As a world-famous super software genius and a neighbor of Stanford University, Zhang Zhonghua took the opportunity to visit Dr. Douglas Engelbart when he was in the Stanford Industrial Park.
Speaking of Dr. Douglas Engelbart, not many people have heard of him, or in other words, except for people in the computer hardware industry, not many people in the world have heard of this name at all.
But Dr. Douglas Engelbart invented something that almost everyone has heard of, and even almost everyone has used, and that is a computer peripheral that many people cannot do without every day - the mouse.
The world's first mouse was born at Stanford University in California at the end of 1968, and the inventor of the world's first mouse was Dr. Douglas Engelbart of Stanford University in California.
Dr. Douglas Engelbart invented the mouse to make computer operation easier and to use the mouse to replace the cumbersome instructions on the keyboard.
The earliest mouse made by Dr. Douglas Engelbart was a simple small wooden box. The working principle of this mouse is that the small ball installed at the bottom drives the pivot and drives the rheostat to change its resistance to generate a displacement signal. The signal passes through the computer
After processing, the cursor on the screen can be moved.
It's similar to the mouse with a rolling ball that was used in the hot summers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
At the same time, Dr. Douglas Engelbart proposed the concept of "graphical user interface" for the first time in the world.
After seeing the mouse, Zhang Zhonghua realized that the mouse had appeared so early, but had not been used. At the same time, Zhang Zhonghua felt that Dr. Douglas Engelbart was really amazing.
The mouse seems simple, but it is extremely difficult to implement. It involves a lot of knowledge, and Zhang Zhonghua doesn't understand it anyway.
However, even if the mouse is currently used, it can only be used on industrial machines. The configuration of small so-called personal computers is too low to carry a mouse at all.
When the mouse is dragged, the rolling ball is driven to rotate, and the rolling ball in turn drives the roller to rotate. The grating signal sensor installed at the end of the roller collects the grating signal.
The photoelectric pulse signal generated by the sensor reflects the displacement changes of the mouse in the vertical and horizontal directions, and is then processed and converted by the computer program to control the movement of the cursor arrow on the screen.
To use a mouse on a computer, you must first install a special program. However, the current storage space is not rich, so there is still room left to support peripherals such as a mouse. Moreover, although the mouse has been invented, it has no sensitivity at all.
After meeting Zhang Zhonghua, Dr. Douglas Engelbart introduced the concept of "graphical user interface" to Zhang Zhonghua in great detail, hoping that it would be supported in Unix systems in the future.
Although Zhang Zhonghua already knew what this was, and even knew this "graphical user interface" better than Dr. Douglas Engelbart himself, he still listened with interest. After all, in his previous life, he could only see characters introducing it to him in person in textbooks, which was still very special.
So cool.
After Dr. Douglas Engelbart finished his introduction, Zhang Zhonghua readily expressed his support for his idea, believing that this was the future of computers, and generously donated US$1 million in R&D funds to him to support his research.
Regardless of whether you are doing hardware or software research and development, it costs money, not to mention that the mouse involves optics and electronics, which are currently the most cutting-edge technologies, and it is even more expensive to develop.
In 1979, future Apple founder Steve Jobs was invited to watch the Alto and the software running on the system.
Jobs was shocked by the computer technology he saw, including the mouse input device and the graphical user interface used by the operating system, which made Jobs even more excited.
Inspired, Jobs returned to Apple and plagiarized the idea without hesitation, adding these functions to his Apple computer system, preparing to use it to develop a new type of home computer.
In 1983, Apple officially launched the Lisa computer, which was Apple's first computer that could be operated with a mouse. At the same time, it also promoted the mouse to the majority of computer users, making them realize the role of the mouse.
In 1984, Lisa's upgraded product, matosh, came out. This was a milestone for Apple and a milestone product in the history of computer development around the world. It not only brought huge income to Apple, but also allowed the mouse to enter the computer market.
into thousands of households.
Jobs copied Xerox's graphical user interface, and Microsoft's Bill Gates copied Jobs' Apple system. These two shameful thieves shamelessly accused each other. In the end, the two companies successfully became a pair of mortal enemies.
