"When are you planning Lotus 1-2-3?" asked Benjamin Rosen, pointing to the monitor screen, stopping the energetic Mitchell Kapole.

It has to be said that given Mitchell Kapole's mismatched past, Benjamin Rosen is not as easy to trust as Rod Kenyon of Compaq.

Therefore, when it comes to product schedules, Lotus Software gives Benjamin Rosen the impression that it is not as reliable as Compaq Computer.

"The functions of Lotus1-2-3 in electronic trial calculation have been basically completed, and the functions in drawing and database are still poor. So, I have a basis for saying that Lotus 1-2-3 is more powerful than other spreadsheet software on the IBM-PC platform. ”

Mitchell Kapole's psychology major was not for nothing, and he had already noticed the suspicion that Benjamin Rosen had inadvertently revealed.

"In the next time, we will get the unfinished functions and carefully eliminate the bugs, so that Lotus1-2-3 is more mature than Zheru software. ”

Mitchell Kapol brought a scribbled software development notebook to Benjamin Rosen, "At the current pace, Lotus 1-2-3 can catch up with the Las Vegas COMDEX at the end of November." When the time comes, we will become famous in one fell swoop. ”

Seeing that Mitchell Kapole, who had been playing tricks, finally came up with the written materials, Benjamin Rosen's perception finally improved.

"COMDEX at the end of November was a coincidence. Benjamin Rosen talking to himself. I can't help but think of Compaq computers with the same schedule.

"Neither CompaqPortable nor Lotus 1-2-3 are completely original. But they are the first of their kind on the IBM-PC platform. A piece of hardware. One piece of software, two firsts added together, may really be a blockbuster, a delicious piece of cake from IBM. In this way, before you know it, you have two good cards in your hand at the same time. Could it be that Lady Luck is starting to favor me? ”

The more he thought about it, the more excited Benjamin Rosen became, and he tried to settle down. Stretching his body and leaning back in the chair, he crossed Erlang's legs and asked leisurely, "Mitchell, is there any contact with VisiCorp, and how has their interest dispute with SA been resolved?"

Dan Bricklin's spreadsheet software, VisiCalc, is a joint venture between the two companies in terms of technology development and market operation, and the sales revenue is distributed according to the previously agreed proportion.

As sales revenue enters the range of tens of millions of dollars, the originally inconspicuous microcomputer software has become a hen that can lay golden eggs, and a few tenths of a percent figure means tens of thousands of dollars in profits and losses.

That's it. Holding IBM's thighs, VisiCorp is on the rise. There was a conflict with the original partner SA Company.

Benjamin Rosen was very speechless about this situation, but fortunately, he did not have many resources invested in VisiCorp, and he could withdraw at any time.

"I don't bother to care about them. Mitchell Kapole replied nonchalantly, "When the Lotus 1-2-3 is officially launched on the market, the first person to be trampled under the feet is VisiCorp." ”

Hearing the resentment in Mitchell Kapole's words, Benjamin Rosen couldn't help but laugh.

……

Looking at the IT industry information briefing collected and sorted out by his subordinates, Tang Huan shook his head and smiled, his brother still has to settle accounts, isn't it okay for VisiCorp and SA to find trouble.

A few years ago, everyone was still focusing on computer hardware, but with the rapid popularization of Gary Kildare's operating system CP/M, Tang Huan's spreadsheet CGrid and other ace software, it is natural that more and more people specialize in the software business.

This trend can be seen from the amount of advertising in magazines and newspapers.

Tang Huan can also find information in other aspects, such as Microsoft, under the painstaking management of Gates, has finally entered the ranks of companies with sales revenue of tens of millions of dollars.

Of course, Gates is still the younger brother behind Tang Huan and Jobs.

However, backwardness also has the advantages of backwardness, such as not caring so much about face, and doing something "shameful and courageous".

For this reason, Charles Simeone, the vice president in charge of software research and development, specially reminded his engineers - fire prevention, anti-theft and anti-gates, because the other party has always been tirelessly stealing teachers, and now he is wandering around here in Zheru.

Regarding this situation, Charles Simeone complained a lot in front of Tang Huan, and bluntly suggested that he should not give face to Gates who doesn't know how to restrain himself, and should beat him well.

But Tang Huan just replied with a grin, "Everyone has known each other for so long, how can you be embarrassed not to be emotional, if he wants to steal the teacher, you should pay attention to secrecy." ”

Tang Huan's vague attitude made Charles Simeone very depressed, and he could only passively watch out for the shrewd Gates like a thief, and made a lot of jokes.

The reason why Tang Huan did this, of course, has his own considerations, you know, Gates is an energetic and ambitious person.

IBM chose Microsoft's MS-DOS as the operating system for IBM-PC, and Don Estlic chose Dan Bricklin's VisiCalc as the signature spreadsheet software on the IBM-PC platform.

According to the thinking of the big brother of the blue giant, the little brothers like Microsoft, who follow his ass and eat together, should eat within the range he has demarcated, and they can't mess up the rules.

But Gates, who has always been ambitious, was not carried away by the surprise of hugging IBM's lap, he knew too well the power of the blue giant, and the main reason why the other party chose to complete the operating system by himself was that the launch of IBM-PC was in a hurry.

It can be said that IBM would have changed its mind on a whim. It's perfectly possible to kick Microsoft away without any scruples. Build your own operating system.

