When the idea of ​​a personal computer was just sprouted, Seymour rejected it. Alex was not angry or annoyed about such a result, nor did he get any personal computers against the situation.

Since the time is not ripe and there is no one in hand to be competent for this matter, Alex plans to put it aside first and talk about it when he has the chance.

On the other hand, IBM's dragon-slaying plan is in full swing, and their $5 billion is not a joke. Watson Jr. said he wanted to get 5 billion, so he was really ready to spend so much money.

Lilson, Brooks, Amdal and others discussed the system technical issues of DS computers many times. Finally, they proposed a new idea that IBMDS computers must be a "compatible" product.

Compatibility will mean that although DS system computers differ greatly in model numbers, they must be able to process the same instructions in the same way, enjoy the same software, configure the same disk drive, tape drive and printer, and be able to work together.

This idea is wonderful and is a major breakthrough in the history of computer research and development. When this concept was proposed, everyone was very excited about it.

"It will definitely work. If our Dragon Slaying Plan has this compatible system, it will be equivalent to retaining old users. Once it is formed, it will be like stabbing a dragon!" Brooks said excitedly. He knew that compatibility means continuation. Once users develop habits, they will not easily abandon IBM and turn to CPT.

Lilson and Amdal also quickly immediately came to the greatness of "compatible" machines, one from a market perspective and the other from a technical perspective.

"Yes! Not bad, compatibility can make users stick to our platform." Lilson was also excited. He seemed to see a glimmer of hope now, and the Dragon Slaying Plan finally had some hope of success.

Amdal also nodded and praised, saying: "This can save R&D costs, technology updates and replacement are more convenient and fast, and the R&D cycle is greatly shortened."

However, there is another big problem in front of them, that is, it is not easy to achieve true compatibility.

At that time, IBM's transistor computer alone had more than 20 models, and neither software nor external devices could be used interchangeably, causing great inconvenience to users.

If they want to achieve compatibility, they must take into account the problems left over from previous models, and pass on both shortcomings and advantages. This may cause their computers to be inferior to those of CPT companies in terms of performance. They must also spend a lot of effort to integrate them.

"There is another big problem!" Watson said with a serious expression.

Lilson, Amdal and Brooks also nodded. They knew what Watson was referring to. That was the integrated circuit board invented by Alex. Although this patent has been opened, the integrated circuit boards of other companies are all from CPT.

Of course, CPT is not so stupid as to sell the best products to IBM for its competitors. However, if there is no integrated circuit board in the Dragon Slaying Plan, their so-called Dragon Slaying idea is just a castle in the air.

"Can our technicians develop the most advanced inherited circuit board based on the existing technology?" Watson asked little worriedly. He was already worried about this weakness.

The integrated circuit board produced by Alex was actually very simple. Several components were soldered on the copper plate, which was a simple patent. This led to many people not seeing the great use of this small copper plate, and everyone did not take it seriously.

The rough integrated circuit board of CPT was used as the first transistor radio, which made a lot of money for the Carpenter family. Originally, everyone thought that the so-called integrated circuit board was just used in electrical products such as radios.

Unexpectedly, this was just the beginning. Alex quickly developed more complex integrated circuit boards based on the original and improved the manufacturing process. At this time, the integrated circuit boards were no longer simple, and many companies still couldn't figure out how they were produced after getting them.

At the same time, the "first generation" computer emerged, exceeding the performance of the fastest computer at that time by more than ten times, and soon attracted people's attention.

The role of integrated circuit boards has been seen for the first time. Unfortunately, they have not reached the level of attention, and not many people are willing to spend money to study them. After all, the most important patent is still tightly held by CPT companies. Even if the products developed by others can be sold, they have to get a share of the pie.

After years of research, integrated circuit boards have become more and more complex and related patents have become more and more. It is like a wall of iron, blocking those who are jealous of the Carpenter family's money-making. As for those who want to bypass, they find that there is no way to bypass them.

