Rebirth in America

Mouse, keyboard and games are just a cover-up. Alex's purpose is not just to make a game for people to play. He has a higher and further goal, he wants to create the world's first graphical interface.

The so-called graphical interface is to realize the computer interface in the form of graphical operations. Because you need to use a mouse to click on the button pattern, the operation is very intuitive and convenient, so he made the mouse first.

Graphical user interface is referred to as GUI. Computer operations using GUI must be more humane and easier to accept, reduce the user's cognitive load, and further optimize the performance of the product.

In this era, computers are still controlled by instructions, which is very unintuitive and practical. Alex is convinced that the emergence of GUI will definitely change everything.

Historically, GUI first appeared on personal computers, and was first invented and developed by Xerox in 1981, then stolen by Apple, and finally perfected by Microsoft. This big innovation has brought huge benefits to Apple and Microsoft, and is a major killer for Microsoft to grow into an operating system giant.

There is a reason why GUI appears on personal computers. In the era when there were no personal computers, only computers, the people who operated computers were professionals. These people have relevant knowledge and have undergone years of professional training. For them, command operations are as simple as eating and drinking.

But for ordinary people, it is impossible for them to learn computer operating instructions. It is precisely because of this that people have an urgent need for GUI.

Alex is not worried that the GUI he created will be ignored. He believes that people are lazy. When there is a bridge, people crossing the river will no longer insist on swimming across it instead of crossing the river on the bridge.

This GUI is based on the operating system developed by Seymour Clay. It is a shell, and the core remains unchanged. If people who operate computers like to use commands, then they can choose an interface that uses commands. If they like to operate with a mouse, then they can use a GUI. There is no conflict between the two, just like the DOS system in the WIN system.

To run a GUI system, the computer must be powerful. Alex didn't know whether the GUI could run on the "Clay I". He was worried that after his idea was proposed, it would not be realized. Then he would lose the opportunity. In order to keep it secret, he decided to keep it secret from everyone.

The "Cray I" was the first computer to truly use integrated circuits. Alex's "first generation" was just a crude prototype that did not take advantage of the performance of integrated circuits.

Since no computer had ever used integrated circuits on such a large scale, neither Alex nor Seymour was sure how fast the computer would really be able to perform. They just want it to be as fast as possible. To be conservative, the initial calculation speed is set to 10 million times per second.

This speed was already amazing at the time, at least three times faster than the "first generation". Alex believes that such computing speed is enough to run a GUI, but it requires a lot of resources. If the computer's computing speed is reduced too much, it may become flashy, so there is no need to bring out the GUI.

In the mental space, the Seymour doll was busy writing the GUI module under Alex's instructions. Due to Alex's limited energy, he can only let the puppet work for 6 hours a day. If it exceeds this time, he will feel dizzy and have tinnitus.

Now, Alex is slowly gaining a new understanding of his abilities. The doll is actually a spirit body that was separated from Alex himself, but it uses the personality of someone else. In essence, the doll is still his fantasy. As long as he has a thought, he can make the doll disappear into ashes, or he can like him and worship him.

This will only happen if he intervenes. Usually, the behavioral consciousness displayed by the doll is independent. As long as Alex gives instructions, the doll will work hard in that direction.

Thanks to the efforts of the Seymour doll, a "Cray I" computer has been built in the spiritual space. The computer is only partially completed, not fully built yet.

At the beginning, Alex also thought about building a behemoth like the Galaxy Computer. However, he immediately discovered that he did not understand the so-called Galaxy Super Computer at all. He has no way of materializing things he doesn't understand in his mental space.

The things in the mental space back then were all things he had seen and touched with his own eyes. Only in this way can it be built in the spiritual space, otherwise it would be impossible for him to do it.

"Is this like alchemy, where we need to understand the inner laws of matter, then break down the basic materials and then construct them into objects?"

So, he settled for the next best thing and authorized the Seymour doll to also have some manufacturing capabilities. Soon, a "Cray I" computer was slowly built.

At the same time, Alex also discovered a problem, that is, there were more and more things in the mental space, and there was almost no place to put them. Originally, he could erase those unnecessary things. But when I think about it, if I have to expend energy to build it when needed in the future, I might as well find a place to store it first.

