When the idea of a personal computer was just germinating, Seymour rejected it. Alex wasn't angry or annoyed by the result, and he wasn't going to go against the odds to get a personal computer.

Since the time is not ripe, and there is no talent in hand who can do this, Alex plans to let it go for a while, and when he has the opportunity, he is talking.

On the other hand, IBM's dragon-slaying plan is in full swing, and their $5 billion is not a joke. Little Watson said that he would take 5 billion out, and he was really ready to spend so much money.

Lillson, Brooks, Amdahl, and others have repeatedly discussed the technical aspects of the DS computer's system. Finally, they came up with a completely new idea, the IBMDS computer must be a "compatible" product.

Compatibility will mean that DS PCs must be able to handle the same instructions in the same way, enjoy the same software, configure the same disk drives, tape drives, and printers, and be able to work together with each other, despite the huge differences in models.

It was a brilliant idea, and it was a major breakthrough in the history of computer development. When the idea came up, everyone was thrilled.

"It must be possible, if we have this compatible system, it will be equivalent to retaining old users. Once it scales, it's like stabbing a dragon! Brooks said excitedly, he knows that compatibility means continuation, and once users develop a habit, they will not easily abandon IBM and turn to CPT.

Lelson and Amdahl also quickly and immediately got to the great point of the "compatible" machine, one of them from a market perspective. The other is from the perspective of technical skills.

"That's right! Yes, compatibility allows users to stick to our platform. Lierson was also excited, he seemed to see a glimmer of light now, and the dragon slaying plan finally had some hope of success.

Amdahl also nodded in praise and said: "This can also save R&D costs, make it more convenient and faster to upgrade technology, and greatly shorten the R&D cycle." ”

However, there is still a big problem in front of them, that is, it is not easy to achieve true compatibility.

At that time, IBM alone had more than 20 models of transistor computers in seven categories. Neither software nor external devices can be used interchangeably. It causes great inconvenience to users.

If they want to achieve compatibility, they have to take into account the problems left over from the previous model, whether it is the disadvantages or advantages, they must pass on the advantages at the same time. This may result in their computers not being as good as CPT's computers, and they will have to put a lot of effort into integrating them.

"There's a big problem!" Little Watson said with a serious expression.

Lierson, Amdahl, and Brooks all nodded. They knew what Watson Jr. was referring to. That is the integrated circuit board invented by Alex. This patent is open though. However, the integrated circuit boards of other companies are all products from CPT companies.

For its competitors, CPT certainly doesn't have the brains to sell the best products to IBM. But in the dragon slaying plan, there is no integrated circuit board. Their so-called idea of slaying dragons is just a castle in the air.

"Will our technicians be able to develop the most advanced inheritance board on top of the existing technology?" Little Watson asked with some concern, he was already very uneasy about this weakness.

At the beginning, the integrated circuit board made by Alex was actually very simple, several components were soldered on the copper plate, a simple patent. As a result, many people can't see the great use of this small copper plate, and everyone doesn't take it seriously.

The crude integrated circuit board of the CPT was used in the first transistor radio, which made a lot of money for the Carpenter family. Originally, everyone thought that the so-called integrated circuit board was just used in electrical products such as radios.

Unexpectedly, this is just the beginning. Alex soon built on the original foundation and developed more complex integrated circuit boards and improved the manufacturing process. At this time, the integrated circuit board is not simple, and many companies still can't figure out how to produce it after getting their hands on it.

At the same time, the "first" computer was born, outperforming the fastest computers of the time by more than ten times, and it quickly attracted attention.

The role of integrated circuit boards has been seen for the first time, but unfortunately it has not yet reached the level of attention, and not many people are willing to spend money to study it. After all, the most important patents are still tightly grasped by CPT companies, and even if the products researched by others can be sold, they still have to share a piece of the pie.

After years of continuous research, integrated circuit boards are becoming more and more complex, and there are more and more related patents. It's like an impregnable wall, keeping out those who are keen on the Carpenter family to make money. As for those who want to bypass, they find that there is no way to bypass it at all.

