My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 438 From People's Cameras to People's Computers
If Wei Dong had been a security guard in any other organization in his previous life, he probably wouldn't have had such a profound experience with computers as he has in the tax system.

The tax network project in the 1990s completely changed the tax collection model and led to huge adjustments in local and national tax bureaus.

The central computer center of the municipal tax department was conveniently located next to the security monitoring room.

So after decades of comings and goings, one inevitably develops some kind of ingrained feelings from what one has seen and heard.

For example, how to receive visiting leaders.

In the conference room of the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry, which was still full of Soviet-style industrial architecture, a long table was covered with a white cloth and lined up in a row.

The disassembled computer cases were also prominently stacked to the side.

It was almost exactly the style of a promotional display stand in an electronics store in later times.

Almost everyone has only heard of electronic computers but doesn't know what a computer is.

This includes computer experts in China today.

Most people are probably unfamiliar with the concept of "home computer" proposed by Rang Weidong.

Almost all of them were middle-aged or elderly people wearing Zhongshan suits, some even wearing old-style military uniforms, intently watching the equipment unfolding on the platform.

Even if someone has seen an Apple computer, they will find it very different from their impression.

Especially glass enclosures.

Wei Dong had used this trick when he was in the food factory. Among all the building exterior materials that could be cheaply produced in this era, glass was almost the only modern material that was both inexpensive and not restricted by the scarcity of resources.

Once you use it, it will give you a fashionable and modern feel, and it's quite sophisticated and dynamic.

Especially when paired with black.

The speaker, of course, was himself: "Distinguished leaders, please take note. We plan to distribute and sell home computers domestically at ultra-low prices, basically without monitors. Each region and household can choose to use a TV and monitor according to their own circumstances. The purpose is not only to further reduce prices and facilitate promotion to more families and schools, but also to create huge social demand while waiting for the domestically produced computer monitors that we are currently working on in the Shanghai Electronics Industrial Park to come off the production line. Due to the yield rate and the technological gap in vacuum tubes, this will be slower, but we strive to start distributing them before the Spring Festival. As for the computers, we can't wait. The sooner teenagers and computer enthusiasts can get in touch with real computers, the sooner we can ride the wave of the computer revolution and avoid falling behind and being beaten because we missed the industrial revolution!"

The idea was so profound that everyone's expression turned somewhat solemn.

An elderly man with a receding hairline sat in the corner: "How do you define a real computer?"

Wei Dong reached out and pressed the power button on the computer case: "Starting in the 1970s, Europe and the United States... mainly Citibank launched the popularization of the personal computer market. This was an extremely important milestone. If a car is only for the Empress Dowager to get around, no matter how exquisite or beautiful it is, it is meaningless, because that does not mean the beginning of the automobile era. The automobile era should be popularized throughout society. Only when it is popularized throughout society will countless people work together and countless geniuses participate in this industry."

The system is simple, so the boot time is not too long. In just a few words, the black-cased monitor lights up and displays the Chinese version of the "graphical interface".

Everyone in the room craned their necks, eager to get a closer look.

Let Wei Dong not rush: "In 1981, IBM, the largest computer company, announced the official promotion of personal computers, that is, PCs. Last year, Apple launched their Macintosh computer, which sold well but then fizzled out. It was a peak at the beginning but sales were difficult afterward. But I think they have found the right direction for the future of computers, namely graphical systems, so that anyone here can learn to use a computer in a few minutes. This is a huge watershed moment. But the market is still hesitant to accept it, and commercial capitalists are still competing for the market. We caught up at this point and were almost in sync."

He then used the two-button mouse to open a card game.

Now even from a distance, you can vaguely see the black, red, plum, and square shapes on the screen.

It got a little noisy.

Since the Apple system is essentially a menu, once you select an app, you close the menu and exit, freeing up the limited memory available for running new programs.

So the new program was simply redesigned by the company's engineers into a bright red and green "card table" that conforms to Chinese aesthetic standards.

Very eye-catching.

Wei Dong closed the game and returned to the graphical interface: "See? If I want to play cards for a while, I don't need to know English or computer principles. I can just click a couple of times. It's like if I want to be a sharpshooter, I just need to know how to aim and pull the trigger. I don't need to understand the manufacturing process of gun barrels and ammunition, or the structural principles. The simplest and easiest-to-use weapon is the best weapon."

Most of the listeners who had experienced the war years understood a little.

The elderly man with the Mediterranean hair nodded again: "Yes, a graphical computer system can make it more widely used. That makes sense. Continue."

Wei Dong would have to change the card. At this point, there was no hot-swapping technology, but he could turn off the power to the card reader first, and then press the switch again after inserting or removing the card.

This time, the click opened the novel: "Did you all notice? I changed the card. This one contains hundreds of thousands of words of the first part of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The whole book would need another card to be filled."

Some people are already touching their reading glasses, as if that will allow them to read the novel.

Let Wei Dong explain in a way that is as relatable as possible: "In other words, this card can hold hundreds of thousands of words. In the past, only typists could complete a document, but now everyone can write. Write papers, novels, reports. Personal computers are different from supercomputers, which are national strategic assets. This is to provide convenience for everyone's life and work. If millions of people are using computers, this industry will become incredibly prosperous and will no longer be just a tool in research institutes, but a companion in everyone's life."

