Chapter 132 Martyrs

"Dear, it seems that our vacation trip can only come to an end. The Rockefeller Foundation and the California Foundation require Apple to convene a board of directors immediately to discuss ways to deal with IBM." Li Zetian sighed slightly.

Yu Jingqiu knew the priority of the matter and said, "Well, let's go back."

Li Zetian said: "After the wedding in October, I will go on a honeymoon to make it up to you!"

"OK."

So, the two returned to San Jose that day, and then lived in a small villa owned by Li Zetian there.

Simba welcomed the arrival of the hostess very much and always followed Yu Jingqiu wherever she went. On the contrary, he "left out" Li Zetian, and Li Zetian was so angry that he gave it a new name - "Simba the perverted dog"!

When Yu Jingqiu heard the name, she burst into laughter.

After a good night's rest, the two attended the Apple board of directors together the next day.

Yu Jingqiu is a major shareholder of Apple and naturally a member of the board of directors.

After the board members arrived, Li Zetian, as the chairman, was the first to speak.

"I've seen IBM's product launch. They launched a "mobile personal computer" called IBM-5110. What do you think of this?"

Li Zetian wanted to laugh in his heart. If IBM launched a desktop personal computer, he would be really scared, but he actually launched a notebook. Isn't this looking for death? If it could be developed, Li Zetian wouldn't have asked Apple to develop it quickly, and would IBM still be able to take the lead?

Tian Shuai said at this time: "In fact, before IBM launched the 5110, it had already launched the 5100 mobile computer in September 1975. The machine weighed 25kg and integrated the keyboard, 5-inch CRT picture tube, tape drive and other input and output devices into a An all-in-one computer the size of a suitcase was called a "mobile business computer" because it was compact and easy to carry. This was a pioneering work at the time.

Although IBM used the most leading technology at the time, the IBM-5100 was priced extremely high, more than 20,000 US dollars per unit, and only a few consumers could afford it. Its target audience was obviously not individual users, but business users. However, within half a year after users got the expensive IBM-5100, endless quality problems emerged one after another, seriously damaging IBM's good market reputation. Half a year ago, when IBM decided to enter the personal computer market, it decided to make a comeback and try to develop a "mobile personal computer" that could beat Apple based on the IBM-5100 - the IBM-5110.

This is the origin of IBM-5110.

The IBM-5110 is cheaper and lighter than the IBM-5100, and its performance is comparable. It can be seen that IBM's aggressive approach this time may have a huge impact on Apple! "

Li Zetian nodded and looked at the others.

Zhang Hao shook his head, glanced at Li Zetian, wanted to say something, but swallowed his words. He had previously proposed to Li Zetian to develop a mobile computer, but Li Zetian believed that the hardware conditions at the time were immature and did not recommend development. But now, IBM has launched a mobile computer. If Apple was also developing a mobile computer, there would be products to compete with it.

Zhang Hao couldn't help but sigh slightly in his heart.

Others expressed their opinions at this time.

Thomas Rockefeller also came to the board of directors this time. He didn't know much about technology, but he could observe what was happening. Among all the people present, others talked about IBM with a hint of nervousness and worry, but Li was indifferent. He looked fearless, as if he was holding the pearl of wisdom and sitting firmly on the fishing platform.

So, he asked: "Mr. Li, what do you think of IBM-5110?"

Li Zetian smiled lightly and said: "This thing is not a big deal, it cannot pose a threat to Apple! IBM still doesn't understand what a personal computer is? A personal computer is a computer that ordinary users can afford. Look at IBM- How much is 5110?”

"$5,000!"

"US$5,000 is indeed much cheaper than the US$20,000 of the previous generation product. However, for ordinary users, this price is still unacceptable! Computers that are too expensive and cannot be popularized are bound to be eliminated! In fact, IBM The company's positioning of the IBM-5110 itself was a mistake. From the price of the IBM-5110, it is not difficult to infer that IBM is ambitious and wants to sell all personal computers and business computers in one go, so it launched a product with a price between ordinary users and business users. products between.

Li Zetian smiled and continued, "Besides, this machine weighs 18.5kg. It is said to be a mobile computer, but it is actually not convenient to carry. Can you carry it around all day?"

Yu Jingqiu shook her head, "I'm afraid my hands will get tired after a while..."

"Yes!" Li Zetian nodded towards Yu Jingqiu and continued, "In fact, Apple has also discussed mobile computers, but we know that the current hardware conditions are not mature enough, so we are not in a hurry to develop and launch them. Product. If Apple wants to launch a mobile notebook, it must meet at least three conditions. First, the price is appropriate. The price of the low-end version of the computer must be less than $2,000. Second, it must be light in weight, less than 10kg. Third, it must have powerful performance. , can meet the basic needs of users!”

After saying that, Li Zetian laughed and said, "Everyone will wait and see, IBM will soon know that this is not how personal computers work!"

After hearing Li Zetian's explanation, everyone felt relieved.

Thomas Rockefeller couldn't help but praise: "Chronos, you are indeed the founder of the personal computer, and you are very thorough in seeing problems! It seems that IBM is going to be in trouble this time." After saying that, he laughed.

Unlike Apple, which is negative about IBM-5110, the outside media are unanimously optimistic about it, and many third-party software developers have also decided to develop software for IBM-5110.

On July 1, IBM officially released the product.

At the beginning, there were a lot of buyers.

The next day, however, sales plummeted.

Total sales after a week were less than a thousand units.

A month later, sales did not exceed 2,000.

One step ahead is an advance, two steps ahead is a pioneer, and three steps ahead is a martyr. As expected by Li Zetian, the IBM-5110 hit the market... Li Zetian developed his own products based on the conditions at the time, such as the personal computer Apple-l, which happened to be successful when Intel launched the 8080 microprocessor. For example, the Walkman just lacked an idea and the technical conditions were mature. Although it went through several twists and turns, it finally succeeded.

At this moment, the media were all stunned and couldn't believe that IBM had encountered Waterloo.

People can't help but feel disappointed with IBM.

Why are computer giants so trash? ! !

IBM's board of directors was naturally aware of the failure of IBM-5110, and began to become more cautious about entering personal computers. If the next product is still unsuccessful, it will be laughed at by the industry! Therefore, it may be a long time before the next personal computer is released.

The failure of the IBM-5110 was also a failure of Intel, because IBM used the Intel-8080 microprocessor, which made Intel even more disappointed with the microprocessor department. Li Zetian has naturally been eyeing Intel for a long time. At this moment, he felt that the opportunity had come!

"You can't do it yourself. Times Technology Company needs a leader..." Li Zetian murmured.

(The head of Times Technology selects the candidates, and those who are interested leave a book review, including their name, experience, and how they interact with the protagonist. The more detailed you write, the better. This character is awesome)

PS: Please subscribe, recommend, and vote monthly. Is 3 updates a day considered too little? Then we will try to update four times starting from tomorrow, and everyone must support it, otherwise there will be no motivation to persevere!

(The head of Times Technology selects the candidates. Interested parties will leave a book review, name, experience, and how they interact with the protagonist. The more detailed the write, the better. This character is very awesome.) PS: Please subscribe, recommend, and vote monthly. Isn’t 3 updates a day considered too little? Then we will try to update four times starting from tomorrow, and everyone must support it, otherwise there will be no motivation to persevere!