giants of the era

Chapter 41 "Popular Electronics" caused a huge sensation!
The Intel 8080 chip costs US$60, which Li Zetian actually thinks is too expensive.

The Mos-6502 chip costs only $25, and its performance is not much worse than that of the 8080.Of course, it will be released a year later than Intel8080.

As October 10st was getting closer, Li Zetian was so excited that he could hardly sleep.Every day I wonder if Apple-l will be popular, and will there be more orders?

Soon, Li Zetian's worries disappeared.

On October 10st, the magazine "Popular Electronics" was released across the United States. On the evening of that day, all the magazines in this issue were sold out, causing a huge sensation in the United States!
40 magazines!It sold out in one day, what a concept! ! !
This issue of "Popular Electronics" is the hottest since its inception!

Apple-l is much more powerful than the shock brought to people by the previous Altair8080!
The Altair8800 is just a simple box, without a monitor, keyboard, mouse, or high-level programming language. There are many switch indicators on the front of the box. Turning on the light means "1", and turning off the light means "0". Binary machine language programming is performed in the same way as turning off the lights. There is no display, and the programming process cannot be seen. In case something goes wrong, you have to start over.Just imagine, if tens of thousands of lines of code are programmed in this way, it will kill people! ! !

Comparing Apple-l with Altair8080, it is undoubtedly a world of difference!

Therefore, the shock brought by Apple-l was unimaginable to people at that time!
Schools, Homebrew clubs, computer retailers, computer manufacturers, electronics accessory companies, and more, countless people were talking about the Apple-[-] model personal computer.

Harvard University.

Bill Gates and Paul Allen looked at the Apple-l on the cover of "Popular Electronics" with unspeakable excitement.

"The age of the personal computer is here!!" Paul Allen said to Bill Gates.

"Yes!!!" Bill Gates nodded. However, unlike the previous life, Apple-l in this life already had a very good BASIC language as soon as it was released, which confused Bill Gates and Paul Allen I don't know what to do.

However, both of them are masters of computer software programming, so they are very interested in the BASIC language on Apple-l.

"Paul, let's buy an Apple-l and come back and study it together. Unexpectedly, the Apple-l personal computer can run the BASIC language. The developer of the BASIC language is simply too genius!!!" Proud Bill Gates Said.

"Yeah, he must be a super programming genius! Wait, Bill, look here, the BASIC language copyright provider is actually Microsoft!!! Oh, God, isn't this the company Chronos founded?!!" Paul Allen exclaimed in surprise!

Bill Gates hurriedly looked at the place Paul Allen was pointing at, and sure enough, there was a line of small characters on it: "Apple-l personal computer BASIC language copyright provider: Microsoft Corporation, contact information: XXXXX"

After Bill Gates read it, he was silent for a while and said, "Chronos is really not an ordinary person!!!"

"Bill, Microsoft has just been established and must be short of manpower. Do you think Chronos will contact us?" Paul Allen said excitedly.

"Maybe..."

As soon as the voice fell, the phone rang suddenly.

Bill Gates went to answer the phone.

"Hello, who?" Bill Gates asked.

"Hi Bill, I'm Chronos! Have you seen the latest issue of Popular Electronics?"

"Just finished watching!"

"Bill, you must have seen that the BASIC language on the Apple-l personal computer is provided by Microsoft."

"Yes, I saw it!"

"Okay, then I'll be straightforward! Bill, drop out of school and start a business with me, I need you here!!!" Li Zetian said with a very sincere attitude.

"Chronos, I want to think about it!"

"Okay, after thinking about it, please answer me immediately, call this number or tell Yu Jingqiu!"

"Well!" Bill Gates responded.

"Okay, bye!"

At the end of the call, Bill Gates hung up the phone, and Paul Allen immediately came over and hurriedly asked, "What did Chronos say?"

"He wants me to drop out of school and start a business with him!"

"Go, let's go together!!!" Paul Allen excitedly said, "Our three computer programming geniuses join forces, the future must be very exciting!"

"Well, I'll think about it, Paul!" Bill Gates nodded.

……

……

Intel Corporation.

"Carlos Stephen, the cooperation with Apple this time is beautiful!" Gordon Moore, the founder of Intel and the creator of Moore's Law, praised Carlos Stephen. It is almost the first in history, and the Intel 8080 processor will definitely take this opportunity to break into the computer field in one fell swoop!!!”

Carlos Stephen smiled and said: "Thank you, Mr. Moore, for the compliment. The biggest beneficiary should be Apple. Presumably, after today is over, Apple will skyrocket!"

"Well, that's right!" Gordon Moore nodded, and then continued, "So, in the future, we will win over Apple and strive for their processors to use our Intel's!!!"

"Mr. Moore, don't worry, I know how to do it!!!"

……

……

But at this moment MITS company is a gloomy cloud.

Roberts, the founder of the company, was trembling while holding the "Popular Electronics" magazine. The Altair8800 project was just completed at the end of September, and he planned to conduct a one-month test before launching it on the market!However, unexpectedly, there was already a company that launched the personal computer first!
Just launch it, but it's so perfect!
Altair8800 and Apple-l together, completely eclipsed! ! !

At this moment, the ambitious Roberts has to admit that he made a garbage product!
"Mr. Roberts, don't be discouraged. Our Altair 8800 is no match for Apple-l in terms of function, performance, and aesthetics, but our Altair has an advantage!" Brant Moore, an engineer in charge of project development said Leon.

"What advantage?" Roberts asked feebly.

"Price advantage!!! Mr. Roberts, didn't you pay attention? The price of Apple-l is 2000 US dollars! I am afraid that many people can't afford this price! And our Altair8800 can sell for hundreds of dollars, winning at a low price I think, users who can’t afford Apple-l may buy Altair8800, after all, our Altair8800 is a personal computer like Apple-l!!!”

Roberts' eyes lit up when he heard the words, "Yes, that's right, we're taking the low-price route!"

"However, Mr. Roberts, we'd better get the BASIC language, so as to attract more computer enthusiasts to buy our products! The BASIC language on the Apple-l is provided by a company called Microsoft, we can ask about it , ask them to authorize."

"Well, I'll do as you said, and I'll leave the task of contacting Microsoft to you," Roberts said loudly, regaining his confidence, "I'm going to Intel now to order a batch of 8080 processors !Meanwhile contact the media to promote our Altair8800."

"Okay, Mr. Roberts!" Brant Moulton nodded.

Roberts never expected that when he came to Intel, he suffered a heavy blow!

"I'm very sorry, Mr. Roberts. The production capacity of Intel 8080 microprocessors is insufficient, and they are all reserved by Apple. If your company wants it, you can only wait for next month!" Carlos Stephen shook his head.

next month?
Day lilies are going to be cold for next month!
PS: Update for you without lunch, hurry up and vote!

　PS: Update for you without lunch, hurry up and vote!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)