American History 1988
Chapter 106 - 100 Carriage Wheel Bar

Chapter 106: Chapter 100 Carriage Wheel Bar

Dean, on his first visit to Mountain View, did not see the skyscrapers he had imagined. Looking around, most buildings in sight were no taller than five stories.

If one stood a bit higher, perhaps the northern Bay Area coastline could be seen.

After circling a Christian church, near Field Park, Dean found the famous "Carriage Wheel Bar."

Its full name was Walker’s Carriage Wheel Bar, a two-story limestone building with California style. Palm trees flanked the entrance, and the bar’s sign was fixed at the highest point of the roof.

Dean, who was sizing up this "historic relic" from the street, even spotted decorative old carriage wheels at an outdoor corner of the wall.

The entire bar looked unremarkable, yet somehow it stood out on the long street.

Well, this place where the once "Fairchild Eight" had gathered and conspired, Dean could finally behold its charm today.

As he pushed open the bar’s door, Dean’s arrival drew no attention. The small bar was filled with clients in plaid shirts and jeans or jackets and jeans.

They were engineers working at nearby companies, attracted to the "informal discussion" atmosphere of the Carriage Wheel Bar, where they chatted about various topics.

Unfortunately for Dean, he was dressed similarly to them, in jeans and a plain jacket, looking every bit the young engineer.

Of course, in addition to these kinds, there was also a third of the dining crowd who were dressed in sharp suits. Unlike the engineers who banded together, these individuals were mostly scattered in various corners of the bar and were generally alone.

Finding an empty table and ordering a cheese steak and beer from the waitress, Dean sat down and perked up his ears to the surrounding conversations.

"Bush taking the presidential throne has really delighted those rednecks in Texas, but it’s bad news for Silicon Valley."

"You’re right, the new president doesn’t understand technology at all. I heard his economic team advisors even asked Mr. Noyce, ’What’s the difference between a chip and a microchip?’ Oh my God, I can already imagine the day Silicon Valley turns into Ash Valley."

"Hey, buddy, don’t be so pessimistic. Since the day Silicon Valley was born, we haven’t relied on the government, and yet we continue to draw the attention of all of Wall Street."

Hearing the conversations nearby, Dean almost couldn’t help but laugh. Old Bush’s reputation here in Silicon Valley was not that great; although he valued business, his knowledge of technology was very limited.

With the successful IPOs of companies like Intel, Apple, and 3Com, Silicon Valley, while attracting the attention of Washington and Wall Street, also desperately wanted to increase its own influence.

For this, the technology elites here even chose their congressional spokespersons, and Ed Schau was one of the representatives. Unfortunately, he failed in his bid for the Senate. This led many people in Silicon Valley to lose confidence in the current administration.

Yep, Silicon Valley didn’t like old Bush and also had a certain sense of crisis about the current political climate. This was the first piece of information Dean got from the Carriage Wheel Bar.

"Did you hear? Cisco is getting ready to go public."

"Even IBM is using their routers, so this kind of news doesn’t surprise me. It’s just that soon Silicon Valley is going to have a bunch more millionaires!"

"A network equipment hardware supplier with only 174 employees, yet their annual sales surpass a hundred million US Dollars – it’s enviable indeed."

"GO Corporation’s pen-based computer is said to be undergoing a second round of financing, Mother F*cker! What a great opportunity to get in on the game, too bad I don’t have that kind of money."

"There’s a company called UUNET on the East Coast seeking investment too, you can buy 5% of the shares for 100,000 US Dollars. Should I consider it? If they end up on Nasdaq, maybe I could become a millionaire too!"

"I’d advise you to give up such delusions, only a fool would invest in an internet service provider, Capitol Hill won’t let them get big."

Okay, among the three companies mentioned, two hardware suppliers were favored by capital, but the only one related to networking was not viewed optimistically.

It looked like abandoning Price’s List was a wise choice, and not developing an instant messaging software for the mass market at the moment was the right path.

Now, it was time to find out if his own Teams would be well-received. Dean took out a napkin from the table and neatly flattened it on the surface.

Just as he was about to write something with a pen in hand, suddenly, a figure appeared opposite him.

"Do you mind if I sit here?"

Dean looked up to see plaid shirt, jeans, and a pair of silver-framed glasses— the standard engineer attire.

"Please, be my guest, sir."

"Are you a student at Stanford?"

Just as Dean was about to resume writing, the middle-aged man opposite him initiated the conversation.

Dean put down his pen and smiled, "Is it that obvious?"

The middle-aged man pointed at his chest, "Because you’re wearing it."

