Chapter 826: Revealing the Fox's Tail

'Mr Xia, it's been a while, what brings you here?'

In the IBM minicomputer development department in Boca Raton, Xia Yu found the department head Don Este Chie, who, upon seeing Xia Yu, shook his hand in greeting with some surprise.

'Don, I had some family matters to attend to, so I had to go back home. I just returned to the US a few days ago. It's been a long time. I can see that you've been very busy.'

Xia Yu said teasingly, deliberately looking at Don Estey's hair and stubble.

At the moment, Don Estey did look unkempt. His curly hair was long and messy, and it was obvious that he had scratched it a lot. His beard was also unkempt, like a bush of weeds.

This was not the way Don Esteve looked when Xia Yu last visited, when the microcomputer development department had just been set up.

However, Xia Yu understood that this appearance of Don Esteve's was very common in the research departments of major high-tech companies in later generations. When researchers are crazy, they forget to eat and sleep, and they have no time to worry about personal hygiene.

Don Estey Qi heard Xia Yu's meaning and laughed, saying nonchalantly, 'It is indeed very fulfilling. Fortunately, the progress of the project is relatively large, so the efforts have not been in vain.'

Xia Yu looked surprised and asked, 'The project has made great progress? What stage has it reached?'

Don Estey Qi did not hide it and simply led Xia Yu to the laboratory to introduce the specific progress of the project.

After some understanding, Xia Yu understood that the progress of the IBM microcomputer was indeed fast.

The framework of the microcomputer has now been set, and the hardware is now being produced. IBM has an advantage in hardware and strong technical strength, so progress is fast.

Of course, the requirements for the software have also been listed, and some simple software is being developed.

Xia Yu could see that there was still a trace of the Apple computer in IBM's microcomputer, which showed that Don Estes had indeed learned from the strengths of the Apple computer.

But that's fine, it's still early days. Once the individual components have been perfected and the later stages of development have been adjusted, it will naturally develop its own characteristics.

It's just like building a house: once the rough structure is built, the quality of the house that follows depends on whether it is decorated casually or elaborately.

Getting back to the topic, Xia Yu did not forget the purpose of this visit.

He walked over to the table, picked up an Intel 8088 microprocessor, and asked Don Estee Kee knowingly, 'Don, why did you choose to use the Intel 8088 microprocessor as the processor for our first-generation microcomputer? Why not use the 8086 microprocessor, which has better performance?'

Don Estee Chi was taken aback, but then he smiled and explained, 'Mr Xia, this was thoroughly discussed by the entire department. We actually tested all the high-performance microprocessors on the market, and combined with our positioning of the first generation of microcomputers, we found that the 8088 microprocessor was the most suitable for us. Each microprocessor has detailed experimental data. Come with me.'

After saying this, Don Este Chi led Xia Yu to a large vertical cabinet, found a blue file box, opened it and took out a stack of bound texts, which he spread out and introduced to Xia Yu.

He had discussed this with Xia Yu before, so Don Este Chi was not worried that Xia Yu would not be able to understand the data.

Xia Yu kept his patience, smiling as he browsed through the experimental data one by one, before he suddenly said, 'It is indeed the 8088 microprocessor that is more suitable. Just because it has good performance doesn't mean it is the most suitable. If the overall hardware level cannot keep up, then using a microprocessor that is too good will not bring out its full performance, but will instead increase costs, which is not conducive to launching it on the market.'

Don Esteve Chi nodded with a smile and said, 'That is exactly how we were thinking.'

'A wise choice!' Xia Yu laughed.

Then Xia Yu suddenly asked, "By the way, Tang, I don't think you've decided on an operating system for the microcomputer, have you?'

Tang Este-Qi's smile faded, and he nodded, saying, "Yes, not only the operating system, but we haven't put out any tenders for software either. We're currently working on developing our own software, and then we'll put out tenders for the difficult software we develop ourselves.'

'However, we have already discussed internally that the operating system will be outsourced. However, according to our inquiries, no company has developed an operating system based on the Intel 8088 microprocessor. If there is still no such company, we can only find a company to cooperate with and entrust them to develop an operating system.'

