1855 United States Tycoon

This is how the last period of 1866 passed, and it was Christmas in a blink of an eye. This year's Christmas is definitely the most beautiful one since Christmas. In the past few months, although only the most prosperous and wealthy areas in New York have had time to connect to electricity, the entire city is still much brighter than when gas lights were used before, especially in Manhattan, where the bright lights are almost Light up the sky. According to some people who run boats at sea, even if they are sixty nautical miles away, they can know the direction of Manhattan through the illuminated sky.

On this Christmas, Scrooge gave a Christmas tree and a donation of varying amounts to every church in New York to buy the sacrament that was distributed to poor believers on Christmas Eve and to give it to children. Our candies, these candies have the most beautiful colors and look as beautiful as gems. There will never be deaths on the spot), the outside is still wrapped in beautiful candy paper, and the candy paper is often painted with a cute little animal.

In front of the famous Trinity Church in Manhattan, an extra-high Christmas tree was erected. This is a forty-meter-high tree that Scrooge specially found from the forests of Maine. Very, very standard cone-shaped fir. It took a lot of effort to get this tree from Maine to Manhattan. However, considering its advertising effect, Scrooge felt that this The price is definitely worth it.

At the top of this big Christmas tree, a high-power electric light of one kilowatt, the brightest at the time, was installed. This is the latest product of MacDonald Appliances. It is the first light bulb in the world that uses a tungsten filament and is filled with inert gas protection. When this light bulb was lit, the entire small square in front of the Trinity Church was illuminated.

In addition to this big lamp, thousands of large and small light bulbs of various colors were hung on this magnificent Christmas tree. It was like pulling the stars from the sky to the ground.

Christmas trees of various sizes have also been erected in front of churches in areas where there has not been time to pull up the wires and install electric lights, and some small electric lights are also hung on them. They feel the benefits of electric lights in advance. It is also an advertisement for other residents, because starting from next year, electricity will gradually be promoted to other areas of New York City.

...

At the same time as electric lights, a variety of brand-new electrical appliances began to appear constantly. In January 1867, the large laboratory showed the phone to the outside. In February, the Macdonald Telephone Company began to operate in New York. In March, the medium wave radio appeared. , United States Radio Broadcasting Company is listed for business in New York.

"Broadcasting is a brand new media model. It is very important for our future." Scrooge said to everyone at the closed-door meeting of the MacDonald Consortium.

"First of all, compared to traditional newspapers, radio is more interesting. Through radio, in addition to providing news, we can also provide a variety of entertainment projects." Scrooge said, "You think about it, when you need When you learn about the latest news, turn on the radio and switch to the news channel. You can hear the latest news immediately, instead of waiting until a new edition of the newspaper is printed the next morning. Well, you know, It’s important to know the information for a few hours in advance.” Scrooge said, “And, if you need to relax, you can also listen to funny talks to all kinds of popular classic music on the corresponding channel. Even, We can also arrange reading novels, reading poems and the like for you in special times. Of course, advertisements will be inserted among them."

"Well, it's very interesting." Catherine said, "Does this mean that no one will read the newspaper? After all, compared to newspapers, broadcasting is cordial, timely, and entertaining. A newspaper, Isn’t it about letting people know about social news and leisure activities? Now that there is radio, newspapers are probably... By the way, what is the price of this thing?"

"A month ago, I mentioned to you that we successfully manufactured vacuum tubes in a large laboratory. Do you remember?" Scrooge said.

"Is it the kind of light bulb with three legs that is not very bright?" Carol smiled and said, "You mentioned it to us. But I didn't understand what you told me and Catherine."

"To be honest, I didn't quite understand it at the time." Rockefeller also smiled.

"Doesn’t understand? John, then tell me, what do you understand about those messy things that Scrooge said at the time?" Carol and Rockefeller are very familiar, so he often jokes with him. .

"I only understand that with this thing, the performance of radio equipment can improve the boss." Rockefeller said, "It can also be used by those who don't know anything about radio. It is very good for promotion. Well, Scrooge, how much does a radio now—you gave it such a name—how much does it cost?"

