"256 colors at 320×200... that's barely enough."
Ethan looked at the demonstration image on the monitor. Although the resolution had taken a significant hit, the color depth had increased by an entire order of magnitude.
Most importantly, though, the card supported dual display modes. Whether it was high resolution with fewer colors or lower resolution with richer colors, it could handle both.
"The OpenGL graphics library isn't finished yet, but it won't take much longer."
Vivian shut down the PC and removed the graphics card, which was still far from being usable.
Whenever OpenGL came up, she couldn't help but feel amazed. Sometimes, she truly had to admire just how many geniuses there were in this world.
"Tell me... did you really recruit Carmack from juvenile detention?"
John Carmack's programming ability had left everyone at MicroNova feeling utterly inferior. It was hard to believe he wasn't even twenty years old yet.
But what was truly terrifying was his rate of growth.
When Ethan first sent him to MicroNova, he had worn a perpetually dissatisfied expression, constantly complaining that he wanted to hurry back to headquarters and make games with Ethan.
He had even claimed he was being exiled, completely oblivious to how his words came across.
And yet, after getting a brief glimpse of the new project, he absorbed computer graphics like a sponge, rapidly mastering concepts he had never known before.
Now, he had unquestionably become the person in charge of the OpenGL project, and even the engineers from SGI eventually fell in line, learning from him without complaint.
"Yeah, he's one of the people I count on most."
"The SGI engineers have been at their wits' end because of him."
The Carmack who stood before Ethan and the Carmack everyone else dealt with were practically two different people.
Ethan laughed, shaking his head slightly, "Tell him to keep up the good work, and let him know there's an even bigger project waiting for him when he gets back."
John Carmack's legendary status in later generations wasn't just built on hype. It was earned through his extraordinary technical skill and the groundbreaking technology he created. His work on 3D engines helped shape the future of video games, laying the groundwork for an entire generation of developers and titles that followed.
At that moment, Ethan suddenly remembered Logitech.
"Oh, right. Is Jim over at your place?"
After receiving Vivian's confirmation, Ethan dialed MicroNova's office number.
"Jim, come over to headquarters. I've come up with an idea that might let us hit the Sun Microsystems really hard."
Looking at the crude graphics card prototype in Vivian's hands, Ethan's eyes flickered.
If this worked, not only could they strike Sun, but they might also threaten IBM's position. The undisputed ruler of the PC market throughout the 1980s and 1990s would never imagine what he had secretly been preparing.
….
Third floor.
Hardware Department.
The spacious office contained only three people: Gerald, Ethan, and Vivian, who hadn't left yet.
The three of them gathered around a workbench.
"A rounded ergonomic shape? Oh, I get what you're going for."
Gerald fiddled with a Logitech C7 in his hand as he considered the feasibility of Ethan's proposal.
By contemporary design standards, or rather, by what people generally regarded as classic industrial design, the Logitech C7 was aesthetically well executed. Its square, boxy appearance was exactly the kind of industrial aesthetic that computer enthusiasts loved.
Ethan, however, wanted something different. He wanted to round off its shape and redesign it into something that fit naturally in the palm of a user's hand.
"In my opinion, the mouse will become an indispensable peripheral for future PCs."
Although it seemed almost meaningless under today's DOS command-line environment, that didn't mean it had no future.
Compared with a keyboard, a mouse was actually much closer to the concept of "what you see is what you get."
It would play a vital role in bringing personal computers into ordinary households.
Vivian pondered Ethan's words before suddenly clapping her hands.
"A graphical operating system..."
That had once been her professional dream, but ever since joining GAMENOVA, she had almost forgotten about it, after all, the NovaBox's hardware was already limited.
Even DOS introduced unnecessary performance overhead, so adding a graphical operating system was simply out of the question.
NovaBox didn't have an operating system at all. It only had a basic BIOS responsible for booting game software. But now, hearing Ethan speak about the future of the mouse, those long-forgotten memories suddenly resurfaced.
She remembered discussing graphical operating systems with him back then, and just how highly he had regarded the concept.
"Exactly."
"I believe that in the future, PCs won't just be professional tools. They'll become universal digital products that everyone can use. Programming, command lines, and hardware knowledge will all cease to be barriers."
Ethan painted a picture that sounded almost utopian.
"And of course, it'll also make our console better suited for games. Future shooters, and Will's new project, will both rely on it."
"I understand."
Gerald wasn't particularly interested in what the future might look like. He preferred focusing on what was directly in front of him, and he found Ethan's proposed design extremely intriguing.
Many ideas that couldn't be applied to the NovaBox controller could instead be tested on this new mouse.
"But what about manufacturing? A mouse isn't like other products. You won't find many suitable OEM factories in all of California."
Chips could be supplied by experienced manufacturers like Motorola or Zilog. But mice, especially optical-mechanical mice, a relatively new technology, there simply weren't many companies capable of producing them.
Ethan gestured towards the Logitech C7 in Gerald's hand.
"Don't we already have someone with expertise in this area?"
"Logitech just happens to be looking for a major OEM contract to expand. As long as we solve the design problem, they'll handle the manufacturing."
"Logitech?" Gerald frowned slightly.
"NovaBox ships in decent numbers, but the demand for mice isn't exactly essential."
After all, they weren't a PC manufacturer, so when it came to mice, they didn't necessarily have much influence.
"I know." Ethan nodded. "On our own, it probably isn't enough. But I've already thought of a solution."
Just then, Jim appeared at the elevator entrance. Seeing him arrive, Ethan waved him over before saying to Vivian, "Come on. Let's go meet a few friends."
Just as he was about to leave, Ethan suddenly remembered the most important instruction he hadn't given yet and stopped in his tracks.
"Gerald, as for this mouse..."
"Let's call it NMD, Nova Mouse Device."
"That's a great name."
…..
California.
San Francisco Bay Area.
Redwood City.
Their new headquarters couldn't have been in a better location. It was practically a geomantic treasure. So good, in fact, that just a short walk outside was enough to run into companies and innovators who would one day dominate the industry.
The area was filled with ambitious Silicon Valley dreamers. It was also filled with promising startups struggling to survive because they lacked funding.
This time, the person Ethan wanted to meet was a visionary who had been forced out of Apple.
Six months earlier, he had founded his own company here, NeXT.
And at this moment, he was running around tirelessly trying to convince venture capitalists to invest in an incredibly expensive project, working himself to exhaustion.
Steve Jobs was desperately short of money.