution , which attracted investment for the newly born Compaq Computer Company.

Benjamin Rosen was very interested in Rod Kenyon's plan to manufacture personal computers, and directly confirmed the investment intention of 150 million US dollars, and established the power structure of Compaq Computer Company - Benjamin Rosen personally served as the board of directors Chairman, Rod Kenyon is CEO and President, Jimmy Harris is in charge of engineering and Billy Merton is in charge of marketing.

Rod Kenyon and others spent a lot of time thinking about what kind of personal computer to make, and finally settled on IBM-PC.

Benjamin Rosen has studied the IT industry for such a long time and has long been an expert. He immediately understood what Rod Kenyon meant, "You mean, Compaq produces IBM-PC compatible machines?"

"Yes." Rod Kenyon nodded, "At the beginning of this year, in order to win more application solution providers based on the IBM-PC platform, IBM expanded the market share of IBM-PC, and competed with Fangyuan Computer and Apple Computer. , in addition to the BIOS, announced all the technical standards of IBM-PC. We use this set of free and mature technology to manufacture personal computers, and can enter this ever-changing market more quickly."

"Since IBM has reserved the BIOS for itself, shouldn't the technical status of this thing be very important?" the thoughtful Benjamin Rosen asked.

"It is indeed very important. This BIOS is a bridge between hardware and software." Rod Kenyon smiled, "However, we can use the method of reverse engineering, using another method that is completely our own, Realize all the functions of this BIOS. In this way, not only can avoid the legal risk of IBM's intellectual property rights, but also be [-]% compatible with IBM-PC."

(End of this chapter)