"The key now is not to argue about the advantages and disadvantages of the two technologies, hot bubble and piezoelectric technology, but the market timing of inkjet printers. ”

Tang Huan shook his head, "dot matrix printers have innate limitations, and they will inevitably give way to inkjet printers, and Canon in Japan and HP in the United States have achieved first-mover advantages respectively. ”

"Then we accept Canon's conditions?" Yasukawa Hideaki was a little unwilling.

"Being knocked out by Canon, we can make up for it in the stock market, we have put together the inkjet printer this piece of territory, investors will not understand the meaning, Canon must have seen this, so we are so determined. ”

Tang Huan waved his hand, "This deal, just follow other people's thoughts." In addition, since we are interested in the research and development of piezoelectric inkjet printers, we cannot live up to this enthusiasm, and perhaps in the future, Canon will ask us in this regard. ”

Seeing that the big boss had made a decision, Yasukawa Hideaki and others obeyed the arrangement and unified their internal understanding to operate.

Tang Huan then began to inspect Epson's product line, especially the 24-pin LQ-2400 series printer with font library.

Driven by Tang Huan's whip, the technical upgrade of Epson's dot matrix printer can be described as non-stop, and its development route is somewhat similar to the kind taken by the CPU in the original time and space, beginning to simply emphasize the main frequency, and then turn to pursue multi-core and parallel roads. Its printhead number of pins quickly goes from 7 pins. Increased to 9, 12, 16. and even the current 24 stitches.

After climbing to the top in the vertical direction, the technology of Epson dot matrix printers began to develop horizontally, such as the built-in font system, faster printing speed, improved printing resolution, and so on.

The LQ-2400 was designed and produced with the goal of Epson's most successful dot matrix printer model, the LQ-1600K, which has sold more than one million units.

This year, Epson's dot matrix printers have a market share of more than 80% in Japan, becoming an absolute hegemon that is jaw-dropping.

You must know that the importance of Japanese companies to the market share of products has reached the level of paranoia. The achievements of Epson dot matrix printers can be said to have led countless heroes to bend their waists.

As a result, Epson worshiped the development blueprint planned by Tang Huan from top to bottom, and had long forgotten the previous owner, the Hattori family.

Under such high spirits, Epson naturally resented being knocked off by Canon on the inkjet printer, and had the ambition to start a new stove and develop piezoelectric inkjet printers.

Of course, Tang Huan will not waste the subjective initiative of the Japanese, but he still keeps a clear mind in his heart.

In the original time and space. Epson achieved unprecedented success in the field of dot matrix printers, and as a result, it went all the way in this direction. As a result, I missed the best time to enter the inkjet printer, and when I woke up, I was already quite passive.

If it hadn't been for the success of piezoelectric inkjet printer development, Epson might have had to be removed from the printer field.

Therefore, Tang Huan insisted on letting Epson compromise in front of Canon, who let the family work hard in the field of printers and made breakthroughs in inkjet printers, even cheap laser printers, HP has to learn art and pay tuition.

In addition, Epson's performance in the market is unlikely to continue, peers in surprise and envy, has begun to pour into the market, and the LQ-2400 series printer is the biggest barrier for Epson to maintain its position in the industry.

In addition to printers, Epson has also included scanners and fax machines in its product lineup.

Most importantly, Tang Huan also handed over the R&D and manufacturing of CD players and CD drives to Epson, who was completely controlled by him.

"When we go public next year, we'll expand our business scope. Tang Huan smiled and confided in Yasukawa Hideaki about his plans.

……

After seeing Masayoshi Son, who was shining in the field of financing, Tang Huan couldn't help frowning, "Are you overworked, why do you look a little haggard, it's okay with your body?"

In front of Tang Huan, Son Zhengyi didn't have to stretch his shelf, stretched his body as much as possible, and lay on the sofa, "As soon as the nerves relaxed, I really felt a little tired." ”

Son's way of working is a bit similar to the type of pyramid scheme, and now he is so lazy, it can be seen that he is really tired, but it is precisely because Son's lobbying is extremely contagious that he can achieve such breathtaking results.

However, Tang Huan also learned more or less about the mentality of the current Japanese financiers from his own financing channels, that is, they have an infatuation with American assets, not to mention the good meat of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.

To some extent, Son is taking advantage of the situation.

"Then you can have a good rest, I will meet with the representatives of Fangyuan computer compatible machine manufacturers, and then we will go to the United States together. "I was a little worried about the health of Masayoshi Son, a workaholic, so Tang Huan specially arranged it.

For Sharp and Sony, these partners of Fangyuan Computer, Tang Huan can be said to be benevolent and righteous, and after issuing the authorization license, he also helped him to get on the horse and send a technical commissioner to give advice.

These Japanese did not disappoint Tang Huan, and the prototype will be unveiled collectively at this month's COMDEX, and it is estimated that there will be a whirlwind of Fangyuan computer standards at that time.

……

In the conference room of IBM's headquarters in Armonk, New York, in the eastern United States, Don Estlic, with a thick brow, waited anxiously for the meeting to begin.

"Don, come so early. Bill Lowo, the head of the chess project and now in high office, walked over and patted Don Estlic on the shoulder, "It looks like you're in a bad mood." ”

It was on the recommendation of Bill Lowo that Don Estlic was able to succeed Bill Lowo over the other senior members of the chess project. Become a leader. He was promoted to the current position of Director of the Personal Computer Division.

Therefore. The relationship between the two was quite good, and Don Estlic naturally did not need to hide his thoughts, so he calmly replied, "There are many troubles, and I don't know where to start for a while." ”

"Then let's just say it. Bill Lovo, who was proud of the spring breeze in the workplace, laughed.

