Review of Silicon Valley: DEC, IBM and Steve's stuff-Silicon Valley, DEC,IBM, jobs-IT news
Review of Silicon Valley: DEC, IBM and the jobs of those things
Over the years, many events have taken place in the industry, some Giants fell, others are marginalized. They used to be a great company, and has done some crazy things (such as Motorola, Iridium), although now they are out of public view, however, they leave the industry's knowledge assets are valuable assets, and pioneering spirit of Silicon Valley will have an impact on generations of newcomers.
Mention most people think is commonplace in Silicon Valley, is nothing more than jobs and gates in a garage start-up stories. Indeed, Apple, Microsoft, Google, represents some sort of pattern in the upper reaches of the industry these days, but such a situation, promote the frontiers of computer science in technology, business models, and bring human intelligence in the world of modern life behind but dust a myriad of exciting and shocking events in Silicon Valley.
Recalls the Valley's past, we will find that history is so similar yet different. IBM is known as big blue, not only because of its thousands of managers uniformly dressed in blue uniforms, but in its well-established leadership in the computer field. In fact, big blue is not smart, when it also has miscalculated, but it can always rely on huge volume and strength of solidity and knocked out one by one to the threat of its enemy, traditional, steady, Dole is that it always adheres to the style.
The 50 's of the last century, around IBM all but defeated all opponents, in the mainframe space, establishing a dominant view. However it was not aware of was that one of the biggest rival is quietly growing.
Small Giants came from behind to DEC
In 1957, one from the Massachusetts Institute of technology, who played for the Lincoln Laboratory study on cyclone young computer engineer Ken Olsen founded DEC company in the town of Maynard, Massachusetts. Due to the mainframe services to large enterprises and commercial areas, and complicated operation, one person. Olson acknowledged that computer should not be "locked in a clean room, treated like a medical staff serve patients", he meant to create a smaller, cheaper, and is available to any user, including professors, students facilitates the operation of human-machine communication machine. This idea directly to the DEC and the rise of minicomputer business.
Olsen convinced the work at Lincoln Laboratory engineers to join the DEC company, began to implement his ideas. They use transistors instead of tubes assembled the first all-transistor minicomputer and was named PDP-1,DEC took an important step forward. Because Olson on the advice of his mentor's low-key, refrain from company name to product naming, and "computer" detached, so that giants like IBM to relax tight is deemed necessary.
Then in joining with the genius engineer Gordon Bell, PDP-4, PDP-5 and PDP-6 come on, DEC began to thrive. Until it is referred to as "mini" PDP-8 was born, it was developed by DEC's first integrated circuit computer, and was later considered to be pioneers of PC machine, it can be placed on the table in a slightly larger, the price is only $ 18500, which can be cheaper than mainframe tens millions of dollars too much. That PDP-8 was so charismatic that in the road ahead, Bill Gates recalls in secondary school and PDP-8 of love at first sight and conceived the future everyone may own a computer of their own.
Between 1965-1970, PDP-8 full active announced minicomputers, which brought unprecedented success to the DEC company, Olsen also deserved time Crown to "father of the minicomputer". And that IBM was kept in the dark, when IBM is committed to development unified all the mainframe operating systems of the System/360 project and missed the minicomputer market, when it found the changes around just a rude awakening.
DEC is unable at this time to avoid direct competition with IBM, Spring 1976 IBM introduced its minicomputer Seriesl began attacking monopolistic market by DEC. DEC seems to have been prepared, 1975 DEC General Gordon Bell planned to order IBM so desperately, "VAX" strategy, make all DEC synthesis of small local area networks, and who played a minicomputer to facilitate new product, like mainframe computing power, this strategy left DEC ascend to the upper second only to IBM's giant second place.
IBM PC and the legend of the aisiteliqi
Later stories, however, upsets, when DEC after the company passed its peak, the young giant does not seem to have its rival IBM Big Blue's good genes and quality, it began to increasingly arrogant, brutal and arrogant, and miss the upcoming personal computer era right now.
When IBM minicomputer market losing, history of the scales tilt to it again, amazing Don Estridge of the IBM's most prestigious stage. Yes, that's the waves head!
At first aisiteliqi on IBM is just a small potato, mixed middle-level cadres until more than 40 years old, who do not conform, place in the system and a gentleman in the IBM company of the wind actually advocating bold cowboy in a wild wind, wearing cowboy boots, crashed with a swinging all day long is not, still obsessed with fiddling with rival Apple's Apple II computer. In fact, if not then top mention this person, he would be fired.
After the baptism of the minicomputer era, new Apple introduced the Apple II "PC" concept popular in the industry. When IBM realized that personal computer age or will come, must get there is Apple's next move before the opponent in the DEC. But because the company was closed corporate culture and high development costs, etc, all senior managers are unable to provide suitable personal computer program. After a heated discussion, it was agreed that only the aisiteliqi suitable for the last thing. In this way, the waves head in 1980 from the IBM dangers, to finish his life's mission.
