Chapter 199 Advertisement "All the employees of Cisco Corporation are just a husband and wife, they are two professors at Stanford University first, and two businessmen second. The fastest updated novel Cisco is committed to connecting all computer systems through a network. The more they learned about the computer industry over the past year, the more they realized that people were being gripped by a hell-shattering conspiracy. ”

A deep, clear bass voice came out on TV, and Leonard Nimoy, dressed in a smart bodysuit, was talking in front of a stark white background.

If the name Leonard Nimoy were changed to a Chinese, he probably didn't know much about it.

But if it is a role that he has always played in his life, many people should have heard of it.

Spock, captain of the USS Lincoln in Star Trek.

This is a well-known and ingrained figure in the United States.

His wise, strong, and absolutely rational way of thinking has long been his label.

So much so that Leonard Nimoy had to write a book to emphasize that he was "I Am Not Spock".

When Leonard Nimoy stands in a straitjacket on the television, no matter what he does, Americans will unconsciously substitute Spock's image into it.

Spock, oh no.

Leonard Nimoy said in a light, unhurried tone: "In the computer industry, people are being forced to buy a chicken to go home just to eat eggs. Think about it, in the modern world, who would have to raise a chicken just to eat eggs? But this kind of thing is happening in the United States. We're paying for computing power we don't need, and we're having to buy a computer back in order to get the computing power of a computer at some point. ”

"Let's take an example, Wayne has 500 employees, and in order to use computers for office, Wayne had to spend $1.25 million to buy 500 Apple Macintosh computers. But for the vast majority of the time, such an investment is precipitated capital and is depreciating at a rapid rate. Moore's Law, the computing power of a computer doubles every 18 months. That is, after 36 months. A PC is about to become obsolete. ”

"So how much of the Macintosh computer was running at full power during those 36 months? According to statistics, there was only one month when the PC was running at full power. At other times, the system resource utilization of the PC does not exceed 30%. This is because the processing power of a person using a PC is far from being able to keep up with the processing power of a PC. Other words. $2,500 a Macintosh computer until it needs to be phased out. You won't have more than three months to fully utilize it. ”

"Yes, some people may say that a lot of our society is wasted like this. People who only eat at home once in a while will also have a kitchen at home. The vast majority of appliances that people don't usually use after buying them back, it seems that there is nothing more to have an extra PC. But the Leonards found that we were actually on the wrong path, and that the last chance to make amends was in front of us. ”

"If you miss this opportunity, people all over the United States, and even the world, will be held hostage by the current system of computer companies. The cost of retrofitting will be too high for the whole society to afford. ”

"The opportunity is to network computing. In the case of Wayne, for example, it does not need to buy 500 Macintosh computers to meet the computing needs of 500 employees. It only needs a central server that costs 400,000 yuan and 500 service terminals. Such a system can't even use half of 1,250,000, but it can fully meet the needs of Wayne Company. And since all the data is stored in a central server. Therefore, its office convenience is much better than the 500 Macintosh computers in a scattered configuration. ”

"People no longer need to buy 500 operating system licenses for 500 Macintosh computers, they don't need 500 reporting systems, word processing systems, news systems, communication systems, storage systems, all the software can be used by the whole company as long as they buy it once in a central server, what could be better than that?"

"But such a system would pose a threat to our computer companies, and they would no longer be able to coerce users into making constant upgrades. It's no longer possible for users to buy resources they don't need, and it's no longer possible for us to replace our PCs every three years. That is, the capital will not be able to get the feast once every three years, and it will no longer be able to rob ordinary users. ”

In other words, traditional computer companies will never choose this path. ”

“ohmygod！”

At IBM headquarters, Karen, head of public relations, picked up the phone and dialed a number: "Dave." Yes, hurry up, find your nearest TV of course, I know you're my boss, if you remember being a boss, you'd better listen to me!"

"I'm waiting for that damn Chinese documentary, are the ABCs crazy? How dare they play such an advertisement!**! yes, I know it's not a lady-"

“oh**f**k！”

Dave's foul language came over the phone.

