Rebirth of America, this is my era

On April 1980th, Tokyo time, Comodor and Casio held a new product launch conference in Neon Tokyo, where they introduced their new product, VIC , to local residents.

This is a personal computer equipped with a Bluebird 5-bit microprocessor, 20KB of RAM and 2.0KB of ROM, and also has a built-in BASIC operating system developed jointly by the two parties.

When the president of Comodor showed this parameter at the press conference, all the invited participants were shocked! Because the configuration of this machine is higher than that of the second generation of Apple!
What kind of machine is the Apple II?
That is the best personal computer in the global market right now, no doubt about it!

It can earn hundreds of millions a year in the North American market!

The net profit can exceed 100 million!

When this kind of exaggerated speed of making money and exaggerated profit ratio appeared in front of the world, any qualified capitalist would be envious. And now, Comodor and Casio have actually launched a computer that is more luxurious than the Apple II? And it was first launched in Japan? This...

Is it a declaration of war?

Bridge Bean Sacks!

This is really big news!
While the gossipy reporters were eager to know more, the president of Komodor on the stage also satisfied everyone's wishes and made a close comparison between VIC 1980 and Apple II.

Soon after, VIC 1980 surpassed the second generation of Apple in terms of hardware, performance, appearance, and feel. In the words of the president of Komodor:

“VIC 1980 is definitely the king of the new generation!”

After introducing the product, the president of Commodor also told the research and development story of VIC 1980.

"Although the Apple II has created new history and changed people's lifestyles, it is not suitable for everyone in the world. If you want to use it, you must first learn English, and its price is expensive even in North America."

“So, in the past few years, Apple has only been able to sell their products in limited areas.”

"But everyone knows that the advancement of technology and the convenience of life are the welfare that all mankind should enjoy. So when our old friend and staunch business ally Casio approached us and said that they also wanted to develop a product similar to the Apple II, we had similar ideas and wanted to develop a mass product, so we hit it off immediately."

“Then we worked together to bring VIC 1980 to the world.”

"This machine has been interoperable with Toshiba's Japanese word processor, allowing Japanese people to smoothly output Japanese. At the same time, this machine will also be equipped with an external disk in the future, because we are also working with other companies to create electronic spreadsheets with Japanese characteristics."

"It is precisely because this product is full of emotions and dreams that we have priced it very affordable. 68,888 yen is its final price!"

“Because we want to share the joy of technological progress with everyone in the world!”

"Because we want to share a better tomorrow with everyone in the world!"

"And its sale date—"

“On May 1st of this year!”

When the price of 68,888 yen appeared...

No matter whether it was Japan or North America, there was an uproar!
Because no one expected that Komodor's machines could be so cheap!
With configurations higher than those of the iPhone II, the price is only a quarter of that of the iPhone II?

Oh! My! God!

This special code simply kills all the middlemen and does not make any profit from the price difference!
Moreover, judging from the current situation, there is no gap between them and Apple!

Whatever Apple has, they have!

What Apple doesn't have, they...

Uh……

Ok……

They certainly didn't.

But it doesn’t matter, right!

Because for the general public, cheapness under the same type is always an advantage!

So, when the North American media learned that Komodor had released a shocking bombshell in Japan, they rushed to Komodor's headquarters with their cameras in hand.

Surround them and try to grab the latest headlines.

However, before they were granted the right to interview, Rockwell also held a press conference. It was also on April 1980, but it was Eastern Time in New York. Rockwell introduced its new product, the personal computer, Rockwell , to the media reporters present.

The configuration of this machine is almost the same as the VIC 1980 officially announced by Komodor fourteen hours ago. The only difference is the central microprocessor. Komodor uses Bluebird and Rockwell uses 6502.

In addition, like Comodor, Rockwell also promised at the new product launch conference that it would launch two products, an external disk and a spreadsheet, within a year.

When all this news came out all at once, the reporters at the scene immediately frowned.

Because no one expected that Rockwell would also come up with a product similar to the Apple II.

What shocked them even more was the price Rockwell charged for the 1980 machine.

"To be honest, we have always felt that the machines sold by our competitors are too expensive."

"Over a thousand dollars?"

“That’s enough to buy a new car.”

“Since personal computers will be a production tool that promotes human development and changes human lifestyles, they should be as universal as tools.”

“So, we priced the Rockwell 1980 at $.”

“It will be available on May 1st.”

"We acknowledge that we cannot make a profit at this price, but..."

"To make friends."

"As long as everyone is friends with Rockwell, we can let the world know how black-hearted our competitors are. Are they angels who want to change the world, or devils who are crazy about profit?"