Nowadays, one computer takes up one-third of the space of this spiritual cabin. It seemed even more crowded inside, with almost no place to stay.

"Is there any way to expand the space?"

Faced with such a problem, Alex was completely confused. He had also thought about expanding the space. But he found that things were not that simple.

Alex can only maintain the things in the hut. Once he leaves the hut, those virtual things will become nothingness again after he falls asleep.

After studying for a long time, he could not find a way to solve this problem. In the end, I can only put it aside and focus on the GUI.

The GUI written by Seymour Doll was designed based on Alex's experience in later generations. In order to save resources, this GUI is unlikely to be compared with operating systems such as the WIN series and the XP series.

However, settings such as desktop, menus, icons, windows, etc. are still used. It also supports the replacement of four background colors, which are black, white, blue, and orange.

After the "Clay I" computer basically had no problems, the one in the mental space had also been built. So, Alex excitedly asked the Seymour doll to run the GUI on this computer to see if it could run.

The result is that it can run, but it takes up too many resources, causing the machine to freeze one after another.

"It seems that computers in this era still can't use GUI!"

In the end, Alex could only accept this result and not use the GUI as a killer for the time being, and wait until later. After all, this thing is too advanced. If it is leaked and IBM learns about it, it may make the other party prepare.

This small setback is not considered a failure for Alex. At most, it did not achieve the expected effect, and the GUI can still be used in the future. By that time, it will definitely surprise everyone.

Even without a GUI, Alex firmly believed that the emergence of a mouse and a floppy drive would be enough. With these two things, no matter how well-connected IBM is, there is no way for others to abandon the Cray I computer and buy an IBM 360 computer.

CPT's "first-generation" computers have already dealt a heavy blow to IBM. After many people bought IBM's computers, they found that they were not as useful as the "first-generation" computers. So they all went back and bought another "first generation" computer. CPT's current computer market share has surpassed IBM's.

IBM had just begun to show off its capabilities in the computer field, but was severely beaten by the "first generation" computer developed by Alex. Whether IBM can develop into a blue giant in future generations is still uncertain. As for CPT Company, Alex firmly believes that as long as there are no problems with the general direction, it can always become one of the top large companies in the world.

This is indeed the case. IBM CEO Watson Jr. is already concerned about CPT. He spends all day and night thinking about how to defeat CPT. As soon as it came out that Alex had joined the research and development of the "Clay I", little Watson was as anxious as an ant on a pot. He couldn't sleep for several weeks, and even when he fell asleep, he had nightmares.

"This problem must be solved!" Little Watson said to himself.

Alex himself didn't think there was anything scary about him, but when others collected his things bit by bit and put them together, people realized how powerful he was. Especially little Watson, he found someone to investigate Alex specifically, and the result made him feel deeply that his IQ was insufficient.

Nowadays, Alex has become a worry for him. Whenever there is news about Alex in the newspaper, he will always study it carefully, trying to find some clues.

At this time, the Oscar awards party was over, and news came that Alex did not win the Best Director Award. This disappointed many people, and there were different opinions as to why Alex did not win.

Some people say that because Alex did not attend the Golden Globe Awards, the Oscar committee was a little worried, fearing that he would not attend the Oscar ceremony, and as a result, the award was not awarded to him.

Some people also say that Alex is too young, and the Oscar committee is worried that after giving him this award, Alex will have no motivation to work hard.

Some people say that there is no one in the world who can win the best director for his first movie. Winning the Golden Globe Award is already considered very lucky for Alex. If he can also win the Oscar Award, it will make other people's lives miserable.

Alex also heard a little about these discussions, and he laughed them off after hearing them. His biggest purpose in making movies is to make money, and now that he has achieved it perfectly, he won't be disappointed because he didn't win. If he really wanted to win an award, he would have asked people from DreamWorks to actively engage in activities and build momentum, instead of hiding in this laboratory to conduct research and development.

Alex is very clear about what he wants. He will not expect things that are not in the original plan. Only in this way can he move towards his goal step by step.