"We are extremely satisfied with everything about the five-based system, but this Chinese programming language, we find it hard to accept!" In the later stages, the entire developer conference was almost exclusively for independent developers, and the independent developers generally felt very good, as the five-based system opened a brand new door for them.
However, these developers also had their own opinions and ideas, the biggest of which was the issue of the Chinese programming language.
After all, only about 10% of those present were Chinese; the remaining 90% were almost all foreign individual developers, who naturally had considerable objections to a Chinese programming language.
On the final day of the developer conference, during the free communication and exchange session, more than a hundred developers submitted opinions to the organizing committee, requesting the development of an English version of the programming language, or the complete replacement of the Chinese version with an English one.
Otherwise, it would be difficult for everyone to start learning a new language from scratch for programming, which would be very detrimental to the promotion of the five-based system.
"First of all, I want to clarify one point for everyone!" After receiving so much feedback, Zuo Sicheng took it very seriously and immediately explained at the conference.
"I will not elaborate on how suitable Chinese is for the five-based system, as everyone has their own views, and I cannot force you to believe my conclusions."
"Also, I see that everyone is asking us to develop an English programming language, so I have a small question to ask you. That is, how many people in the audience are native English speakers? Could you raise your hands and show me?" Zuo Sicheng asked.
Many people were expected to raise their hands, but in reality, only about a hundred people raised their hands in the entire venue, which is surprising considering there were over 3,000 independent developers present.
"Perhaps in many people's fixed impression, English is the most widely used and frequently used language among all populations globally. But the fact is, quite ironically, the most widely used and frequently used language globally is actually Chinese, with a total of 1.4 billion people currently using it worldwide (including ethnic Chinese in Southeast Asia), accounting for 20% of the world's population."
"English ranks second, but in reality, only 7% of the global population uses English as their mother tongue, with the vast majority being Americans and British. Although many countries consider English an official language, or even their first language, these countries' local first choice is still their mother tongue, not English."
"I don't understand, what reason do we have to abandon the language with the largest number of users worldwide and switch to the language ranked second in terms of user population?"
"Alright, I know that many people might see my statement as biased, because even if English is not everyone's mother tongue, they have, to varying degrees, mastered English through learning and social interaction as they grew up. Many people's first language may not be English, but their second language is English!"
"Of course, the most crucial point is that the binary system uses English, and everyone present is undoubtedly proficient in English, so it is logical to also request an English programming language for the five-based system!"
"Therefore, I understand everyone's thoughts very well, and I believe that your request for English as the programming language is reasonable. However, our Jiangnan Group is a Chinese enterprise, and almost all of our staff are Chinese. It is very reasonable and correct to develop and use the Chinese language as the official programming language for the five-based system. Therefore, I believe there is no problem with Chinese being the five-based programming language chosen by Jiangnan Group. In the future, Jiangnan Group will completely use Xing Language in all aspects as the sole programming language for the 5-based computer system."
"However, this only applies to our Jiangnan Group. Our entire five-based system is completely open-source, and all five-based data and intelligence have been handed over to everyone. So, if you find Xing Language to be unsatisfactory, you are entirely welcome to create your own programming language."
"I guarantee here that Jiangnan Group will never hinder the promotion of any new programming language, as long as it does not violate laws and societal ethics. Jiangnan Group will never interfere with or obstruct any use of the five-based system, but likewise, Jiangnan Group will not promote things that do not bring significant benefits to Jiangnan Group!"
Zuo Sicheng said a lot, but his core message was only one sentence: "Use it if you like it, make your own if you don't, or get out!"
Following this, Jiangnan Group presented each attendee with a 10TB solid-state drive, containing the core data of the 5-based computer system and various development tools used by Jiangnan Group.
However, these were not the most storage-intensive parts. The largest component was a 5TB teaching file, covering everything from text-based tutorials to video instruction, sufficient to train a complete computer novice into a programmer of the 5-based computer system. This was the textbook compiled by Jiangnan University after four years of practical teaching experience. All of this was given away for free, demonstrating Jiangnan Group's sincerity.
It is quite telling that some conscientious developers would copy the data from the solid-state drives to their mechanical hard drives and then format the solid-state drives.
Those less considerate would directly format the drives to store their own daily documents.
It cannot be said that these individual developers lacked class or upbringing; it is simply that solid-state drives exceeding 2TB were not available on the market at that time, making them impossible to purchase.
Suddenly receiving a super solid-state drive with a capacity of 10TB, it was only natural for them to use it for their own storage.
Ultimately, the developer conference concluded with a less than successful outcome, meaning that almost no companies reached cooperation agreements with Jiangnan Group.
The individual developers, though speaking of developing software for the five-based system in the future, largely made no moves, treating it more as an entertainment event.
Of course, a very small number of developers were indeed very interested in the five-based system and began developing various software specifically for it, uploading them to the Tianzhou App Center.
Initially, it was out of sheer interest, and they did not expect these small applications to generate much of a reaction.
But they forgot that the Tianzhou App Center was tightly integrated with all Tianzhou terminals. The various applications they uploaded appeared in the app centers of each terminal almost immediately.
Because the number of applications in the app center was insufficient in the early stages, and because Jiangnan Group's senior management had very direct orders to give the first adopters preferential treatment and recommendations, any software and programs they developed that were useful were almost guaranteed a front-page recommendation on the app center, followed by mass user trials and downloads.
In the near future, developers would refer to the period from the end of 2007 to the end of 2010 as the golden age of five-based developers. During this period, Jiangnan Group launched a developer incentive program for Tianzhou terminals.
This incentive program was straightforward: rewards were directly given to developers based on download volume, usage time, and other metrics, with malicious data filtered out by intelligent algorithms.
For instance, 1,000 downloads equaled 1 US dollar, and 100 hours of usage also equaled 1 US dollar. This way, even a free software could generate substantial income.
By the end of 2007, a program called "Talking Tom Cat" utilized the Tianzhou terminal's audio recording and playback functions, along with a voice-changing program, to easily achieve ten million downloads and over one million usage hours per month. The developer earned $20,000 in a single month, surpassing many programmers and industry leaders and earning considerable envy.
What was even more astonishing was in 2009. By then, the total sales of Tianzhou terminals were already staggering, leading to the emergence of over a dozen individual developers earning over $400,000 per month. These individuals were hailed as titans within the community.
Unfortunately, by 2010, the incentive program was directly canceled. However, free software could still generate income, albeit through embedded advertisements. The scale of income could no longer compare to the golden era.
To return to the main point, in the initial stages of promoting the Tianzhou terminal and the five-based computer system, the Tianzhou terminal was a disruptive force, shaking up the entire market.
However, the promotion of the five-based computer system had hit a snag, with almost no progress. In the entire month of October, not a single third-party program was listed.
In November, there were finally six, and in December, there were even fewer, only five.
In other words, in 2007, there were only a mere 11 third-party applications developed for the Tianzhou terminal. Whenever the media wrote about this, they would invariably lament it, calling them "11 stars that pierced through the starry sky of the era."
Several years later, Jiangnan Group specifically organized an event to find the creators of these 11 stars and awarded them a Star Trophy.
The trophy itself was not particularly special, but it was crafted from 10 kilograms of pure gold, and its surface was inlaid with 108 diamonds, each weighing 6 carats.