Aisiteliqi group a total of 13 people, together with research and development centers housed in the town of Boca Raton, Florida in a warehouse, they must be made within the next year belongs to the IBM PC. According to past experience, the company of all the constituent elements, including microprocessors, disk drives, mainframes, operating system, and all the other accessories of your rights to produce or buy a major supplier controls the production, this is the IBM strategic mode unchanged for decades. Aisiteliqi thinks the accessories available on the market should be used to assemble a computer, so you can guarantee personal standards of openness, which is familiar to generations of hardware ecosystem. They purchased Intel 8086 microprocessors and other chips accessories, while taking into account the operating system after a series of setbacks to finally choose to partner with Microsoft. Gates and Ballmer walked into aisiteliqi broken when the warehouse, they were surrounded by a group of adults questioned the whole day, more or less "what do we need what kind of operating system", "how long do you have to give me work it out", "money is no problem", scaring the young gates and Bao Ge didn't sleep well overnight.
Hardware, and operating systems are available, the first IBM PC in August 1981 and you're done. Company managers who no one thinks that stones can provoke the big splash, until a few months later and everyone knew that this is waves waves! IBM PC would generate nearly $ 1 billion in revenue for the company in the first year, after sales rose in less than three years, the PC sector has become the annual income of 4.5 billion, are sitting on tens of thousands of employees of the nation's third-largest computer Organization (second only to IBM itself and DEC).
Open hardware architectures and operating systems allow many suppliers to provide parts for IBM PC value, the entire PC ecosystem snowballed in this era of wild and rapid growth. Success of personal computers for IBM in the 80 's to enter the most brilliant period, also get aisiteliqi on the top of life, declare for the IBM PC as time magazine "man of the 1982". Sad is that aisiteliqi and his wife died in 1985, died in a plane crash during the festive period, a generation of excellence this fall. But history always wrote down the "father of the PC," the name he created by PC-compatible, open standards have affected the industry and the PC industry.
DEC's curtain call and Steve's ambitions
IBM at that time was a company of all competitors in awe, during the mainframe era of commercial custom enclosed strategy can enable aisiteliqi the "exotic" character and resolutely implemented the opening policy, reflecting the big blue, the traditional conservative side. DEC later ending is exactly the opposite. Immersed in the minicomputer victory DEC are strongly opposed to personal computers in the development of the company, when facing IBM PC across the world, rising affluence, hastily tried several PC products in the future is debacle. In 1998, the DEC PC machine company upstart Compaq merger and acquisition, and this was just one step away from a rival IBM's little giant exit.
Equally affected by the impact of the IBM compatible computer and Apple. Facing the advent of IBM PC at first Steve Jobs seems full of confidence, he believes Apple II is the protagonist of this era. Jobs even in the Wall Street Journal did an entire pass ad "Welcome to IBM" Apple's incoming Chairman, but sadly a few years later commented: "that advertising would be welcomed like little Red Riding Hood the Wolf, as stupid as a cocks meet the weasel. ”
He believes that want confrontation with the IBM PC had to come up with more cool sophisticated products, such as GUI, mouse, object-oriented programming and network capabilities, and so on. After visiting the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, jobs in 1983 and led the development of the world's first powered PC Lisa graphical interface operating system. This is a landmark personal computers, at the time, surpassing all similar products on the market, but because of the high price and lack of sound hardware and software ecosystem, Lisa and cannot shake the IBM PC personal computer, because openness and compatibility has become the era's direction.
Subsequently, he prepared to gamble on new Macintosh computers. In 1984 when a new product is launched, the company invested heavily in a Super Bowl advertisement why 1984 will not become a "1984" for new products on the market, which at the time caused a huge reaction in the industry, rates today appears to be unprecedented. Apple backfire the preaching of the Gospel does not seem to have been accepted by era, as the end of 84 Macintosh computer sales decline in jobs is knackered.
Even worse is that cause suffered a setback at the same time, Steve Jobs at Apple has been fellow of the marginalized, he finally was forced to resign. But we know he will not give up, "a computer for each" concept paper was his PC and a pioneer in graphics interface is also his, and aisiteliqi a source of inspiration for the same from him, his ambition and vanity must not be dull for the rest. In subsequent days, jobs has been all that focus on insights into the industry, including DEC's weakness, IBM's puzzle as well as the rise of Microsoft and Intel. More than 10 years, earthshaking changes have taken place in the industry, however, jobs, everything seems like it was yesterday.
In December 1996, when jobs returned to Apple. This time he will not fail, he plans to fully recapture the lost everything, until the exhaustion of his life so far.
