Silicon Valley, California.
Lin Lixin and Vivian walked together down the red carpet through a separate, private entrance into the hall.
Flowers were everywhere, spotlights shone on the two people in formal attire, and reporters' camera shutters clicked incessantly.
Such a magnificent sight is, of course,----
Apple's product and technology launch event!
As major suppliers to Apple, both GAMENOVA and Micro-Nova Semiconductor naturally received invitations.
This has always been the way of the world.
Sometimes, Apple and Gamenova are fierce competitors.
Sometimes, they are also "good friends" who depend on each other.
Apple's mainstream computers now come standard with browsers and free email services.
Through cooperation with Gamenova, it has evolved into a pre-installed model.
Conversely, many of GAMENOVA's semiconductor products also have a good order volume from Apple.
"Miss Lin, Ms. Peili."
John Sculley, then CEO and the man who had ousted Jobs from Apple, shook hands with the two men.
The relationship between Lin Lixin and Sculley is quite complicated.
Logically speaking, Lin Lixin was clearly closer to Chief Qiao.
But Chief Qiao was essentially a man who didn't lack money; the only thing he cared about was whether he could prove himself.
Besides NeXT, the workstation company jointly owned by both parties, Chief Qiao also dabbled in other businesses on his own.
In business, there aren't many tricks; it's all about being driven by profit.
At least in this context, Lin Lixin and John Sculley can be considered temporary buddies.
"Today will be a world-changing day, don't you think?"
Sculley said with a smile, a hint of pride still showing in his eyes.
"Certainly."
Lin Lixin smiled in response, said nothing more, and then led Vivian to sit down.
The new product to be released today is actually no secret in the industry.
Apple has disclosed some related information to the outside world for many years.
This can be easily deduced from the subsequent large-scale procurement of ARM processors and low-power LCD screens.
" The Newton PDA can be considered a pioneer in exploring the possibilities of mobile devices."
Lin Lixin silently watched the staff preparing on the stage, pondering in his mind.
Due to GAMENOVA's strong involvement and the accelerated development of semiconductor technology, the Newton PDA was born almost a year earlier than originally planned.
PDA, or personal digital assistant, was still in use around the turn of the millennium.
It wasn't until the advent of smartphones that this historical relic was completely eradicated.
In the early 2000s, business people would always carry a PDA in their pocket.
At first glance, anyone could tell that this person was no ordinary individual.
It can also be considered a symbol of business people.
In the simulation game Arcade Paradise, the handheld device that players see when they open the menu is actually a PDA.
A PDA is not a game console, nor is it a mobile phone; it's more like an electronic version of an office supply.
Most products come standard with a stylus and a touchscreen.
It typically includes features such as a calendar, notepad, calculator, handwriting input, and address book.
Of course, this address book is just an address book; a pure PDA does not have the ability to make calls.
It wasn't until the advent of the PDA-Phone after the turn of the millennium that the office assistant and the mobile phone were truly combined.
Admittedly, this thing has a very rich and extensive history.
But Lin Lixin had no intention of getting involved.
The greatest significance of PDAs is actually only one thing:
Prove to the world that mobile devices are still a long way off!
The true future path will definitely be smartphones.
But this doesn't mean that PDAs are meaningless.
At least with the current level of technology, this is one of the few feasible routes.
This is also a valuable collection of incorrect answers for GAMENOVA.
As the top figures in Silicon Valley, Lin Lixin and his companion were naturally seated in the center position offstage.
Chief Qiao was clearly still not satisfied and was determined not to come to the scene, even at the cost of his life.
Given Sculley's personality, he definitely sent an invitation.
Other familiar faces, such as Professor Jim and Dell, were also seated below.
Of course, there are also a large number of engineers, media reporters, and various distributors.
In 1992, Apple was far from having developed the stage-show-like product launch format that would later emerge.
Before Chief Qiao, Apple was actually a company with a strong engineering atmosphere.
Apart from the large Apple logo hanging on the auditorium wall and the projection screen, there was really only a simple setup like a presentation table.
Once everything was ready, the press conference began smoothly as scheduled.
Good evening, everyone.
Sculley gave a brief greeting.
The projected slides then showed an image of a large, early engineering computer.
Then, it became a version that was only the size of a toilet.
Then there's the size of the refrigerator.
Finally, the camera focuses on an Applell placed on an office desk.
"Over the past few years, personal computers have been getting smaller and smaller, becoming more accessible to ordinary people."