It was too late for IBM and other companies to know this fact. At least IBM paid a great price to realize that it could not bypass the patents related to integrated circuit boards.

In order to develop a successful DS computer, their first problem is unavoidable. IBM must make its own integrated circuits because they cannot buy ready-made CPU chips.

In the past, building a new factory was no problem for IBM. However, building a new integrated circuit manufacturing plant had extremely strict production environments and there was no dust in the workshop. It was like building a large surgical operating room, which cost four or five times that of an ordinary factory.

With mentally prepared IBM plans to build its own factory to produce integrated circuit board chips. Although they have to pay the patent fee to CPT for every chip they make, they think it is very worth it.

In addition, there is another problem. The biggest obstacle to developing a dragon-slaying computer is software.

In order for the software to be suitable for all computers, millions of computer instructions must be prepared. More and more software engineers are investing in writing programs, and in the end there are as many as 2,000 people, making the cost of software development exceeds the hardware, namely the computer machine itself.

They did not expect such a situation. However, in order to achieve the compatibility effect they want, they have to completely solve the software problem, and so many software engineers have to work together.

"All this is worth it. Once the compatibility problem is solved, our Dragon Slaying Plan will definitely succeed!" Brooks said to everyone. In fact, he was a little shaken in his heart, but he just couldn't reveal it.

Even Watson Jr. was shocked by the huge expenses. He joked at an evening meeting: "Fortunately the software was finally made, otherwise we would have to sell bare metal for users to use."

No matter how much jokes, IBM spent a huge amount of money on DS computer software, which totaled more than $500 million. If it were replaced by CPT, it would probably be impossible to hold on.

The Dragon Slaying Plan was in full swing and orderly, and CPT was not idle either. After announcing the Clay I computer, they quickly held a celebration banquet. The next step was a series of bonus payments and personnel transfers. In order to compete with IBM, CPT also began to expand recruitment.

"We may not be as rich as IBM, but we can't sit still." Alex said at the mobilization meeting: "They used $5 billion to kill dragons, so we have to spend at least $500 million to develop the next-generation computer."

The difference between $500 million and $5 billion is 10 times, but for CPT companies, this is already a big investment. If it weren't for the orders for Clay I computers and making huge profits, it would be really difficult for CPT companies to take out 500 million to get it.

When I first developed the first generation of computers, the investment was not yet reached 1 million US dollars. Even when I was studying the Clay I type computer, the R&D cost was only about 10 million US dollars.

"As for the naming of the new generation of computers, I think it can still be based on the Clay series, Clay 2 generation?" When Alex said this, he looked at Seymour Clay with a smile. He knew that the other party had a strong idea of ​​keeping his name in history.

Seymour Clay laughed and he immediately said, "Clay 2nd generation sounds good, you can consider it!"

Alex shrugged, undeniable. He did not get too entangled with this issue and continued: "In addition to supercomputers, I plan to draw some other personnel out to study another project. As for the name and research direction of the project, it has not been determined yet."

These remarks immediately caused a lot of discussion. A new project team was established, which meant that there were a large number of leaders waiting for them. Seymour initially didn't know what Alex wanted to do, but he quickly realized that this was the pace of starting the development of personal computers.

IBM has its own dragon slaying plan, and Alex also has its own plan.

In terms of supercomputers, he planned to let Seymour go completely. He knew Seymour's ability. With Seymour conducting research at CPT, IBM had the only chance to follow the back of his butt to eat dust. As long as he maintained his lead and was not surpassed, CPT would not be suppressed by the other party.

No matter how strong IBM's foundation is, after so many failures, they should have a breather. Without the pressure from IBM, CPT will have time to make some small moves below.

These small actions are Alex's personal computer development plan. He wants to make a personal computer before the 1970s. This is as important to him as IBM's Dragon Slaying Plan. At that time, IBM will sadly find that the market share of large computers cannot increase, and personal computers are far behind CPT.
Chapter completed!