.
Thinking of this, Zhang Zhonghua couldn't help but laugh. The two of you are half-hearted. You are the typical elder brother rather than the second brother. However, you two will have to pay licensing fees for yh software in the future.
Unix systems must be the first to launch graphical user interface systems. It is easy for existing large-scale industrial computers to support these, but we still need to wait for further development of storage.
After all, even the storage space of industrial computers is very limited. Sacrificing the computer's only CPU performance and poor storage space to implement a useless function for the sake of convenient operation is simply paying for the price.
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Moreover, the Computer Association of Chou Country will definitely not agree with Zhang Zhonghua's doing this. Of course, Zhang Zhonghua himself only has the right to make suggestions, and he just thinks about it in his mind.
Although Dr. Douglas Engelbart was the first to invent the epoch-making invention of the mouse, he only applied for a patent for the x-y position indicator of the display system and did not apply for a patent for the idea of the mouse.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Dr. Douglas Engelbart obviously did not anticipate the future market prospects of the mouse. If every mouse manufactured were charged a patent fee, there would be a total of billions of mice in the world in the future.
Every year, tens of millions of mice need to be replaced due to damage. This huge patent fee makes Zhang Zhonghua swallow his saliva involuntarily. It is another huge gold mine.
From the original mouse, mechanical mouse, optical mouse to the later touch mouse, the development of mouse technology has gone through a long journey to achieve success, but no matter what the principle of your work is, you have to pay patent fees.
There will be all kinds of mice in the next few decades. Specialized gaming mice like those from Logitech cost hundreds of dollars. Of course, there are also gaming mice like Pinxixishang that only cost a few dollars each and come with free shipping. The huge number and variety are unparalleled.
Imagine.
However, Zhang Zhonghua thought about the current computer conditions. Even if the mouse was to develop faster, it would be impossible. The current mouse is of no use. It can be said to be a tasteless thing. No wonder it has not applied for a patent.
Dr. Douglas Engelbart could not imagine the future development prospects of the mouse. Of course, no one could imagine it. If Zhang Zhonghua had not been reborn, he would not have been able to imagine it either.
The current resolution of the screen monitor restricts the development of the mouse. If the resolution is too low, the mouse can still play like a hammer. The most expensive thing is the chip. A mouse needs to be equipped with several chips, and the cost of the mouse may be several hundred dollars.
It’s not that no one pays attention to the current mouse, it’s that the gain outweighs the loss and cannot be taken seriously. Programmers are more accustomed to using the keyboard to enter command statements.
Well, the introduction of the mouse was also a great advancement for computers.
However, the mouse is a thousand times more convenient for CAD software. If you can move the mouse when drawing with CAD software, it will be faster and easier.
Over the weekend, Zhang Zhonghua returned to New York from San Francisco to rest. I have to say that the current transportation in Chou Country is still very convenient.
Zhang Zhonghua now travels to and from New York basically once a month.
"I don't know when I can go back to Sijiu City. I really miss Sijiu City."
After eating that day, Lou Xiao'e sighed deeply, and then said to Zhang Zhonghua.
"The current international situation is complex and there are many issues to consider, and the issues we need to face are internal issues. One day we will start to take off again and stand on top of the world again."
Zhang Zhonghua consoled him.
"I hope that as Napoleon said, China is a sleeping lion. Once it awakens, it will shock the world."
Lou Xiao'e said expectantly.
The mainstream of the world now is that the ugly country and the bear are fighting for hegemony, and Yan Xia is an important weight that affects the balance of the scale. Therefore, neither direction wants to push Yan Xia to the opposite side, and gives Yan Xia plenty of time. Of course, only in 1980
Years later, the world will realize the horror of the awakened lion.
Infrastructure maniac, the speed of Pengcheng will shock the world. Who would have thought that a small fishing village now will develop into an international metropolis in the future. It is really unimaginable.
There are still almost ten years left before 1980. The next ten years will belong to the era of Japan's take-off, and of course it will also be the golden era of Zhang Zhonghua's Jade Emperor Group's take-off.
