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The fundamental reason why Fangyuan Computer's Taiji-II is so obvious in performance as obvious as Cray-2/8 of Cray Company in the same period is that it is different in supercomputer architecture design.

To put it simply, there are essential differences in the understanding and implementation of "parallelism".

This is more concentrated in the most important part of the computer, the CPU, the central processing unit.

In the days when personal computers were as popular as ordinary home appliances, microprocessors were basically equivalent to CPUs. But in fact, the development of CPUs is also divided into several stages.

In the early 1970s, three R&D projects became pioneers in the microprocessor industry: Intel's Intel 4004, Texas Instruments' TMS1000, and Garrett Eresych's CADC.

Because the CADC's main flight control computer for the U.S. Navy's F-14 Tomcat fighter is under wraps, the public knows only about the pioneering work of Intel and Texas Instruments.

After more than a decade of development, microprocessors have basically entered the 32-bit era, and their performance is far from being comparable to the original 4-bit architecture.

However, in the process of the great development of IT technology, the CPU implementation solutions before the microprocessor - discrete transistors and integrated circuit central processing units - still have strong vitality, such as the CPU used in Cray's supercomputer.

The products of the new era, which represent the future, of course, cannot just emerge and eliminate the mature existing products in the autumn wind. Discrete transistors and integrated circuit CPUs have their own advantages. For example, the operating frequency can be very high - 80 MHz as early as the mid-1970s; In the 1980s, it broke through 100MHz; Now it's up to 125MHz.

By paralleling several such arithmetic components together. Formation of vector processors. It can provide supercomputers with the most powerful performance available today.

Cray-2/8, which competed with the Taiji-II of Clay and Fangyuan Computer Company, used 4 vector processors, and the computing performance was conceivably high, but unfortunately it eventually fell behind.

Supercomputers are inseparable from parallel mechanisms, and the strength of Taiji-II of Fangyuan Computer Company relies on its own unique and advanced parallel mechanism implementation scheme - node mode.

Through symmetrical multi-processor technology, it integrates the four highest-end RISC processors Holder-S, as well as the corresponding coprocessors, main memory and other components. form an independent unit of operation; This is then used as a basic unit to connect with a topological network.

In this way, Taiji-II surpassed the Cray-2/8 vector processor with multiple nodes.

The whole supercomputer is a comprehensive and optimized system, for example, another obvious shortcoming is the access to the various components.

With traditional cables, distances of a few meters can lead to delays of tens of nanoseconds, so manufacturers are carefully designing the wiring. On this basis, Taiji-II also introduces the emerging optical fiber communication technology.

Although there are differences between manufacturers in the specific implementation of products, all supercomputers are large energy consumers, and the Taiji-II has a power of more than 200 kilowatts. It needs to be equipped with a special power supply system and heat dissipation system.

The competition for the throne of the world's most powerful computer means a competition of creativity, organization, execution and other capabilities. It's hard to tell the story of the technological competition.

The launch of Tai Chi-II is just a new beginning.

Tang Huan's focus then shifted to the development and optimization of the operating system, compiler, application software and other specific use links used by this platform.

After all, in his own hands, there are a lot of projects such as computer animation, financial investment models, cancer and HIV drug molecule evaluation, and so on, waiting for Tai Chi-II to assist in the analysis.

However, the waves of the business sea never stopped, and Tang Huan, who was obsessed with technology, was soon pulled back to the real world of endless fighting.

……

After entering 1985, a new round of succession began at the top of IBM. Its CEO has changed, and John Opel, the one who said he knew Gates's mother and trusted Gates, and thus pushed for the IBM-PC operating system to be handed over to Microsoft, stepped down from his position and was succeeded by another president, John Ekers.

Although he was promoted, John Ecks was not happy, and Guy was not optimistic about IBM's current business situation.

was surpassed by the newcomer of Fangyuan Computer Company and snatched the first place in market capitalization, even if IBM couldn't help but feel pantothenic acid, it still maintained a gentlemanly demeanor and sent congratulations.

After all, the blue giant is a 70-year-old enterprise, and its history is equivalent to ten times that of Fangyuan Computer Company.

At the beginning, IBM was even more prosperous than the current Fangyuan Computer Company. The success of the mainframe System/360 led to a peak of $192.3 billion in market capitalization in 1967, when the U.S. GDP was $830 billion.

IBM doesn't really care about these noisy numbers games, but it has to face up to the problems it is encountering as reflected in the current data, including the company's stock price.

After entering the 1980s, the shadow of the antitrust investigation of the U.S. Department of Justice disappeared, especially in the field of vigorous personal computers, and the successful launch of IBM-PC, IBM's market value began to rebound strongly from the range of more than 30 billion US dollars, and soared all the way to more than 50 billion US dollars, regaining the first place from AT&T.

IBM's troubles come from the personal computer business, which not only needs to face off against the two armies head-on against Fangyuan personal computers, but also has to deal with backstabbing from IBM-PC compatible machines -- at least half of the market share in the IBM-PC standard camp has been snatched away by IBM-PC compatible machines. And the profits made by others have nothing to do with IBM, the pioneer.

IBM-PC compatible machine manufacturers. The most successful example of this is Compaq Computer. In 1982, it first targeted the portable PC market, which IBM had neglected. CompaqPortable was launched; After a great success, he officially entered the desktop market in 1984, launched CompaqDeskPro, and began to compete with IBM-PC/XT and IBM-PC/AT face-to-face business, and has sold hundreds of millions of dollars.

