Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 817
……

After the dust settles in the U.S. general election, the fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer will be officially launched.

Compared with Tang Huan's call for the education and research network invested by the US government to be commercialized to form the backbone structure of the Internet, the significance of providing hardware network terminals is equally significant.

With the fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer platform, ordinary users will get the most people-friendly experience when using the Internet.

According to the CPU architecture, the fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer is divided into four branches - Zheru's RISC microprocessor Holder, which is mainly for the field of real-time industrial control; Wang Xuehong VIA's low-power processor, which is mainly for the field of educational computers; Intel's Pentium , that is, the latest generation of x5 family microprocessors with P86 architecture, and the latest generation of Motorola 68000 family microprocessors - MC68060, both of which are mainly for the general field.

Supporting more types of CPUs is also one of the reasons why the development cycle of the fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer is much longer than that of previous generations.

The reason for such a pattern is entirely due to the needs of market development-the performance of ordinary personal computers in special applications such as real-time performance and low power consumption was indeed unsatisfactory.

Of course, the existing status of Intel and Motorola on the Fangyuan personal computer platform has not been affected by this. After all, its CPU has been designed for general purposes from the beginning.

Although the investment in research and development is huge, it is enough to "have a good meal without fear of being late" under the situation of already dominating the rivers and lakes, which directly further expands the living space of the Fangyuan PC standard - manufacturers, large and small, do not need to sharpen their heads in the same Instead of fighting in the qualitative market, they are application-oriented, each looking for its own field of expertise and intensive cultivation.

At the same time, the twists and turns in the research and development progress of CPU manufacturers will not affect the overall situation of Fangyuan PC.

Take Intel’s latest generation of microprocessors, the Pentium P5 version, which started testing this spring. It planned to participate in the exhibition in the summer and release it in the fall. However, due to design problems, the exhibition had to be abandoned. Fortunately, the release time was held as scheduled without any delay. The launch progress of the fifth generation Fangyuan personal computer.

Motorola’s performance is not as good as Intel’s—the same generation product in its 68000 microprocessor family that competes with Intel_80486 is MC68040; now the product that competes with Intel’s Pentium is called MC68060, directly passing the code name of MC68050, and it is also called MC[-]. , in order to show that their products are better than competitors.

How could the richest man be fooled by such a trick - Motorola clearly made a mistake in its research and development plan.

When Motorola CEO Christopher Galvin came to visit, Tang Huan frowned and asked the other party directly, "Why did I hear the rumor that MC68060 will be the last generation product of the 68000 family of microprocessors?"

"I'm about to explain this to you." Christopher Galvin apologized: "Motorola is going to shift the focus of its microprocessor product line from the 68000 family of CISC architecture to the 88000 family of RISC architecture with better prospects." Above all, I hope Zheru can provide code migration services at the operating system level."

Tang Huan said displeasedly: "Why do I feel that Motorola's plan for microprocessor products is becoming more and more chaotic—the 68000 family CPUs have always performed well on the Fangyuan personal computer platform, is it because of an unpredictable outcome? The battle between CISC and RISC has decided to give up?"

"There is another point that cannot be ignored. Since the 88000 family launched the first microprocessor MC1988 to implement the new architecture in 88100, the response has been flat. Instead of seriously reviewing it, you have gone to jointly develop POWER with IBM. This is Are you planning to not fill in the new hole?"

"Don, you have to understand that the microprocessor business is just a department of Motorola. Sometimes, it has to serve the overall situation. For example, the communication business needs to launch satellites, and the satellites need more advanced RISC microprocessors." The gentlemanly Christopher Galvin explained unhurriedly: "The main purpose of my visit this time is to talk about cooperation in communications."

"I would like to hear the details." Tang Huan, who had finished complaining, nodded calmly.

In fact, Motorola, which has shown its talents in the field of communications, began to be indifferent to the increasingly competitive microprocessor business, and has long been seen by the richest man.The reason why he creates pressure is just a habitual gesture.

Motorola has transitioned from Bob Galvin, the second generation of the Galvin family, to Christopher Galvin, the third generation, in recent years.

In short, the specific situation is that Christopher Galvin, who is only five years older than Tang Huan and born in the 1950s, lacks prestige and cannot control the situation, so some mistakes in decision-making are inevitable.

However, this is someone else's family business. Motorola is so big, and the internal and external interests are so complicated that even the founder's family can't handle it. Tang Huancai will not be annoying to come forward to point fingers, only from the perspective of cooperation, just complain a few words.

"Presumably, Don already knows about Motorola's Iridium system plan." Christopher Galvin asked ostentatiously.

This scheme of using low-orbit satellite groups to realize global satellite mobile communication was highly sought after after it was proposed by Motorola in 1987. After several years of intensive theoretical verification, it was soon announced to the public in June 1990, and in In December of the same year, a license application was submitted to the US Federal Communications Commission, and the license issued by it was obtained in September this year.

"Of course. Motorola seems to have obtained a license from the Federal Communications Commission." Tang Huan smiled playfully, "Why, you came to me just to discuss cooperation in this field?"

The Iridium system was a well-known classic business failure case in time and space. Of course, the richest man will not forget that he has conducted related technical research in private.

He was not obsessed with the technological advancement of this kind of satellite communication system covering the world, nor was he superstitious about the tragic commercial failure of the Iridium satellite system. He just considered it from an objective and calm point of view, and finally came to a conclusion-this thing is not comparable to GPS, No matter how advanced the technology and how attractive the business prospects are, it will be difficult to achieve.There is no other reason, just the inherent conflict of interest in a human society is enough.

