Rebirth of the Tech Madman

The dinner on April 6 was very pleasant, and Tang Huan still remembers it unceasingly. It seems that the more the hidden desires in his heart are satisfied, the more effective the inherited wisdom will be, which makes him more motivated to work. And the corresponding results can also be called remarkable results.

Under the active recommendation of Apple's sales staff, CGrid won the hearts of users almost as soon as it appeared, and hundreds of official copies have been sold so far, which means that Tang Huan can at least get Tens of thousands of dollars in sales proceeds.

VisiCalc, which was snatched by CGrid as the world's first spreadsheet software, had a considerable market share on the Apple computer platform in its original history. By 1980, more than 25,000 Apple computers had been mainly used to Running this kind of program, and it also greatly promoted the sales of Apple's second-generation computer, making Apple's computer successfully eliminate the competitor RadioShack's TRS-80 computer,

Therefore, the cooperation between CGrid and Apple Computer has created a win-win situation. With this impetus, Apple is rapidly moving towards the monthly sales volume of 10,000 units, while Tang Huan easily completed the entrepreneurial stage. original capital accumulation.

Tang Huan stayed at Apple for the past few days. In addition to solving various problems in the actual application of CGrid in a timely manner, he also developed a new product by taking advantage of the convenient working environment. The display function of the second-generation Apple computer was enhanced and expanded. Card.

When Wozniak invented the second-generation Apple, one of the first considerations was how to save costs. Therefore, it is impossible for the computer display module to have a special chip. It is only a part of the circuit on the motherboard. The main function is realized by the software code executed by the CPU, and the display mode is NTSC used by the TV.

But even under such crude conditions, Woz can still display 24 rows of 80 columns of capital letters on the screen, support 16 colors in the lowest resolution 40x48 mode, and 6 colors in the highest resolution 280x192 mode, which is very impressive. Great, it can be said that it has created a precedent for personal computer technology.

Of course, no matter how ingenious Woz's technology is, its limitations are inherently determined by hardware resources. It was not until 1983 that Apple slowly launched the AppleIIE after the AppleIIPlus model, which directly built-in a display enhancement expansion card, supported lowercase letters, enhanced the two resolution modes to 80x48 and 560x192, and can display the maximum number of images. destination color.

Tang Huan's new product was developed based on the gap in the market. As for whether Apple IIE will appear along the historical track, it is out of his consideration.

Moreover, the conditions for the mass production and launch of display enhancement expansion cards are fully met. Tang Huan can easily obtain various high-quality and cheap electronic components from Japan in the market, which is enough to guarantee the profit margin of his products.

It has to be said that Japan’s electronics industry developed extremely rapidly during this period. Relying on low-price dumping, it dared to challenge the semiconductor industry in the United States. Even Intel finally had to transfer its main business and concentrate on making CPUs.

Tang Huan naturally likes this kind of situation where all the heroes come together, so that he can have room to show his talents.

Seeing that Tang Huan designed such a high-level display enhancement card within a few days, Woz was amazed.

At this time, the third-generation Apple machine is still in the research and development stage, and the second-generation Apple machine is mainly promoted on the market. As a developer, Woz is constantly improving it.

And the display enhancement card just made use of the expansion slot that Woz tried to leave at the beginning, which perfectly enhanced the performance of the second-generation Apple machine.

Tang Huan's achievements not only proved Woz's correct foresight, but also demonstrated Tang Huan's deep understanding of the products designed by Woz. Like meeting a close friend, he immediately won the favor of Woz, the technical old urchin. On Tang Huan's intention to make friends, the two quickly became good friends. In this way, Tang Huan has gained a lot of connections within Apple.

Out of caution, Tang Huan made a small number of samples of the first batch of display enhancement cards. He referenced one-third of the price of the entire computer, and priced his new product at $500, intending to put it on the market first to see the effect. Then decide on the next plan.

Apple has started to use CGrid in an all-round way. Tang Huan approached Scott and presented two display enhancement cards as a gift. In fact, it was a small abacus for free testing, but he was still very satisfied with the combined use of CGrid and display enhancement cards. confident.

During this period, Tang Huan also considered the establishment of the company, but he was too busy alone, so he could only make a rough plan in his heart.

...

Amidst the busy schedule, the time came to April 10th, the second stop of Deng Lijun's North American tour began, and the venue was at Meisheng Hall in San Francisco.

Compared with the first show four days ago, the response this time was even greater. When Tang Huan came backstage, he noticed that many fans were guarding outside.

Glancing around, Tang Huan found a group of acquaintances, the same generation as his grandfather's continuation of the strings. They really didn't talk much to each other, and he didn't bother to say hello.

Just as Tang Huan was going to find Deng Lijun, he suddenly heard a female voice shouting, Tang Huan, you're here too.

Looking back at the reputation, Tang Huan recognized that the other party was Wang Xuehong, a classmate of Berkeley University. This girl played the piano well. Tang Huan once played the flute with Wang Xuehong's piano in school music activities. Good friends.

Wait, Wang Xuehong? Tang Huan rubbed his eyes, looked at the girl who walked over carefully, and marveled in his heart, it's too coincidental, isn't this the daughter of the Wang family in Baodao, the richest woman in Baodao in the future, the shareholder of Xiangjiang TVB, Weisheng And the head of HTC, known as the female Jobs.

This era is really full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and there are many talented people. I will have to do more serious archaeology in the future, otherwise I might miss some interesting discoveries.

The Wang family attaches great importance to their children's education. After graduating from high school, Wang Xuehong came to Berkeley to study abroad, and she was usually very low-key. No classmates knew her true identity, so naturally Tang Huan would not take the initiative to call her out.

If you happen to have a ticket, come here to increase your knowledge. I forgot, you like music very much. Tang Huan replied with a smile, but he was thinking in his heart, how to recruit the future female Jobs into the company to be established, for himself work to earn a living.

In terms of technology, Tang Huan is confident that he can lead this era for more than ten years, but the company's management and network resources cannot be completed alone. This is also the biggest reason for Wang Xuehong, and everyone is Chinese.

The two were talking, when a junior from the Tang family came over, Tang Huan, you don't worry about your studies, why come to the concert to join in the fun, be careful, I will tell Aunt Tang Yun. Besides, you, a country bumpkin, can If you understand something, why don’t you sell the ticket to me and give you double the price.”

Let's play. Tang Huan reprimanded angrily, and then explained to Wang Xuehong, I made you laugh, the family is big, and there are everyone.

Wang Xuehong nodded, and seemed to share the same feeling. She said, I thought I would see Deng Lijun backstage, but I didn't expect so many people. Why don't we go in and wait for the performance.

Tang Huan nodded, surrounded by fans outside, it was really not good to meet Deng Lijun again, so he simply took advantage of this time gap to have a good chat with Wang Xuehong. I remember that Wang Xuehong graduated with a master's degree in 1981, and now it is the transition period between undergraduate and graduate students, and the accumulated knowledge is enough for work.

Xuehong, I recently developed a software program, which is selling well at Apple, and the market prospect is very promising, so I want to set up a company for specialized operations, but unfortunately there are not enough people. Are you interested in using your spare time to start a business? Come on I will give you free shares and let you be a shareholder. Tang Huan tried his best to bewitch.

The future richest woman in Baodao really has the gene of entrepreneurship in her bones. When she heard Tang Huan's idea, she became interested. She readily agreed and began to ask questions. Tang Huan answered patiently and chatted until the concert began.