Cars and home appliances have also entered a period of rapid development, and during this period it was also tragic that Chou Country was beaten by the major Japanese conglomerates of his own son. Thinking about it, there is still something to look forward to.
How to make money from Japan by following Japan's rapid development, how to make money from Japan by following Japan without respecting martial ethics, and how to smoothly eat both ends and make money at both ends is what Zhang Zhonghua needs to consider.
After two days of good rest in the villa, Zhang Zhonghua went to Dr. Wang An's company to visit Dr. Wang An. The two chatted for more than three hours.
Dr. Wang An has no complaints about the cooperation between Zhang Zhonghua and IBM. After all, the software cannot be played without IBM computers, and it is not easy for people in hot summer to live in Chou Country.
Instead, he was very happy that Zhang Zhonghua earned US$1.5 billion by selling a piece of software to IBM. Dr. Wang An was very emotional. He did not expect that Zhang Zhonghua could sell a piece of software for US$1.5 billion. Dr. Wang An's patent back then was
Hacked by IBM.
The limited storage conditions caused compression software to explode in the market. Dr. Wang An was just very envious and encouraged the Unix system and C language developed by Zhang Zhonghua.
After all, in Chou Country, there are only two people from Yanxia who are good at computers.
Zhang Zhonghua also had a general understanding of Dr. Wang An's personality. The scientific research expert was a little too serious, and he was a bit over-the-top.
Bill Gates once said that if Wangan Computer Company could complete his second strategic turn, there might not be Microsoft today in the world, and Bill Gates would not become a hero in the personal computer era. "I
Probably became a mathematician somewhere, or a lawyer."
Zhang Zhonghua was very disdainful when he thought of these words. Wang An Computer Company is doomed to fail because the hatred between Dr. Wang An and IBM is too deep and cannot be resolved. He and IBM can only live one person, but now he is in Chou Country.
It can only be IBM.
Zhang Zhonghua also persuaded Dr. Wang An to let go of this grudge. After all, we are all businessmen. As long as the bottom line is not involved, we always put profits first. Unfortunately, Dr. Wang An just smiled and said nothing.
Jobs was expelled from Apple that year. Not only did he turn around, but after returning to Apple, he also accepted assistance from Microsoft's Bill Gates, whom Jobs looked down on very much.
When IBM and other companies were committed to developing personal computers, Wang An ignored the advice of his subordinates and refused to develop such products. When the computer industry was developing in a more open, industrialized, and standardized direction, Wang An insisted on his old proprietary technology.
production line.
At this time, Wang An's products not only failed to catch up with the new computer trend of developing highly compatible personal computers, but also lost the original valuable features and performance of Wang An's computers.
It can be said that Wang An Computer Company was destroyed by the personal grudge between Dr. Wang An and IBM. If IBM products were compatible, tens of thousands of employees would develop personal computers, where would there be Apple, Microsoft, Dell, and Compaq?
What Bill Gates is really thankful for is not that Wangan Computer Company did not transform, but that he should be grateful for the antitrust laws of the US emperor.
IBM has hundreds of thousands of employees. Developing an operating system is the simplest thing. Why is it outsourced instead of developing it?
IBM is already deeply involved in antitrust lawsuits. If software and hardware are developed together, there will be endless lawsuits every day, and IBM will be broken up sooner or later.
Zhang Zhonghua was very sad when he thought about the ending of Wang An Computer Company. It would be a twist of fate for such a large company to file for bankruptcy in the future.
But in the end, Wang An Computer Company was acquired for US$2 billion, and Dr. Wang An's unlucky son Wang Lie also became a rich second generation. It was also a good ending, or he would acquire Wang An Computer Company in the future.
Zhang Zhonghua sighed deeply on the sofa in the villa. The cultivation of the next generation is too important. European and American families have a deep heritage. Can they only be rich for three generations? I am afraid that those families will continue to be rich as long as the earth is not destroyed in the future.
Zhang Zhonghua is still young and does not need to consider the training of the next generation in the short term.
