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At this stage, the performance of supercomputers has exceeded the 1000 GFLOPS mark, which is 1 TFLOPS. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

Fangyuan's latest supercomputer, with the help of Zheru's 64-bit RISC microprocessor Holder, reached 2.3796 TFLOPS - but according to predictions, this is a technical test and first placed in Cupertino for its own use, whether the world's strongest name will survive until the end of this century, because 64-bit RISC microprocessors are maturing and exploding.

Tang Huan's diligent pursuit of supercomputers is not only interested in the product sales revenue and various honors it can bring, but also its own application needs.

For example, the analysis of biotechnology companies, the simulation of autonomous driving of automobile companies, and the financial model of investment companies...... Wait a minute.

In particular, this kind of superhuman computing power provided for the financial field is even more favored by the richest man.

Judging by the signs that have been observed, international capital speculators have viciously set their sights on targets in Asia. After all, opening a position is a gradual and continuous process, and no matter how quietly they prepare, they can be captured by those who have a heart.

Mr. The richest man's "following the trend" action this time, seeking wealth is secondary, and the other purpose is the most important; And with more computing power, it is obvious that you will be more comfortable with it.

The hardware of a supercomputer is only a minimum foundation, and the actual performance of the specific operation depends on the level of software preparation.

Therefore, Tang Huan specially expressed his condolences to the researchers who came from Bell Labs.

After AT&T spun off Lucent, which specializes in telecommunications equipment, Bell Labs, a purely research institution, inevitably suffered a heavy blow in an atmosphere of pursuing only utilitarian profits, and the technical elite among them had to find their own way out, and many of them went to work on Wall Street as financial analysts.

It may seem strange that Bell Labs researchers have gone to Wall Street, but in fact it is quite normal -- including some NASA engineers -- who have the capital to make such cross-border career changes.

The reason for this is very simple - these researchers have a good mathematical foundation, and in the past, they would need to do their own work and write some code on the computer to assist in their research. As a result, they have become masters who are proficient in both esoteric mathematical algorithms and mature computer programming skills.

The richest man hired such technologists to build a model for each Asian economy to dynamically assess its shock tolerance, time to collapse, and so on.

……

When Tang Huan returned to Cupertino from Mountain View, Andy Grove's preferred successor, Craig Barrett, was already waiting in the office.

Everyone was an acquaintance, and there was no need to say too much to each other, and the conversation quickly turned to the point.

In fact, when Intel's first 32-bit microprocessor, Intel_iAPX_432, in the true sense, failed more slowly than the 16-bit Intel_80286, Craig Barrett, Paul Otellin, and others became important communicators between Intel and Zheru's microprocessor departments and software departments, and their achievements in the operating system support and optimization of x86 family microprocessors and the introduction of RISC technology advantages are obvious to all.

Now that Craig Barrett has become Intel's CEO, Intel's personal relationship with Zheru, Zheru Software, Fang Yuan, and even his personal relationship with Tang Huan needs to be re-examined - which is the main reason why Craig Barrett seized the time to meet Tang IT.

Intel under the leadership of Andy Grove has reservations about Tang Huan's attitude in terms of CPUs, and even guards against obvious performance, in addition to cooperating with the California Institute of Technology to develop a supercomputer with a computing performance of more than 1 TFLOPS using Pentium_Pro, there are also 64-bit CPUs.

In the late 1980s, Hewlett-Packard proposed an instruction set architecture called Explicitly_Parallel_Instruction_Computing - Explicit Parallel Instruction Operations, or EPIC. The general principle is that the CPU schedules resources and executes them in parallel through the software compiler, rather than adding hardware complexity.

Andy Grove took Intel and joined the EPIC Alliance to develop a 64-bit microprocessor.

This phenomenon reflects the discord between Intel, which has always wanted to enter the high-end market, and Tang Huan.

Just as the leadership of the major powers has to talk to each other on the phone and reach consensus on certain important issues, Craig Barrett needs to settle some of the problems left by his predecessor as soon as possible - if nothing else, the personal computer, which is the largest consumer market for Intel's microprocessors, must be maintained.

The bearing of Mr. the richest man is still very graceful!

Intel sent its own CPU to the supercomputer, which is a good thing, indicating that the product performance has made great progress; Intel's joining the EPIC Alliance is also a good thing, after all, it is not easy to develop a 64-bit microprocessor, and multiple spare tires can also be safeguarded.

Will Zheru's RISC microprocessor Holder be affected by Intel's actions? Not yet. Holder has a lot of competitors, and after MIPS, SPARC, Power, Alpha, etc., I don't care about one more at all!

Tang IT's attitude is very clear -- Intel's microprocessors will only further improve their status in the personal computer industry.

However, because of this, Tang Huan still believes that Intel's 64-bit CPU direction should be based on compatibility with existing x86 family microprocessors, just like the x86 family microprocessors that introduced some RISC technologies into CISC to rejuvenate them - the prospect of this solution will not be worse than Intel's restarting when it joins the EPIC Alliance.

In addition, Intel should try to diversify its business to reduce the risk of cyclical fluctuations in the industry - Tang Huan cites Hollywood studios outside the circle and Netscape in the circle as examples of how tragic it is to hang yourself from a tree.

