Rebirth 79: I opened a bank in the United States

Chapter 1026 Actions in the computer industry

"Mr. Black, how is it? Our senior brother, what's your attitude?"

"The report has been handed in, wait for the result!"

Not at all contrary to the old man Scowcroft's expectations. After get off work that day, Carter did not go home directly for one of the rare times, but drove to a hotel.In the restaurant of the hotel, John Akaski, the current president of IBM, is here.

"Brother, what are you in such a hurry for? The RS600 workstation product you launched this year, isn't the response very good?"

Walking slowly to the opposite side of Akaski, Carter pulled out a chair and sat down.

Unlike Lao Bu, who has a bachelor's degree in economics from Yale, and himself, who has a bachelor's degree in philosophy, the one opposite him is one of the few engineering students in the outside world who can make a name for himself.John Akaski, who graduated from engineering, can climb to the position of president. Of course, he will not be as dull as the stereotyped engineering student, but compared to hanging around in the liberal arts college all the year round, he hangs out with people in various clubs For Carter, it still seemed a bit stiff.

Carter would not blame the other party for the small matter of not taking the initiative to help him open the seat since he was invited to the banquet.Anyway, he is also the president of IBM, so he is somewhat arrogant!

"But we have also completely failed in the CPU market! At most, we can only say that the merits and demerits are equal! For now, for me, perhaps only brighter market data can help me restore some of the trust of the board of directors! "

Facing Carter, a guy who is both a colleague and a junior, Akaski's words were more straightforward.In other words, they are all in the same industry, so who can hide it from anyone? !
This year, IBM announced that it completely accepted Intel's X86 architecture, completely abandoned investment in CPU research and development, abolished the CPU research and development department, and reinvested personnel and funds into a standard open plan called "OPEN SYSTEMS".

From a historical point of view, Carter had to give this behavior a thumbs up.

As mentioned earlier, today's computer field is basically the situation of the Warring States Period.Different companies, different architectures, different codes, different processors and chips, all in a mess.The adaptability of software and hardware can only interact and interoperate with companies that are deeply related and have done compatibility work in a planned way.If there is no contact and no communication in advance, then the computer I bought from company A may not be able to run the software of BCD companies at all.
But this problem is basically not seen in later generations.The standard is extremely uniform, and there is almost no saying that any motherboard is not compatible with Intel chips or AMD chips, or software.In addition to the unique Apple OS system, the rest are all Microsoft Windows. Countless software companies are developing software based on these two operating systems; countless hardware manufacturers are also following the standards set by Intel and other companies to develop own product
And the root of all this lies in the open systems proposed by IBM this year!
The plan itself is a ten-year plan, which aims to transplant all IBM's products and technical standards into an open computing environment.

Carter wasn't sure if Akaski made this move with the intention of unifying industry standards.But as the industry leader today, when IBM did not speak, more than [-]% of the companies were using IBM's standard design products.And once they make their technical standards public, it will only allow more companies to join in. Then, even if they don't say that they want to unify the standards, the specification design and so on will eventually converge!
This is a step that is very correct in the long run and will greatly benefit the entire industry.It can make resources more concentrated, and there is no need to waste energy on designing and producing products whose actual performance is not good.This will eliminate many companies, but isn't the market a place where the fittest survive?
Similarly, this change will also eliminate many people, and many people will become outcasts.However, the one who bears the brunt and is almost out is the Akaski in front of him.
Research and development in the CPU field, and the failure to seize the market.In particular, the announcement that IBM will adopt Intel's X86 architecture in the future is undoubtedly an announcement that IBM has surrendered in this field!Raise the white flag!

If you admit defeat, you will admit defeat. It's okay. After all, Intel is a company that is deeply involved in the semiconductor industry.From the era of Fairchild Semiconductor to the present, no matter whether it is talent or technical reserves, IBM can't beat others in this field, which is not shameful.But unfortunately, IBM's corporate atmosphere.
In such an environment, high-level executives can directly scold capable middle-level managers, and even cut off their resources. It can be said that IBM is full of hilltopism.For the position of president, it's fine if nothing happens, but if you make any mistakes, you will end up attacking in groups!

What's more, it is very embarrassing to announce the surrender on behalf of IBM!
In addition, the failure of the CPU field also means that IBM has wasted a lot of money on it, but failed to get any results back.For profit-seeking boards, this is also a picture they don't like to see.At this time, Akaski said that he was in trouble at home and abroad, which is not an exaggeration!

"I will help you, brother! With the strong performance of RS600, I think there should be many departments that need its help. Especially now, with the outbreak of the Gulf War, the military's logistics scheduling pressure is also relatively high. If there is RS600 to assist , I think they'd love it!"

She nodded with a faint smile and finished the dinner.

Akaski's life is not easy, and from a certain point of view, this is a good thing for Carter!Isn't it just looking for an order?This matter is not difficult for Carter today.Help Akaski secure his position as the president through sales performance, then return the favor
It is much easier to make up for the technical background that ROG lacks most now!
Once Akaski's way is opened up, the place where the engineers under his name can communicate and learn is not limited to the personal PC business department!

It was also because of the importance of this person that Carter rarely came out to socialize.As time went by, Carter gradually found that the occasions he needed to socialize were gradually decreasing.

Sitting in the car on the return journey, quietly watching the scenery outside the window.Carter also thought of many things
1991 was an important year in the computer field, regardless of software and hardware.

Microsoft launched the Windows 3.0 system this year. In history, it was also this generation of Windows that truly brought the graphical operating system to the stage of history.The first two generations of products, whether it is UI design or functional design, are actually not as convenient as the later generations, where operations can be completed with a click of the mouse.

With Carter's joining, today's Windows 3.0 is undoubtedly more mature than the same generation version in history.Now the factors restricting the appearance of the grass, blue sky and white clouds only exist in hardware problems!
Intel, based on the X86 architecture, further launched the 80486 chip with more powerful performance this year, and acquired Weilin Electric, which further strengthened its production capacity.

Computers, the real popularization, and the preconditions for the explosion of the number of users have gradually taken shape!

(End of this chapter)