The United States is now the only superpower in the world, and it would be contrary to human nature for Americans not to be complacent.In this case, it is also reasonable for it to come forward to implement a unified communication network covering the whole world.

The problem is that the functions of the Iridium system cannot really be completely completed in the sky.For example, in its composition structure, at least the gateway station is indispensable, which is responsible for providing the connection between the Iridium system network and other irreplaceable traditional telecommunication networks.

Then here comes the problem. Various countries and regions can give you American face and cooperate to let the gateway station settle on their own territory, but it is only natural that the benefits are equally shared.

It is conceivable how time-consuming and labor-intensive it is to negotiate with more than 100 countries and regions around the world. The efficiency of the United Nations is the most obvious example. "of.

As expected, Christopher Galvin said enthusiastically: "We have known each other for many years and have been working together happily. Of course we will not forget you this time. So, is Don interested in participating in the Iridium system?"

The richest man pondered for a while pretending to be a gesture, and then cautiously probed: "What does Motorola want from me?"

"Aren't the specific technical realization of the Iridium system, and the billions of dollars of funding requirements including satellites, not what Tang is best at?" Christopher Galvin talked eloquently. The demeanor of the children of the family.

The richest man can see it clearly. In order to accumulate his prestige in Motorola, Christopher Galvin invested all his enthusiasm in the Iridium system.

However, although the commercial failure of the Iridium system is foreseeable, in the eyes of the richest man, this is not a simple question of success or failure.

First of all, the specific technical realization of the Iridium system is a drive for technology research and development.

Secondly, a big cake like the Iridium system can be used as a bargaining chip in the top-level game, and it is just suitable as a card in the hands of the richest man.

Anyway, more than one person jumped into this pit. In the end, Motorola still took the biggest blame. From a global perspective, a little loss is worth the money.

What's more, judging from the current progress, the Iridium system is still going smoothly.

Thinking of this, Tang Huan looked at Christopher Galvin, an old friend for many years, and laughed unkindly, "Well, I support this ambitious plan - who asked you to come forward in person. "

Christopher Galvin, who received a satisfactory answer, laughed happily, "My brother, you are the best!"

……

After sending away the down-to-earth and enthusiastic Christopher Galvin, Tang Huan thought about it, and then added a keyword of "iridium satellite" to the Chinese part of the schedule.

At this time, Intel CEO Andy Grove walked in heel-to-toe, his face could not hide his joy.

Intel's latest generation of CPU, the P5 architecture microprocessor, finally has a satisfactory official name and trademark, and a professional trademark firm designed the "Pentium".

Among them, the suffix "Pent-" comes from the Greek word for "fifth", indicating the fifth-generation architecture of the x86 family microprocessor; the suffix "-ium" comes from the suffix representing elements in Latin, and is used to imply that the CPU A basic component of a computer is comparable to a chemical element.

In addition, Tang Huan, a major shareholder of Intel, specially gave "Pentium" a Chinese name - "Pentium", showing his love and affection.

Andy Grove's visit this time was first of all to thank him for giving him the name, which contained great affirmation and the subsequent improvement of his status on the Fangyuan personal computer platform.

Of course, the CEO wants to have fun—after Intel gave up its main business of memory and turned its treasures entirely on microprocessors, the x86 series CPUs competed with Motorola's MC68000 family CPUs. Not dominant, until the previous generation of Intel_80486 and MC68040 fought each other, the performance was still at a disadvantage, that is, the power consumption was relatively well controlled; but now, Motorola has lost its chain, and there is a tendency to lose without a fight. The pressure on Intel's head was light, and with the popularity of the concept of the fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer, relying on the Pentium microprocessor, which is also related to "5", the stock price rose sharply.

The inadequacy of Motorola's microprocessor products is not only displayed on the Fangyuan personal computer platform, but there is another obvious example.That is, Apple Computer, which has long used the MC68000 family of CPUs, has also begun to look for more powerful microprocessors, such as jointly developing new POWER products suitable for personal computers with IBM.

As the only CPU competitor on the Fangyuan personal computer platform for a long time, the decline of Motorola naturally means the prosperity of Intel.

However, Intel cannot be complacent or proud. Because the fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer platform introduced two CPUs, although it is only for special fields, it is enough to spur Intel. Intel still has to keep going.

After accepting Andy Grove's gratitude for the kindness of the name, Tang Huan encouraged: "The annual sales of personal computers in the world have increased by at least 1000 million units every year, which is evident in the strong demand for CPUs. I hope that Intel will make persistent efforts to allow the Pentium microprocessor to add native support for multimedia instructions as soon as possible, and the operating frequency will exceed 100MHz."

Feeling the importance of Mr. Richest Man's words, Andy Grove patted his chest with confidence and assured that - without waiting for the next generation, the Pentium microprocessor can realize these two hopes in the next step-by-step version.

……

The fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer officially debuted at this year's Las Vegas Fall COMDEX.

The marketing department weaves two major selling points for it - comprehensive built-in multimedia capabilities and perfect Internet access equipment.

In the past, the multimedia function of Fangyuan personal computer needed to be realized by adding an additional accelerator card, but now it is used as a standard and necessary function, directly replacing the low-end accelerator card; only when it involves video capture, etc. For more professional use, an additional high-end accelerator card is required.

During his speech at the industry summit forum, Mr. Richest emphasized that the fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer is the most ideal access terminal for the Internet. For example, the dynamic web page display of the World Wide Web browser can work perfectly on this platform.

The prosperity of Tang's IT kingdom means the loss of those outside the system—— Larry Ellison, CEO of ORACLE, who was listening to the speech in the audience, was staring at the fifth-generation Fangyuan personal computer. think.

(End of this chapter)