Chapter 119 - 119. Bobby's Path To Greatness
[A/N: To clear any confusion, Bobby's full name is Brandon Steel Armstrong.]
"HOW?" Bobby asked Ted about the building.
Ted scratched his chin, "Well, he made an offer they couldn't refuse, also, we had to play a little dirty and gathered some money laundering evidence against them. Everybody fears the IRS and hence they accepted the generous offer.
"He just wanted a big, pretty building. He got his own office on the top floor. The Dragon Holdings company takes the whole floor. Even MEDA will bring a branch here later."
"T-This... Didn't anyone try to find out who it exactly is that owns the building now? Something like this should be pretty big news." Bobby asked.
"Of course they did, I just had to make sure he stayed hidden. The building is at the moment registered under the Dragon Holdings company. Magnus owns it fully." Ted explained.
"What's he even going to do to this building?" Bobby inquired.
"I don't know, maybe just rent other floors to businesses. This building is very iconic here and many big-name companies already have offices here. Let's talk later now, follow me. I will show you the workspaces of Tonks & Tonks." Ted showed him around.
But, Bobby was so tired that he just found a place to sleep and dropped dead.
He only woke up the next day when the CES was supposed to start. He immediately went to the venue. The booth for his company, FutureTek Industries, was just beside Intel's. This was because Magnus was a big board member there and Bobby's new computer, Dragon Two, also used an Intel chip.
When he unveiled his new computer in the brochure, everybody gawked. Because it looked elegant and attractive to possible buyers. It didn't look like a bunch of complex expensive material were pushed inside a plastic box.
His new computer was, by all means, a personal computer. Because the design was smaller.
He started giving his speech, "This hidden machine behind me is the most powerful personal computer you can find in the market right now.
"Sure, Moore's law states that the number of transistors per silicon chip doubles every year. And it is mostly true. But I want us to always strive to better ourselves.
"So, if we want to become more advanced quicker then we'll need to fasten our transistors and chip technology progress. That is what I did, after extensive research and work, we were able to beat Moor's Law. Behold, Dragon Two."
He lifted the cloth from over it. This new computer had a bigger screen, the operating system was still very basic with simple texts and a cursor but looked fresh. It also had a dragon logo on it now.
But, the CPU cabinet had gotten so much smaller than before. The keyboard and mouse also came as peripheral devices. They were less box-shaped and instead had smoother angles on places, making them look more attractive.
Bobby knew that if the computer was to reach the consumer market then it also needed to look good. The problem now was that most companies were too focused on what's inside the box rather than what the box looked like.
"I also want to introduce you to the preloaded games that come with the system, which includes Pong, Chess, Sudoku and puzzles. All these applications take a lot of processing power but this system can handle them perfectly.
"We have specifically tried to create a good user experience by focusing on the software too, this includes a user-friendly document manager, writer application, and printing feature by attaching a printer to it.
"We have tried to be as innovative as possible with the best technology available at the time, but we know that Computer Science is a field that is advancing at an astronomical speed and we will keep on innovation and making better and better personal computers. This is the future of our world, better get into it before you're left out." Bobby ended his speech. Although he was very young and short at the moment, it actually made people more interested in the product.
"There were a lot of people, enthusiasts and journalists listening to him. When he stopped talking, someone raised their hand. It was a middle-aged man with big thick glasses.
"Yes?" Bobby asked. Ted standing behind him got alerted and intently stared at him.
"Yes, I am Jack Goldman, I think you forgot to tell everyone where you stole the designs from. My company, PARC, research and development company, is the one that created the first keyboard and mouse attached computer." Goldman accused.
Bobby shook his head, "I did see your machine today, I commend your vision. But, you are absolutely wrong about me stealing. The older version of this computer, Dragon One, already had a keyboard and mouse since last year. So, if anybody that should be accusing is me, as I also hold the patents for lots of technology used in my computer.
"But I'm not doing it because I want the tech world to advance."
"Kid, you're too young to advise the tech world. Study a few more years first." Goldman scoffed.
"Where were you 12 years ago?" Bobby suddenly asked.
Goldman answered, "I completed my college and started working."