"Well, you're not a gentleman at all. ”

Karen rolled her eyes and said, "Now you know what I'm talking about, right?"

On TV, two Americans, a man and a woman, came out of the pure white background, and it was none other than Mr. and Mrs. Leonard.

"It's going to be a hugely difficult choice, whether to go along with the traditional computer companies, or to stand up bravely. The Leonards chose the latter because, someone has to stand up to stop them, otherwise our country, our people, will pay a huge price. ”

"Yes, the server terminal mode has a much higher resource utilization rate than the PC mode, which is more suitable for commercial use strategies. PCs for personal use, on the other hand, can purchase the computing resources of the surrounding service stations and call the resources of the surrounding servers when a large amount of computing is required. ”

Leonard took over, and a string of nouns popped out of his mouth: "Through the guò network, we can achieve these functions." You don't have to buy a high-spec computer for your very little computing needs, you just need to connect to the nearest server when you need it. In this way, a computer that would have been obsolete in three years can be used for ten or twenty years, and its performance will always be the most advanced computing speed. ”

"Most of the computer functions used by ordinary people are things that can be met with very few computing resources, and there is no need to spend more money on them. ”

"In the computer enterprises, there are full of monopolies and the shadow of capital. IBM。 Big Blue, no company in computer technology can threaten it. INTEL, OUR CPU VARIETY IS RAPIDLY DECREASING, AND IT IS FORESEEABLE THAT IN THE FUTURE CPUS WILL BE MAINLY PRODUCED BY THIS COMPANY, AND HE WILL ONLY KEEP A WEAK COMPETITOR AT MOST, IN CASE IT IS BROUGHT TO THE DOCK BY ANTITRUST LAWS. Our memory businesses are dying in large numbers because cheap Japanese memory is robbing us of the market. ”

"If there is no force to break this situation. The future of our computer industry will be dark......"

...... "Dave, are you alright?"

Karen's concerned greetings on the phone.

"Not good. Never...... hatf**k！”

There was a crackling sound on the phone, and then it was a long time before Dave's voice rang from the phone: "Karen, we need to have a meeting as much as possible." Find someone from the technical department, and by the way, someone from the network department......"

The order from the president of IBM was quickly conveyed, and IBM's PC business started later than Apple, but with IBM's brand effect, by 1985 the hegemon of the PC market was already IBM.

As the largest company in the PC industry, IBM cannot afford to lose the PC market.

Especially since this is a never-ending gold mine - damn the Leonards are right.

The computer market will eliminate a batch of old equipment in three years, and this market will never be saturated!

"I know, do you want to ...... this matter with other companies?"

"IBM doesn't need help from others, and there are no difficulties that we can't overcome. ”

On the phone, Dave's voice was unequivocal.

However, this advertisement, which was broadcast before the start of "A Day in the Life of a Chinese", has already caused an uproar in society.

Some people suddenly realized that computer companies really intended to mislead consumers in this way.

Hijacking consumers.

Others are dismissive of this argument, arguing that it is technically unrealistic.

Others believe that the Leonards are hyping up to promote Cisco...... Either way, this kind of drama of a college professor and a couple standing up to challenge the blue giant really aroused the appetite of all audiences.

In the words of later generations, this time it is really going to be the biggest winner.

Don't be afraid of big things, if the Leonards can finally knock off the traditional computer companies.

Naturally, everyone has to give a thumbs up to this Don Quixote.

If you lose, you can still criticize all the evil computer companies.

The strong contrast of strength between the two sides makes ordinary people naturally have compassion and empathy for the Leonards.

This kind of thing of challenging the giants of capital for the interests of the people, even if it fails, Hollywood does not take turns to make seventeen or eighteen biopics, and it is sorry for the American culture where heroism is rampant.

It can be said that since the start of this advertisement, traditional computer companies have already lost.

Chapter 200 speculates: "Tell me about an advertisement, what do you think?"

