At this time, it was already half past three in the morning, and the lights were still bright.

A man in white with squinting eyes and a cute face directs his subordinates to busy work, he is Seymour, the famous director of the computer department of CPT company? Clay.

He had been with the company for several years, and for the first few years he was busy refining the "first" transistor computer. While renovating, the design concept of the "first generation" is familiar with it.

Two or three years later, he proposed to Lu Shangtou to develop more advanced computers, and he was very ambitious, trying to innovate on the basis of the "first generation", to increase the computing speed of computers several times, but to reduce the cost to one-third of the "first generation."

Not only that, Seymour also strongly asked Alex to come over to assist him in his research work, and with Alex on board, he believed that his plan would be completed on time.

Indeed, Alex and Seymour have a very high tacit understanding, and what they develop together is as if they were made by one person. Just meet up and talk a few words before you start, and soon you can get each other to figure it out, and then go your separate ways. This efficiency is not as simple as one plus one equals two, but an increase in efficiency in geometric multiples.

The world's most advanced computer was named the "Clay I", but Seymour thought Alex should be added as well.

This offer was rejected by Alex, who just wanted to keep a low profile and keep a low profile, and try to keep others in front of him. There's no need to stand in front of the stage and get the spotlight out there. If he wants to enjoy this treatment. It's better to make a few movies.

Today is the final test stage of the "Clay Type I", as long as it passes, it can be announced to the whole world tomorrow, and their CPT company has gone to the front of others.

"It worked! The test was perfect, Mr. Seymour! A staff member ran over and shouted excitedly with the results of the final test in his hand.

Seymour breathed a sigh of relief at first, he took the test report in his hand, looked through it carefully, and sure enough, the data on it fully met his design requirements. With this report. He can imagine. When this news spreads all over the world, it will cause a lot of repercussions.

"Very good! Everyone has worked hard, and you can go back and have a good rest today. In a few days, we will have a celebration banquet, and everyone must not get drunk and return home at that time! ”

Seymour? Clay shouted happily to the others. His words immediately caused a round of jubilation. Everyone feels that their efforts in the past few years have finally borne fruit. After the completion of this project. There are definitely big bonuses to be paid out, and there are still people who can get promoted.

Alex soon learned of the final completion of the "Clay I" computer, and he hurried to the computer research institute to look through the test data.

This computer can reach speeds of up to 36.4 megahertz. There's a 65,000-word core memory and a variable L2 cache. It is more than ten times faster than the "original" transistor computer, with about 10 megalitions per second and up to 36 megabytes per second.

The Cray I computer cost less than $500,000 and could be further reduced if large quantities were produced. But it sells for a whopping $10 million, and that's a discounted price. It's really a million profits, and the profits are frighteningly high.

This price is not determined by anyone, but by the marketing department, who has given such a high price point after referring to the various price points and performance of computers on the market.

"$10 million! Oh my God, it's faster than robbing a bank! ”

Alex was also surprised by the price, but he didn't turn it down, and the more expensive the computer, the more money he made.

"So what about our first generation of computers? Is it going to start discontinuing? "People in the marketing department are starting to disagree on this issue.

Some people think, "Of course we can't stop it, we still have to continue to sell the first generation!" After all, not everyone can afford a Cray I! ”

Someone immediately retorted: "The Cray I is several times better than the original computer in terms of price/performance!" For products like the first generation of computers, which are about to be phased out, we should gradually reduce the number of shipments! ”

"I can't say the same thing, the price of the first generation of computers is still more suitable for the needs of low-end users!"

"But if the two models are produced together, it will inevitably cause competition between themselves and themselves, which will outweigh the losses!"

"Also, we can't allocate too much capacity to the first generation of computers that are too low-margin. The profit for every Cray I sold was higher than the sale of four original computers! ”

There are many such arguments, and everyone disagrees, so they can only let the people above make decisions. Did they find Alex and Seymour? Clay, wanting to get a clear instruction. This will inevitably affect the direction of the company's development in the future, and we have to be cautious.

