Ahoy
Уровень B2· 834 слова
Peter Molyneux was a nobody. He was an unremarkable student with few prospects - but he did have an unwavering ambition.
He wanted to be successful. By the time he left college he wasn't exactly sure how he'd find success.
One thing that resonated with him was computing. He had a knack for programming. He found a job with a sports mail-order business, helping to set up their computer systems. On the back of that he was set up with his own business, selling floppy disks to schools. He called his company Vulcan Computing.
He found the schools were less interested in the disks than the content on them. He put together simple 'edutainment' packages to enhance the value of his offering.
This was a limited market that didn't afford Peter the success he desired. He decided to target a broader general audience, taking out an advert in Acorn User in May 1984.
His game was a business simulator, called 'The Entrepeneur'. He promoted it with a competition to win £100, and braced himself to deal with the deluge of orders he was due to receive.
He sold 2 copies. Fair to say, his foray into self-published software was not the success he desired. And so, when another business opportunity presented itself, he moved on.
He met a girl, and Peter was keen to impress her. He learned that her father had an opportunity in the import-export business. He jumped at the chance.
He set up a company called Taurus Impex with acquaintance Les Edgar. Peter and Les had met some years earlier, when Peter bought a computer from his shop.
They shared a similar sense of humour, and a similar ambition for success. Taurus sold money systems to Switzerland and baked beans to the middle east.
Peter was earning just about enough to eat, but success had once again eluded him. He did have plans for Taurus. Peter wanted to break into the lucrative financial software field. He planned a suite of accounting, invoicing and stock control programs. But these ideas didn't come to fruition.
Fate threw a curveball in the form of a phone call from Commodore. They were about to release their new home computer. They were hoping to encourage software developers to support the new Amiga. Commodore offered five Amigas to Peter's company.