The act of plugging and unplugging a card is a prime example of the most common use case for personal computers in the European and American markets: spreadsheets. Wei Dong noticed this detail when he was assisting Apple with its product launch at Citibank.

At this time, personal computers didn't really have a lot of applications.

The main reason is that the RAM is limited, so all kinds of software are small and can't do anything too fancy.

But besides replacing typewriters, spreadsheets are definitely an important program.

This was precisely the area that the tax system later focused on applying, allowing Wei Dong to witness the spreadsheet experts in his unit. He knew nothing about it, but he had seen how, no matter how complex the actual situation, they could handle it with a flurry of operations using various parameters and shortcut keys in the spreadsheet.

"For example, statistics, labor and wage calculations, and financial settlements involve a lot of data. As long as there is customized software, the relevant data can be entered at each period and reports for various industries can be automatically generated. However, the specific customized software requires a widespread computer market to drive the development of various software."

Before this report, people had an abstract understanding of what computers could actually do.

It's quite clear now, especially from that elderly man with the receding hairline: "Yes, your intention is to popularize and promote this kind of computer as much as possible, so as to create a large base of computer talent and ultimately lead to the development of the computer industry?"

He seemed to have astutely grasped the points that even Wei Dong couldn't summarize, and he managed to make them understandable to almost all the laymen present.

Wei Dong felt comfortable communicating with her: "Yes..."

He made a gesture, and immediately an engineer assisted in removing the screws from a nearby computer, revealing the side of the monitor's vacuum tubes and the circuit boards with the glass plate and chassis removed.

Wei Dong reached out and turned on the computer power: "This is the computer's power supply. In foreign countries, it's still just an exposed circuit board. We've integrated it into a power supply box and have already applied for a patent overseas. If any overseas companies use this method, they'll have to pay us some royalties. Just like we still have to use foreign main chips right now. This thing costs twenty dollars a piece, which is roughly equivalent to the circuit complexity of five hundred to a thousand ordinary radios combined."

He also brought a separate chip with pins embedded in a foam board, which he quickly passed around among the people present.

If opening this computer and seeing its interior still makes it look no different from a television, people are starting to get a better idea now.

"Is this the most important and core brain?"

"That's roughly the idea. Almost all the chips and semiconductors on the board are for the computing of this chip. And these also need to be imported, but they are relatively common. These few are new products from the East China 742 Factory. The scrap rate is still relatively high, but there are already better production line technologies internationally. We have a real gap."

"So this computer still isn't 100% domestically produced?"

"Yes, we are currently purchasing and stockpiling this main chip overseas through various channels, aiming to reach 100,000 units per quarter and strive to launch it as soon as possible. Only when more people use it can the production of these electronic components be absorbed by the market, and the unit price will be lower, forming our own integrated science, industry and trade, which in turn can be exported to overseas markets."

It felt different from what everyone expected when it came to announcing good news.

There was absolutely no boasting or grandstanding, only the stark reality of the gap between the two sides, and a pervasive sense of urgency.

The same elderly man with the Mediterranean hair sat to the side, speaking thoughtfully: "How much funding do you need to push this project forward?"

This was Wei Dong's biggest advantage, and he was so grateful for Wei Dong's good pat on the back: "We didn't ask for funding. We were an optical instrument factory under the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry that was restructured and merged into a camera factory. I was in charge of the private sales company. After taking over the computer research institute of the Third Front Project, which was required to be transformed by the Fifth Ministry of Machinery Industry, we combined our advantages in overseas business activities and technology transfer, and carried out research and development on our own, using the market to drive scientific research and trade to promote production, but we could share all intellectual property rights with the country."

Everyone at the meeting looked incredulous. Such a huge project, and it doesn't need funding?

"What kind of policy support do you want?"

"No need. The demand for computers is a commercial activity in the market. We even welcome other domestic electronic computer research and development units to compete with us. In a commodity economy, we can provide consumers with affordable and high-quality computers, and then upgrade and improve them generation after generation. Currently, the main uses are typing, writing reports, writing articles, making spreadsheets, reading novels, and playing games. The most important thing is to be able to learn to write endless computer programs, making this thing a good helper for our work, study and life. In the future, it may be able to connect to the whole world through telephone lines, and a single computer can be an all-around device that can draw engineering drawings, edit movies and TV shows, write and listen to songs, and even operate cars and airplanes."

Fortunately, it was a scene that Wei Dong didn't quite understand, and it depicted the most ordinary people's most imaginable scenarios.

But the core point has been clearly stated.

It's hard to say what super-use this thing has right now.

Only by popularizing computers can more people become familiar with them and begin to understand the world of programming.

To create endless possibilities in this computer age.

Finally, the elderly man with the Mediterranean hairline stood up and stepped forward: "At what price do you plan to launch this product?"

This emboldened Wei Dong, who then quoted a price: "599 yuan..."

Everyone in the room reacted with shock, their pupils dilating in disbelief.

Can you say that again?
Now, regardless of whether they understand computers or not, everyone feels it would be an injustice if this thing wasn't more widespread.

(End of this chapter)