Rebirth of the Tech Madman

You must know that the hard disks equipped with personal computers at this stage are mainly 5.25 inches, and the capacity is usually tens of mb, while 3.5 inches hard disks are still in the minority, and there is no advantage in terms of capacity; like Fangyuan personal workstations For workstation-level products like this, the capacity of the hard disk is often hundreds of mb; for advanced enterprise storage, the storage capacity provided by the hard disk can break through the 1gb mark, but the disk size must be increased to 8 British?, even 10 British?.

Therefore, it is completely conceivable that when Tang Huan officially announced that the Zheru R&D center will achieve 1gb capacity in 5.25 British? hard drives, or even 3.5 British? hard drives, how strong shock it will be to everyone present.

The Albert Fell team of the Zheru R&D Center confirmed the existence of the giant magnetoresistance effect at the end of last year and completed the paper submission and other related work.

This progress is much faster than another independent research team-the Peter Greenberg team of the German Jülich Research Center. As for the reason, I believe only the instigator-Tang Huan knows best.

Albert Fair's team studied multilayer materials composed of iron and chromium. In the experiment, they obtained a 50% reduction in resistance, and thus achieved an accurate description of the physical principles behind the giant magnetoresistance phenomenon.

The significance of the giant magnetoresistance effect in hard disk technology is as follows: as the unit data storage density increases, the requirements for read and write heads are getting higher and higher, and the read and write heads composed of giant magnetoresistance materials can do So, even if the magnetic field is very small, it can output enough current changes to identify the data, thereby greatly increasing the density of data storage.

If we have to use a concrete number to describe how remarkable this technology leap is, that is, the disk recording density can be at least 20 times higher than the current level.

Naturally, philosophers took a large class of patents into his arms.

In fact, in the storage field, technical standards from the hands of philosophers have almost been covered indiscriminately.

For example, in terms of data transmission interfaces, there are low-end ata for personal computers, and high-end scsi for personal workstations and network servers.

For another example, in order to achieve the goals of increasing processing capacity, enhancing fault tolerance, and improving data integration, there are raid-0, ra

Based on this status as a leader in the industry, when Tang Huan talked about the use of personal computers with a capacity of up to 1gb in the next few years, and thus can get many benefits, including a better multimedia experience, everyone around has no doubts, reporters Quickly recorded, I don't know how many times stronger than Jobs's credit.

Seagate CEO Alan Shugart, who was sitting beside him, cooperated with Tang Huan with a smile on his face, and enthusiastically interacted with the reporters in the audience, hoping that the publicity effect of the acquisition ceremony could be maximized.

At this stage, Seagate occupies approximately 45 percent of the personal computer market and provides 50 percent of the hard drives required by Fangyuan Computer's products, making it a leader in the industry.

However, although Seagate is the first in the industry to launch a 5.25 inch hard drive, grabbing the first-mover advantage in the market, the fierce competition in this field exceeds everyone's imagination. At this stage, there are more than 70 "active" companies engaged in this field. This kind of business is to share the big cake with the annual hard disk demand exceeding 20 million and the market output value exceeding 20 billion U.S. dollars.

Of course, in such a cruel competitive situation, the market is ruthless when it is eliminated, especially those companies that encounter product quality accidents like ibm-pc/xt hard disk doors, and there is only one result, and that is a dead end.

Seagate, which has been straining its nerves, is responding to peer competition like walking on thin ice, and internal problems have also arisen-there has been a conflict of ideas between the co-founders.

Alan Shugart is keen to continuously improve hard indicators such as capacity and transmission speed on the basis of 5.25 inch hard drives; while Fenas Connaught insists that for microcomputer systems, 5.25 inch hard drives Too cumbersome, 3.5-inch hard disk is more suitable, is the general trend of the future, Seagate can not miss this technological trend.

This kind of disagreement really couldn't tell who was right and who was wrong. Fighting over and over was the result of renunciation, and it inevitably reached Tang Huan's ears in the end.

Tang Huan's control of Seagate has been increasing, from the previous 20% shareholding to the current 35%. Its purpose is nothing more than to ensure the supply chain of Fangyuan Computer. The huge profit in the hard disk market is naturally an important reason.

As the largest shareholder, it is incumbent to come forward to resolve the disharmony of Seagate's management.

Of course, Tang Huan knew that the 5.25 inch hard drive was indeed a transitional product, and eventually entered the historical trash can, and its status was replaced by a 3.25 inch hard drive.

However, the application of technology must consider the actual situation-at this stage, with the surge of personal computers, the 5.25-inch hard drive that has surfaced is in the midst of a booming and popular stage. No one would be willing to give up the huge benefits in front of him for prospects that have not yet arrived, and Tang Huan could not avoid it.

In the end, the richest man simply settled down—since Fenas Connaught was so obsessed with the 3.5-inch hard drive, he paid for him to do it all by himself. When it has real results, Seagate can consider buying it down and eat a ready-made stir-fry.

In this way, the two founders broke up peacefully, and finally did not tear their faces, affecting Seagate, which is in the fast-growth period. Feines Connaught also founded a hard drive company called Connaught, which develops and operates 3.5 pounds? Hard disk; Alan Shugart continues to serve as CEO, leading Seagate forward. The acquisition of the business of the hard disk division of the control data company is an important step in the expansion from the personal computer market to the enterprise market.

This opportunity comes from the action that the Control Data Company is selling most of the company's assets. It is also the sigh of Hedong and Hexi for thirty years.

In the 1960s, Control Data Corporation was one of the few important large computer companies like ibm. The product cdc-6600 is considered to be the first successful supercomputer. From 1964 to 1969, it occupied the throne of the world's fastest computer. In recent years, the Cray Research Company, which you chased me on supercomputers with Fangyuan Computer Company, was founded by Shimur Cray, who was born in the control data company, with the support of his old owner.

