Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 201 We need our own transistor (Subscription required)

The news of the successful development of the small transistor computer soon spread to various departments.

All departments were eagerly looking forward to this computer, wanting to see what this so-called transistor computer was and how good it was. Why did the promotion plan for the previously developed vacuum tube general-purpose computer be stopped?

Our current level of development is completely different from that in history. With the rapid development of various technologies, all units have realized the importance of computing speed to scientific research and warfare.

They were very happy when they heard that our research on the vacuum tube general-purpose computer was successful, and the performance of that computer was better than the one imported from Big Brother, so they were waiting to apply for it.

Unexpectedly, the so-called transistor computer suddenly emerged, which directly caused the previous plan to be stopped.

Although each unit had complaints before, they heard that transistor computers were better than vacuum tube computers, so they all waited for the research of transistor computers to be successful.

Now that transistor computers have been developed, let's take them out and show everyone whether they are a good product or not.

So on the second day after the successful research on transistor computers, leaders of almost all scientific research units and colleges and universities in the entire city came to the Computer Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Hiss~ It's so small, is this really a computer?"

The chief asked in surprise as he looked at the cabinets that were only half a person's height, the monitor that was converted from the TV that Big Brother gave him, and the input device that looked very much like a typewriter.

"Yes, this is the small general-purpose transistor computer we just developed."

"We used 6400 transistors in this computer, and also added new input and output, instruction system, and usage environment. It is much simpler to operate than other computers. From yesterday to now, it has been running stably for more than 24 hours without any malfunction."

"Moreover, this computer also replaced the previous cumbersome paper tape punching equipment with visual input and output devices, which greatly improved the convenience of use."

Professor Xia, the person in charge of this project, introduced it proudly after seeing the surprised looks of so many leaders.

"Professor Xia, how is the performance of this computer?"

After the initial shock, a leader reacted and asked Professor Xia.

"Yeah, this computer looks so small, it can't be that it sacrifices computing speed, right?"

Other leaders also responded that computers are ultimately used to assist scientific research, and their main function is to solve computational problems encountered in research.

It would be useless if the computer was not fast enough, no matter how small and easy to use it was.

Professor Xia smiled after hearing these doubts: "We tested this computer yesterday and found that its fastest computing speed reached 2.1 times per second, which is twice as fast as our current fastest 104 machine."

"Because this computer is made entirely of transistors, it does not need a long warm-up period after being turned on, so the energy consumption is also very low, even lower than the general-purpose computer we studied before."

"Hiss~" After listening to Professor Xia's introduction, all the leaders couldn't help but take a breath.

Such a small machine has a computing speed twice as fast as the 104 machine which occupies hundreds of square meters, and it is more reliable and consumes less energy. This completely overturned their three views.

After all, these units were also deeply influenced by Big Brother before, and they felt that transistors were not serious things at all and had no future.

But now it seems that transistors are the future of computers.

“Haha~” The leader laughed when he heard this: “I didn’t expect that Big Brother would make mistakes sometimes.”

"This fully demonstrates that what the big brother says is not necessarily right. It seems that it is still necessary for us to insist on the path of independent research and development."

"Your computer research institute is amazing. Thanks to your efforts, we seem to have caught up in the computer field." "But we can't be too proud. Transistor technology has only been around for a few years, but it has already developed to the point where it can replace vacuum tubes. What does this mean?"

"This shows that technology is developing very fast now. If we are satisfied and rest on our laurels, we will be caught up or even surpassed by others sooner or later."

“So I hope that your computer research institute will continue to carry forward the spirit of not fearing hardship and fatigue, and daring to innovate, and reach new heights in the computer field!”

"Wow~"

After the leader's speech, there was warm applause at the scene.

“Please rest assured, Chief, we will continue to work hard and live up to the expectations of the organization and the people.”

Professor Xia assured excitedly.

"I believe our comrades can do it." The leader shook hands with Professor Xia and the researchers involved in the transistor project one by one to encourage them.

Then he asked Mr. Hua who was standing next to him: "If this computer is to be popularized, will there be any difficulties?"

"Chief, these are still two difficult problems. We don't have our own qualified transistors and displays." Mr. Hua said helplessly.

"I will arrange for this issue to be resolved for you as soon as possible. Besides, we should also develop our own radio and television business."

After hearing the chief's words, Mr. Hua and Professor Xia all breathed a sigh of relief.

"By the way, how much does this computer cost?"

At this time, a military leader suddenly asked.

Hearing this question, everyone looked at Professor Xia and Mr. Hua.

"We have only produced one prototype of this computer, and all the transistors are imported from abroad. The monitor is also modified by Director Nie using his own TV."

"So the cost was very high, more than 50 in total, including the foreign exchange spent on purchasing transistors."

"And now we can no longer purchase transistors. After the last transaction, our channel has been targeted by the Eagle Sauce."

As the top leader of the Computer Research Institute, Mr. Hua knew exactly how much this computer cost.

"What a pity." The military leader said with regret.

"Then can we produce transistors ourselves?" The leader asked Dean Guo who was joining in the fun.

When President Guo heard the leader asking him, he glanced at his "secretary" Yang Ning covertly.

After noticing Dean Guo's look, Yang Ning shook his head slightly.

"Not at the moment!" After getting Yang Ning's answer, President Guo said to the leader.

"Then arrange for relevant personnel to conduct research as soon as possible. We must have our own transistors and never let others hold us back." The chief said firmly to the leader in charge of semiconductor research.

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)