It was too late for IBM and other companies to learn about this fact, at least at the cost of IBM to learn that there was no way to circumvent the patents related to integrated circuit boards.

In order to be able to develop a successful DS computer, their first problem was unavoidable. IBM had to make its own integrated circuits because they couldn't buy ready-made CPU chips.

Previously, building a new factory was not a problem for IBM. However, the production environment of a new integrated circuit manufacturing plant is extremely demanding, and there can be no dust in the workshop, which is like building a large surgical operating room, and the cost is more than four or five times that of an ordinary factory.

IBM, who was mentally prepared, planned to build its own factory to produce integrated circuit board chips, although they had to pay patent fees to CPT for each chip they made, but they thought it was very worthwhile.

In addition, there is another problem, the biggest obstacle to the development of a dragon-slaying computer is software.

In order for the software to work on all computers, millions of computer instructions must be programmed. More and more software engineers are involved in writing programs, and the number of software engineers is as high as 2,000, making software development more expensive than the hardware itself.

They did not expect such a situation. But in order to achieve the compatibility they wanted, they had to solve the software problem completely, and they had to hire so many software engineers to work together.

"It's all worth it, once the compatibility problem is solved, our dragon slaying plan will definitely be successful!" Brooks said this to everyone, in fact, he was also a little shaken in his heart, but he couldn't show it.

The huge expenses shocked even Watson Jr. He joked at an evening meeting, "It's a good thing the software finally came out, otherwise we would have to sell bare metal to users." ”

Jokes aside, IBM spent a huge amount of money on the software of the DS computer, totaling more than $500 million. If this is done by a CPT company, I am afraid it will not be able to hold up.

The dragon slaying plan was carried out in an orderly manner, and the CPT company was not idle. Soon after the announcement of the Cray I, they had a celebratory banquet. This was followed by a series of bonuses and personnel transfers, and in order to be able to compete with IBM, CPT also began to expand its staff.

"We may not have as much money as IBM, but we can't sit idly by." Alex said at the kick-off meeting: "They used $5 billion to slay dragons, so we have to spend at least $500 million on the research and development of the next generation of computers." ”

$500 million is a 10-fold difference from $5 billion, but that's a big investment for a CPT company. If it weren't for the order of the Cray I-type computer, which made a huge profit, it would be really difficult for CPT to come up with 500 million.

When I thought about it, when I developed the first generation of computers, the investment before and after was less than $1 million. Even for the research and development of the Cray I, the total cost of research and development was only about $10 million.

"As for the naming of the new generation of computers, I think it can still be based on the Cray series, Cray 2 generation?" When Alex said this, he looked at Seymour with a smile? Clay, he knew that the other party had a strong idea of going down in history.

Seymour? Crehar smiled, and he immediately said: "Clay 2 generation sounds good, you can consider it!" ”

Alex shrugged his shoulders, undeniable. He didn't dwell too much on the issue and continued: "In addition to the supercomputer, I plan to send another group of people out to work on another project. As for the name of the project and the direction of research, it has not yet been decided. ”

These words immediately caused a lot of discussion, and the establishment of a new project team means that there are a large number of leadership positions waiting for them. Seymour didn't know what Alex wanted to do at first, but he quickly realized that this was the rhythm of starting to develop a personal computer.

IBM has its own plan to slay dragons, and Alex has its own plan.

As for the supercomputer, he plans to completely let Seymour get it, and he knows Seymour's ability. With Seymour doing research at CPT, IBM only has the opportunity to eat dust behind the butt. As long as the lead is maintained and not overtaken, CPT will not be pressed down by the other party.

No matter how strong IBM's foundation is, after so many failures, they should also take a breather. Without the pressure from IBM, CPT will have time to make small moves at the bottom.

These small actions are Alex's personal computer development plan, and he wants to get a personal computer before the 70s. This is as important to him as IBM's dragon-slaying plan. When the time comes, IBM will sadly find that the market share of mainframe computers is not rising, and personal computers are far behind CPT companies.

In this way, Alex's PC plan is basically successful. At least until the year 2000, he was confident that he would have the big cake of computers firmly in his hands, and the others would only have a hot eye. (To be continued......)