Such words made the reporters at the scene put away their shock and show excitement!
Because they just like this kind of blatant declaration of war!
After the new product launch, countless pieces of news spread across North America through electricity. That evening, the three major North American radio and television networks had already announced all of this.

"Today is a great day because Rockwell 1980 is born!"

"This product will bring great changes to the lives of North American people, because they have the same capabilities as the second generation of Apple but at an extremely low price!"

"The price of $379 will make personal computers truly popular!"

"Rockwell has done something great that will go down in history!"

If these were the only reports related to it, it would be considered normal commercial hype.

But when Columbia stepped forward, everything changed.

Because they said—

"Apple Computer will suffer greatly from Rockwell's 1980 IPO."

"When the Rockwell 1980 has the same functions as the Apple II, people who want to embrace change but cannot afford the high cost will actively embrace high-quality and low-priced products."

"According to experts' estimates, Apple Computer's revenue may fall sharply this year."

"Their profits may also be cut in half."

"This situation could have a huge impact on Apple's major investors."

When CBS took the lead in publicly spreading negative news about Apple, other media outlets stopped hiding and continued to express their views on the matter.

For a time, a series of aggressive headlines such as "The end of Apple has come" and "Technology upstarts will eventually lose to old-school giants" appeared on the front pages of major newspapers.

To be honest, no matter who it is, they will be very angry when faced with words that speak ill of them.

But when Ethan got the newspaper, an expression of "as expected" appeared on his face.

He had already guessed that Rockwell and Komodor's purpose of moving to Neon was to obtain cheap materials. Now, everything they did was nothing more than confirming his guess.

What really surprised him was the timing of these people's announcement.

Sega's "Godzilla" just made some waves in North America, and Rockwell and Komodor immediately released their own new products? This seems like a collaboration!

But the question is, didn’t Warner, Philips, and Disney have a fight over the agency rights of Godzilla? They clearly fought! How come they turned around and reconciled?
Ethan couldn't figure it out.

"Is it possible..."

"Is Sega in cahoots with them?"

"But if that's the case..."

"Then this is even more outrageous than being divorced and still being good friends!"

Just as he was puzzled, the phone on the desk rang.

I picked up the phone and it was Xiao Qiao calling.

Steve Jobs didn't even move. He just said, "Ethan, did you watch the news?"

"I have seen it." Ethan said, "Commodor and Rockwell have both released their own new products. I have learned about this matter. What? Are you nervous?"

"If you're nervous, you better get me the GUI."

In Ethan's opinion, there was a 99% chance that Steve Jobs called this time about his competitor's products. According to past habits, this guy must have sensed the crisis and hoped that Ethan could help him overcome the difficulties and get the chip from Bill Gates as soon as possible.

But this kind of thing...

Ethan hasn't found a chance to talk to him yet!

When Ethan himself didn't know how to convince Xiao Qiao that open source and closed source must exist at the same time, facing the possible request, he decided to take the initiative and directly put Steve Jobs' words back into his stomach. His question did make the guy on the other end of the phone silent for a moment, but soon, Steve Jobs said again: "Oh - I don't have a sense of crisis!"

"Compared to GUIs, command line interfaces are garbage!"

"?" This answer made Ethan feel a little strange. "Then why don't you call me?"

"Oh, I just want you to pay attention to your surroundings."

Jobs said: "I have been paying attention to recent events. Their appearance is too coincidental. It seems that someone planned it."

"So, I personally think that your enemies may be targeting you specifically."

“And attacking Apple is just one of the ways to attack you.”

"This matter is related to Apple itself, but the relationship should not be significant."

"Yoho!" Jobs' words made Ethan laugh.

He didn't expect that this guy has improved a lot now! He was able to find out that the real purpose of these people was not to sell products, but to kill him, Ethan Jones!

"Oh - Steve -" Ethan said with emotion: "Thank you, I will."

At the same time, he also comforted her: "Don't worry, because I'm used to it."

"Get used to it?" Jobs didn't respond.

"Yes." Ethan nodded: "I'm used to it. I'm used to being besieged."

"..." This answer caused the other end of the phone to fall silent again.

After a long while, Jobs finally said, "Ethan..."

"If you need my help, just tell me."

"Okay, okay, okay..." Ethan said with a smile: "Don't worry, Steve, I'm not the kind of person who is shy. If I really need your help, I will definitely tell you..."

Ethan did not lie. He never treated Xiao Qiao as an outsider from the beginning to the end.

Ever since those big capitalists began to attack him, he has always regarded Apple as a powerful weapon of counterattack, but Jobs himself may not have realized it.

