Compared with the New York investor and media appreciation party, Tang Huan described the celebration banquet held in San Francisco as a family banquet because it is his home base.

The Shennong Foundation, which is like a virgin and sprinkles money everywhere, is headquartered in San Francisco.

Pacific Telecom, the pearl of the U.S. communications industry, which was acquired from AT&T at a huge cost, is also headquartered in San Francisco.

Yanle Entertainment Group, which controls EA, Hasbro, RadioShack, Luen America, MGM, Orion, KTVU, Oakland Raiders, Oakland Sportsmen, and Golden State Warriors, is also headquartered in San Francisco.

As for the distance between Silicon Valley and San Francisco, it's not an exaggeration to say it's close.

Because of its strong influence, the celebration banquet held at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel gathered almost all the celebrities in the San Francisco Bay Area, and there were also guests from Los Angeles and other places.

To Tang Huan's surprise, the biggest rival in the personal computer market, Don Estlic, who was in charge of IBM-PC, also rushed all the way over.

You must know that the reason why Tang Huan sent invitations to many peers, including competitors, and did not expect the other party to respond positively one by one, is that his main purpose is nothing more than to make a condescending leadership posture.

But as a result, all invitees showed up, regardless of whether they were friends or enemies, which can only be explained by his strong position in the industry.

Don Estlic was depressed because he had planned to hold an industry conference on the IBM-PC platform at the beginning of the year, but everyone went to San Francisco to cheer for him, which made Don Estlic very uneasy. I had to hurry up and take a look at the scene.

After the pleasantries. Tang Huan smiled playfully. "IBM's management is so generous that they let Compaq Computer go. Presumably, when you chose to disclose the specifications of IBM-PC, your original intention was not to make a wedding dress for others in vain. As soon as this example is opened, the IBM-PC compatible machine without any constraints will undoubtedly become a murderous white-eyed wolf, and the IBM-PC will be destroyed only by cost performance. They may be able to help the IBM-PC platform expand its market share, but do they have a dollar to do with you?"

Hearing Tang Huan's words about the relationship between IBM-PC and compatible machines, Don Estlic's face became ugly.

The decision to let Compaq Computer go. It was a decision made by the headquarters in the interests of IBM as a whole, not from his original intention. The purpose of the IBM-PC platform industry conference, which is being held, is to strengthen its leadership of IBM-PC and make up for the previous poor consideration.

Hiding in front of Tang Huan, a clear-eyed person, will only weaken the momentum. So Don Estlic said bluntly: "The decision of the headquarters is justified. I believe that Fangyuan Computer Company, whose product line covers supercomputers, servers, and personal computers, will also encounter the constraints of overall interests when making development plans for personal computer business. ”

"You're very eye-catching. Tang Huan, who showed admiration on his face, laughed loudly, "Maybe there is the situation you talked about." But Fangyuan Computer Company does not have as much historical baggage as IBM. ”

I have to say that Don Estlic saw the key point.

In the original time and space. The reason why Big Blue has made all sorts of stupid decisions in the PC industry that outsiders may seem unthinkable is that IBM's management is thinking in the interests of the company as a whole, and they are always worried that the booming PC business will hit the traditional mainframe computer business, which is the main source of profits.

Fangyuan Computer Company, whose business scope is no longer limited to personal computers, will inevitably encounter such troubles.

However, unlike IBM, which has a large number of mainframe users and needs constant maintenance, Fangyuan Computer's high-end products such as servers and workstations are in the stage of active expansion, and Tang Huan will not deliberately set a machine performance ceiling for these products and personal computers to avoid competing for market share.

The current era is the era when you catch up, both inside and outside the enterprise.

Naturally, Tang Huan could not have explained these plans to Don Estlic. He ended up just patting the other man on the shoulder, saying "Anyway, thank you for coming, please enjoy this banquet" before turning around to entertain the others.

