After the meeting, Chen Zhiwen took Woz to one of his offices.
"Sit down and be casual." Chen Zhiwen greeted with a smile.
"Okay." After saying that, Woz sat down on the sofa next to him.
"Here, drink beer." Chen Zhiwen took out two bottles of beer from the refrigerator, one for each person. When the weather is hot, drinking cold beer or Sprite is the most enjoyable. Although it is winter now, as long as the heating is turned on to the maximum, it will be the same. Being able to experience the hot summer.
"Thank you." Woz smiled casually and opened the beer bottle.
After taking a few sips, Chen Zhiwen said: "Steve Jobs is still your good friend, right?"
"Yes." Woz was stunned for a moment and asked: "Boss, what's wrong?"
"It's okay. I heard that Steve Jobs recently promoted one of his computers in some Silicon Valley companies in the United States. Do you know about this?" Chen Zhiwen said with a chuckle.
"I know, boss, I actually made the computer in Steve's hand." Woz thought about it, hesitated for a while, and then replied.
"Oh, what's going on? Tell me?" Chen Zhiwen asked curiously.
"About four months ago, Steve Jobs found me and asked me to help him deal with a technical problem. I had time at the time, so I helped him deal with it. Later, we studied together and spent a month to make a A very simple computer." Woz continued: "At that time, I just combined some basic MOS functions. Jobs thought it was a very promising product, so he wanted me to start a business with him, but I didn't agree at the time. But I asked him to take away the prototype, and he went to find customers, but it took several months and he only sold a few units."
"So that's what happened? Do you think that computer has great potential?" Chen Zhiwen asked with a smile.
"I don't know. I think it has some uses. For example, if we use this kind of computer in the terminal of Costco's future warehouse management system, it may be very convenient, but I'm not sure about the specifics. In fact, it was Steve Jobs who thought it was very useful. Potential," Watts said.
"In those few months, he only sold a few units. Is he still persisting?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
"He is still insisting. Jobs said that the cost of this computer is too high because we assemble it. If we want to reduce the cost, we need to use modern factories for mass production, and the computer needs to be redesigned because it is We made it at home, and a lot of the hardware also needs to be upgraded, which requires a lot of money, but we can’t afford it,” Woz said.
"At home?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
Woz didn't understand what it meant, but he nodded and said, "Yes, it's my home."
"Oh, OK, it's nothing." Chen Zhiwen said, because Woz in this life has undergone earth-shaking changes from the previous one. In the previous Woz of HP, his monthly salary was only 2,000 US dollars, which in this era of the United States has already changed. A lot, but he lives in Silicon Valley and rents a house near Hewlett-Packard. The rent is already quite high, plus daily consumption and overdraft habits, basically every month. And now, Midea's annual salary starts at With one hundred thousand dollars plus a bonus, Woz was naturally much richer, and Woz also bought a house in Los Angeles very early.
Therefore, in this life, the future Apple company will no longer be a startup in a garage.
Chen Zhiwen then asked: "What is Steve Jobs going to do now?"
Woz replied: "He is going to solicit investment. A few days ago he went to a previous shareholder of Atari and wanted him to invest, but he was rejected."
"Why didn't you come to me?" Chen Zhiwen asked curiously, "He should know your situation, right?"
After taking Woz as his subordinate, Chen Zhiwen knew that something might happen to the most famous Apple. So, after learning that Jobs had resigned from Atari last year, he arranged for people to keep an eye on Jobs. As a result, he learned about four A few months ago, Jobs and Woz were very close and would go to Jobs' house every day.
The private investigator gave a surprising answer: They were gay because Jobs would go to Woz's house whenever he was off work.
Chen Zhiwen knew that these two people must be tinkering with something, most likely computers, because throughout history, except for Woz becoming rich, nothing else had changed.
Just like history, Jobs took samples to many exhibitions and visited many companies to promote his computers, but his results were very dismal because the price was too high. One unit of this thing cost 3,000 US dollars, although it was cheaper than IBM or Wang An's computer is cheaper, but with such a huge sum of money, who would buy a computer without any foundation? Moreover, the first generation of Apple computers were really weak in function and had no great commercial value.