And regarding today's matter...

The best response is to pull the graphical user interface out of your pants.

Just kick other competitors into the dust of history.

And when he already had a firm grasp on the patent for the graphical user interface...

If these people want to make trouble, let them make trouble.

Anyway, there is not much time left for them.

After a brief chat, both parties were ready to hang up the phone.

Before saying goodbye, Ethan remembered one more thing.

"Oh, by the way, Steve, can you please do me a favor?"

"what?"

"Don't respond."

"Hmm? Oh - I see..."

The reason why Ethan asked Steve Jobs not to respond was simple: he wanted to see how the market would react after the cheap computers were launched.

Will people vote with their feet and embrace mass products that suit them?
Or will you continue to follow suit and buy Apple computers?

The answer to this question is...

It soon surfaced.

With the arrival of May 1980st, Rockwell also appeared in electronics stores in major cities. When the brand new machines appeared on the brand new shelves, their appearance, which was highly similar to that of Apple but not identical, immediately attracted inquiries from many curious people.

"Hi, I would like to know when the Rockwell 1980 external disk will be available?"

"I'm sorry, we don't know about this matter either. Please pay attention to the news."

"Then can you tell me the detailed parameters of the Rockwell 1980 machine?"

"That's no problem. This is the printer port, this is the fax port, this is the display port, this is the application port... and it has five built-in slots that can hold 4KB ROM/EPROM chips. It's very convenient to use..."

"Then his language is..."

"BASIC."

The continuous answers made the guy who came to ask questions nod repeatedly.

After understanding all the parameter settings of the machine, he asked again: "Hello, I want to know, what can we do with this Rockwell 1980 computer now?"

Perhaps because they had received professional training before taking up the job, the salesperson answered quickly.

"What the Apple II can do, our Rockwell 1980 can do."

"Really?" The guy asking the question was a little unconvinced.

"Of course." The salesperson nodded repeatedly.

However, before he could list the functions of the machine, the guy asking the question had already pointed out the names with his fingers, "I want to know, can this machine play games?"

"Uh..." The salesperson was stunned by this question.

The young man continued to ask: "I want to know, is there an instruction manual for this machine?"

"The kind that's programmed?"

"Uh..." The salesperson didn't know how to answer this question either.

The guy rolled his eyes and asked again: "I also want to know, does this machine have any other external devices?" It seems that the other party can't answer this question, so the guy reminded: "It's an external device similar to the Apple controller."

“……” The salesperson was silent.

This fact made the guy who was asking the question sigh, shake his head and leave.

As he left, the people around him all looked regretful and dispersed.

The display stand, which was originally bustling, suddenly became deserted.

Similar things are happening elsewhere on the North American continent.

The reason for this situation is very simple.

Anyone living in the 21st century will know that ecosystem is the basis for the continuous replacement of hardware products. If you only sell machines without building an ecosystem, reality will give you a slap in the face.

No one will care!
Sell ​​machines first and then build the ecosystem?
Aren’t those just a bunch of mobile phone manufacturers in the Android camp?

The truth is the same!

Even if you can't build an ecosystem at the beginning, you have to get access to other people's ecosystems first.

Otherwise, why should users pay for software if there is no software available?
But unfortunately, at this point in time, no company can compare with Apple in terms of ecosystem.

Therefore, it is normal that Rockwell is well received but not popular in North America.

But in Komodor, the situation has changed.

Just one week after the Neon was launched, they had already sold 10,000 units.

The income of three million in seven days made them overjoyed, but for Ethan...

These are small things.

Neon in the personal computer field is a market that he cannot touch for the time being. In this case, no matter how Komodor makes a fuss, it has nothing to do with him.

What's more, Microsoft has IBM on its side, right?

If only Bill Gates could get his mom to help him get IBM to use his spreadsheets...

That neon can't jump.

When all federal agencies across the country are using their format, what other foreign products?
You still want to sell?

Kidnapping other countries’ office markets at the federal level is the easiest promotion in the world!

Because when the format is not unified, the Federation will take the initiative to protect local companies. When computer companies in other countries cannot even protect their own ecological environment...

Selling goods at the expense of others, that is the future!

With Komodor posing no threat and Rockwell looking stupid, Ethan suddenly felt the pressure on him was reduced a lot. He called Steve Ballmer and asked about the sales of "Godzilla". When he learned that Ron Miller had spread the monster fire to the central region, he asked Steve Ballmer to book a charter flight for him to Washington.

At this moment, he wanted to crush Disney's dog head with his own hands.

No, it's to curb Disney's explosive popularity. (End of this chapter)