Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 612 PC Compatible Machine War

……

The reason why Bob Guccione and Tang De hit it off at the Pebble Beach Golf Club was mainly because the latter also invested in Atlantic City, a gambling city, and operated a project called Tang De Plaza Hotel, which also Naturally, casinos are provided for tourists to entertain.

The Tang Plaza Hotel started construction almost at the same time as Bob Guccione's Loft Casino Hotel, but because of the hurdle of the casino license, the former started business early, while Bob Guccione could only play Lost teeth and swallowed dryly.

However, Tang De is not satisfied with the profit of Tang De Plaza Hotel, and is taking the rest of the shares from his partners, planning to go it alone. One of the improvement measures taken is to expand the scale, and Bob Gu who is not far away Jone's unfinished project came into his eyes.

This taker was very much in Bob Guccione's liking, so his thanks to Tang Huan were somewhat sincere, and at least he recognized that the transaction of suppressing Madonna's photo was worth the money.

"As long as everyone has something to gain, the event I organized will be meaningful." After Tang Huan smiled and congratulated, they separated and continued to do what they should do.

……

After changing into the equipment sent by Masako Wada in the hotel room, Tang Huan went to the stadium to socialize with the club members there—to put it bluntly, he used his halo of the richest man in the United States to increase the gold content of this event.

Coincidentally, Earl Woods, whom Tang Huan specially ordered his subordinates to invite, was also there, so he just met him by the way.

The other party is now an agent of a defense industry contractor. Previously, he was an officer of the US Army Special Forces who participated in the Vietnam War. He learned golf while stationed at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York in 1972, and became obsessed with this sport. A fairly good amateur player.

Of course, regardless of his status or level, Earl Woods is not qualified to participate in such high-end club activities. He borrowed the light of his son, that is, the famous young genius, Tiger Woods, who is already ten years old this year.

Tiger Woods, who grew up in the Los Angeles area, is a veritable golf prodigy child - he knew how to play golf at the age of two; at the age of three and comedian Bob Hope - Bob Hope in the TV show He competed in "The Mike Douglas Show"; he began to appear in famous golf magazines when he was 5 years old; at the Junior World Championships held in 1984, he won the world championship of the 9-10-year-old junior group.At that time, his actual age was less than 9 years old.

In such a well-dressed adult world, the addition of Tiger Woods, a talented little kid, definitely adds a lot of luster.

For this reason, Tang Huan also had a try with Tiger Woods with great interest, which can be described as having a great time.

……

After a brief relaxation at the Pebble Beach Golf Course, Tang Huan was greeted by several important meetings, and the preferred topic was the appreciation of the yen, which had been discussed a lot this year.

Fangyuan Computer Company's supply chain spans the world, and its market layout also focuses on the whole world. Naturally, it attaches great importance to the impact of this possible change on its financial situation.

It has to be said that this is a major performance of Tang Huan's leadership.In fact, he didn't specifically order his subordinates to investigate this issue at all, it was completely a spontaneous behavior.

After all, Fangyuan Computer Company is a listed public company, and there are many people staring at it. Tang Huan's Xiao Jiujiu mainly falls in his private territory.

Listening to his subordinates coming and going at the meeting discussing and assessing the impact of possible changes in international currency exchange rates on the company, Tang Huan rubbed his brows, waved his hands and said, "Now that I've reached this point, I'll make it clear." Take a look at your attitude. Prepare for the worst in everything, and you can always gain more space for yourself. First, we are prepared for the corresponding response; second, the public relations team pays attention to collecting relevant intelligence; finally, the minutes of this meeting are classified as top secret by the company.”

In this way, Tang Huan, who felt that there was no need to waste too much time arguing, decided decisively and made a decision.

This kind of situation also happens to EA, and the situation is more special.

Gein, at this stage, the center of the global video game market has shifted from the United States to Japan, and the majority of EA's business is also located there.

Tang Huan made a smooth handling of this, that is, maintaining the status quo, for example, don't rush to withdraw the earned yen back to the United States on a large scale, and wait and see for a while.

