Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 857

……

Tang IT's excellent grasp of the industry trend drew warm applause.

Gates politely clapped his hands a few times, and felt an inexplicable sense of loss in his heart—not because of his jealousy towards Tang Huan, but because he felt as if he had overlooked something.

It was difficult for Gates to hear other people's nagging, so after listening to Tang Huan's speech, he got up and left the venue, so that he could recall carefully where the sense of loss came from.

Gates was very satisfied with the excitement of Microsoft's booth.

Since his personal relationship with Tang Huan has completely turned cold, he has devoted himself to developing Windows_95 for the consumer market, and his progress has finally surpassed that of Zheru Software's StudiOS_i. At this COMDEX, Windows_95 showed the official version. StudioOS_i has only released a beta version, and it is said that the official version will not be released until next year.

In fact, Windows_95 is Windows_3.1, an upgraded version of Windows_4, but it has been packaged commercially, just like Zheru's StudiOS_i, arranged according to the version number of the kernel, it should also be version 4.

The significance of Windows_95 to Microsoft is that it finally has a 32-bit consumer-level operating system that can get rid of the MS_DOS environment and run independently. In the competition of Confucian software, there is no one to send.

At this stage, Zheru Software has three operating systems—enterprise-level Artascope-Vientiane and consumer-level StudiOS and FreeDOS. Microsoft’s counterparts are Windows_NT and Windows_95, as well as MS-DOS.

Gates is as clear as a mirror in his heart. The real competitor of Artascope is Unix, and Windows_NT can't make it up at all. It mainly fights with Novell_Netware.

Windows and MS-DOS are also inferior to StudiOS and FreeDOS in terms of function and quality, but the survival rules of the consumer market are different from those of the enterprise market—Windows_95, which is far superior to MS-DOS, is definitely capable of fighting.

Taking the current situation as an example, the operating system of IBM-PC compatible machines with declining market share has no choice but to upgrade to Windows_95; Fangyuan PC compatible machine manufacturers have shown strong interest in Windows_95, which is cheap ;When Microsoft approached Fangyuan Company to talk about pre-installing Windows_95 on Fangyuan personal computers, the other party did not dare to refuse clearly—this was an opportunity.

Although Microsoft cannot spend more than 3 million US dollars to promote the "i strategy" like Zheru Software Company, it has also prepared a budget of nearly 95 million US dollars for the marketing of Windows_1, which is enough to seize the opportunity from the growing personal computer pie. Come on, get a piece.

Logically speaking, even if it is not as powerful as Zheru, compared with other software companies, Microsoft's product lineup is much more orderly and has a lot of peace of mind. However, after coming to the COMDEX venue in Las Vegas, Gates felt that What did I ignore.

When he was thinking hard, he saw the company's No. [-] man, Jim Alchin, the vice president in charge of Microsoft's operating system department, hurried in.

"Have you talked to those compatible machine manufacturers?" Gates asked casually.

Jim Alchin nodded, "I'll just tell them one thing - even though Windows_95 doesn't seem to have all the functions, it's enough for individual users, and it's also cheap enough. It's definitely high quality and low price."

"On the Windows platform, there are also various application software including MS-Office. It has a complete ecological chain, of course it is enough!" Gates said quite conceitedly.

Jim Alchian, of course, agreed with this point of view, but he did not reply, but looked around.

When he saw the "disguised" assistant coming over with a computer bag, Jim Alchian waved his hand quickly, called him to his eyes, and asked in a low voice, "Have you got it?"

"The latest beta version of StudiOS_i has been installed on the laptop." The assistant replied, putting the computer bag on the table and taking out the laptop inside, "However, StudiOS_i does not support coexistence with our Windows_95. There are multiple operating systems, so I had to format the hard disk and reinstall StudiOS_i, some of the original data disappeared.”

"Damn it." Jim Alchian complained depressingly about the dominance of StudiOS_i, and then he couldn't wait to start his laptop. The familiar picture of flipping a book flashed on the screen, and then he entered the working space of StudiOS.

Gates, who is best at stealing lessons, immediately understood after seeing this scene that Jim Alchian had discovered something important, so he asked curiously: "Is there any new function for StudiOS_i?"

"In this beta version, StudiOS_i has added a new feature called 'Active_WorkSpace' - 'Active Workspace'." Jim Alchian pointed to the laptop computer that had been connected to the network cable, and explained: "Look, the Internet The latest news, stock market quotes, weather forecast and other information on the Internet are automatically pushed over."

"Zheru's 'i-strategy' is really big. The functions of the operating system and the browser are so closely integrated." After Gates sighed, a sudden flash of inspiration flashed in his head, and he slapped his thigh in frustration. , "I know something is missing in Windows_95."

Jim Alchian followed with a tacit understanding: "A browser program."

"More than that." Gates shook his head, "We are so focused on the competition of the operating system that we previously regarded Zheru Software's 'i strategy' as a general plan to tap Internet business opportunities and creativity, and even more so. The browser is regarded as an ordinary application. Now it seems that the browser is not so simple, it has a tendency to become the only entrance to the Internet, and it can even become an all-inclusive platform, which is no less important than the operating system.”

Although Jim Alchian has worked hard to study the products of Zheru, it is difficult to understand the urgent expression of burning buttocks shown by Gates, but it is not easy to point this out directly, so he explained: "From now on, It shouldn’t be a problem to develop a browser program and add it to the Wndows_95 upgrade package next year.”

