[Chapter 883: A Special Day]
If William White were there, he certainly would have commented. Many people said these two were the smartest in the world, and it certainly appeared that they were two geniuses.
July 4th, American Independence Day, or simply July Fourth.
It seemed strange, didn't it? In most countries, national holidays came and went without much fuss, but not in America. This day was different. The country had strong ties to the British Commonwealth in history. So, it was rather stressful for John Bull, trying to assert dominance in Europe while failing to outdo France and Germany.
After playing the balance of power for hundreds of years, it finally became America's turn. For the United States, John Bull represented an essential piece on their European chessboard. Conversely, for John Bull, becoming a pawn instead of the player was tough indeed.
"Did Win95 get released?"
"Yes, boss, the situation is pretty good; the installation rate has exceeded sixty percent. Their prior advertising was indeed quite effective."
"Sixty percent?" William White thought to himself. "What good is that? Bill Gates didn't even think that was satisfactory. Eighty percent would have been ideal, and you're saying sixty?"
"Yes, boss, sixty percent. Few of those old computers ever get upgraded."
"Upgraded?" William White scoffed; he thought the excitement about potential upgrades was overstated. What could be improved? Some extra memory at best.
"Yes, boss, but they made a bold move this time. Hard drives below 1GB are pretty much obsolete."
"True. By the way, Tom, has the browser been embedded yet?"
"It has been embedded. We just tried it out; they've added a dozen patches."
"Patches? Hahaha, they shouldn't be called Microsoft anymore; they should be called Patch."
"Keep an eye on any instability; notify them immediately if anything comes up."
"Understood, boss. Bill called me, boasting about all the great things they were doing."
"Yeah, let him boast. The product is good; launching on July Fourth is quite clever. Is this a special edition for the holiday? He seems to think he's selling cars."
Ignoring William White's grumbling, the launch of Win95 had the first immediate impact on Netscape. With their IPO less than a week away, Bill Gates's timing clearly wasn't casual.
William White's thoughts were a bit muddled; he vaguely recalled that Win95 was released in August, the same month Netscape was slated for its IPO. What had happened that the timelines didn't even match up?
A cloud hung over him, and while he wasn't quite Amazon's butterfly, he was nonetheless genuinely impacting the flow of history. In other areas, it might not be too obvious, but the IT industry had transformed drastically.
The streets were bustling; he found it quite confusing why America seemed so joyous. It wasn't a pretense; it was genuine delight.
Sunset Boulevard had turned into an ocean of flags. Watching the crowd go by, William White momentarily drifted off into thought.
"Sir, there are too many people here; it isn't very safe."
"Yeah, let's have the car wait at the corner up ahead; we'll leave shortly."
Though he didn't believe danger lurked nearby, William White never liked being in crowded places. Acting like a VIP for too long had its downsides, after all.
Americans held a unique and intense value system; they considered taxpayers as the nation's true masters; everything else was just hired help.
So, criticizing Clinton was fine, decrying Congress was acceptable, and they consistently lambasted both parties--the Democrats and Republicans--insulting each other was routine, leaving what others said trivial.
Under this mindset, the American flag almost overflowed everywhere; it appeared on headscarves, hats, underwear, T-shirts, aprons, wreaths, umbrellas, nail clippers, sneakers, and Christmas gifts--all adorned with the stars and stripes.
Seeing the American flag emblazoned on Win95, William White couldn't help but sarcastically remark. "Seriously? Are they really selling technology or are we doing nostalgia now?"
Not to mention, there were no competitors; if Netscape counted as one, they were still American, for crying out loud.
William White could enjoy his holiday freely, joining the streets to soak in the joy of the people. This atmosphere of happiness was uplifting; it helped dispel some mental darkness.
There was no denying that with higher social status came a clearer view of the grime beneath. At times, William White pondered if returning to a simpler life as a brash rich kid would have brought him more joy.
Whenever he thought about that, he caught himself glancing at the sky. If it had been cloudy, he wouldn't mind, but he didn't fancy being struck by lightning.
"Mark, I've checked it out; in some ways, it doesn't compare to our Navigator, but this thing is free."
"Damn it, that's unfair competition! James, can we sue?" Mark Anderson was furious; that ungrateful Bill Gates was nothing short of a menace.
James Clark was feeling the pressure too, especially with the IPO coming up; any disruption could be disastrous for them.
Damn that Bill Gates! What was it he held against him? He hadn't thrown any of his kids into a well; why the animosity?
"Mark, we could sue; are you sure about this timing?"
Mark Anderson was taken aback. Though youthful, he wasn't naive. Many even regarded him as a young version of William White.
In America, when discussing the American Dream, one William White wasn't enough; they needed a dozen or eight to truly exhibit superiority.
For James Clark, this IPO was critical; an unexpected hiccup could obscure his plans.
As an integral part of Netscape, they thoroughly recognized their company's worth. Denying any overvaluation would be absurd. Those two couldn't even comprehend the wild estimates.
Given the current sales trends, they couldn't entertain any mention of thirty billion dollars; if they could manage a valuation of ten billion, they'd better be grateful.
Competing with William White?
Give me a break; it was fine for outsiders to say anything, but for those in the IT industry to think that way was ludicrous.
So easy, ICQ, PayPal; did Netscape want to compete with those three?
As for how investors chose? Who knew? Sometimes those guys were just unpredictable. Asking those in the IT field would yield a very consistent response.
As for NBC Online, it wasn't even in the same league.
James Clark and Mark Anderson were well aware of their standing.
To put it simply, they'd painted an ambitious picture. There were fools outside who loved the idea, and with everyone adding their money, valuations would naturally soar.
Now, however, with new competitors joining in, how should they respond?
File a lawsuit?
That was a foolish idea. If they all banded together for litigation, share prices would plummet. It might even threaten their IPO.
It was pretty simple--whether they won or lost, if they feared being outmatched by another browser, they couldn't show weakness.
What? You are confident about winning?
Come on! If they weren't the least bit concerned, why would they bother with lawsuits? They should simply crush them with their product instead.
"Wait, James, let's hold off a bit, but we can't just stand around; let's announce our new system is in testing."
"Sure, I get it."
*****
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