Following the direction of his finger, Dean saw the iron key badge on his own clothes. It was another small experiment he had conducted, to test the recognition of PBK.

Now Dean had his answer, "Sir, are you also a member of Stanford PBK? If so, I might have to call you a senior. By the way, my name is Dean Price."

"No," the middle-aged man shook his head with a smile, "Jim Clark, just call me Clark. I’m not a member of PBK, but I have recommended my students to join them. PBK is great, isn’t it?"

"Mr. Clark, so you’re a professor from Stanford." Dean was surprised to encounter a professor from Stanford in a small bar.

"That’s in the past now," Clark said as he took a beer from the waiter, "How about a drink? Don’t worry, no one knows your real age."

"Actually, I’ve already had one," Dean tapped his finger on an empty glass on the table, "but of course, I’d be happy to have another with Mr. Clark."

"Good!" Clark snapped his fingers, and the waitstaff quickly refilled Dean’s beer.

After clinking glasses, Clark took another look at the iron key badge on Dean’s chest.

"Having it means you’re still an associate member of PBK, so a junior or sophomore. But since you’ve made it to the Carriage Wheel Bar, does that mean you have a great idea, Dean?"

"Wow," Dean looked up in surprise, "Mr. Clark, was your specialty at Stanford logic by any chance?"

"Haha," Clark laughed heartily as he took a sip of his beer, "Dean, everyone in Silicon Valley knows the Carriage Wheel. But the various legends about it are only believed by young people. In reality, engineers see it as a place for drinking and casual conversation."

Dean shrugged, "If people are willing to believe, then the Carriage Wheel will certainly have its stories. Xerox PARC and Intel will not be the last legends about it."

"Dean, I like your confidence. Let’s hear it..." Clark put down his glass, "about your idea, maybe I can offer some advice."

Dean didn’t beat around the bush; he began to write a simple business plan on the napkin he had spread out earlier. This wasn’t his first time doing this, as previous experiences with Price’s List and DCAP were building up to this.

Five minutes later, the napkin was filled with writing and a simple logical diagram was gently pushed in front of Clark.

"Teams?" Seeing the name of the project, Clark naturally associated it with a scene of team collaboration.

After he had read the napkin about the software innovation, Clark drank all the beer in his glass in one go.

"Dean, just with this idea alone, you’re already worthy of being a full member of PBK."

"That’s the highest praise I’ve received for Teams," well, Mr. Clark. The reason it’s the highest is that you’re the first person to see the plan for it.

"A whole new system design, instant messaging, voice dialing, file sharing... I don’t know what its application prospects are, but I’m willing to try such software."

Clark did not rashly judge whether the software would be successful, as there were too many uncertain factors. However, from a user’s perspective, he was willing to try such software if all the features Dean had mentioned could be fully realized.

"Mr. Clark, your willingness to try Teams is already the greatest recognition of my idea." Feedback from an outsider could provide Dean with valuable insight.

No matter how perfect the software design was, its value for wider promotion could only be known after others had used it.

Clark pushed the napkin back to its original place, "Dean, I’m not a venture capitalist. But just this idea alone, I think there will be people interested in it, its value at least over two hundred thousand US dollars."

Two hundred thousand US dollars was Clark’s initial valuation of the Teams idea, and it was a reference range he had given to Dean. Office software aimed at business use inherently held value as long as it helped improve work efficiency.

"Thank you for your suggestion, Mr. Clark." Dean picked up the napkin, "But what if this idea is already a reality?"

Clark suddenly looked up, "Dean, are you sure?"

"I’ve even used it to make the first voice call."

A thoughtful look flashed in his eyes, and after a moment, Clark took out a business card and passed it over. "Dean, when you decide to launch this software. Come find me with it, I wouldn’t mind being the first user of Teams."

From afar, Dean could see a 3D graphic logo, and as he took a closer look, Silicon Graphics Incorporated... Silicon Graphics?

"Mr. Clark, so you are..."

Clark put his finger to his lips to signal Dean to keep quiet, "This is a bar, it’s not convenient to discuss this topic here. You’re welcome to visit SGI in Mountain View, Dean, I have to get back to work."

With that, Clark got up, patted Dean on the shoulder, and left the Carriage Wheel Bar.

Still holding the business card, Dean hadn’t snapped out of it yet. The president and founder of Silicon Graphics? Another entrepreneur who had come out of Stanford.

No wonder it was the Carriage Wheel, where the chance of encountering opportunity was extraordinary, provided of course that the idea was good enough.

"Clark likes to come for a drink at the Carriage Wheel around noon, and coincidentally, I share the same fondness." A rough-faced Caucasian man took a seat uninvited opposite Dean.

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