Until recently, Steve Jobs stopped recommending his computers to various companies. Chen Zhiwen knew that he must be thinking about further optimization, that is, preparing to build a second-generation Apple computer. However, the cost is very high, and it is absolutely necessary to introduce external funds.
"Because I don't know how to speak to you, and I'm afraid you will think that I have another job." Woz said with some embarrassment.
"It's nothing. You also used your spare time to help Steve Jobs, and you didn't set up a company? Right?" Chen Zhiwen said with a smile.
Everything is under his control. Regardless of whether Woz comes to see him or not, it would be better if he comes to see him. If not, then he can bring it up himself. If this is the case now.
"Yes, boss, are you also interested in this computer?" Woz asked.
"One thing, do you have this computer sample at home?" Chen Zhiwen asked.
Woz said: "Yes, it's in my study. In addition, Steve Jobs also lives in my house."
Chen Zhiwen nodded and said: "That's just right, let's go and see it together?".
Jobs lived at Woz's house, and he had already known that coming to the United States to invest in the future of Apple was a top priority.
A long time ago, Chen Zhiwen once thought about whether to change the history of Apple? The method is also very simple, just build a personal computer by yourself.
But after thinking again and again, Chen Zhiwen decided not to change history, and still let Apple start a business as it did in history, and just be an investor himself.
The most fundamental reason for this is that in the early days of computer development, it can be said that there was a war between all parties. Everyone took their own rules and specified the shape, model, standard, etc. of the computer. In the absence of a unified standard, although the computer industry was rapidly Development, but the first batch of computers were all spared, and none of them could develop very smoothly into the 1980s. Even Apple, the company that created this era, declined due to internal and external reasons.
At the same time, he also has to consider that as a Chinese, no one will care too much about investing in supermarkets and stocks in the United States. Even if he makes a lot of dollars in the United States by relying on arcade machines, as long as he shares it appropriately, no one will care about it, and the government will not care too much. I won’t take a second look at myself, but personal computers are a big industry that shocked Silicon Valley and even the United States when they first appeared. The concept of a computer company was hyped 80 years ago. Apple went public in 1980, and its market value directly reached 1.8 billion. Dollar.
You know, in the United States in 1980, the market value of the beverage giant Coca-Cola was just over 4 billion U.S. dollars. A four-year-old Apple company was comparable to the beverage giant that was half a century younger. This is enough to show that at that time, the entire United States was interested in personal computers. sought after.
For such a sought-after industry, the U.S. government and capitalists will never let it not be in the hands of their own country's companies, not even their European allies. In the 1970s and even the early 1980s, the largest market for computers was the United States. Without this In the market, once a computer is manufactured, it may not be able to sell much. Only after the computer brand has been involved in the United States to a certain extent and a certain standard has been formed, will it slowly start to spread to Europe, Japan and even the mainland that has just reformed and opened up.
Another reason is that Chen Zhiwen knows nothing about computers in the 1970s or even the early 1980s. In industries without prophetic advantages, he tends to find suitable talents to invest instead of investing in them himself.
The best time is to wait a few more years, until various standards emerge in the computer market, and the computer model becomes a familiar type, then Midea can enter the market, and by then, countries around the world will also start research and development. Computers are not as beautiful as one more, and no one will care.
My biggest advantage may be my familiarity with various software, such as three-piece office suites, computer games, etc. In terms of hardware, I need real investment in technology. I will naturally invest in this in the future, but the golden finger of the prophet is useless. A huge amount of money needs to be invested in various research and development. If you invest in Apple now and get a large return in a few years, you will be able to spend money on research and development.
Lincoln's limousine was speeding through the streets of Los Angeles. This car was a gift from Henry Morgan. In fact, the price was not expensive, with high-end models costing US$50,000, but the various luxurious interior decorations cost another US$120,000. In terms of safety, Comfort is basically the best.
In less than half an hour, they arrived at Woz's villa in Malibu, Los Angeles.
At the door at this moment, there was a young man with long hair and a messy beard sitting in the yard basking in the sun. It was Jobs.
(End of chapter)
