Chapter 68

Time stepped into April.

"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" and "Fallout 2" both began to be released around this time.

The "Harry Potter" series had already become a household name, and "Fallout" had gained significant recognition due to last year's Cuban Missile Crisis and the $20 million from Catherine. The current box office record holder was "Ben-Hur" with $15 million, but now, this record was held by Catherine.

At this time, Catherine, who rarely sat in her office, was preparing to interview someone, someone Bruce had discovered.

It wasn't really an interview; Catherine just wanted to see if this person was the same as the one in her memory. After all, Catherine only knew this person's name.

A man with a flat nose walked in. He was actually quite handsome, but the scars on his face and his nose detracted from his appearance.

"Jerry Sanders?"

"Yes, Miss Edson."

Sanders was born in Chicago in 1936. His parents divorced when he was in kindergarten, and he was raised by his grandfather. He was very smart and always excelled academically, skipping a grade in middle school. However, he liked to stand up for justice, which often got him into fights. At the University of Illinois, he studied engineering. Once, a classmate named Jim got into a dispute with a gang of thugs. Seeing Jim about to be beaten, Sanders stepped in to pull the thugs away. Jim ran off, but Sanders was severely injured, his nose deformed, his forehead indented, and several ribs broken, nearly dying.

A few years later in Silicon Valley, Sanders would become a prominent figure and earn the nickname "The Clown Prince."

But not now.

He was currently working for Motorola but was dissatisfied with his job.

At this time, Bruce extended an olive branch to him.

Sanders' talent was just beginning to show, but Motorola had not yet recognized it.

"I want to know, what are your thoughts on the electronics industry? I hear you have unique insights in this area."

Sanders was a strong person; he had long foreseen the development of the electronics industry.

"I believe the development of personal computers indicates that computers are becoming more accessible and commercialized, no longer the exclusive domain of companies like IBM. Supercomputers will likely only appear in certain research institutions, and for most companies, they will become unnecessary. I think our company should truly target 'individuals' with personal computers. We should make our products indispensable to them. Currently, profit should be secondary; first, we need to expand the industry and capture the market."

The man did not underestimate Catherine because she was a young girl; he spoke confidently about his views.

Catherine smiled.

"Mr. Sanders, I congratulate you. Starting today, you are the president of Intel."

Sanders was taken aback. Previously, his position was general manager, but now, he was suddenly the president of Intel...

Bruce's current experience was insufficient, and Catherine felt that someone should share his burden. Moreover, Sanders was a very capable person. If not him, who else?

Catherine took out a contract.

She hired Sanders with 2.5% of Intel's shares and a salary of $500,000 (increasing by $100,000 annually to $1 million).

Because of his insights, Catherine also decided to develop the second generation of Microsoft computers.

This time, Catherine made a decision: to open the hardware standards.

In other words, to allow third parties to create add-ons for her computers!

Just like in the future, where motherboards, CPUs, and graphics cards would be made by numerous manufacturers.

Catherine decided to open these standards.

However, for each product sold, the manufacturer would have to pay a royalty. After all, she owned the patents, and the standards were her company's.

However, Catherine was unsure if her idea would work.

But IBM had already noticed the personal computer market, and other companies seemed to be preparing to develop personal computers. Catherine did not want to be "washed away by the waves," so opening her standards would help her market share.

The Microsoft II computer was Catherine's bombshell.

Catherine opened the standards for memory, CPU, and graphics cards, and also reserved several slots for add-ons like sound cards from other companies.

Catherine's current computer used 8KB of memory, which was originally integrated into the motherboard. Now, she decided to make it independent, and the original display output device was also replaced.

Originally, Catherine used monochrome and color display cards, though the so-called color was only 16 colors, which was already a significant cost. This was why the work version of the Microsoft computer only used a monochrome display.

However, Catherine did not open the motherboard standards. Each hardware component had to include a protocol from Catherine to be compatible with her computer.

If someone wanted to develop a motherboard and their own standards... sorry, here's a court summons.

However, the electronics industry was still in its infancy, and it would take some time to truly flourish.

Now, with tens of thousands of funds, Catherine immediately invested them into Intel. Fairchild was the leader in the semiconductor industry, but even at its peak, internal conflicts were beginning to surface. Catherine was waiting for the right moment to poach the best semiconductor engineers of the era. Even if she couldn't get all of them, she hoped to get the majority.

Catherine wrote her vision for the Microsoft II computer into a plan and handed it to the technical department.

To ensure confidentiality, she had the technical department sign a contract, guaranteeing no leaks during the research period.

Catherine believed that within two years, the new computer would appear.

The electronics industry was in a dormant stage, while the film and television industry was booming. Catherine's GameTV was rapidly expanding its market.

The increasing popularity of television led to the prosperity of the television industry.

Thus, Catherine's television station was established.

"Angel Beats," or "AB TV" for short, or "Angel TV."

If everything went as planned, Catherine's television station would begin broadcasting on July 1, 1964. The TV series adaptation of "Fallout" would be her flagship program...