Dave's outlook is not great, and the IBMPC program is the largest and most successful program he has led since taking office.

Having just tasted the sweetness of the PC market, it is clear that behind it is a gold mine to be tapped, and it will never be exhausted.

The hen that can lay golden eggs in this way will not be in a good mood if her eyes are stewed and eaten.

Even if the opponent is just a couple of university professors with little power, they can't stop the personal heroism of Americans.

If it is really the master who is willing to cut the emperor off the horse, how wronged IBM is.

"This ad is simply an exaggeration, and I don't think there's anything to worry about. Is there such a conspiracy, don't we know about it ourselves?"

"yes, what's the conspiracy? PCs are the choice of the market, we just sell goods. If the customer feels that it is not suitable, they can do without our products at all. What's more, if the problem of computing data transmission is solved according to this advertisement, the large-scale server market will definitely usher in a new flashpoint, which is a good thing for IBM. ”

Long before IBMPC, IBM's largest business was always in the mainframe and server space, and this aspect has always been IBM's main business direction.

From the "conception" of the Leonards

Departure, it is indeed a good thing for IBM.

Because if you build a computer system by renting computing resources, the demand for servers will grow rapidly.

And in the server market, no one is a match for IBM.

Well.

At least for the time being, no one is their opponent.

"Gentlemen, our eyes can't just be on the server market!"

Dave patted the table and stood up: "IBM is the blue giant, we must be responsible for the entire computer industry!

Dave's words made the people present slightly stunned, what kind of high-pitched are you singing when you have a meeting behind closed doors.

IBM is the hegemon of the computer industry, but its only mission is to make more money for its shareholders, and it is not a hell of an industry responsibility.

A dreamer and a virgin can't sit in the position of president of IBM.

"I ask you to think about what the computer market really did as the Leonards envisioned. What will be the result?"

"At least one thing they're right about is that there's no problem with the PC market getting rid of a third of its machines every three years. Because software is always evolving. The PC's hardware must be synchronized with the software. In other words, it's a gold mine that can never be mined. In the mainframe and server markets, the vast majority of commercial machines will run to the end of their lifespan. Because it can be optimized in a targeted manner, the software can tap the potential of the hardware, which is much more powerful than the vitality of PC software without optimization. ”

Everyone nodded unconsciously when they heard his words, even in the United States in the 80s, there were many companies operating the system360 computers produced by IBM in the 60s.

It's not surprising that mainframes have been in operation for ten or twenty years, because users just need to think that the function can be used, and there is no incentive to upgrade the hardware.

It's like the Xbox console developed by Microsoft in the future.

Because all games are optimized for Xbox, even with the Pentium III processor, the graphics will still have a place in the market a decade later.

Since software optimization can exploit the potential of hardware, there is no need to upgrade the hardware.

As a result, many times IBM has to meet the high after-sales costs to meet the continuous profitability, otherwise it will become a one-shot deal.

However, the after-sales problem gradually compresses the patience of users, which has somewhat affected IBM's reputation.

PC business.

This was an opportunity for Dave to end this endless loop.

"The Leonards' assumption is certainly good for the server market in the short term. However, in the long run, it will strictly hinder the speed of the upgrading of electronic enterprises. The revenue of the entire industry will be extremely shrunk because of this system, and there is no motivation to upgrade, should we be satisfied with selling a batch of servers? Colleagues, let us look a little longer. This kind of budget-conscious computer system will curb the speed of our development and lead our capital turnover from a predictable three-year generation to a five- to ten-year generation, and such a result is absolutely unacceptable. ”

Of course, IBM's senior management will not have stupid people, but from the perspective of IBM's existing business, I think there is nothing wrong with such a system.

But if you jump out of their respective interests, from the perspective of the IBM industry boss.

It will be found that this kind of system is clearly stifling the development of the computer industry.

The most lethal is the PC feast once every two or three years, which turns into a five- to ten-year server replacement, which is absolutely unbearable for IBM.

It's not entirely rational for an individual to buy a PC, after all, it's an individual consumer.

