Rebirth of the Tech Madman

"Of course not. "≤, .." In response to Tang Huan's gentle but sharp gaze, Edwin Catem hurriedly laughed: "After we got the news of the acquisition, we were all optimistic, and we will do animation in the future. Movies don’t have to worry about resources anymore."

"Don't worry, I will be a good boss." Tang Huan smiled and patted the other person on the shoulder, "I won't stay here for too long, so quickly take me around to see what family background I have. I know, I paid George Lucas US$7.5 million in one lump sum, and then I have to add additional funds for the operation of this company."

This is the intended meaning of the question. Edwin Katem and Elvi Smith were prepared for a long time, and they hurriedly tried their best to offer treasures. In the future, the status of this company in the eyes of the boss will depend on today's performance.

The intellectual assets of Lucasfilm's computer department are mainly divided into two categories, one is the pixarimagesputer on the hardware-Pixar image computer, and the other is the research results of a larger software level.

Edwin Cartham and Elvi Smith tried to use the special effects that were made for the movie "Star Trek II: Khan's Roar" produced by Paramount Pictures in 1982 to show their side in computer graphics Uniqueness.

Unexpectedly, Tang Huan’s professional level far exceeds their imagination. He not only knows but also understands various proprietary technical terms and concepts including "alpha channel", "rendering", "particle effects", and "coloring". Very deep, let alone show off, this group of people even struggled to deal with the big boss’s reverse questions, and they were immediately shocked.

After calmly teaching his new subordinates who were a little bit rebellious, Tang Huan began to announce a series of his own decisions.

"You can't stay at Lucas Skywalker Ranch in Marin County anymore. Let's prepare to move." Tang Huan muttered and said the first point. "Let's go to the EA Park in Redwood City, San Francisco Bay. The office environment there. , Traffic conditions, creative atmosphere, etc. are all very good, and maybe you can get some orders for games, animation, etc. on a monthly basis."

Naturally, everyone had no objection to this instruction, and all the belongings were sold to Tang Huan, so it was not easy to stay on Lucas' site. Besides, Lucas Skywalker Ranch has nothing to do with it, just one feature. Close to nature, it's very secluded, everyone's life has faded out of birds long ago, and I hope to change to a more modern environment.

"The company's future business direction will not include computer hardware." Tang Huan pointed to the Pixar graphics computer used for display and said: "It is obviously inferior in terms of performance, programming excuses, hardware scalability, future product upgrades, etc. Yu Fangyuan Graphics Workstation, it’s time to retire. Pixar will use it as the name of the new company, as a memorial to the previous products."

Edwin Catmull nodded and said: "That's good, we can concentrate more on animation production. However, it will take a while to transfer the entire creation platform to the Fangyuan graphics workstation."

"I still have this patience." Tang Huan agreed casually, recalling George Lucas's previous reminder that "Edwin Catham, Elvi Smith, and others are not thinking about developing computer hardware" , It seems that George Lucas, the former boss, still knows his subordinates very well, and he also saw some clues from it.

As the leaders of the team in front of them, Edwin Katem and Elvi Smith, two Ph.Ds over forty years old, have a very high career starting point.

Edwin Catmull served as the director of the New York Institute of Technology's Computer Graphics Laboratory as early as 1974. This research institution was first-rate in the industry at the time; at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center. That is, Elvi Smith, who contributed a lot to the work of xeroxparc, also joined the New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Laboratory the following year.

However, the practical application of the research results of the New York Institute of Technology Computer Graphics Laboratory is not satisfactory. Joining the vigorous solicitation of important Hollywood figures such as George Lucas, and their optimism about the prospect of combining computer animation and film, Edwin Cartham and Elvi Smith left the sluggish New York Institute of Technology computer graphics experiment. Room, joined Lucasfilm.

Judging from the achievements of Edwin Catmull and Elvi Smith in the professional field over the years, and their attempts to acquire the computer division of Lucasfilm, they are very ambitious.

Such a person was soothed. It really takes a bit of skill.

Tang Huan asked his assistant to take the documents and hand them to Edwin Catem and Elvi Smith, and explained: "I will hold 80% of Pixar’s shares and leave the rest to your management. In addition, I Another $7.5 million will be invested. Help the self-contained Pixar start the next operations."

Having said that, Tang Huan looked around at the crowd and said slowly: "I only focus on finance and strategy. You are responsible for the specific daily operations. As you may know, I also have a computer special effects and computer called d2. Animation company, I hope you can catch up with its performance."

Tang Huan further increased his tone and emphasized: "I will not restrict Pixar's freedom in business cooperation. You can continue to maintain contacts with Disney and other companies, but major projects must obtain my consent."

Edwin Catmull and Elvi Smith felt their necks tighten at the same time. After looking at each other, they nodded and agreed.

"Then you guys hurry up and prepare to move." Tang Huan stood up, "I have something to do, so I won't do more stays. I invite everyone to dinner another day."

...

As the haze of the Japanese Airways Flight 123 crash gradually dissipated, the Japanese elite began to have fun again, and the number of Japanese people at the Pebble Beach Golf Course increased significantly.

Even Takeshita, Minister of Finance of Japan, plans to relax at the Pebble Beach Golf Course on Sunday, September 22.

Looking at the fax, Tang Huan kept laughing, causing Tang Wenmao and Zhuang Menghua to have a creepy feeling next to them.

"What's your nerve?" Zhuang Menghua asked angrily.

"The chrysanthemum is broken, the floor is wounded, your smile has turned yellow, and the flowers are broken. I lie down quietly." Tang Huan hummed a few words happily, and sternly ordered: "The Minister of Finance of Japan Takeshita Dennah But a distinguished guest, you must be prepared for the reception. Inform Masako Wada from the Japanese side and come with him. In addition, the Chrysanthemum Project can begin."

