Chapter 150: The IBM PC Was Released

On April 8th 1981, IBM's PC finally stopped stalling and unveiled its mysteries.

As for the market reaction, it wasn't overwhelmingly enthusiastic, nor was there a flood of criticism.

A 16-bit system?

Both Apple and Commodore already had one, so your offering didn't lead by much. As for standardized specifications, only IT industries were interested, for now.

Most of the add-on cards on the market were aimed at Apple users, displaying the White System's authorization mark. IBM's would not appear anytime soon.

Apple and Commodore both let out a sigh of relief, agreeing with William White's assessment. To clearly separate their product lines, they wouldn't produce a 32-bit computer. To outshine other manufacturers, an 8-bit processor wasn't an option either.

As for the price, it really was under $5,000 -- the basic model was just over $3,000. That's the price range William White cared most about.

Steve Jobs felt miffed. Mike Markkula was sweating. If they followed the Lisa computer plan, a computer costing over $10,000 wouldn't sell.

Big Blue threw a huge party, but they didn't expect such a mild market reaction. A total sweep was a joke, and to bow down in awe was even more laughable.

The most criticism came for the accompanying software. MS-DOS was simply described as trash.

And the biggest software specialist company just chose to ignore it.

"We didn't get any orders, nor do we have an operating system from them, so there's no way for us to offer software support."

White Software told bald-faced lies, making Big Blue quite sick. Go ahead and explain. The software wasn't given to them long ago, although they knew Microsoft's package had long since been mastered.

...

"Tom, found any flaws in this system?"

"Plenty, boss. This stuff is one big mess."

"Ha ha, hide the patches in the software. Let them guess around."

"Alright, boss, you sure this won't bite back?"

"Relax, relax. Bill Gates will find out and blow a gasket, then keep blowing gaskets. He won't dare let it out, way too embarrassing."

"All righty, boss, as you wish."

William White went a bit overboard. Install his software, and it works fine. Otherwise, you'll run into constant errors. This was flagrant humiliation, but Big Blue and Microsoft had to keep quiet. As for Lotus, ha, let them die again!

...

For Big Blue, today's world was puzzling. They just took a nap, and this is what happened.

Forget about dealing with Apple, they couldn't even handle Commodore. As soon as Big Blue's PC came out, every kind of computer started popping up. Motorola's 6700 was cheap anyway. It's a price war, so who's scared of whom!

To say Big Blue had no strengths would be nonsense. Many of their architectures were migrated from mini-computers. It wasn't because they lacked advanced architecture; it was deliberately cut down.

The so-called PC department had an awkward position within Big Blue. They didn't have many resources and were ordered around frequently.

...

"William, are you really not supplying them with software?"

"Steve, have you gone mad? I'm a public company now, not a private enterprise. How could I do that with free rein? I need to look after shareholder interests. Besides, aren't you a shareholder too? What are you thinking?"

"Hmph, I knew it. You've taken all the advantages."

"You can't say that. You've already got your perks. What more do you want? If I play around more over-the-top, they'd definitely come after me."

William White wasn't just bluffing. There's a Fair Trade Commission. Although he didn't have a monopoly, he did own shares in both upstream and downstream.

Owning shares isn't a big deal, but if you're on the board, that's a whole different story.

Another reason the Fair Trade Commission didn't cause a fuss this time was that the opponent was Big Blue. If you stepped up now, you'd get slammed.

William White wasn't easy to bully. Without solid proof, you'd best keep quiet.

"Man, I'm busy gathering funds and have no time for arguing with you. Talk to my subordinates instead," William White grumbled and ignored the noise around him. Getting your people to discuss with me? Have your big boss show up, and I might respect that.

This wasn't putting on airs. Even though Big Blue had a market value of 60 billion, William White's company bundle barely hit 10 billion.

But remember, 10 billion was still very impressive. Not exactly wealth enough to rival nations, but a typical country couldn't muster that amount.

And the bigger issue? These enterprises were his alone. Big Blue wasn't. As for personal assets, their CEO was not even close. If your board chairman doesn't show, it barely matters, but even your CEO didn't show.

Ha ha, since that's the case, I'll put on airs too.

Who doesn't know how to be pretentious?

Our chairman says he's very busy.

Well, the company was a bunch of jerks too. It's basically like saying he's not home. How you interpret that, it's up to you. 

Honestly, Big Blue hadn't dealt with hooligans much. Well, not many people had. Who would casually deal with such jerks?

People with any standing rarely played this way. Everyone worked under the notion of encountering each other often. Making it awkward now would lead to awkward meetings later.

Respect is supposed to be mutual. Since you don't see me at your level, why should I humor you?

*****

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