When a company buys a server, it is often much more difficult to sell than a personal computer, and it is more calculating.

With the same input, it is clear that the profits that personal computers can generate are far greater than the volume of commercial purchases.

Even if the money earned is the same, any company will choose a shorter capital turnover cycle.

If you do it like this, maybe even Moore's Law can be thrown in the garbage.

The process replacement speed of the computer industry will change from two years to five years, because you may have the need for replacement in five years.

IBM is not going to sit idly by and watch this happen.

"Can I say a word?"

IBM also has a department responsible for network technology development, and Carter is the head of the network technology development department, and he was specifically asked to attend this meeting.

"I don't think we need to worry too much about it for the time being, because the technology for this system is not available yet. The mainframe server used was cumbersome to customize, the terminal-to-server data transfer was immature, and there was no mature solution available in terms of software. The most important thing is that it takes a lot of capital to build a service network with this kind of computer system, and the Leonards' Cisco company should not have this capital, right?"

"Oh, the information I have shows that Cisco's profit from last year to now is only a pitiful $100,000. ”

Karen of the PR department took out a few jù and supported Carter's claim.

"So this should be a self-hype by Cisco, playing the sad card against the industry leader?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out. ”

Karen nodded.

According to the ABC television network, the ad was placed by the advertising agency Kelkelfe. They used the "A Day in the Life of the Chinese" documentary in their hands as a bargaining chip in exchange for the consent of the ABC television network. ”

"A day in the life of a Chinese? What does this have to do with the Chinese?"

Someone in the conference room who was not a brainer blurted out: "The conspiracy of the Chinese?"

"Hahahaha-"

Everyone in the audience laughed in unison, and even the person who said this lowered his head in shame.

Just by the Chinese, how is it possible!

Now is the honeymoon period between China and the United States, but the Chinese dare to do this kind of thing to give capital eye medicine, are they tired of living?

Besides, with the technology of the Chinese, even if the Cisco system is built, what is the benefit to them?

Even if the entire market falls to Cisco, it will be a reshuffle within American companies, and there will be no opportunity for Chinese companies to participate.

Such a thankless thing, the Chinese eat too much to survive, and set up enemies for themselves?

"I think it should have something to do with Cisco's Chinese investors. ”

Karen stepped forward to answer everyone's questions.

"I looked into Cisco's shareholding structure, and at least a significant portion of the stake is now in the hands of a Chinese named Enhaihu. This person is very mysterious, it is reported that he may be involved in the project of introducing F-14 from China, and he also has considerable achievements in the secondary battery market. According to the information, he bought the patent for 50 machines and routers shared with the Leonards in the hands of Stanford University. ”

"Cyber technology is likely to have considerable military uses, and we can consider this to be an attempt by the Chinese side to acquire technology. It was at this time that the Chinese Zhou and the Leonards got on the line. ”

"Please pay attention to the recent military news that Iraq and China have signed a contract worth $7 billion for the construction of Iraq's military communications network. ”

So I think it can be understood that the Leonards were worried that the ABC television network would be interfered with by other computer companies, so they used the power of the Chinese to protect themselves. ”

Dave mused, "Well, there's some truth to that speculation. So can we also talk to the Chinese and ask the ABC TV network to withdraw this advertisement?"

Karen put away the information in her hand, shook her head and said, "Our public relations department is working hard in this regard, but there is no result for the time being." ”

"Keep in touch and don't relax. ”

"Okay, Dave. ”

Karen nodded.

"So let's first get in touch with the Leonards, whether they are victims of paranoia, or arrogant businessmen. ”

"What if it's the latter?"

Joey, head of the business department in charge of business contacts, asked.

"Hmm-"

Dave pondered for a while and said lightly: "The ad is quite creative, if their technology is still meritorious, you can quote a good price and buy Cisco." ”

Joey laughed and shook her head, "Then they're so lucky." ”

Oh, yes.

If they accidentally implement this system, it will really be a big problem.

Dave thought so, just buy insurance.

(To be continued.)

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