Video Game Empire

"...This personal computer named "machine" uses a quasi-16-bit processor. The machine structure is reasonable and the running speed is acceptable. The configured application software basically meets the needs and is basically suitable for commercial office use. ( First release) If this is a microcomputer product developed by another company, I will think it is not bad.

But this is a product of ibm, the most powerful computer company on the planet, and I can only describe it as disappointment. I had great expectations for it before, because ibm has the best development talents in the industry and a complete computer industry system.

But what product are we looking at? The processor is from Intel, and the operating system comes from Microsoft, which sells languages. On this machine, you hardly see much of IBM's own technology. Can this be regarded as a real IBM product? I strongly doubt it! …”

The next day's "New York Times", a computer expert gave ibm's machine a fierce criticism. And this also represents most of the industry's views, ibm failed to show its dominance, it has failed in minicomputers and word processors before, and the performance shown by the machine is also not enough for it to sweep the entire microcomputer market.

At least Ikon is technically not inferior to it at all. The evaluation given by computer experts is that the performance of the machine and -2 is roughly tied. The computer uses a 16/8-bit cpu, while the -2 computer uses two 8-bit cpus.

But -2 has been on the market for a year and has been fully tested by the market. It has shown very excellent performance in the field of enterprise business. In particular, several office software provided by Dongfang Software on the computer have won numerous praises.

Aikang's new -3 computer is compatible with -2 computer operating system and office software at the same time. A further leap has been achieved in computer performance, although the price is not low. But still generally optimistic.

It is precisely because of this that many people in the industry are very puzzled by the sudden announcement of Aikang to release the technical data of the -3 computer. Because in everyone's opinion, the object of IBM's machine fight should be -2, not -3. Aikang's response seems to be overreacting.

However, Aikon's subsequent statement said that the disclosure of the technical standards of the -3 computer was a mature decision that had been discussed within the company for a long time, and was not a warehousing decision specifically aimed at ibm.

At the same time that Aikang released the technical data of the -3 computer. It also announced cooperation agreements with dozens of accessory manufacturers that support the -3 computer specification.

icon wants to do deals with so many companies, at least it started a few months ago, so they really don't seem to be targeting ibm.

Such an analysis, it seems that there is a greater ambition behind the decision of Aikang. Microcomputers produced in the mid-to-early 1970s represented by Altair Computer were classified as the first generation of personal computers. Their performance was generally relatively backward, and they could only be regarded as toys for computer enthusiasts. Starting with the release of apple 2 by Apple in 1977, personal computers entered the second generation. The performance of the second-generation microcomputer has been greatly improved. It is no longer a toy for amateurs, and has certain applications in household, education and business fields. Began to formally form into a commercial industry.

The -3 computer that Ikon has just released is regarded by the industry as the representative of the third generation of personal computers. Its performance is more superior, and the goal is to have a greater breakthrough in the field of corporate office. Aikang directly announced the technical information of the -3 computer, apparently trying to attract peripheral hardware and software developers to join its camp.

Thus before other microcomputer companies have reacted. Make -3 the technical standard of the next generation of personal computers, so that the entire microcomputer industry may face a big shakeout. Following this analysis, Icon's shares on the London Stock Exchange began to rise sharply. Countless people are even optimistic that it will dominate the microcomputer market in the next few years.

Li Xuan was originally worried that Aikang's stock price would fluctuate due to the disclosure of the -3 computer's technology. But he never expected it. After the analysis of a group of "brick houses", this turned out to be a huge positive news.

-3 computers use 32/16 bit erm-1 processors. Forcing other microcomputer companies to follow suit, there are actually very few 32-bit processors available for personal computers on the market. Motorola's is a very good 32 microprocessor, but it's too expensive, compared to three-fifths the price of the erm-1.

Moreover, the intellectual property rights of the erm-1 processor belong to the Oriental Technology Holding Company behind the Oriental Lab, and have nothing to do with the listed company Aikang. It is impossible for Dongfang Technology to not sell erm-1 processors for the benefit of Aikang. On the contrary, many companies, including Tangdi and Kemodo, contacted Dongfang Technology as soon as the -3 computer came out.

Dongfang Technology Co., Ltd. is naturally willing to come, and provides the complete technical data of the erm-1 processor to these microcomputer manufacturers, so that they can immediately carry out their own 32-bit personal computer research. Of course, the same situation also happened in Eastern Software Company.

It can be said that the two companies are the biggest beneficiaries of Aikang's disclosure of the technical information of the -3 computer. It's like in another track, after ibm released the technical information of the machine, it did not make itself the king of personal computers, but instead won the alliance with one hand.