But after entering the 1980s, the pioneer of controlling the data company, a supercomputer, made a series of decision-making mistakes and had to decide to sell most of the company's assets and leave the computer manufacturing industry. This phenomenon also supports the deteriorating mainframe business from another angle.

As the first step in a cumbersome liquidation process that may take several years, the control data company first sold the hard disk business. This is a sweet pastry. Compared with the outdated mainframe products, its storage technology still has a lingering fragrance. It was immediately followed by Seagate and grabbed it.

Alan Shugart has reason to believe that after this step, Seagate, which has been relying on Fangyuan Computer for several years, can truly stand out from the industry.

"With a larger-capacity hard drive in a personal computer, users can process pictures, audio, and even video more freely, thereby obtaining an extraordinary multimedia experience; network servers can store more data and adapt to countless applications on the Internet Request." Tang Huan elaborated tirelessly, the popularization of g-capacity hard drives has brought bright prospects for the development of the entire computer industry.

In the end, Alan Shugart vowed to say: "Seagate will work together with the Zheru R&D Center to transform the research results of the giant magnetoresistance effect into the hard disk industry within three years."

After the signing ceremony, Seagate's shares in Nasdaq skyrocketed. Even ibm, the ancestor of hard disk development, attaches great importance to this technological breakthrough. Regardless of the fact that it is in a business crisis, it has announced that it will enter the ranks of competition.

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Fortunately, no matter how Seagate grabs the limelight, it is only limited to the hard disk, and it has not affected everyone's attention to the computer conference.

Jobs, who has no constraints, can pursue the details he emphasized more unscrupulously this time, and even spent an extra $60,000 to specially invite the subsidiary company under Zheru that specializes in operating video projection applications to take charge of the entire product launch conference. Technical support for audiovisual effects.

This obsession with details also included Steve Jobs personally checking the list of invited guests, and even asking what mineral water, croissants, cream cheese, and bean sprouts were used in the lunch menu.

There is no doubt that Jobs wants to surpass himself through this carefully planned public show and clarify the various external doubts that have been raised since he was swept out by Apple.

In the end, the computer conference was held in the San Francisco Symphony Hall. What was presented in front of everyone was a stage with a simple design—a black background, a black cloth on the table, draped on the computer, and a bottle of simple flowers next to it. The perfect black cube of the computer, in this careful arrangement?

Jobs did not live up to the expectations of the more than 3,000 spectators at the scene, and his profound opening remark-"I am very happy to be back" immediately evoked the cheers of the audience.

After describing the development history of the personal computer architecture, Jobs promised the audience that they were about to witness a historical event that "will only happen once or twice in 10 years --------- a new architecture It will be launched soon and will change the face of computers."

Ross Perot, who was sitting next to Tang Huan, obviously admired Jobs's bewitching performance, and kept raising his hands to applaud.

Similar to the original mac conference, Steve Jobs mainly showed the computer's multimedia functions such as playing voice and live recording. Although Tang Huan vigorously promoted the computer multimedia application in the background, it was somewhat uninspiring, but with careful design The interactive part of the game still won a lot of money.

In the question session of the media, when a reporter worried about Jobs' repeated bounces of the computer, Jobs replied indifferently, "It's not too late at all. Computers are 5 years ahead of the time."

Rose Perot, who enjoyed the atmosphere very much, asked Tang Huan excitedly, "Tang, what do you think of the monthly sales plan of 10,000 computers?"

"It's hard to say." Tang Huan replied indifferently: "Now the customer's requirements for the computer system are actually very simple. Under the premise of ease of use, the stronger the product function, the faster the speed, and the larger the capacity, the easier it will be favored. , If we can achieve high quality and low price, it will definitely be all the rage."

Ross Perrault rubbed his stiff face with a stiff smile and muttered to himself: "Being mixed up by Gates, commercial software has indeed become an obvious shortcoming on the computer platform."

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The computer conference ended in an optimistic and lively atmosphere. The media also gave Jobs the attention he expected, but the market sales were not satisfactory. In the first month of freshness, only 1,000 units were shipped. The target of monthly sales of 10,000 units is far from the same.

To be honest, after joining Tang Huan, Jobs' work results are considered reliable, at least the factory production has not lost the chain-the computer can be normal from the production line without quality, but it is just applauded.

The reason for this is very complicated. In addition to the fact that computers have shown Steve Jobs’ flamboyantness as always, competition in the workstation market is also intensifying. Sun Microsystems, which has also developed the risc microprocessor, cannot compare. ,

Bill Joy, the chief scientist of Sun Microsystems, cleverly and humorously sent a compliment-"It's the first yuppie terminal"; Gates, as always, publicly criticized "Frankly speaking, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com I am disappointed".

Tang Huan doesn't care about this. The company's loss is not a big deal. When the homogeneity of products in the entire industry is serious, Jobs's value is reflected. He deserves to be "supported" by himself.

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After making up the excitement of the computer conference, Tang Huan immediately set off for Los Angeles, preparing to attend the 60th Academy Awards that will be held in the Temple Auditorium for an unprecedented time.

The media paid great attention to this early, and interpreted it as the fact that this Hollywood tycoon, who is usually detached from Hollywood, but belongs to the real Hollywood tycoon, finally reached out and used his energy.

At this year’s Oscars, two films with the same Chinese theme, "Mulan" and "The Last Emperor", both led the way with 9 nominations. At the previous Golden Globe Awards, "Mulan" was very rewarding. .

This is understood to mean that the richest man is going to really start to praise people grandiosely.

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