The development of PCs is closely related to technological advancements in the semiconductor industry.
With the increase in process density, 8-bit computers are no longer a productivity tool that only the rich can afford.
Instead, they are small gadgets that can be bought anywhere.
16-bit machines, and even 32-bit machines, are rapidly becoming more common in the market.
Technological progress is happening faster than anyone imagined.
In the long history of semiconductors, most of the technological breakthroughs have been concentrated in the last few years.
"But it still can't be separated from the desk."
"We've been searching, and our competitors have been searching, for a path that truly liberates personal computers."
The slideshow transitioned to show Apple's Macintosh Portable laptop.
An expensive luxury item priced at a staggering $7,300.
This thing comes standard with a full 1MB of RAM, a 40MB hard drive, and a 640x400 resolution LCD screen; it even has a trackball embedded in place of a mouse.
Of course, GAMENOVA isn't the only company making laptops.
IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Atari, Apple ----
Almost all established large PC companies have made their own attempts in the laptop field.
But whether due to technological limitations or ecological issues, laptops have always been a relatively small device.
The true mainstream PC is still the desktop PC.
"We're thinking, is there any way to make it even lighter, smaller, and more portable?"
Perhaps—the answer does exist.
"In the past, we have engaged in comprehensive technical cooperation with Micro-Nova Semiconductor."
"Through our study, we have uncovered a crucial clue."
"What we need is a pure piece of equipment that only needs to perform its primary function."
This naturally refers to NP/NPC, the game console that has sold all over the world.
The ability to achieve such a small size is naturally due to GAMENOVA's formidable assembly capabilities and the purity of its architecture.
A game console designed entirely for gamers, with virtually no other functions besides running game cartridges.
Sculley began switching between slides as he spoke.
The Apple Macintosh laptop in the picture was also gradually being disassembled.
"Floppy disk drive? We've already integrated all the office software into it."
"Brush"
The laptop's storage drive was removed.
Apple's greatest advantage over other IBM-compatible computer manufacturers lies in its relatively mature and closed ecosystem.
Unlike companies like Commodore, which also have closed ecosystems, Apple's software ecosystem is exceptionally mature.
This also gives them the ability to be completely independent of Microsoft.
They have managed to maintain their position even as the Winte Alliance dominates the scene.
It certainly caused some serious injuries, but not enough to cause immediate death.
"Keyboard and trackball? What if we had a touchscreen that allowed for handwriting input?"
As he spoke, he switched to another slide.
The keyboard and trackball from the original PC were removed, freeing up a large amount of space.
"Power source? Battery compartment? I say—use a lithium battery!"
This time, a large section of the power module on the entire back has been removed.
Next is the circuit section.
After switching to ARM processors and using 0.8-micron process technology across the board, the scale has been significantly reduced.
In the end, all that was left was a black box, slightly larger than the palm of your hand.
It's not too thick, about two or three centimeters, about 20cm long and 10cm wide. A large black and white LCD screen is embedded on the front, and a stylus is inserted on the side.
Ladies and gentlemen, Apple Newton PDA! Newton MessagePad!
As he unveiled the preview image of the item, the display stand on the stage finally revealed what was underneath.
Just as the slides described, a machine the size of a palm contains complete office capabilities!
"In an instant, a heated discussion erupted inside the venue."
After all, this thing is really too bizarre.
What started as a laptop, about the size of a suitcase, has suddenly become a handheld device, only slightly larger than an NP (Player on a PC).
Before this, no one had ever imagined that a productivity tool could be so small.
Indeed, GAMENOVA has already proven the possibilities of handheld game consoles and electronic pets to the world.
But office computers—that's a completely different matter.
Looking at the grand scene in the stadium, Lin Lixin couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
If PDA had succeeded, perhaps Sculley, rather than Chief Qiao, would have become the person who went down in history.
Unfortunately, in terms of vision and design, Sculley is simply not on the same level as Jobs.
As the saying goes, being half a step ahead is genius, being a full step ahead is madness.
The problem with Newton PDA is not that their concept is flawed or that their positioning is problematic.
The business world is indeed lacking a reliable handheld device to fill the gap in business needs beyond traditional mobile phones.
However, Newton's design was too advanced, resulting in the direct inclusion of many immature technologies.
It looks cool, but using it is a completely different story.
Handwriting recognition suffers from poor accuracy, an awkwardly sized interface, high price hindering widespread adoption, and a lack of scalability in its software ecosystem.
Each one of them was enough to kill it.