Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 301: Good People in Silicon Valley

In fact, before deciding to create the spreadsheet, Ethan Jones had already thought about whether to invite Bill Gates to be the developer of this project.

The reason for choosing Bill Gates is simple, that is because he has a strong enough background and the technology to support the smooth development of the project;
The reason for not wanting to choose Bill Gates is even simpler, because in Ethan Jones' previous life, Bill Gates was extremely arrogant when he was subject to a federal antitrust investigation.

He knew the Federation couldn't do anything to him.

So, people saw that one second, federal judge Thomas Jackson had just ruled that Microsoft was a monopoly, and the next second, he was forcibly fired for violating judicial procedures, and the female judge who took over the case was still Bill · Gates’ father’s old friend, with the help of the other party, the Department of Justice fell silent.

When the world's richest man did something even more exaggerated than old Rockefeller when facing the investigation of the violent agency, and played the routine of "those who obey me will prosper, and those who disobey me will perish", then bringing him into one's own camp would be like burying a bomb under one's pillow.

It could explode at any time.

It was not until Ethan considered that it was more tiring to compete with such a guy that he reluctantly asked Steve Ballmer to call the other party. He made all preparations before the contact and asked Wenlock to invest in the still-infant Microsoft together, hoping to put a rope around Bill Gates in this way.

Previously, Ethan felt that his method was quite successful. Not only did he successfully obtain Microsoft's equity, but he also made Bill Gates make a spreadsheet according to his orders.

Not only that, but the contact at the first national video game competition also made Bill Gates look like a harmless little sheep, who bleated at himself under the guidance of his father.

But I didn’t expect…

These are all illusions.

When things are calm, Bill Gates is extremely docile.

As soon as the opportunity arose, he immediately showed his true colors.

Although Ethan admitted that there was nothing wrong with what Bill Gates said, and that the idea of ​​closed-source operation would never be able to monopolize the market, and that the easiest way to defeat all competitors was to make the companies that wanted to delve into it feel unprofitable, this was not a reason for Bill Gates to come to negotiate!

In Ethan's opinion, everything Bill Gates said was a cover-up. He actually had only one thought in his heart, which was "Graphical user interfaces are cool, so I want them."

It's that simple.

And this idea——

"What the hell!"

"I didn't expect Intel to be such a waste!"

Ethan, leaning back in his boss chair, looked helpless.

To be honest, before Bill Gates talked about the gap, Ethan, who didn't understand technology, really thought that Intel was the leader in the chip industry, and Apple's choice of Intel was a strong combination.

But I didn’t expect…

Is Intel still a child these days?
If Motorola stomps its feet, Intel will stumble?
Damn it!
What nonsense!
"It seems that no matter how strong a butterfly's wings are, they can't blow away the inevitability of history?"

Ethan thought for a while and felt that the breakthrough of the current event lay with Steve Jobs.

As long as he nodded, Apple could ride on Microsoft's east wind, board IBM's big ship, and get cheap chips produced by AMD. If Jobs refused, then -

"Let's talk about it later."

"If all else fails, let's push Bill Mensch and see if we can get a surprise."

When things reach an unsolvable stalemate, passing the buck is everyone's instinctive reaction.

And, to be honest, Ethan felt that openness was inevitable.

This is not only because the memory of his previous life told him that Bill Gates' choice was correct, but also because past reality has always told him that all patents have a protection period.

Most of the patents related to graphical user interfaces were approved in 1968, and their protection period is 20 years. Once the time is up, other companies can enter the market.

It is now 1980, and there are only eight years until the patent expires. Apple still needs at least two years to bring the product to market. With such a tight time schedule...

Ethan doesn't believe that Apple will be able to dominate everything in six years.

Since blockade will lead to the emergence of a hundred schools of thought, why not support openness in advance?

He thought Bill Gates was a good fit.

What's more appropriate is that this guy has the ambition, background, and ability to solve the chip shortage problem.

and many more!

chip?

Intel?
Ethan felt something was wrong!
"How about...taking a portion of Intel's shares through Bill Gates?"

"If Intel is unwilling, then let Intel license x86 directly to Western Design?"

"Hey! This plan seems feasible!"

"IBM asked Intel to disclose its patents, but it did not say that Intel must give the patents to AMD! In this case, wouldn't it be better to let Western Design directly become Intel's patent receiving factory? You know, Western Design is the world's largest chip company!"

"Although it's a little wet..."

"But that's not important, right!"

