Chapter 83: The “High-End” Device

Speaking of the computers that have just come onto the market in recent years. Those with technical knowledge are amazed, recognizing them as the future; those without simply see no use for these machines. The first time Su Mu encountered a computer at Du Zhong's house, he too found it uninteresting, more like a typewriter with a screen than anything else.

The internet bubble had already appeared once, right at the dawn of the internet era, allowing many to make fortunes. In the 1960s, IBM produced a whole generation of millionaires. In 1967, IBM’s market value reached $192.3 billion, while the entire GDP of the United States was only $830 billion. Afterward, the bubble burst, and many lost everything.

Even now, the bubble persists. Compared to traditional industries, investors are more willing to bet on the future of these emerging enterprises, while the profits of conventional companies are clear and generally stable. Therefore, the IT companies that have recently debuted on the NASDAQ have mostly seen their valuations soar, with many surpassing their IPO estimates by a factor of one or even two.

At present, the profits of these companies can't possibly justify such high market caps. For example, after Apple’s prospects came into doubt, its valuation plummeted rapidly. It’s like a wild gamble, with the vast majority of investors charging in “blindfolded,” some not even knowing what the internet is.

Ironically, many people have indeed made a fortune this way, and such stories abound.

Despite the high market value of these companies, actual sales are poor. Charlie, in his twenties, had invested all his savings to open an IBM computer store on Sand Hill Road. The location was a bit out of the way, and sometimes an entire day passed without a single computer sold—mainly because there were simply too many computer stores in Silicon Valley.

That day, he noticed two teenagers pulling up on their bicycles and stopping at the shop’s entrance. He stood up from his chair, smiling as he asked, “Looking to buy a computer? The latest IBM-PC/XT5160 microcomputer—no need to wait, pay and you can take it home.”

Su Mu was originally planning to visit the larger store next door, but hearing this, he glanced at Charlie and stepped inside, looking around before replying, “Can the specs be upgraded? I want a better CPU, and I’d like to upgrade the memory and hard drive as well. Is that possible?”

It was clear he knew what he was talking about. Recently, many people had come into the store just to play with the computers for free before leaving, which frustrated Charlie.

His smile brightened. He replied loudly, “As long as you have the money, I could even get you a supercomputer! But for everyday use, an ordinary IBM machine is more than enough. If you really want an upgrade, I’ll have to place a custom order with the company.”

“You know, these are precision machines, easily damaged... Of course, that's only if you open the case. Otherwise, no matter how much you use them, they’re unlikely to go wrong.” Realizing he had misspoken, Charlie quickly added this last line.

Su Mu nodded. There were only a few models of computers on the market, and he was familiar with the data, having already done some research.

The IBM-PC/XT5160 microcomputer in front of him was hardly “micro” at all. Considering the world’s first computer was the size of a house, “microcomputer” was a fitting term. This model was an upgraded version of the world’s first x86 architecture computer—the IBM-PC5150—and the world’s first personal computer with a built-in hard drive.

He continued, “Do you have a spec sheet? I want to boost its performance. I have money with me today—if we can come to an agreement, I can put down a deposit and wait a few days, that’s no problem, sir.”

“This computer can absolutely meet your needs. Let me hook it up to the network—try it out and see, it’s really astonishing!” Upgrading was troublesome and not very profitable, so Charlie tried to persuade Su Mu to buy a standard machine, explaining, “Intel 8088 CPU, 640k memory—256k onboard, 256k on an expansion board, plus another 128k expansion board, 10MB MFM hard drive, original CGA graphics card, 640x200 character resolution, 320x200 in sixteen-color graphics mode. Two 5.25-inch, 360k floppy drives. You can run Matlab, Premiere, or Visual Basic. Pretty cool, right?”

When Su Mu didn’t respond, Charlie assumed he was dissatisfied. Thinking it was better to make a sale, even if it meant extra trouble, he gritted his teeth and said, “If you want to upgrade, I’ll order a custom machine for you. It’ll arrive in about three days, OK?”

A couple of years ago, computers were a seller’s market—many had the money but found it hard to get a machine. Now that more people were selling computers, it was gradually turning into a buyer’s market. To sell more, merchants racked their brains for ways to entice customers.

As he spoke, he connected the phone line. The computer displayed “Phone-Computer” on its screen as he turned the dial on the phone to call the operator. The modem was huge and emitted a harsh noise—this was how people got online in 1984.

At last, he connected to Micronet, an early fast videotext consultation system with a “home page” interface. Since 1979, this visual data technology allowed a television to connect to a dedicated terminal, receiving network information via telephone lines.

At the time, this was the most advanced internet technology, offering download speeds of about 1200 bits per second—painfully slow. Su Mu didn’t think much of it; that was just how things were. Compared to the secondhand 1982 computer used in his training course, this machine already seemed “advanced.” The screen flickered, and after staring for a while, Daniel’s eyes began to ache and water.

With such an eye-straining display, it was no wonder Su Mu had recently grown a bit nearsighted, sometimes seeing things flicker before his eyes.

He said to Charlie, “I need a faster processor and more memory, and I want to upgrade the hard drive to at least 20MB. How much would a machine like that cost?”

While waiting for the password to go through, Charlie gestured for Su Mu to try out the machine and replied, “I’ll go get the price list. Don’t worry, I’ll give you the best deal, and I’ll throw in a computer desk and free delivery. As for installation, if you live close by, I can do it for you myself, but it’ll have to be in the evening. As you can see, I’m the only one here—I can’t leave the shop during the day.”

“I live nearby, sir.” On the computer screen in front of Su Mu, there were only lines of text—Apple had adopted a graphical desktop interface, but most systems had not, not even Microsoft. Everything was run by typing commands.

Press a key, and it would take a moment to respond—no real-time feedback. Computers in this era had only just appeared and developed slowly, with cumbersome operating methods that doomed them to remain out of reach for the masses.

He was torn—on one hand, eager to start his company; on the other, worried about money, afraid someone else might seize the opportunity first.

He brooded over it, thinking perhaps once the supermarket opened, he could start making money.

Maybe he could start the business now, tough it out through hard times, and who knows—he might even attract venture capital someday...