American History 1988
Chapter 150 - 144 San Francisco Chronicle

Chapter 150: Chapter 144 San Francisco Chronicle

"Dean Price? Honestly, you’re younger than I imagined, but that’s not a surprise at Stanford."

"Thank you, there will be more and more young people appearing in Silicon Valley in the future."

"So you think the computer software industry will only be suitable for young people in the future?"

"No, what I mean is it will become more attractive. In the past, people always thought of computers as complex and believed software was something only professionals would use, but that isn’t the case."

"Now if we look around ourselves, most middle-class families have computers, and any ordinary person can use them skillfully."

"The future trend of software development is the same, simplified operations will attract more and more young people."

"They have enough imagination to do what they like on them and even participate in their design."

In the office of Byte Software, Dean, wearing a white shirt, was sitting on the sofa and talking eloquently.

Opposite him was Dan Rosenheim, the City Editor for the San Francisco Chronicle, taking notes with a pen.

"So..." Dan Rosenheim paused his writing, "I still find it hard to believe that the Stanford student sitting in front of me, not even 20 years old, founded a software company valued at tens of millions of US Dollars.

It’s incredible~! You know, Dean, ordinary people might not create this much wealth in their entire lives."

"Come On~" Dean spread his hands with a smile, "Dan, you understand, it’s just a valuation."

"Anyway, your life is already considered a success, when I was your age, I was just a clueless young guy."

Dan Rosenheim tried to recall, "Back then in college, I was obsessed with just two things all day long, football and pretty girls."

"Ha ha~" Dean laughed heartily in agreement, "Dan, no guy can resist them."

"So, Dean, are you the same?" Dan Rosenheim gave a knowing smile that all men understand.

"Yeah~" Dean nodded in agreement enthusiastically, "Although I’m not good at football, I do watch Stanford’s football games. Of course, most importantly, there are a lot of girls there."

"Ha ha~" After both men laughed for a while, Dan Rosenheim returned to the main topic. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"Please do~"

"They say Byte Software’s valuation might have surpassed fifty million US Dollars, does that mean you’ve become a millionaire, Dean?"

"NO~NO~NO~" Dean shook his head in haste, "The valuation is just an industry insider’s recognition of Byte Software’s value, and that’s different from going public.

In fact, none of us have made any profit from running Byte Software, because we need to keep investing in it to further expand the market.

Plus, I’m only one of the shareholders of Byte Software, its growth to this day could not have happened without the team’s effort."

"Wow~ Either way, as a founder, that’s impressive." Dan Rosenheim slowly transitioned into today’s topic.

"So, can you talk to us about how you founded this company? And the recent controversy around Teams software?"

"OK~" Dean clasped his hands together on his lap, "This inspiration originally came from an instant messaging tool I developed for schools during my time in Cleveland."

"Cleveland?" Dan Rosenheim prepared to dig up all the news about Dean.

"Yeah~" Dean was not secretive about his transfer, "I spent my first year of college at Cleveland State University, but Stanford was my dream school. So as soon as I had enough for the tuition, I came here."

"Would you mind talking about your family? It seems that attending Stanford was a financial burden for your family?" Dan Rosenheim thought this would be a good angle for his story.

"There’s nothing special, I was born into an average blue-collar family." Dean looked reflective, "My mother suffered from asthma and passed away two years ago. My father is a truck driver, but he also became unemployed soon after.

My brother... his situation isn’t good, I haven’t heard from him in a long time. Anyway, like most people, I had to worry about tuition and living expenses."

"OMG~" Dan Rosenheim couldn’t help but pause in his writing, "That situation sounds tough, I’m not sure I would have been able to keep going if it happened to me."

"God is merciful, when you’re prepared for it," Dean said with a serene smile, "Anyway, I was lucky, I later transferred to Stanford and even got a full scholarship."

"Just this story alone is worth writing an article about."

"Thank you~" Dean nodded courteously, "But let’s continue with the earlier topic."

"Of course~" Apart from taking notes with a pen, Dan Rosenheim had already set up a recording device on a small table, so he could fully focus on the interview.

"After coming to Stanford, I was enchanted by the academic environment here, especially the rich computer resources, which gave me an illusion of being in heaven.

You know, Dan, for a guy who loves computers, that’s simply the happiest thing."

"More charming than the girls?"

"Yeah~ for a while it was," Dean said with a laugh, nodding, "Because of the rich computer culture here, I was thinking that there must be even more companies using them in Silicon Valley.

"It’s true, I went to see, and every company’s office had computers. Even right at the entrance, at the reception desk, you could see them."