"As long as the production capacity is sufficient!"

"I will just replace AMD and develop x86 myself. Wouldn't that solve all future chip problems at the source? After all, MOS 6502 cannot be upgraded forever!"

Thinking of this, Ethan's eyes lit up!
He felt that his thoughts were out of control!

Because in his memory, the MOS 6502 architecture will officially withdraw from the chip industry in a few decades. Although he doesn't know the specific reason, it definitely has nothing to do with the market.

When the 6502-bit upgraded version of MOS can shine on the Super Nintendo machine, their application scenarios can be measured by the word "extensive".

But even so, they did not continue to upgrade to thirty-two bits or even sixty-four bits. This can only mean one thing: there is a problem with the architecture of MOS 6502.

Since their future is bleak...

Getting x86 will be the biggest supplement for chip companies!

As for the method?

Bill Gates is so awesome that he has obtained IBM's core secrets through my mother. In this case, there should be no problem for him to help his investors get Intel's patent license, right?
Since Bill Gates wants a graphical user interface, he has to show his sincerity in some way, right?

And Ethan Jones is not greedy!

After obtaining authorization, all chips produced are for self-use!
They will supply IBM with the same amount of products as Intel reduces the supply ratio of IBM's second supplier to a certain extent! If there is one more, they will not sell it to Western Design!

Ethan Jones’ main theme is sacrificing the small self for the greater good!

He would rather suffer losses himself and spend money to support the x86 team, so that while copying Intel technology, he can do some adaptive research, for example, developing chips suitable for home hosts and chips that may be applied to other fields, in order to avoid Intel being liquidated by antitrust authorities!

When Intel learned of his good intentions——

"They will surely be moved to tears, right?"

"Oh my! I'm such a good Silicon Valley guy!"

The wonderful enjoyment made Ethan overjoyed.

When Ethan discovered that Bill Gates' sudden ambition might not be a bad thing, he began to think about how to talk to Steve Jobs about this matter.

There's nothing I can do about it. Xiao Qiao is a pretty nice person.

Although his IQ is not very high, he thinks that closed source can rule the world, and his EQ is not good enough, he likes to communicate with Ethan in a straightforward way, but his ability...

It’s still okay!

cough cough-

Ethan would never say that as his wealth and enemies increase, every friend is precious, and turning against Jobs would not only do him no good, but would also make him feel lonely.

But before he could use his smart little brain, his thoughts were interrupted by the outside world. His old friend Minoru Arakawa came to Palo Alto with Nintendo's financial report.

"Mr. Jones, this is last year's sales report, please take a look." Arakawa Minoru, dressed in a suit and tie, looks elegant.

Just as Ethan had expected, even if Nintendo did not launch a home console in the Japanese market last year, and even if Japan's local game manufacturers had officially declared war on Destiny and launched their own games on the market, these facts had no impact on Destiny. Ms. Pac-Man and Snake: Double Play were still selling well after they were released, bringing in considerable revenue for Destiny.

Among them, Ms. Pac-Man sold the best, with shipments in Japan reaching 81,000 units.

Snake: Double Battle came in second, selling 55,000 units in Japan.

"A Fortune Falls" was a huge hit, selling 30,000 units in Japan.

As for Taken and Need for Speed…

Although they did not receive much praise after being launched in North America, they sold well in Japan, with the former selling 11,000 units and the latter selling 20,000 units.

According to the new commission method, the share of the destiny game exceeds 100 million.

The fact that he had made money was like a spring breeze, making Ethan, who was already in a good mood, smile. But when he opened the report of Nintendo Kyoto Chip Manufacturing Company...

The numbers inside made him squint his eyes with joy.

"Wow - Mr. Arakawa, I didn't expect that Nintendo would sell all the chips produced by the chip company?" Ethan asked in surprise.

"Uh... yes." Arakawa said indifferently, "Although we at Nintendo have suffered a large number of order cancellations, we have obtained the agency rights for your home console, Mr. Jones, so our president decided to send all the produced chips to the manufacturing company. After doing so, the chip production company not only obtained new production funds and was able to resume production, but the manufacturing company can also produce consoles at full capacity and make full preparations for this year's sales."

"Oh - this is really a great way to handle it -" Ethan nodded with a smile and asked kindly: "Then when are you going to introduce our home console to people?"

Arakawa replied: "This summer."

"That means July or August?"

"Yes, it was summer vacation at that time, which was the best time for children to buy travel."