In order to support low-cost systems and applications that use less memory, Dongfang Lab is also developing an 8-bit external bus version of the erm processor, which will be officially available to the market before the end of the year. It was specially tailored by Li Xuan for low-end 32-bit personal computers.

So, indeed, the PC industry will soon usher in a new melee and reshuffle. Personal computer industry-3 computers are ripening, and it is very likely that they will jump directly from 8-bit to 32-bit in a short period of time. Soon after the ibm machine is listed, it will face the problem of backward performance.

Success or failure in the PC business. It doesn't really matter to ibm. IBM's bloated bureaucracy is doomed to slow down its response until it reforms itself.

The disadvantage of this is that the technical threshold is very high. It's not obvious in the mainframe market, where almost no one competes with it, but in the highly competitive crisis market. Being slow to respond means falling behind and failing. The reason why Li Xuan attaches so much importance to the machine is that he is more afraid of the two younger brothers, Microsoft and Intel, who were trained by it.

-3 PC sales are finally starting to go up! ibm personally used the computer to make an endorsement to prove that icon is already one of the best technology research and development companies in the microcomputer industry, and the -3 is well-deserved as the most excellent personal computer. Li Xuan really wanted to give IBM a trophy for the best stepping stone, thanks for its self-sacrifice for highlighting the -3 computer!

In fact, objectively speaking, the machine launched by IBM is still a very good computer. His flagship model uses an 8088 processor with 64k of memory, a 5.25-inch floppy disk, and a monochrome monitor. Priced at $1999. Such a product is still very competitive, and IBM has for the first time abandoned its consistent independent sales strategy and instead learned from other computer companies and let computer dealers and chain stores be responsible for the distribution of computers.

Computer Garden Inc. will count the sales data of various products every week. In all Computerland stores across the United States, the total weekly sales of the computer reached 287 units. During the same period, the sales of -1 were 1,425 units, the sales of -2 were 1,066 units, and the sales of -3 units were 373 units.

After more than a year of rapid expansion, Computer Garden Company has branches all over the United States. Its market share accounts for about 15% of all personal computer sales in the United States. That is to say, the monthly sales volume of the computer can reach more than 7,500 units. For a new computer that has just been launched, this sales volume is definitely not bad.

And according to computer field sales data analysis. Although sales of the -2 computer, which is listed as the number one competitor of the machine, declined slightly, the impact was not significant. On the contrary, the sales of Apple's apple2 and Tangdi's trs-80 computer have been greatly affected.

This is also consistent with the fact that most of the machines sold in the computer field are low-end models with only 16k memory and priced at $1565. The -2 computer sells for a whopping $2,499 even after the price cut. The two are not really competing. On the contrary, the machine has captured a lot of share in the low-end home market, and even the sales of -1 have also declined slightly.

The sales of the -3 were very surprising, and the monthly sales in the US market are expected to exceed 10,000 units soon. And his price is not cheap. Even the lowest configuration is priced at $2,999. It can only be said that this price is cheap enough for those minicomputer systems that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

If you don't know that ibm will also disclose the technical information of the machine in the future to promote sales. Li Xuan is really reluctant to let Aikang disclose the technical information of the -3 computer now. After all, once compatible machines are available, the homogenization competition will soon turn into a price war. The result is that profits for all companies fall, and consumers benefit.

Recently, the -3 computer and the computer have been frequently compared together~www.readwn.com~ appeared in major newspapers and even TV news commentary programs, which indirectly made the -3 computer famous in the United States, but saved the company for Aikang. A lot of publicity costs.

While the -3 computer and computer battle has become a hot topic in recent technology news, there is another new computer that has also attracted a lot of attention in the industry. It's a portable computer that weighs about 22 pounds (10 kg), uses a z80 processor as the cpu, has 64k of RAM, and has a small 5-inch monochrome display.

The ancestor of this notebook computer is called the Osborn-1 computer, and its inventor is the famous Mr. Osborn. Osborne was a well-known computer columnist in the United States in the 1970s. He wrote some of Levin's sharp chip technology reviews and exposed scandals in which many computer companies deliberately produced flashy products for profit.

When Osborn commented on the technical advantages and disadvantages of various microcomputers, he had to spend a lot of time studying the structure and technical indicators of the computer. He found the shortcomings and deficiencies of many microcomputer products, and learned from many letters from readers what kind of computer users really need. So, he simply came up with the idea of ​​developing a simple, practical and cheap computer himself, and this was the Osborn-1 computer. (To be continued..)

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