"And that’s where you got the inspiration for Teams?"

"Mm-hmm, everything just came so naturally," Dean gestured with his hands, "Since I had similar development experience, I thought designing an instant messaging software specifically as a communication tool for office life would be cool, right?

Instant text messages, more convenient than the outdated Plato System, and a bit more humanized. A file transfer feature, it’s much simpler than sending an email. And finally, the voice communication feature..."

"Ok, here I must clarify something first," Dean stopped to emphasize, "It’s completely different from our telephones, from the technology principle to the lines and the end users, they are two separate systems."

"So the voice call feature, it’s not like a local phone that can call any phone in North America?" Dan Rosenheim timely asked.

"Although I do wish Teams were more convenient, it currently can’t. Voice calls can only be made between two computers on the same network that both have Teams installed.

But you know, Dan, these situations generally only exist within a company. Besides, voice calls are not the only feature of Teams; our instant messaging and file transfers are core functions."

"I think they’re cool," Dan Rosen uncertainly asked, "So in the office, I can use Teams to send my written articles to my editor Carl without having to print them out?"

"Yeah~" Dean clapped his hands excitedly, "See, not only is everything more convenient, but we even saved a few sheets of paper."

"Wow~" Dan Rosen showed an excited expression, "Maybe I should suggest to Carl when I get back that we use this software at the Chronicle too~"

"Welcome," Dean encouraged with raised eyebrows, "Byte Software can respond to after-sales service within 24 hours."

"Cool~" Dan Rosen flipped through his notebook, "So how are the sales of Teams software right now? Can you reveal a little bit to us?"

"Up to now, Teams has approximately 10 million US Dollars in sales." Dean had all the data at his fingertips.

"10 million US Dollars?!" Dan Rosenheim opened his mouth in surprise, "Dean, are you sure it’s 10 million US Dollars? Not just one million?"

"Yes, I’m quite certain."

"Oh, my God!" Dan Rosenheim spread his hands in disbelief, "As far as I know, hasn’t Byte Software just been established for about half a year?"

"Exactly, that shows how popular Teams software is. It has become the new means of modern office work, and many companies are raving about our design."

"Dean, maybe you really will have a fortune of ten million dollars soon, trust me," Dan Rosen said earnestly, "The growth rate of Byte Software will prove I’m right."

"OK~ I really hope what you’re saying comes true," Dean shrugged with a smile, "but we’ve also encountered some inexplicable troubles, sometimes you can hardly comprehend the absurdity behind them."

"Oh, I know," Dan Rosen perked up, "I’ve heard some of it, about the voice call feature of Teams."

"Yeah~" Dean nodded candidly, "It’s Bell Company, they’ve initiated a lawsuit against us."

"Bell, the Bell?" Dan Rosenheim made a phone gesture next to his ear.

"That’s right, that Bell," Dean said with a smile, spreading his hands helplessly, "They think Teams infringes on a patent of Bell Labs, but..."

At this point, Dean suddenly let out a chuckle. "OMG, I don’t even know how to explain this~"

"You’ve piqued my interest, Dean," Dan Rosen recorded Dean’s reaction with excitement.

Trying to suppress his laughter, Dean explained while holding back a smile. "Dan, you know? The patent Bell accuses us of infringing is actually an open international standard!"

"An open international standard?" Dan Rosen blinked, "If I’m not misunderstanding, they are usually licensed for free."

"Bingo!" Dean tapped his finger in agreement, "The so-called open standards can be used by anyone and are recognized and licensed by the International Telecommunication Union.

But now Bell Company is accusing us of infringement? It’s as ridiculous as if I read a book in a public library and the publisher demands that I pay for it."

In America, anyone can use a public library for free, and you can find one in any community.

Dean’s analogy instantly made Dan Rosen understand the patent dispute between Teams and Bell Company.

"If that’s the case, then it is indeed quite ludicrous. But I’ve heard that Bell Company insists the patent is theirs to own, and they have the right to charge for it."

"Regarding ownership, some patents in this standard were indeed born in Bell Labs.

But they disregarded the agreement they originally signed with the International Telecommunication Union and sued us; this is downright thievery.

Bell Company is going back on their word; they’re tearing up the contract they signed."

Since it had come to a head, Dean no longer minced words when it came to Bell Company. First claiming the moral high ground, then he freely lashed out.

"Most importantly, we’re not using this standard for free; Bell Company’s behavior is as evil and illogical as an octopus."

Indeed, Dean had a trump card up his sleeve, and he chose today’s media opportunity to play it.