As for the Philosophy and Confucianism series, since it is not listed, it basically belongs to Tang Huan's private territory, and it is much easier to fiddle with.

From the perspective of products, Zheru mainly exports intangible intellectual achievements such as technology, patents, software, etc. to companies such as Fangyuan and EA. There are not many physical products that are sensitive to changes in international currency exchange rates.

In addition, the Zheru United States, Zheru Xiangjiang, Zheru Baodao, Zheru Japan, Zheru Singapore and other members of the Zheru family are very independent from each other, focusing on localized operations, and there is no such thing as a circle Ships like computers and EA have a hard time turning around.

Therefore, Tang Huan directly issued the confidential order of "preparing for the worst" to these bright industries, which can be regarded as resolving the debates and quarrels caused by his subordinates' "the emperor is not in a hurry" and the eunuchs are in a hurry.

……

What Tang Huan is really concerned about is that the smell of gunpowder in the field of personal computers has become more and more intense recently, and a war of compatible computers has almost begun.

With the successful release of the fourth-generation Fangyuan personal computer, especially the large order of the mobile fourth-generation Fangyuan personal computer issued by the US Internal Revenue Service, a signal has been lit up in the market, and a new round of upgrading of personal computers is unstoppable Yes, whoever falls behind will only end up being eliminated.

Compared with the Fangyuan computer standard camp, which is consistent and methodical, the situation in the IBM-PC standard camp can only be described as alienated and full of ghosts.

Many features represented by 32-bit and GUI operating systems on the fourth-generation Fangyuan personal computer platform pointed out the direction for future personal computer applications, and also severely capped the current IBM-PC.

The third and second generations of Fangyuan personal computers can smoothly transition to the next generation of fourth generation Fangyuan personal computers, but the corresponding IBM-PC and compatible products do not have such a head start.

IBM is developing the next generation of personal computers, but except for a project code name of "PS/2", other aspects are secretive, and it is not like Fangyuan Computer Company, which frequently communicates with authorized compatible machine partners.

But IBM-PC compatible machine manufacturers can't complain, who let them take it for themselves, and they are cutting the flesh of Big Blue. They have too many reasons to choose to ignore you.

It is precisely because of this cold relationship that IBM-PC compatible machine manufacturers began to realize that the next-generation personal computer platform "PS/2" being developed by IBM was probably a completely new system, and the name was more or less related. It was hinted, and the purpose was to kick out the bloodsuckers like myself.

Therefore, there is a problem imminently placed in front of the IBM-PC compatible machine manufacturers. At present, the entire IBM-PC camp is scrambling for two major types of products--8-bit IBM-PC/XT and 16-bit The IBM-PC/AT may have no successors.

This is simply a catastrophe. You know, amidst the discussions, the fourth generation of Fangyuan personal computer has successfully appeared. Except for the slightly expensive price, it is almost a perfect product, and its appeal is not ordinary.I can't just sell low-end IBM-PC/XT and IBM-PC/AT, otherwise, they will be eliminated in two years.

In just a few years, those successful IBM-PC compatible manufacturers have achieved annual sales of hundreds of millions of dollars.They got used to this delicacy and were tied to this chariot, so they really didn't want to bother to change course.After all, I have already occupied a place in the IBM-PC standard camp. If I switch to the opposite Fangyuan computer standard camp, I will be a newcomer, and no one can say for sure how far I can develop.

Since IBM, the original creator, is unwilling to develop the next-generation model for IBM-PC and help this series of products continue to live, then we will do it ourselves.

In this way, six of the most influential and most successful IBM-PC compatible manufacturers in the personal computer business announced an alliance to jointly develop the next generation of IBM-PC/AT compatibles, which corresponds to the fourth generation of Fangyuan PCs. 6-bit IBM-PC/AT.

This work is not as simple as just replacing an Intel80386 CPU, there are still many supporting functional chips that need to be redesigned.

It is not so easy for IBM-PC compatible manufacturers to sit together. The confusion in the IBM-PC standard camp is not only reflected in the compatible manufacturers and IBM, but also the compatible manufacturers are fighting openly and secretly with each other.