After Alex listened to the opinions of the marketing department, he turned back to Seymour and asked, "What do you think?" ”

Seymour thought for a moment and said, "We are businessmen, and of course we are chasing the most profitable direction. ”

Hearing this answer, Alex smiled and said to the people in the marketing department, "Continue to produce the first generation of computers, and at the same time further reduce the price of the first generation of computers." Well, let's study it first and see how much you want to drop. My opinion is that a price reduction of between 10% and 20% is fine. ”

"Do you want to continue to produce the first generation? And to reduce the price? What is this for? Seymour asked, not understanding.

Alex grinned at him: "Because there is still IBM in this market, we may make less money by doing this, but we can make more money in the long run!" ”

Both the people in the marketing department and Seymour were a little surprised, but they quickly realized that IBM had always been a competitor to CPT. Although the emergence of the first generation of computers has affected IBM, there is still no way to beat IBM down, after all, people have a big business and have very strong strength.

Now that CPT has a new model, and then the price of the first generation of computers is reduced, it will inevitably lead to IBM's market share being squeezed, and as long as it lasts for a few years, IBM can be completely squeezed out of the mainstream computer market. In the future, the computer market will be dominated by CPT, and there is no longer any fear of any accidents caused by IBM.

Alex is convinced that there is no suspense in the high-end market, and only in the low-end market can IBM gain a firm foothold, and now he wants to compete with IBM even in the low-end market.

The Cray I computer was based on Alex's invention of the integrated circuit board, although the "original" transistor computer also used integrated circuit board technology. However, at that time, Alex was in a hurry, and a lot of performance was sacrificed in order to meet the technical limitations of the time.

Seymour? Clay was different, he was inspired by the "original", and then had an in-depth exchange with Alex, so the "Clay Type I" computer was far more advanced than the "original".

When the news of the successful development of the "Clay I" computer was announced, it immediately shook the entire scientific community, and even those ordinary people knew the news. People have inquired about the detailed parameters and selling price of this computer.

News agencies in various countries around the world reported this important news, and photos of the "Clay I" computer were published in the front pages of newspapers. Clay rose to fame and had to have a tendency to become the first person to study computers.

The Los Angeles Times said, "Another major breakthrough for CPT in computing! The Cray I is unstoppable! ”

The New York Times said: "Seymour? Cray has increased the computing power of humans by a factor of ten! His machines make humans smarter! ”

The Washington Post said: "CPT hits hard, IBM fails!" The Cray I computer far outperformed the IBM 360 computer, leaving it obsolete before it was even manufactured! ”

The Wall Street Journal, which often ranks first in the United States in terms of circulation, is also in hot pursuit of this major event, and the newspaper that usually only focuses on financial information also said: "The birth of the Cray I computer will certainly have an impact on the financial market, and the improvement of supercomputers is the driving force of financial development!" ”

The New York Daily News said, "Since the invention of the first transistor computer, CPT has been at the top of the computer field!" Now the appearance of the Clay Type I has further consolidated their supremacy. ”

The Chicago Tribune said, "A new king is born, and the old king is dead!" CPT is bound to replace IBM and become the first king in the computer field! ”

As a brother country of the United States, Britain has also made a big splash about this, and British newspapers such as The Times, The Guardian, The Observer, and World News have reported it in depth.

The Soviet Union, Cuba, China, and other countries also reported on the news, and they reviewed the history of computer development in their newspapers, emphasizing the importance of computers to the development of human science and technology.

"In terms of weather forecasting, we can use supercomputers to simulate complex changes in air currents and ocean currents and predict weather trends, so as to avoid or mitigate the damage caused by meteorological disasters to human beings. In earthquake prediction, supercomputers can calculate various formation stress changes and simulate crustal movements, which will help people explore earthquake prediction methods to mitigate earthquake-related disaster risks. In addition, it is possible to conduct wind tunnel tests, automobile design, and research on the mysteries of the universe......"

The scientific research departments of the U.S. government were even more ecstatic at the appearance of the Cray I computer, and they proposed to the government to purchase the budget to equip the computer as soon as possible. In the face of such a general trend, no matter how powerful IBM is, there is no way to stop others from buying CPT computers. (To be continued......)