Therefore. Guarding against danger, Gates tried his best to curry favor with IBM at MS-DOS, while actively expanding his software product line, such as spreadsheets, word processing, and other popular programs that Microsoft began to get involved in.

Of course, IBM is not satisfied with Gates's restlessness, MS-DOS, you haven't developed it for me, so you are thinking about it?

Thereupon. While increasing the pressure on Gates in the development of MS-DOS, the blue giant asked Microsoft's new spreadsheet software MultiPlan to closely match the hardware specifications of its own products, focusing on the performance of the software on IBM-PCs with a memory capacity of no more than 256KB.

Obviously, this means that MultiPlan is difficult to handle spreadsheet software with much larger data volumes.

At present, Microsoft does not have enough capital to fight, so it can only bow down to the mercy of its big brother, IBM.

But this also made Gates more and more aware that IBM, which has a clear product line plan, has always consciously avoided the challenge of personal computers to its original high-end products, which is very dangerous for Microsoft, which only relies on the personal computer market to make a living.

That's it. Gates' expansion of Microsoft's product line has not stopped. It's getting bigger and bigger. No matter how difficult Charles Simeone is, he is here in Zheru, he is a cold eyebrow, bowing his head and willing to be a son of a cow.

Gates' ambition and half-heartedness towards IBM is exactly what Tang Huan wants to see, and the more uncertainties there are on the IBM-PC platform, the more he likes to hear about it.

Don't you want to steal the teacher, but what you can learn in this way is limited after all, and IBM-PC is squeezed by Fangyuan Computer to expand the market scale slowly, and the more Microsoft tosses according to its own interest standards, the more it can prevent the power of this platform from being huddled together.

Compared with this "differentiation" benefit, Charles Simeone's concerns can naturally be relinquished.

……

When Gates came back, Tang Huan smiled and said, "Bill, Apple invited me to visit the R&D process of AppleIIGS, and you can also go and have a look, and by the way, the BASIC support problem will be solved." ”

When such a good thing came to the door, Gates of course happily agreed, and happily accompanied Tang Huan to Apple's Apple II department, where Watts and Bill Mensch were already waiting.

Now Apple is divided into three major parts in terms of power according to products, AppleII, Lisa, and MAC, which is controlled by Jobs himself, as for AppleIII, the money-losing goods that failed in the market, they have long been tragically deliberately ignored and have no sense of existence.

The Apple II division now provides financial support for Apple, but because Watts is not good at corporate political battles, the result is that the Apple II is generally considered an outdated product, and its status is not as high as that of the MAC, and even the upcoming Lisa.

How else to say that Apple at this stage is a strange thing, in addition to Jobs's middle two, this phenomenon of white-eyed wolves eating meat and scolding their mothers actually exists in a grand manner.

The people in the AppleII department are naturally dissatisfied, obviously we have brought absolute profits to the company and fed a large number of people, so why should we be discriminated against.

But Woz is too soft, and the Apple II division lacks a strong leader, so it can only endure grievances.

Tang Huan didn't want Apple, a little partner who shared the pressure, to fall, so he kept pointing to the Apple II department.

As for Lisa and MAC, because of the strange thing of the graphical user interface, the secrecy is extremely high, and he doesn't bother to mess with it, anyway, these two projects are not as friendly to Zheru software as AppleII.

In fact, supporting AppleII is also a major achievement of Tang Huan's power division within Apple, which makes him now only a nominal member of Apple's board of directors, but still has a great influence.

The second-generation Apple series of products from the original Apple II. Evolved to AppleIIPlus, and now AppleIIe, it has been updated for three generations in six years.

Apple's top management, including Woz, basically reached a consensus that the AppleIIe upgraded from AppleII's expansion card technology from Tang Huan basically made the 8-bit AppleII reach its peak, and there is no need to continue a comprehensive technical upgrade.

In other words, the Apple II ended with the Apple IIe as far as the 8-bit PC was concerned.

However, there is still room for improvement in the 8-bit Apple II, and that is the increasingly popular portable personal computer.

Seeing that Fangyuan Computer launched Fangyuan portable personal computer first, it was very successful, and Apple was also moved, so it was ready to launch its own portable personal computer on the basis of AppleIIe - AppleIIc.

The degree of technological innovation of this project is very limited, so it naturally cannot attract the interest of technical masters such as Tang Huan and Woz, who focus on the 16-bit Apple II.

Given the success of the graphics and sound capabilities of the second-generation Fangyuan and IBM-PCs in attracting consumers, Apple hopes that the direct successor to the Apple IIe will also have this advantage.

So, Apple, which focuses on Graphics and Sound, named this new product AppleIIGS.

Since Tang Huan supports the AppleIIGS project, its compatibility with Zheru software will naturally reach a perfect level.

In order to achieve this goal, the project team led by Woz, according to Tang Huan's suggestion, chose Bill Mensch's microprocessor W65C816.

Tang Huan started from developing CGrid, a spreadsheet software for AppleII, and started digging the first pot of gold, and launched many heavyweight software products on the CPU platform of MOS6502.

You know, every line of code is a fortune, and it would be a shame to have to abandon these old products because MOS6502 microprocessor is becoming obsolete in the field of personal computers, or if you have to put a lot of effort into maintaining the code to keep the software running.

Therefore, Tang Huan has been actively looking for a MOS6502 16-bit CPU successor in order to protect the value of the old version of the software like Intel's Intel8086 compatible with Intel8080.

Eventually, the WesternDesign Center founded by Bill Mensch fell into Tang Huan's eyes. (To be continued......)