"I was born 12 years ago. Now, I have created a computer and have been scouted by Oxford University. If you keep such backward thinking that only old people can have the right knowledge then you will become the reason for the slowing of the tech world's progress.
"Contrary to what you believe, young people have a talent in learning computer science. Now, I have other things to do. ANYBODY WANTS TO SEE A DEMONSTRATION?"
As soon as Bobby asked this, lots of young enthusiasts cheered. With that, Bobby's demonstration was a success.
Not just that, because it was a partial partnership with Intel, it was good for their reputation too, as Bobby showed the true limits of the processor, even though it was a little tweaked.
During the whole showcase, Bobby was constantly being invited to lunch and dinners. But, he didn't have much free time. He'd rather talk to people right there and then.
When he went to take a tea break, a young man with big black glasses and a baggy suit came to him.
"Hello, Mr Armstrong. I'm Bill Gates, a student at Harvard University. I was very impressed by the computer you made, I saw its software, I'm impressed but there is still so much room for improvement." Bill Gates appreciatingly said.
Bobby didn't stop drinking tea, "Thank you, Mr Gates. I'm still improving the system, the first priority was good hardware, now I will also focus on software. By the time this product comes in the market, it will be much better than now."
"Then I must book one in advance. I'm myself very much interested in computer programming. Hopefully, someday I will also be able to make my own company and be successful. I'm just 17 after all, still got enough time." Bill replied and got up to leave. But he gave his business card before that.
"If your company remains in the market and business is booming, also, if I have a company by then and it's doing good, contact me. Maybe we can collaborate someday. Thank you for talking to me, I will leave now." Bill politely left.
Bobby carefully put the business card in his wallet and went back to eating biscuits. Ted soon arrived with another person.
Bobby suddenly felt the urge to say something. "NO."
-_-
Ted and the old man were left speechless. The old man voiced, "I didn't even tell you who I am. I am Gibson, the assistant director of admissions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and I want to inv..."
"I knew it... That's why I said no. Mr Gibson, I have decided to study in my home country. But, I will most likely complete my graduation in a year, then I'll be free to choose MIT for my masters. I have planned everything for my life, so there is no point in trying to convince me." Bobby explained.
Gibson was actually very impressed, people even in their 20s are often clueless about their lives and here was a 12-year-old, who had planned everything.
"Haha... Then MIT will be happy to welcome you when the time comes. But I'm afraid, by next year you'll be such a famous and well known smart person that MIT might just offer you an honorary degree." Gibson laughingly said.
Bobby thought for a second, "Hmm... I won't reject it. I will accept as many degrees as possible. It'll help me in the future."
He was slowly working towards his goal, after all, he wasn't always going to be just making computers and other tech stuff. He had bigger dreams. Making money was easy now, something that he realised with his increased intelligence. What motivated him to push himself was now his end goal.
"If he can become the king, then I must become someone great too. I wonder what Mag is doing right now. I bet it's some fun magic stuff..." He muttered to himself in envy.
...
Hogwarts,
"Achooo... Man, who ratted us out? I had the permission and I'm still here in detention with you all." Magnus angrily said.
Currently, all 6 of them were in detention, getting bored.
"It was all because of Peter. If he had not fallen unconscious we could have sneaked back in, instead of having to take him to Madam Pomfrey." James muttered in annoyance.
Magnus scratched his head in boredom, "I can't believe it, I've already read all the boring books here, now I've got nothing to do here. Ragnar, entertain me."
Ragnar sneered, "I'm not your girlfriend, why don't you ask that Emma girl to come, she will gladly annoy the hell out of you."
Just as Ragnar said that James, Sirius and Remus had their eyes open wide as if light bulbs.
They came to Ragnar and Sirius asked him nicely, "Mag's got a girlfriend?"
"Of course..." Ragnar muttered.
Magnus felt something ominous coming into his life and just facepalmed himself.
"OOOOooooo... MAGNUS GOT A GIRLFRIEND... MAGNUS GOT A GIRLFRIEND." The three started to jump around him.
"Did you kiss her yet?" James asked.
"Ewww... why would you taste someone else's saliva? That's gross." Sirius made an ugly face.
Magnus just kept his head down on the bench and tried to sleep.
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