"Look at your excitement, weird." Zhuang Menghua who didn't know why. He rolled his eyes, and then went busy.

...

September 22 is Sunday, and September 23, which turns the sky around, is Japan’s public holiday-the autumnal equinox, so it’s a rare holiday together. The whole country is filled with a relaxed atmosphere. .

Political magnates also want to take vacations, Takeshita will let out the wind early, he wants to take advantage of the rare vacation to play golf. Therefore, his itinerary did not attract too much media attention.

only. Takeshita released the richest man’s pigeons. On September 22, he did not go to California on the west coast. Instead, he allegedly went to New York on the east coast "temporary accident". The news was passed on by Masako Wada, who was dragged all the way to New York. Yes, and Tang Huan and his party have been waiting at the airport for a long time.

It is inevitable to be depressed when someone breaks an appointment. The subordinates all hugged up for their boss and said, "This little Japan holds its own identity. It's really rude."

Tang Huan didn't have the slightest displeasure, he had a playful smile on his face. Before getting on the bus, he said in a deep voice to Tang Wenmao: "It's actually a good thing to let me dove out, because that means a signal. I immediately inform the little girl that Chrysanthemum plans to enter the second stage.

...

Since the beginning of this year, the "double deficits" of the US economy-foreign trade deficits and government budget deficits, have become more and more serious.

In particular, the former is more worrying to the American business community. Last year, in 1984, the annual foreign trade deficit was as high as 160 billion U.S. dollars, accounting for 3.6% of gross national product that year, or gnp.

In this case, established companies feel the most pressure. So they lobbied the Reagan government to take measures to increase the export competitiveness of American goods, including food exporters, automakers, and heavy industrial equipment manufacturing companies like Caterpillar, and even ibm in the high-tech field. And Motorola.

The Reagan government, which pursues "small government, big market", cannot ignore these calls. It must request and take corresponding measures. Compared with this, the US-Japan semiconductor negotiations can only be said to be insignificant. .

The most effective and most appropriate measure is undoubtedly the devaluation of the U.S. dollar. The heavyweights in the U.S. financial industry have carried out verbal air blows on various occasions early to prepare for the devaluation of the U.S. dollar. They just thunder and not rain. Substantial specific actions have been delayed.

"The wolf is coming" shouted more frequently, and the audience became numb and unresponsive.

No one would have thought that an extremely important meeting would take place quietly on an ordinary Sunday, September 22.

U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker, Japanese Minister of Finance Takeshita Nobori, Federal German Treasury Secretary Gerhard Stodenberg, French Treasury Secretary Pierre Bergere, and British Treasury Secretary Nigel Lawson, these five The finance ministers of the most developed industrial countries and the governors of the central banks of the five countries gathered at the Plaza Hotel, a luxury hotel next to the Grand Army Plaza at the intersection of 59th Street and Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, United States, and reached a joint intervention by the governments of the five countries. In the foreign exchange market, the U.S. dollar was adjusted downwards in an orderly manner against major currencies in order to resolve the US's huge trade deficit.

When the Plaza Agreement reached at an incredible speed was announced to the public, the people who got the news suddenly realized that what should have come is finally here, but at this point in time, it was hidden too deeply by the government of g5 to be elusive. The Minister of Finance of Japan Takeshita played so many tricks to cover up, and he even did not hesitate to release the pigeons of the richest man to hide his actual itinerary, which shows his good intentions.

It has always been a practice of governments in various countries to choose the weekend to announce major news at the policy level. Because this happens to catch up with the closing of the financial market, the announcement at this time can give sensitive markets a sufficient response buffer.

The introduction of the Plaza Accord also followed this practice. No matter how much the appreciation of the yen and the West German mark against the US dollar are discussed, no action can be taken. At present, the global financial markets are closed.

Perhaps only Tang Huan, and a few speculators who have the insight and daring to take risks, caught up with this time gap ahead of time.

It is completely predictable that the exchange rate that originally fluctuated between one U.S. dollar and 250 yen will fluctuate sharply after the global trading hours restart.

There is no doubt that at the g5 meeting where the Plaza Agreement was finalized or at the press conference where the Plaza Agreement was announced, Nobori Takeshita, Minister of Finance of Japan, was the most watched figure.

This is determined by the strong position of the Japanese economy at this stage. In addition to the "g5", the media separately call the United States and Japan "g2", which is the best description and explanation.

When the reporter raised the question "Why does Japan such an export-oriented economy tolerate the appreciation of the yen?" ~ www.wuxiahere.com~ The spirited Takeshita replied pretendingly: "Because my name is' Go on."

In essence, Takeshita made use of the coincidence of "Deng" and "Sheng" in Japanese to express a meaning: now Japan can do more and better in international affairs, and participate in the formulation of international currency exchange rates. in this way.

"Everyone is full of red faces, but the Federal German Finance Minister Gerhard Stodenberg has a black face? Could it be that as the second largest currency appreciation party, he is dissatisfied that his limelight has been robbed by the Japanese? "Tang Wenmao stared at the screen on the TV and joked.

"Tomorrow is Monday, and the global financial market will reopen. It was supposed to be the Tokyo Foreign Exchange Market in the East 9th District. It was the first to face the Plaza Agreement, but Japan is on holiday, so West Germany became the first market to open business. The leader is not easy to be a leader, I guess he has reacted. Thinking that he has fallen into a trap laid by the Japanese in advance, he is still happy." Tang Huan cocked his legs and analyzed.

"Everyone is full of red faces, but the Federal German Finance Minister Gerhard Stodenberg has a black face? Could it be that as the second largest currency appreciation party, he is dissatisfied that his limelight has been robbed by the Japanese? "Tang Wenmao stared at the screen on the TV and joked. (To be continued.)