The Intel 8088 microprocessor is indeed not the mainstream today, and it was only launched not long ago, so naturally there is very little software developed for it.

The former IBM company searched for a long time without success, and then through the introduction of Bill Gates's mother, Mary Maxwell Gates, Bill Gates met IBM's CEO, Frank T. Cary, and Microsoft was able to get this operating system customisation contract. It was only then that Microsoft bought the operating system developed based on the Intel 8086 microprocessor from Thyssen-Patern and modified it.

Xia Yu smiled and said to Don Estee Kee, 'Don, you're in luck. I know where there is an operating system developed based on the Intel 8088 microprocessor.'

Don Estee Kee was stunned and stared at Xia Yu in shock, asking, 'Mr. Xia, you're not joking, are you?'

He had used IBM's resources to investigate but found nothing, and Xia Yu was actually saying that he knew about it. Don Estee Kee really found this hard to believe.

Of course, he also hoped that Xia Yu was telling the truth, so that the development of IBM's microcomputer could be accelerated. Once the operating system was out, the development of software would speed up, and it would be easier to develop for the operating system, which would be more adaptable and have many benefits!

Xia Yu smiled and nodded, saying, 'Don, why would I lie to you?'

Don Estes was relieved, and then asked with some curiosity, 'Can you tell me which company developed it?'

Xia Yu smiled faintly and said, 'It happens to be a company of mine in Seattle. The company has spent more than four months developing an operating system based on the Intel 8088 microprocessor, and this time it plans to find partners across the United States.'

The reason Xia Yu exaggerated the facts and said more than four months was to avoid unnecessary trouble caused by Don Estey Chi and Frank T. Cary, who were following him.

More than four months ago, IBM had not yet officially decided to develop a microcomputer. No one could say that it was a leak from IBM that caused Xia Yu to develop it specifically, could they?

Hearing that it was Xia Yu's company, Don Estey was very surprised. He asked, 'Mr Xia, it's your company. Can I know which company it is?'

'It's called Seattle Computer Products. Have you heard of it?' Xia Yu said frankly.

Don Estey Chi immediately nodded: 'I have heard of it. It is a powerful software company with a certain reputation in the industry. I never thought that this company was yours. It has also developed an operating system, which is really great.'

'Mr. Xia, can I try the operating system developed by your company? If the performance is suitable, I will cooperate directly with you, which can reduce a lot of trouble.'

Facing the expectant eyes of the straightforward Don Este Chie, Xia Yu smiled and nodded: 'Don, you'll have to wait a day. I'll make a phone call back and ask an employee to bring the system over. By the way, do I need to tell Frank about this? After all, the development of microcomputers is a confidential matter. If it's leaked because of the operating system, there will be trouble.'

Don Este Chitu immediately calmed down. After thinking for a moment, he said helplessly, 'Okay, this is indeed a possible problem. I'll go give the president a call.'

After saying this, Don Este Chitu went to the office with determination, dialed the number of the president's office at IBM, and after communicating for a few minutes, he said to Xia Yu with a relaxed expression, "Mr. Xia, President Frank wants to speak with you.'

'OK!'

After saying this, Xia Yu took the phone, "Frank, good morning.'

'...'

'I am sure that I have confidence in our operating system, but whether it is suitable or not can only be determined after experimentation. Right now, I cannot give you a definite result.'

'...'

'Okay, don't worry, I will keep it confidential. Let's wait until tomorrow when you come over to test it again.'

'Click!'

After hanging up the phone, Xia Yu said to the expectant Don Estey: 'Don, Frank will come over tomorrow. I will have someone bring the operating system over first, and we will experiment together tomorrow.'

Don Este Chii shrugged helplessly: 'Okay, it seems that I won't be able to sleep tonight again. I'd better go back to the lab.'

Xia Yu nodded and said, 'Go ahead, I'll go first. See you tomorrow!'

'Mr Xia, see you tomorrow!'