"How many units has your president decided to stock for the first batch?"

"One million units." When talking about this question, Arakawa hesitated for a moment and said, "Although the Johnson home console sells very well in North America, the number of one million units is definitely not enough to meet the market demand in our country, but this is already the limit for us at Nintendo."

"We at Nintendo have already put most of our liquidity into this project. We have done our best even though this project is not profitable."

"However, Mr. Jones, don't worry. When this business is circulated, we will regain cash flow and will definitely replenish the market in a short time. According to our estimates, under normal production conditions, our factory can produce 300,000 home consoles a month."

"That is to say, if the Johnson home console sells well, its sales in our country this year will be around 2.8 million to 3 million units."

This number satisfied Ethan. "Then I will wait for your good news."

After a brief exchange, Ethan asked Ballmer to help see the guests off.

After Arakawa left, Ethan also went into his sister's office and said, "I estimate that Nintendo will launch its own handheld products to the market before June of this year. So--"

"I'm writing it."

Evelin pointed to the monitor in front of her and answered quickly, "Don't worry. It will be quick."

"Okay." Ethan gave his sister a thumbs up. "Good luck."

Although Nintendo's betrayal again is unpleasant, if countermeasures had been arranged before, Ethan still hopes to have a chance with Yamauchi Hiroshi.

He wanted to know whether his guess was correct and whether Nintendo had really betrayed him.

If betrayed...

He also wanted to know what Yamauchi Hiroshi's reaction would be when he took out the "Destiny Cube".

Surprised?
Is it fear?
Or fear?

When Yamauchi Hiroshi was proudly showing off his product to the world one second ago, and saw "Fate Cube" the next second... the expression on that old guy's face must have been very rich, right?

Ha ha ha ha--

He, Ethan Jones, is really not the devil!
Thinking of this, Ethan couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth.

"Boss, did something happy happen to you?"

"Did Neon's revenue exceed expectations?"

"Or did Minoru Arakawa bring other good news?"

When Ballmer came to report after seeing off the guests, as soon as he entered the corridor, he saw his boss with a smile on his face. That happy look seemed to have a kind of magic that made him feel relaxed.

His question made Ethan, who was leaning on the railing with both hands, turn his head and said with a smile, "All of them."

"Really?" Ballmer's eyes lit up. "How much money did Nintendo help us make last year?"

"The report is on my desk, you can take a look at it yourself."

"okay!"

Since the boss doesn't shy away from suspicion, Ballmer won't be polite.

And when he found out that Nintendo sold nearly 200,000 arcade machines for them last year, with an operating income of 390 million, and their commission was 130 million...

The fact that it was far beyond his expectations made him smile from ear to ear!
"Oh - Boss - is our game so popular in Neon?"

"Whatever games we release, will they pay for them?"

“This is unbelievable!”

Ballmer exclaimed.

After a few seconds, he put away his joy and said slowly: "But..."

“It’s normal for us to achieve this result.”

"After all, boss, you have launched several hit products in the past few years."

"When Japanese players play Snake in the first year, Pac-Man in the second year, and Star Wars in the third year, everyone will become your fan."

"In this case, it's normal for your new game to sell well, and it's unexpected if it doesn't sell well."

There was no technique involved, it was all emotion, and Ethan laughed out loud.

“Steve, I think you should know that in our company, there is no pay increase for flattering the boss.”

"Oh - what I said is clearly the truth!" Ballmer exclaimed.

Injustice written all over his face.

The funny look of the big bald head made Ethan laugh out loud. While he was happy, Ballmer asked again: "Boss, the financial statements given by Nintendo are already so beautiful. Isn't the good news even more exciting? Can you tell me about it..."

Although the handheld will eventually be released, it will remain a secret until it is revealed.

"You'll know when the time comes." Ethan patted the railing in front of him.

He went back to the office with a smile.

He doesn't want to talk about this kind of thing now.

Just as he was about to close the door, Ballmer shouted again -

"Hey, boss! Wait a minute!"

"We can not talk about the matter with Nintendo, but you can't close the door!"

"I have something else for you!"

Note: ① There is no problem with the architecture of MOS 6502 in reality. Bill Mensch created a -bit follow-up product, but he gave up because he had no money to promote it, and the binding of Microsoft and Intel allowed RISC to win the market. That was a problem of the market environment, not an architecture problem. However, this is already unpopular information, so Ethan's idea in the article is based on the public impression.

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(End of this chapter)