In order to obtain Zheru's Chinese information technology authorization, the headquarters actually withdrew IBM-PC's patent lawsuit against the second-generation Fangyuan computer, and the previous efforts were all in vain. ”

Don Estlic couldn't help but complain depressedly, "Now the bus of IBM-PC and the bus of the second-generation Fangyuan computer are called ISA. But people are in a first-mover advantage, making us seem like plagiarism, what's going on? ”

Bill Lovo, who has jumped out of the circle of personal computers, could not be as worried about the country and the people as Don Estlic did, and he explained with some routine: "The headquarters will naturally have higher-level considerations, after all, IBM has many products. ”

"Yes, for IBM, the PC division is just a very ordinary department, and product sales seem to be booming, but the profits are inevitably limited. ”

Don Estlic sighed in self-pity. "Perhaps it is the life-and-death link between the personal computer business and the company that Apple and Fangyuan will perform so well. ”

"Don't be presumptuous. The management board is still very satisfied with the performance of the PC division, and the monthly sales volume has exceeded 8,000 units. ”

Bill Lowo patted Don Estlic on the shoulder again, "If this trend continues, the PC division should end this year with 10,000 units sold per month, which is absolutely outstanding." In my impression, it has only been more than half a year since the product was launched to the market to achieve such a high sales volume, which IBM has never achieved before. ”

"But the monthly sales volume of Apple computers has exceeded 30,000 units, and the monthly sales volume of the second-generation Fangyuan computers ......," Don Estlici shook his head reluctantly, "and it is okay not to say it." ”

IBM is a behemoth with a kingdom of its own, and Bill Lowo and Don Estlic still have a lot of workplace information to interact with in addition to their personal computers, but it didn't take long for the meeting to begin.

The fiscal year 1980-1981 has ended, and as a public company, IBM naturally has to prepare its annual report, and many of the topics of this meeting are to discuss various financial figures.

The current CEO of IBM, John Opel, who has made Microsoft hug the lap of the blue giant and become the dignitary of Gates, frowned, pointed to a column on the report and asked, "Why has the performance of the Far East declined so obviously?"

"The main reason is that in addition to Wang An Computer Company, there is a more difficult Fangyuan Computer Company, and their products have done a good job in language localization in the Far East, which greatly squeezes the living space of our products. The corresponding person in charge talked eloquently.

"Is Fangyuan Computer Company the PC company in Silicon Valley?" After receiving an affirmative answer, John Opel's eyes moved, and finally found Don Estlic in the crowd, "The PC department is doing well this year, do you have any new plans?"

"We have two new plans for the follow-up product development of IBM-PC. Don Estlic, who had been given the opportunity to speak, lifted his spirits and narrated his ideas.

"The first solution is to optimize and improve the current IBM-PC, and launch the new IBM-PCXT, the main feature of which is equipped with hard disks. The second solution is to use Intel's next-generation microprocessor 80286 to develop a new model, IBM-PCAT. ”

"Will IBM-PC shipments reach the current 30,000 units of Apple PCs next year?" a member of the management committee asked.

"Gentlemen, I would like to reiterate once again that the real opponent of IBM-PC is not the rotten Apple that is showing off its power in the market, but the Fangyuan computer that hides behind it and conquers the high-end market of personal computers. Apple Computer, which is armed with Zheru Software, has now become the thug of Fangyuan Computer, stalking IBM-PC in the low-end market of personal computers, which involves our energy. Don Estlic did not give a positive answer, but instead introduced the general pattern of the PC market, which improved to the proposal that he had failed to pass on the previous two times.

"According to the latest intelligence analysis I have got, the current monthly shipments of the second-generation Fangyuan computer should have exceeded at least 12,000 units. This figure seems to be overshadowed by the 30,000 units of Apple computers, but don't forget that the base model of the current second-generation Fangyuan computer is also close to $3,000, which is twice as much as the Apple II. Therefore, Fangyuan Computer is the de facto leader in the current personal computer market. ”

Don Estlic had not been able to give such detailed data at the meeting before, but this time he was more prepared, and sure enough, as soon as the words fell, everyone in the audience gasped.

"How did Fangyuan Computer's performance achieve such a degree?" someone immediately instinctively asked.

"It's software. Don Estlic replied in a heavy tone, "When customers buy Fangyuan computers, they often get corresponding industry application solutions. Zheru Software has an ERP department with at least 1,000 people, all of which are practitioners with rich industry experience, who are responsible for project consulting, implementation, training and service. ”

"How did you get this information?" said Don Estlic so eloquently, which naturally aroused the curiosity of some people.

Don Estlic groaned slightly, "Microsoft's Gates told me that he frequented Apple and Philip in Cupertino. According to his observations, Zheru's project management level is no worse than IBM's, otherwise it would not be so efficient in product innovation. ”

Speaking of this, Don Estlic raised his tone, "Now that Fangyuan Computer has licensed the production of compatible machines to many companies, including HP, this move is undoubtedly to make Fangyuan Computer's product standards become the de facto standard of the personal computer industry, IBM-PC must not sit still, and should go one step further, disclose the specifications of IBM-PC, and break Fangyuan Computer's attempt." ”

As soon as Don Estlic finished speaking, there was a lot of discussion in the conference room again, and the voices of opposition were endless.

……

"Speaking of which, how did you get around here again, I remember you suggested it twice before. Why does IBM publish its research results free of charge? Not to mention that IBM-PC sales are so promising now. ”

"That is, if IBM-PC really wants to do this, how will others talk about it? Is it scared, or can't afford to flip the table?"

……

Don Estlic took over with a serious face, "That's right, IBM-PC is just going to flip the table." (To be continued......)