How difficult is it to build an IBM-PC compatible machine now?

First of all, after IBM made the IBM-PC specification public for free, the only technical barrier left in its hands, the BIOS, has been completely broken, including several companies including Phoenix Technologies and AwardSoftware. Dushanzhai came out with a 100% compatible BIOS, and then became a vendor.

Secondly, after Gordon Campbell left Seeq, he held high the banner of "factory-less production", received investment from investors from Japan and other countries, and established his own company in Silicon Valley, specializing in the development of compatible chips on IBM-PC motherboards, and through optimization, the integration level is higher, which directly reduces the cost.

At last. Intel's second supplier of CPUs has also launched their own compatible products, putting down IBM's plan to monopolize microprocessors. Meanwhile. Microsoft's operating system, MS-DOS, can give you a copy of it regardless of the genuine and compatible phones.

In this way, even an unnamed garage similar to Apple's initial start-up stage can easily assemble ready-made CPU, motherboard chips, BIOS and other components into an IBM-PC compatible machine, and then take it to the market and sell it at a lower price, and the profit is often higher than IBM.

This kind of uncontrolled and disorderly competition within the IBM-PC standard camp directly makes Big Blue's own genuine IBM-PC have no advantage in terms of cost performance.

Feeling the increasingly serious threat, IBM gritted its teeth with hatred, but as far as the current situation is concerned, it only has a dry stare and can't come up with an effective way to deal with it, unless it starts anew and comes up with a new set of IBM-PC standards, and completely kicks out the current IBM-PC/XT and IBM-PC/AT compatible machines.

In addition, the setback of the personal computer business, which was very tied up, seriously affected IBM's cash flow, making the financial statements quite ugly, which was the real reason for management's concern.

After John Eks took over as CEO, he also saw that IBM had a vague tendency to decline, with the company's total revenue increasing by only 1% last year, and profits declining instead of rising.

The combination of these circumstances made John Ex and the board of directors a little panicked, and they had to hold a meeting to discuss, at least come up with a way to make the company's cash flow statement data not so bad.

Before entering this topic, the meeting first announced two personnel changes, the Entry Systems Division - Input Systems Division or ESD, which is the original IBM-PC Division, and its current president, Don T? Estlic, who became vice president of IBM's global manufacturing business unit, vacated the position and was replaced by Bill Lowo, who originally started the "Chess Project."

Don who looks like he has been promoted? Estlic, with a serious face, did not show the slightest joy. He knew in his heart that he had lost the trust of the board of directors because of the bad situation in the personal computer business. In fact, this job transfer is a reduction in power from the top to the bottom.

I have to say that IBM, which has not canceled the lifetime employment system at this time, is still very humane, Gu Niantang? Estlic's leadership and creation of IBM-PC did not hold him directly responsible, but instead adopted a tactful method of exile.

In his speech after accepting the appointment, Don? Estlic carefully summarized some of his obvious mistakes in office, such as the failure of the IBM-PC/JR model, the Intel 80286 that took up a lot of cash to hoard Intel, and so on.

In fact, although the personal computer is claimed to be born for individuals and families, its real success depends on commercial use. With this cost-effective small box, the threshold for companies to get IT solutions has suddenly become lower.

Of course, the slogan of making personal computers accessible to every home is still loud in the industry, and attempts are made to achieve this goal in the form of cheap personal computers.

After the successful launch of IBM-PC/XT, Don? Impressed by the idea of a personal computer targeting the home by the new chief designer, Bill Sydneys, Estlic launched the IBM-PC/JR.

As a result, this so-called cheap model, which costs $1,500, sold more than 10,000 units, and it was out of the game with a fiasco without any suspense.

In short, IBM, a big stupid elephant, has no talent for making cheap products at all, and its best business direction is still high-end fields with high technical content.

About this blunder, Don? Estlic really has nothing to argue.

Since the IBM-PC/AT equipped with Intel 80286 microprocessor was launched later than the competitor's third-generation Fangyuan personal computer, Tang? Estrich decided to buy all the Intel80286 from Intel, which was still the exclusive source at the time, and sniped the third-generation Fangyuan personal computer that had a first-mover advantage in the way of drawing wages from the bottom of the kettle.

At the beginning, the effect of this trick was good, Fangyuan Computer Company had to take the high-end products of the third generation of Fangyuan personal computers MC68000 series models to reduce the price to fight, and the IBM-PC/AT that entered the market made good progress.

But I didn't expect that,IBM-PC/AT is also the same as the three generations of Fangyuan personal computers,There were quality problems,Just the hard disk threw away a tugboat,As a result, the painstaking plan fell through,Plus Intel80286The second supplier has launched compatible products,The third generation of Fangyuan personal computers quickly got through the difficulties,Even the IBM-PC compatible machine has also got the opportunity to catch up。

This mistake made Don? Estlic felt that God had played an expensive joke on him, and he was helpless and powerless.

Tang Dynasty? Estlic's sincerity has been praised by the board of directors, and it also means that the transfer has been completed very smoothly.

After Bill Lowo, who had high hopes, spoke cautiously and briefly, John Ex said, "The company's cash flow needs to be improved urgently, and if you have any suggestions, please tell us." ”

Someone soon answered: "Isn't our investment department holding 20 percent of Intel's shares, this memory-based company, recently affected by the dumping of products by Japanese semiconductor companies, the prospect is difficult to predict, it is better to cash out as soon as possible, at least 400 million US dollars can be recovered." ”

? (To be continued.) )