America 1982-Chapter 619 - 139: Do Me a Favor

After coordinating with Susan to schedule a meeting with her mentor Rice, Tommy finished his morning run, cleaned up, and together with Jason, went to WinStar Corporation located in Silicon Valley. There, in the conference room, they experienced the latest AmigaOS on a computer, with Jason, Susy, and the bearlike founder of AmigaOS, Jay Miner, sitting across from Tommy, each with a Compaq laptop open in front of them.

These machines boasted an Intel 386 chip, a high-resolution display of 640*480, 4MB of memory, a 60MB hard drive, and were equipped with a 2.5-inch floppy disk drive. If the floppy drive were removed, the hard drive could be upgraded to 120 megabytes. They supported battery operation and, once the screen was folded down, were as thick as a briefcase stuffed with files.

It was the flagship Compaq laptop released last year with the base model starting at $5,399. If upgraded to the high-end configuration and equipped with docking stations and spare batteries among other accessories, the price would quickly skyrocket to $11,999.

Only those true business professionals who often needed to work on planes while traveling were willing to buy such devices, while regular folks, upon hearing that just a docking station cost $999, felt these gadgets were as inaccessible to them as luxury yachts and private jets. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"The operation could still be made simpler," Tommy said, shifting his gaze from the screen to the three people opposite him. "What’s the selling point of AmigaOS? It’s the name, as intimate as a user’s girlfriend. Microsoft Windows 2.0 is now emphasizing being feature-rich, stuffing their system with previously paid and separate software—drawing programs, document software, even programming tools. A white-collar worker reliant on computers only needs to install a set of Windows on their computer, and then there’s no need to pay extra for additional software, allowing many tasks to be completed with the existing software inside the computer. Our distinguishing feature from Windows is that we offer users idiot-proof, intimate operation. Microsoft’s user base consists of those who know how to operate computers, while our target is simple—the ultimate fools of the world, completely clueless about computer systems, like the idiots who bought a television back in the day and needed a salesperson to search for TV signals for them. Experience has proven that once these groups form a habit, unless the brand commits suicide, they won’t change their habits or adopt new things easily."

As Tommy discussed the features of Windows and AmigaOS, everyone nodded in agreement, and as for Apple Company’s operating system, System 6, it was completely ignored by everyone present, not even worth mentioning.

The reason for its low presence was mainly due to various problems in Apple’s business strategy after Jobs’s departure. System 6 was as awful as excrement, claiming to have the world’s best sense of art and color. Indeed, it had vibrant colors but nothing else commendable, desiring to encompass everything while setting restrictions everywhere, and it was full of user-unfriendly, dumb designs.

For example, in Windows and AmigaOS or other niche operating systems, there is a feature called ’Recycle Bin’ or ’Trash,’ only differing slightly in name but working on the same principle, which is to discard unnecessary files. They even thoughtfully added a restore function: if users regret deleting certain files into the Recycle Bin, they can use this function to salvage the files back, just like how one might retrieve something from a trash can in real life.

However, with Apple’s System 6, once a user deletes a file into the Trash and closes the folder where the deleted file was located, returning to the desktop, the Trash automatically empties itself. Without a professional to perform data recovery, it’s impossible to restore the data, and the data recovery services at Apple’s retail stores charge exorbitant fees based on the size of the files.

It’s this kind of dumb design alone that has allowed Microsoft’s market share to directly increase by eight percent.

When Bill Gates speaks about market share in public, he always smiles ear to ear, never forgetting to commend the Apple system for its excellence.

Meanwhile, Jobs stated in an interview that he never considered returning to Apple, and the development of System 6 had nothing to do with him. Instead, he remained focused on launching a new computer and operating system for his company, NEXT.

Only those obsessive about colors would pay, because it allowed users to assign colors to each icon, a rudimentary form of customizing the desktop. Beyond that, it had no selling points. It was the consecutive failures in operating system design that allowed Windows to substantially erode Apple’s computer market share during the years Jobs was away. While they maintained a certain market share due to the reputation Jobs built and customer habits, the gap with Windows had grown significantly.

"Tommy, I have a question," Jay Miner said, looking seriously at Tommy. "I’ve discussed this with Jason too. Suppose I’m an ordinary person with absolutely no computer background, and I’ve bought a computer with AmigaOS. It does seem simpler and easier to get the hang of compared to other systems, but there aren’t any exciting games inside. You kept refusing to add more fun built-in games, citing the rejection of bloatware. So, why would I choose to switch it on after work instead of grabbing a beer and watching a flick in front of the TV in the living room? What does this computer bring me?"