……

When he saw the Microsoft trio of Bill Gates, Paul Allen, and Steve Ballmer, Tang Huan smiled and said: "You are all here, it's really rare, take some time, everyone sits down and plays bridge together." ”

Withdrawing his gaze from the direction of Mitchell Kapole of Lotus, Gates forced a smile and nodded, "Of course." ”

The main reason why Gates couldn't get up the buck was because Microsoft had recently run into tricky trouble - MultiPlan, a spreadsheet software with high hopes, was quickly defeated in the face of the newly emerging counterpart, the Lotus 1-2-3.

It's fair to say that Gates is definitely a veteran in the field of personal computers, and he began to mix in the circle as early as the mid-1970s when the first personal computers such as the Cowherd Star were introduced.

However, because of this, Gates was held back by the initial success of BASIC, and although he recognized the importance of software for personal computers early on, he was complacent that the programming language needed for every computer was everything, and thus missed many opportunities.

Microsoft's launch of MultiPlan, a spreadsheet software, is a testament to Gates' awakening and remedy.

It's a pity that MultiPlan was born at an untimely time, and just after tasting a little sweetness in the market, Lotus 1-2-3 was born.

This software written in assembly language has almost no bugs, just like the original AppleII version of the spreadsheet software CGrid, which was launched by Tang Huan at the beginning, and was a great success as soon as it appeared on the IBM-PC platform, and in more than two months, it mercilessly trampled VisiCalc, MultiPlan, SuperGrid and other predecessors.

To know. At this stage, Microsoft's profit point is mainly based on BASIC.

The $1 million deal between Gates and IBM. Among them, $400,000 is PASCAL and COBOL. The cost of the assembler for the four programming languages of FORTRAN, BASIC, with an additional $400,000 being an upfront payment of $1 per IBM-PC operating system license fee for MS-DOS, and the remaining $200,000 for one year of labor for adapting MS-DOS to run correctly on IBM-PCs.

One of the important agreements was that as long as IBM pre-installed Microsoft's BASIC in the machine's basic structure, it would be able to use MS-DOS for a limited time without having to pay for the license.

In other words, Gates is giving away MS-DOS usage rights for free. Opened up a new sales channel for his BASIC.

However, BASIC is an abstract programming language that is not as widely applicable as spreadsheets, so MultiPlan has become a very important addition to Microsoft's product line.

But now that Lotus1-2-3 has tortured MultiPlan to death, it is tantamount to giving Microsoft a stick head-on, and Gates' heart is simply dripping blood, so it's no wonder that he can be happy.

"Don, do you know that the rapid popularity of Lotus 1-2-3 has given IBM-PC sales a shot in the arm. Steve Ballmer sighed meaningfully.

"It doesn't matter if I know it or not, it's not me who should be in the most anxious place. Tang Huan smiled slightly. "Why, after being slapped with a smack by Lotus 1-2-3. Some of you can't find the north anymore. ”

Steve Ballmer looked embarrassed and coughed lightly, "Aren't you afraid of such a dark horse, although Lotus1-2-3 is not as powerful as CGrid, but as long as it enters the Fangyuan computer and AppleII platform, it can still stir up trouble." ”

"Are you trying to make a fool of me?" Seeing Gates and Paul Allen looking at each other, Tang Huan quipped.

"Of course, I asked. Steve Ballmer hurriedly complimented.

Realistically speaking, there is no obvious conflict of interest between Microsoft and Tang Huan at present, and both sides tacitly respect each other's territory, just like Gates's BASIC and Gary Kildare's CP/M well water does not interfere with river water.

In particular, Tang Huan, who is on the strong side, not only does not covet the BASIC market, but also generously introduces it into the Fangyuan computer platform and DBase database environment.

Otherwise, the Microsoft trio would not have been so convinced in front of Tang Huan, and even "asked shamelessly" when they were sick.

"I've never been afraid to fight each other in front of the gong, and that's the most decent way to beat my opponent, but with the right technique, I don't give up unnecessarily. Tang Huan made a gesture, "The side that controls the platform and rule resources will have the best chance of having the last laugh." ”

Speaking of this, Tang Huan dropped the sentence "I'll go to Compaq computer first, don't forget that we will play cards together at night", and then got up and left.

