在电脑中查找一份很早以前的文件，竟然看到几张以前在美国哈佛大学游学时拍的照片。
图中所示为美国第一台也是世界上第一台可编程计算机，这台计算机的尺寸足有一间房子那么大。
时过境迁，计算机对于普罗大众再也不是什么稀罕物件，尺寸方面也以指数级别的程度在变小。除非是国家级的量子计算机尺寸依然足够大，大多数用于日常编程，设计等目的的计算机尺寸都不过就一本A4杂志的大小。
人类科技的进步，不仅助推计算机的尺寸变得越来越小，也在改变着各行各业的工作模式。大约在2000年前，提起国际贸易，标配的一个最重要的设备一定是传真机。其地位甚至比电话机还要重要。因为重要的商业合约你不能指望通过一通简单的电话就达成签约。合约条款的商讨，还有最后履行合约的基准都需要有文档记录。如果这些工作通过国际邮政系统来完成，这个时间成本没有公司可以承受。所以传真机就显得无比重要。
后来随着计算机的发展，助推了国际互联网的发展。电子邮件不仅很好的解决了文件存档的需求，也让文档在不同公司和组织之间的交换也变得瞬时可达。至此之后，电子邮件成为国际贸易最重要的承载工具，传真机也从此退出历史舞台。电子邮件对国际贸易的贡献不仅事实上降低了国际贸易的进入门槛，也大大助推了国际快递行业的发展。在传真机的时代，从事国际贸易的门槛十分之高，大多数工厂都只生产少数几款标准化产品。从事国际贸易和各方所要商谈的条款也相应简单，无非是价格，交期，包装方式，还有付款条件。而在互联网时代，由于国际贸易的门槛降低，从业者数量以几何级数增长，这使得以前主流贸易商不重视的长尾市场也开始变得有吸引力。而长尾市场的特点就是需求很多元，而在多元需求的基础上，每一种需求配置所对应的订单数量也不大，这使得国际贸易在达成签约前需要谈判的要素急剧增加，除开价格，交期，包装，付款条件外，还牵涉到产品的配置，每一个配置所对应的产品版本，品质标准，配色，甚至某些关键元件的材质都不相同。就算是计算机网络的沟通效率很高，也不可避免由于双方的认知不同而产生理解上的差异，最后在合同的实际执行阶段又产生新的分歧。所以合同谈判的双方在确认合同后往往需要有一个实物来明确合同的缔约各方对合同的实际交付条件及标准的理解是一致的。这给快递的发展提供了充要的条件和环境。国际快递及物流业的发展，也让专业的商品提供方直接面对消费群体进行销售具备了可能性。电商行业也因此得到蓬勃的发展。
Searching for a document from a long time ago on the computer, I saw a few photos taken while studying at Harvard University in the United States.
Shown in the picture is the first programmable computer in the United States and the world. This computer is the size of a house.
Over time, computers are no longer a rare item for General people, and their size is shrinking exponentially. Unless the size of a national quantum computer is still large enough, most computers used for daily programming, design, and other purposes are no more than the size of an A4 magazine.
The advancement of human science and technology promotes the size of computers to become smaller and smaller and changes the operating mode of all walks of life. Before the Year 2000, one of the most important standard equipment must be a fax machine for international trade. Its status is even more important than the telephone. Because of essential business contracts, you can't expect to reach an agreement with a simple phone call. The negotiation of contract terms and the basis for the final performance of the contract need to be documented. If these tasks are completed through the international postal system, no company can afford this time cost. Therefore, fax machines are fundamental.
Later, the development of computers boosted the growth of the Internet. e-mail solves the need for file archiving and makes the exchange of documents between different companies and organizations instantaneous. Since then, e-mail has become the most crucial carrier of international trade, and fax machines have since withdrawn from the stage of history. The contribution of e-mail to international trade lowers the barriers to entry for international trade and dramatically boosts the development of the global express delivery industry. In the age of fax machines, the threshold for international trade engagement was very high, and most factories only produced a few standardized products. The terms of international trade and negotiation between all parties are correspondingly simple, which is nothing more than price, delivery date, packaging method, and payment terms. In the Internet era, due to the lowering of the threshold of international trade, the number of practitioners has increased exponentially, which makes the long-tail market that was not taken seriously by mainstream traders before becoming attractive. A lot of demand characterizes the long-tail market, and based on diversified demand, the number of orders corresponding to each demand configuration is not large, which makes the elements of international trade that need to be negotiated before signing a contract to increase rapidly, except In addition to price, delivery, packaging, and payment terms, it also involves the configuration of the product. The product version, quality standard, color matching, and even the material of some critical components are different for each design. Even if the communication efficiency of the computer network is very high, there will inevitably be differences in understanding due to the other cognitions of the two parties. Finally, new differences will arise in the actual implementation of the contract. Therefore, the parties to the contract negotiation often need to have a physical object after confirming the agreement to clarify that the parties to the contract have the same understanding of the contract's actual delivery conditions and standards. This provides sufficient conditions and environment for the development of express delivery. The story of the international express delivery and logistics industry also makes it possible for professional commodity providers to sell to consumer groups directly. As a result, the e-commerce industry has thrived.
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