"Is it that easy?" Gates, who is well versed in technology, dragged the mouse, operated the Polestar browser, and muttered to himself: "There is at least a rendering engine and a scripting language interpreter, which is not simple. "

Jim Alchian shrugged, "Netscape's free browser Netscape_Navigator took less than a year to develop, and it also has a paid website server product."

Gates thought for a while, and then said: "You study it first, I'll go to Netscape to have a look."

"Okay." Jim Alchin nodded eagerly, all his thoughts were on the beta version of StudioOS_i in front of him, and he didn't want to be disturbed.

……

The booth of the small Netscape company was equally lively. After all, just taking the initiative to challenge Zheru Software Company was enough to create a great reputation.

Gates did not hide his identity, and stood in front of the demonstration computer, looking at the official version 1.0 of the Netscape_Navigator browser with great interest.

Jim Clark, who had just sent off a wave of visitors, quickly spotted Gates, who looked a little different in the crowd, and immediately walked over to say hello, "The Netscape_Navigator browser you saw can support multiple platforms. is the best browser."

Gates smiled and said pointedly: "As far as I know, the current market share of Zheru's Polestar browser will not be lower than 80.00% - I don't know how to catch up with the best browser Netscape_Navigator? "

Without waiting for Jim Clark to answer, Gates followed up and asked, "Is it free?"

"Of course it's more than that." Jim Clark shrugged, "For example, our technical team is also the best."

Gates was noncommittal, and continued to follow his own thinking: "If I were in charge of the browser business of Zheru Software, I would launch a free version of Netscape_Navigator, which is extremely simple to do."

Jim Clark originally wanted to find an opportunity to talk to Gates about the cooperation between the Netscape_Navigator browser and the Microsoft platform, but he didn't expect to be squeezed so bluntly by the other party, and he was immediately displeased.

Jim Clark, who founded the Silicon Valley Graphics Company, is also a well-known figure in Silicon Valley. How could he be fooled by Gates' tricks, so he frowned and asked directly: "What do you want to explain?"

"I want to tell you that in the current software industry, a single product will soon be swallowed up by the tide of competition." Gates pointed to Jiangshan in an old-fashioned way: "Netscape_Navigator is just a small fishing boat, and Zheru Software has a complete product line. , it is an aircraft carrier—you don’t need to fire, just outflank it casually, and you can be trapped to death.”

Jim Clark, who was unable to refute for a while, retorted angrily: "Microsoft also has an aircraft carrier, but unfortunately the displacement is a bit smaller, and the equipment is also outdated."

Gates clapped his hands and smiled, "But an aircraft carrier is an aircraft carrier, and it has the necessary platform for carrier-based aircraft to take off and land—isn't Netscape_Navigator lacking this?"

Only then did Jim Clark understand that Gates, who had been showing off for a long time, also had the intention of cooperating, so he quickly collected his thoughts and asked slowly: "So, how do you open Microsoft's aircraft carrier to Netscape?"

Gates said without blinking, "Are you willing to accept Microsoft's acquisition of Netscape? Of course, the terms are negotiable."

Jim Clark froze for a moment, then replied with a wry smile: "I'm afraid, we have to think about it carefully, and we can't give an answer right away."

"Of course." Gates shrugged. "It's just that the market situation is changing rapidly. I hope Netscape will not miss the best opportunity."

……

After Gates left, Mark Anderson said excitedly: "If Microsoft is willing to pay a big price, then we will make money, and we don't have to worry about financing anymore."

"Young man, you are too naive, how do you know about the intrigue in Silicon Valley." Jim Clark snorted, "Microsoft also talked with Novell about the acquisition, but during the lengthy negotiation process, Novell's business secrets were emptied. , there is no more text."

"No way..." Mark Anderson opened his mouth wide open in shock.

"Believe me, Gates can't give us what we want." Jim Clark patted Mark Anderson's shoulder earnestly. The company sold more to Microsoft."

……

Tang Huan was going to attend the APEC summit, so he couldn't stay in COMDEX too long, so after giving orders, Charles Simeone, who stayed in Zheru's group organization and focused on technology in an all-round way, carefully observed the new technological developments revealed at the exhibition, and then went to Get on Silicon Valley One and head to Bogor, Indonesia.

This is the capital of the Dutch colonial period, and it is a summer resort; the botanical garden built in 1817 is even more famous all over the world-it is indeed very suitable as a meeting place to entertain distinguished guests from all walks of life.

Compared with last year, the mechanism of APEC has been improved to a greater extent, and then everyone no longer has to rack their brains to come up with ideas, but just follow the established roadmap and follow the rules.

This year, APEC added a new member—Chile from South America, which was approved to join in, giving the richest man one more partner to deal with.

However, this time Tang Huan's mind was on US President Bill Clinton.

Know that some topics are easier to discuss this far from America.

Because of the tight schedule during the APEC summit, the US president and the world's richest man only had time to arrange a 15-minute private walk.

During this process, Tang Huan quietly mentioned the turmoil in Mexico's financial market, "It has been almost a year since the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect, and the United States and Mexico have clearly come to the fore in terms of financial market integration. If a financial crisis breaks out in Mexico, I'm afraid the United States will also suffer from it."

(End of this chapter)