"In terms of cost, if we don't count the cost we invested in the development of electronic tubes, the cost varies from eight to one hundred dollars depending on the level." Shi Gaozhi said.

"Different levels? What are the levels?" Catherine said.

"There are four types: fashion type, noble type, luxury type, and limited flagship type." Dorothea replied, and now she is directly responsible for the radio.

"What's the difference between these mess?" Carol asked.

"The fashionable version uses the most common paper cone speaker and can only use AC power. In addition, the antenna gain is also the most common. The production cost is eight dollars, and the estimated sales price is 8.5 dollars."

"So cheap? Considering the cost of the sale itself, it's hardly profitable." Catherine asked.

"In the beginning, I didn't intend to make money from it. What makes money is the advertising revenue of other models and programs. Low prices make it easier to promote quickly." Dorothea replied.

"What about the others?" Rockefeller asked.

"The noble type has dual speakers, which are used to express treble and bass respectively, and are used to listen to music. The effect will be better. The cost is about eleven dollars, and the estimated price is twenty dollars. The deluxe type has three speakers, corresponding to high school It is three-band lower, and the gain antenna performance is better, and it uses more tubes. In addition, it can be powered by batteries. The cost is about 15 US dollars, and the scheduled sales price is 50 US dollars. As for the flagship limited edition, in fact, The design is not too different from the deluxe version, but the exterior decoration is more luxurious. In addition, all the internal wiring uses silver wires, and all the wire sockets are all gold-plated. The speakers used are also selected, like those used for bass paper cones. It is made of cashmere. It is said that the silver wire has the smallest resistance, and the gold-plated interface will never cause poor signal due to rust. According to some people, this design can make the sound extremely perfect, but to be honest, I am I didn't hear any difference in the figure at all. In addition, this thing also comes with a phonograph function, and the exterior decoration is more beautiful. The cost is about one hundred dollars, and the estimated sales price is about five thousand dollars." Dorothea said .

"Five thousand dollars? Will anyone buy it?" Carol asked.

"Yes." Catherine smiled, "Like a thoroughbred horse, some luxury goods, if the price is low, it is really possible that no one will buy it."

"Well, one dollar for one dollar goods, ten dollars for five dollars goods, one thousand dollars for fifty dollars goods. This is the principle of sales." Scrooge said, "In addition, Dorothea, the last model is listed separately. Don’t call it the flagship version. Register a trademark for it as a special brand for luxury products. Under this brand, no low-priced products are allowed."

This is the case with luxury goods. The people who buy it are not for practicality at all, but almost exclusively for the so-called "compulsion". Therefore, luxury brands must not have cheap goods, which is even more deadly than quality problems.

For example, the famous supercar Pagani, which is known to be all handcrafted in the later generations, each screw is engraved with exquisite patterns. Although there have been low-level problems such as the failure of the door to close, it still does not damage its status as a forceful artifact. On the contrary, Parker, who used to specialize in high-end gold pens, once stupidly launched the so-called one-dollar ballpoint pen because of the enthusiasm of watching the low-end market. What is even more silly is to satisfy the wish of "Parker". On such a cheap ball-point pen, they actually used the Parker trademark, but they were self-destructive, and they didn’t even pay for it. (If you buy a pen for one dollar, who would especially care if this thing can be used to pretend? ), and Gao Fushuai? I also firmly cannot bear that the brand I use can be bought for one dollar. As a result, Parker has made him innocent inside and out, and if he hadn't changed things quickly, he would have almost finished.

"Okay, I get it." Dorothea said, "Or call it'Apollo'. The legendary god of music."

"Nowadays, there are no systematic regulations on the use of radio frequencies. However, as far as our technology is concerned, the best bands are quite limited. Therefore, we must first occupy these bands. Broadcasting is a new medium. The power of will become more and more obvious in the future. Society will not allow all broadcasts to be under our direct control, so we must also plan ahead and be prepared. I intend to let Mr. Gardner exert his influence and go Lobbying Congress and saying that in order to avoid mutual interference between wireless telegraphs, let them pass a bill on the allocation of radio frequency bands. Then we will take up the most critical frequency bands as soon as possible..."

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