dognovel Chapter 192 Each Person's Schemes
Chapter 192 Each Person's Schemes
It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the curtains were drawn tightly. Only three table lamps were on around the long table, their light focused on the tabletop, leaving the rest of the room dim.
Bill Gates sat at the head of the table, with Michael Dell to his left and Pratt of HP to his right. There was no coffee, no documents, only three empty cups on the table.
"Ben Rosen met with Ling Yun today," Bill said in a low voice. "They're discussing contract manufacturing. Compaq wants to outsource its low-to-mid-range PC production because it can't handle the capacity itself."
Michael Dyer leaned forward, elbows on the table. "My people say they signed a contract for 100,000 units."
"100,000 units isn't a big number for Compaq, but it's a signal," Platt said, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. "DEC's factories are operating at less than 40% capacity, and Compaq's own factories are also reducing production. They simply can't integrate."
"So now is the perfect time." Bill crossed his arms on the table. "DEC's engineers are leaving, and Compaq's sales team is watching and waiting. If the three of us join forces, we can accelerate their disintegration."
"How do we divide it?" Dell asked.
Bill took three sheets of white paper from under the table and pushed them in front of the two men.
"Microsoft needs core engineers from DEC. The operating system team, the compiler team, the high-performance computing team. I have a list here, twenty-seven people, and I want them all."
"Are they still in DEC?" Pratt asked.
"They're still there, but morale is low. Compaq asked them to do PC BIOS optimization, and they felt insulted," Bill said. "Microsoft Research can provide them with the best labs and unlimited research funding."
"What's the price?" Dale picked up the paper, glanced at it, and put it down.
"Microsoft is providing Dell and HP with exclusive optimization support at the operating system level for the next three years," Bill said. "This includes deep adaptation of Windows NT for your server products, and we received the code six months earlier than Compaq."
Dale and Pratt exchanged a glance.
"I want Compaq's customized clients," Dell said. "The US government, military, and financial industry—the ones that need customized hardware. Compaq can't handle that, but I can."
"A list?" Platt asked.
Dell pulled a handheld computer from his pocket, pressed a few buttons, and pushed it to the center of the table. The screen was small, but it listed the names of more than a dozen companies, followed by their annual purchase amounts.
"Compaq served 60% of these customers last year, but this year, due to DEC integration issues, delivery delays have exceeded 40%. Customers are already looking for alternatives."
"How did you contact them?" Bill asked.
"My people are already in contact." Dell put the handheld computer back. "All Microsoft needs to do is clearly state 'best compatible with Dell hardware' in their bid. HP's servers can be used as a dummy bidder."
Pratt frowned, but did not object.
"And what about me?" he asked. "What can I get?"
“Compaq’s manufacturing plant,” Bill said. “The one in Houston has the latest equipment. If HP acquires it, it can immediately increase production capacity by 15 percent, and they won’t have to deal with union issues—Compaq has already agreed to a buyout deal.”
"price?"
"Seventy percent of the market price. Compaq desperately needs cash right now; the DEC acquisition has drained too much of their liquidity."
"Who will go and negotiate?"
"The three of us are putting pressure on each other," Bill said. "Dell is poaching customers, HP is driving down factory prices, and Microsoft is poaching talent. Within three months, Compaq will be fighting on three fronts. At that point, Ben Rosen will have no choice but to cut his losses."
The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds. A faint whirring sound came from the air conditioning vents.
"What about Lingyun?" Platt suddenly asked. "He's manufacturing for Compaq. If Compaq goes bankrupt, his orders..."
"That's his problem," Bill said. "Spark Electronics took Compaq's orders because they wanted to leverage Compaq's distribution channels. If Compaq can't even protect its own channels, his plan will fall through."
"But he has a partnership with Dell in the Middle East." Dell looked at Bill. "I was also involved in Khalid's project."
"Business is business," Bill said. "You can continue working on the Middle East projects. But on Compaq, we must be on the same page."
Dell tapped his fingers lightly on the table twice, then nodded.
"I agree."
"I agree," Platt said.
"Then it's settled." Bill stood up. "Everyone go back and prepare. The first week, Dell starts contacting clients. The second week, HP quotes prices to factories. The third week, Microsoft sends offers to DEC engineers. The pace needs to be synchronized, and the pressure needs to be sufficient."
When the three left the meeting room, the corridor was deserted.
Bill escorted them to the elevator. After the elevator doors closed, he returned to the conference room and drew back the curtains.
The afternoon sunlight streamed in, making the rims of the three empty cups on the table gleam.
He picked up the phone.
"Legal Department, please prepare. We can begin collecting evidence for the patent lawsuit against the Star System."
"When will it start?"
"We'll take it one step at a time, once we see progress on Compaq's case," Bill said.
Just as Microsoft was plotting against Compaq, Ling Yun walked into Clark's office.
On the computer screen on the desk was a statistical chart of browser crash reports, with the red bars constantly rising.