Craig Barrett, who had a pleasant conversation with the richest man, humbly asked: "If Intel diversifies, which direction should it choose?" ”

Tang Huan pointed out very happily: "For example, the trend of integrating traditional network cards into motherboard chips for network solutions has been obvious, and new technologies and applications such as Gigabit Ethernet, wireless LAN, and network firewalls are also the general trend, and even low power consumption and mobile communication can also become a new direction for Intel products." ”

Speaking of which, Tang Huan specifically mentioned: "Presumably you have also seen the latest popularity, which is bound to replace all traditional external removable storage products, including floppy disks, U disks - its further application is the current role of hard disks, but due to the different principles of reading and writing, in terms of service life, main control performance, etc., further in-depth research and development is needed, and Intel, with its existing foundation, is fully qualified to enter this promising field and gain a first-mover advantage." ”

Craig Barrett nodded his head from time to time, and finally asked tentatively, "Don, how do you think the field of solar energy is an option for diversification?" ”

Mr. The richest man smiled slightly, "Intel's way to make a profit is to invest heavily in early research and development, and make money back through the time difference in the market - if you can change this single model, it is possible to withstand the impact of Asian manufacturing, including Yiyi, South Korea, and even China, then there will be more diversified options." ”

……

Not in his position, not in his politics.

Although Craig Barrett had many opportunities to communicate with Tang Huan before, his level and realm were definitely not as good as today's, so when he said goodbye and left, he could be described as satisfied, full of confidence, full of ambition, and full of spirit.

As soon as the new CEO of Intel was sent off, the assistant reported a news from Apple Computer - Jobs has officially announced that Apple Computer's next-generation computer products will use Holder microprocessors, and then say goodbye to IBM's PowerPC. As for the reason, it is because of the obvious difference between the two in terms of the richness of the software ecosystem.

After Tang Huan heard this, he smiled slightly-Jobs's movements were quite fast, and in such a short period of time, he sorted out a clear context of Apple's chaotic personal computer product line.

In order to share and bear the excessive achievements and resources in his hands, the next move arranged by the richest man for Apple Computer is to "de-computerize" and become Apple.

However, this matter will not be in a hurry for a year or two; Apple Computer first came up with a product that was attractive enough for consumers to get out of the predicament.

And he, the leader of Silicon Valley, is not ordinary busy, but also has to go to the headquarters of Hewlett-Packard, a witness to the development of Silicon Valley.

……

Recently, HP, the "big brother", has gotten into a bit of trouble, which once again proves what it means to be "rewarded with a brave man".

It turned out that Hewlett-Packard had just made a big deal -- through its European subsidiary and its office in Dubai, it sold a series of products worth $120 million to Iran worth 120 million dollars.

It is well known how tense diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran, which it sees as a thorn in the Middle East, not to mention that the Bill Clinton administration ~ also imposed sanctions on Iran in the form of an executive order in 1995, which included a ban on the export of such high-tech products to Iran.

Just as many large enterprises in the United States, through overseas subsidiaries, use the rules to avoid the high taxes in the United States, HP's tightrope walking behavior is a game between businessmen and politics - as long as the profits are enough, I don't care what the federal government ~ government regulations!

In fact, this phenomenon is not uncommon in the American business community, and Tang Huan is looking towards HP in his heart - with this "big brother" as an example, then when he exports technology and products to China, he will have more space!

However, now HP has to pay for its own presumptuous behavior - the federal government, especially the US Securities and Exchange Commission, inquiries, one after another, even if HP has one of the founders, David Puctor, who served as the deputy secretary of defense of the United States from 1969 to 1971 ~ Fuchu, and HP has long provided solutions for the US defense field and other special sources and connections, public relations is not so easy.

Hewlett-Packard's current CEO is Louis Pratt. In 1992, he succeeded the previous CEO, John Young, and his performance was remarkable. One figure speaks for itself: HP's sales grew from $20 billion in 1993 to $38 billion in 1996.

But Louis Pratt was not very well received by Wall Street. The reason may seem strange is that he is too low-key to put on a personable, demagogic performance like Steve Jobs, and even the media ridiculed his clumsy image with thick-eyed eyes and a single look.

It has to be said that times have changed, and Wall Street's tastes have also changed, and they are no longer so fond of people who work hard -- one proof is that a group of "big-mouthed" CEOs who emerged in Silicon Valley in the 1990s were considered to be "as capable as they have when they have a temper", and then they are highly respected by Wall Street.

In short, Wall Street's favorite CEO should be personable and "good-looking" who can use flashy electronic slide speeches to cheer the audience up.

And Louis Pratt, who adheres to the "Hewlett-Packard Way", is a little out of place.

In Tang Huan's view, the essence of this phenomenon is that Wall Street's capital wants to completely control Silicon Valley.

But high-tech companies like HP that have successfully come to this point have a systematic culture such as the "HP Way" to unite into a whole.

How to break this framework?

The most direct way is to control the selection of senior executives such as the CEO, and it is better to find someone from the outside to be parachuted in.

Intel's current round of CEO handover is a completely internal change of power; And looking at the current situation, it is really hard to say how HP will hand over after Louis Pratt.

Just as Tang Huan applauded HP for doing a business in Iran, he also hoped that HP's management could resist the infiltration of Wall Street.

After all, with such a "big brother" in front, the richest man has more reasons to "covet" his power over Silicon Valley.