One of the manifestations is the keyboard used by IBM-PC. In order to ensure that its own keyboard will not be replaced, compatible machine manufacturers even specially design a unique keyboard interface of their own to establish barriers.

The document placed on the table in the conference room lists the detailed information of this IBM-PC compatible machine manufacturer, which is so ambitious that it is simply named "Personal Computer Standards Group".

"What a big tone." Tang Huan, who felt that he had been robbed of the best lines, couldn't help being a little annoyed, and snorted coldly, "Even if that big IBM elephant has no objection, we won't agree."

Shi Chongtang joked: "In my opinion, it's more appropriate to call their alliance Six Doors. Compaq, NEC, Zenith Data Systems, Olympus, Huizhi Technology, and Hongzhi Computer, exactly six."

Tang Huan was amused. He glanced at the members of the "Personal Computer Standards Group". Sure enough, there were exactly six of them.

"Then let's introduce this so-called 'Personal Computer Standards Group'." Tang Huan waved his hand towards the executives of the opposite department, and then the lights in the conference room dimmed, and everyone looked at the slides.

There is no doubt that the initiators of these six "personal computer standard groups" are the most successful among the many IBM-PC compatible machine manufacturers, and they are naturally the most evil vampires that IBM hates the most.

Some of these companies were established just a few years ago and were born specifically for the free personal computer standard IBM-PC; some were established companies that saw an opportunity and went to the personal computer field to make quick money, and achieved unexpected success. .

Compaq Computer, founded in 1982, belongs to the former. It took a look at IBM's gap in the field of portable computers and launched the mobile IBM-PC compatible "Compaq Portable", which became an instant hit. In 1984, it took advantage of the situation and launched a real desktop computer. PC "CompaqDeskpro".

These products brought hundreds of millions of dollars in sales to Compaq Computer, making it one of the few successful startups.

If Compaq Computer had the idea of ​​switching to the Fangyuan computer camp at the beginning, now that it has tasted the sweetness, it is reluctant to let go of the IBM-PC compatible machine, and it has become an advocacy to kick IBM.The main force of the self-developed IBM-PC 386 model.

After the PC-9800 series of personal computers developed by NEC was wiped out by Fangyuan PCs—mainly Sharp, Sony, Panasonic and other Fangyuan PC compatible manufacturers, it turned its attention to IBM-PC unconvinced.

Zenith Data Systems is a subsidiary established in 1979 and is part of Zenith Electronics.It is an old American electronics company with a history dating back to 1918. Seeing the unlimited business opportunities in the personal computer industry, it jumped into it.

Origets is also an old-fashioned company. It started in Turin, Italy in 1908 with the production of typewriters, and then continued to expand. In the 1930s, its business expanded to more than 20 countries; it entered the computer business in the 1940s, and in 1982. Started the IBM-PC compatible machine business.

Huizhi Technology was established in 1981. The initial product was a high-quality and inexpensive character terminal, which was quite successful, and was successfully listed for financing. Therefore, it naturally did not want to let go of the technology-free IBM-PC compatible machine.

Hongzhi Computer is a bit special. Two of its founders, Huang Chaohong and Yuan Zhikun, are Hong Kong immigrants.After the company was founded in Irvine, California, USA in 1980, the initial business was the production of expansion cards, and then it was transformed into personal computers.

Because Hongzhi Computer also built a factory in Hsinchu Science Park, Baodao, and took advantage of the preferential conditions there, Tang Huan had an impression in his mind. He didn't expect the other party to join in the fun.

"PC Standards Group", no, "Six Doors", in addition to launching the next generation of personal computer research and development plans tit for tat, also took advantage of the situation to emphasize that the current IBM-PC compatible machines have a clear direction for future upgrades, and then waged a price war during the summer vacation , set off a new round of sales offensive.

"We can't let it continue to be arrogant." Tang Huan pointed to the sales data histogram on the slide, "Since IBM has more than enough energy, then we will discipline these IBM-PC compatible machine manufacturers for the big stupid elephant."

(End of this chapter)