When Ling Yun pushed the door open, Clark was yelling into the phone, "I don't care, the patch has to be released this week! What? Testing isn't finished? Then cut the most unstable feature!"
He slammed down the phone, saw Ling Yun, took a deep breath, and pointed to the sofa.
"sit."
Lingyun sat down. On the coffee table in front of the sofa was a latest browser market report. On the first page, several numbers were circled in red: Netscape's market share was 48.7%, IE's was 33.2%, and Starlight's was 11.4%.
"See that?" Clark's voice was hoarse. "Four years ago we were at 90%. Now we're about to drop below half."
"Is there a problem with the new version?"
"Users are calling us bug collectors." Clark pulled a printed user feedback document from the pile of files and slammed it on the table. "This user wrote a 3,000-word email detailing the number of times our browser crashed in 24 hours: seventeen times."
Lingyun picked up the feedback. The email was very detailed, recording the actions taken during each crash, the web pages opened, and the system logs.
"Is there a problem with the Gecko engine?" he asked.
"Yes." Clark sat down, burying his face in his hands. "To rush the new feature, the testing time was cut in half. Now our customer service phone lines are ringing off the hook every day, and the forums are full of complaints."
The sky outside the window was overcast; Silicon Valley was about to enter the rainy season.
"What about IE?" Lingyun asked.
"Steady as a rock," Clark said with a wry smile. "They haven't added any new features, they're just stable. Users now say that IE is 'boring but at least usable.' What about us? 'Lots of features but completely unusable.'"
"How's the starlight?"
"Your user numbers are increasing." Clark looked up at him. "I've looked at the data, and some of them are leaving us. They'd rather install a virtual machine to run the Stardust system than use Starlight. Why?"
"Because we are stable," Ling Yun said, "and fast."
Clark remained silent for a long time; the only sound in the office was the low hum of the server racks.
"A year ago, you advised me against adding too many new features, and instead focused on improving stability and standard support. Unfortunately, I didn't listen."
"Now... I don't know what to do." Clark stood up and walked to the window. "The board has given me one last three months. If the market share falls below 40%, I'm out."
"You still have a choice," Ling Yun said.
Clark turned around.
"First, accept AOL's offer to acquire you. They've been in contact with you, right?"
"...Yes. But their offer was too low."
"Given the current situation, the longer this goes on, the lower their offers will be. Right now, at least you can keep the team and ensure Netscape survives."
"And the second one?"
"You wanted to sue Microsoft for antitrust. You wanted to accuse them of bundling Internet Explorer and abusing their market position. That's what you wanted to do before."
"How long will the lawsuit take?"
"Two years, three years, or even longer. Try to stall Microsoft and buy Netscape time."
"Thirdly, open source," Ling Yun said. "Make the entire browser code open source and free. Since ordinary users aren't paying for it anyway, it's better to make it completely free and attract developers to contribute code. We can make money through corporate support and services."
Clark walked back to the sofa, sat down, and clasped his hands together.
"Open source...so where does our value lie?"
"It's about the ecosystem," Ling Yun said. "Microsoft doesn't dare to open-source IE because Windows is closed-source. If you open-source it, you can attract all the developers who dislike Microsoft. Moreover, after open-sourcing, you can cooperate deeply with the Starry Sky system. We already have experience in open-source."
Clark stared at the report on the coffee table for a full minute.
"If I had listened to you a year ago..." he said.
"There are no 'what ifs'." Ling Yun stood up. "Now choose a path and walk it."
What would you choose?
"I will choose open source, while simultaneously pursuing legal action and negotiating with AOL," Ling Yun said. "Three parallel approaches. Open source will win over developers, the lawsuit will stall Microsoft, and negotiations will secure cash."
"This will cost a lot of money."
"But Netscape still has cash, right?"
"...Yes. The money raised from the IPO hasn't all been spent yet."
"Then let's spend the money in the right places," Ling Yun said, walking toward the door, "instead of spending it on developing a bunch of new features that nobody dares to use."
Clark called out to him as his hand touched the doorknob.
"If we open-source...would StarCraft be willing to collaborate?"
"I'm willing." Ling Yun turned around. "We can contribute part of Starburst's code to jointly maintain an open-source kernel. But the UI and integration layer can each do their own thing."
Are you willing to contribute code?
"I'm willing. Because if the open-source kernel is good, it will also benefit Starburst."
Clark nodded, very slowly.
"I'll think about it."
"Hurry up." Ling Yun pushed open the door. "Microsoft won't wait for you."
As I left the Netscape building, it started to rain. Fine raindrops pattered against the glass curtain wall, blurring the view of Silicon Valley outside.
Lingyun got into the car but didn't drive away immediately.
He watched the rain slide down the car window.
A company that was once worth three billion dollars is now swaying in the rain.
His advice could determine its fate.
But more importantly, if Netscape becomes open source, it will become another ally in the fight against Microsoft.
An open-source kernel, combined with the Starry Sky system and the Starry Sky browser.
A complete battlefront.