"What do you mean by Don?" asked Paul Allen, puzzled.

The thoughtful Gates replied slowly: "He reminded us that in order to defeat the Lotus 1-2-3 attack, we still need to work product development, and don't forget that we have the advantage of MS-DOS, the operating system." ”

"But today's programmers can bypass our MS-DOS and directly call the BIOS function of IBM-PC, and we can't restrict it at all. Paul Allen scratched his head with regret.

"But the software still runs in MS-DOS, isn't it? Gates raised his glass and took a sip, "The key is that MS-DOS is still too simple at present, if it can be as powerful as Free-DOS on Fangyuan computer, with a complete high-level programming interface, programmers are not willing to bypass the operating system and frequently call obscure underlying system functions." ”

"IBM is working on a new PC based on the Intel 80286, and ......," Steve Ballmer lowered, "we're also working on an operating system with a graphical user interface, which is an opportunity to change the platform and the rules, and we can quietly make adjustments to our advantage while ensuring compatibility with the forward software." However, in this way, we can no longer do what IBM says. ”

Paul Allen snorted, "IBM's imposed limit on the maximum memory capacity support for MultiPlan is making us miserable, and of course we can't trust IBM so much." ”

"I think that's what Don meant. Gates nodded approvingly, "But this is the long view, the current spreadsheet war, we must not give up, and we must continue to fight." ”

……

In fact, there is one thing that Tang Huan has not had time to clarify, that is, with the emergence of IBM-PC compatible machines such as Compaq Computer, MS-DOS will inevitably usher in a great opportunity like the sale of BASIC to various manufacturers.

Seeing Don Estlic walking to Lotus and chatting and laughing with Mitchell Kapole, Tang Huan saw the opportunity to leave the Microsoft trio and walk quickly to the next Compaq computer group.

The two companies, Lotus and Compaq, are linked by a common venture capitalist, Benjamin Rosen, and are invisibly close to each other.

While shaking hands with Rod Kenyon, CEO of Compaq Computer, who stood up to greet him, Tang Huan laughed loudly: "I have seen Compaq's portable personal computers, which are very good products, no wonder they are very popular in the market. ”

Rod Kenyon was so praised that he quickly invited Tang Huan to sit down and diligently discuss the prospects of the personal computer industry.

It is no exaggeration to say that in the eyes of many people, Tang Huan is now similar to Warren Buffett who auctioned off the opportunity to eat together in the original time and space, with profound industry insight, and every sentence may indicate a business opportunity.

"Well, are you interested in manufacturing a compatible machine for Fangyuan computers? With your strength in developing IBM-PC compatible machines, there should be no difficulty. Tang Huan found a gap and asked sincerely.

"Of course I can't ask for it. However, at present, Compaq is still busy digesting the technical achievements of IBM-PC compatible machines, and it is not yet able to take into account the compatible machines of Fangyuan computers for the time being. Rod Kenyon smiled bitterly and replied regretfully.

Their high-minded remarks soon attracted the attention of Don Estlic, who was not far away.

Given the momentum of Lotus 1-2-3, it was only a matter of time before it replaced VisiCalc, Don Estlic had to change his backing and woo Mitchell Kapole.

I didn't expect Tang Huan to be doing similar work, seeing this scene, Don Estlic was so angry, and said in his heart that you are a dignified new billionaire, as for going into battle to dig the foot of the wall in person?

Don Estlic walked over quickly and interjected lightly: "Compaq has obtained all the technical specifications and licenses of IBM-PC for $1 million, can Fangyuan Computer also achieve such preferential conditions?"

"It's a matter of people. Tang Huan shrugged his shoulders, said "more contact" to Rod Kenyon, and then got up to leave.

The seeds of suspicion had been planted, and he didn't bother to continue performing. (To be continued......)