American History 1988
Chapter 153 - 147 Earning Money with Tears

Chapter 153: Chapter 147 Earning Money with Tears

In May, three major events occurred in Silicon Valley. Well, perhaps they could also be considered significant events in the computing world.

The first was the tentative step taken by the National Science Foundation office regarding the long-debated privatization of the NSFNET.

The office director, Stephen, announced that a phased privatization pilot experiment would be initiated within the next year.

The first to try out this new initiative was SPI, an online network service provider in New York, who would take over the maintenance of the local NSFNET.

In fact, this statement was superfluous, as SPI had already reached an agreement with the local government of New York last year.

The National Science Foundation office had played dumb for over half a year before finally formally acknowledging the legality of SPI.

However, this was ultimately a positive development, as at least the privatization process of the NSFNET was no longer just in the discussion phase.

In addition to SPI’s pilot operation, the National Science Foundation also formally recognized the legitimacy of several private network service providers such as Compuserve, UUNET, and AOL.

Although these companies had been established for some time, the recognition from the National Science Foundation’s office undoubtedly sent a message to the outside world.

That is, these private network services might very well be the next batch of regions to pilot NSFNET privatization.

Then, as expected, the stock of American Online rose by 60% on that very day, with market feedback coming quicker than Dean had anticipated.

Had it not been for the fact that SPI was not yet public, this surge would most likely not have been witnessed by American Online.

But who could blame them for being the only publicly traded company named on the list issued by the National Science Foundation’s office?

While other capitals were desperately seeking to invest in online service providers like SPI, Dean could only cry as he earned 2.3 million US Dollars.

Of course, this was just the beginning. The bonus brought by the statement from the National Science Foundation office would last at least a week.

By then, the network interconnection initiative that American Online had posted in The Washington Post and The Chicago Sun-Times would continue to follow up.

According to Dean’s estimate, the stock of American Online would remain on an upward trend for the next two to three weeks.

Therefore, Dean was not in a hurry to cash out his 1.3% stake. He would hold onto it until the heat reached its peak.

This was the best news Dean had heard in almost a month.

The second major event in the computing world was Microsoft’s release of the Windows 3.0 system, which was not only a milestone product for Microsoft itself but also an iconic event in the realm of operating systems.

The first two versions of Windows, although they had certain graphical capabilities, were to some extent considered merely shell products for MS-DOS.

To run Windows, MS-DOS had to be loaded first, making the former more like a derivative of the latter.

But Windows 3.0 was different, as its system kernel was completely redeveloped, belonging to an entirely different system than the previous two versions and MS-DOS.

Dean also took the lead in introducing this new system at Byte Software, and upon personally completing the installation and booting up the computer.

He saw familiar desktop shortcuts, 16-color icons, full windowed design...

Alright, facing the computer screen, Dean finally found an operating style similar to that of later Windows systems.

Within the system accessories menu, he even found Solitaire, a game that later became well-known in homes and offices.

In addition, applications such as Notepad, Paintbrush, and Calculator were all listed.

Dean knew that the first Microsoft operating system to gain national recognition was born.

"David, perhaps we should consider developing a third version of our Teams software."

"But we’ve just released Teams 2.0," David said, although he also felt that Windows 3.0 greatly reduced the threshold for computer usage, too rapid a software version update isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Indeed, the release of Teams 2.0 was the third major event in the computing world. Of course, saying so might seem like Byte Software was patting itself on the back.

But if we narrow it down to Silicon Valley, then it indeed counts as a significant event.

The recently sensational "Byte & Bell" dispute has drawn countless eyes in California.

As Byte Software took initiative with adequate evidence, the nickname "Bell Octopus" once again revived the public’s impression of the Bell company’s history.

Following the Chronicle, newspapers like The San Francisco Examiner began to take an interest in the matter.

Dean welcomed interviewers. Every time he faced the reporters, he always emphasized that Byte Software used international public standards.

Bell’s forceful lawsuit against Byte Software not only breached the ITU’s (International Telecommunication Union) principles of openness and non-discrimination, but it was also an obstacle to the advancement of technology.

Letting Byte Software appear as the righteous side was the basic strategy for their public opinion output.

The influence of The San Francisco Chronicle on the West Coast was greater than Dean had expected, and the ripple effect of the incident was slowly spreading across North America.

With this heat, Byte Software also timely launched their Teams 2.0 version.

Although the lawsuit dispute had not yet been adjudicated, Byte Software’s position as the underdog and Dean’s active advocacy for their righteousness meant that overall, the attention was good for Byte Software.

Additionally, in their official promotion, Teams 2.0 not only greatly improved user smoothness but also incorporated Byte Software’s new algorithm.

This new algorithm was distinctly different from the patent infringement Bell accused them of, a product of "a great power compelled to self-improve under duress."

It had been just shy of a week since Teams 2.0 launched, and Dean didn’t yet know the sales numbers, but feedback appeared to be favorable.

But now with the launch of Windows 3.0, Dean had thoughts of developing a new version.

However, David was right; major software updates should not come too frequently.

Frequent version updates mean that perpetual license owners have to pay again just a few months later to enjoy the latest version of the service.

This was clearly not advantageous for the average user’s evaluation of Byte software. According to the practice of most peers in Silicon Valley, Moore’s Law is applicable to the software industry as well.

A version upgrade every 12 to 18 months is the norm in the industry, like Lotus, Oracle, and Microsoft.

But Dean didn’t want to give up the opportunity brought about by Windows 3.0, as this system was destined to make a significant mark in the history of computing.

"David, this time is an exception. You’ve seen Microsoft’s new system, any regular person can quickly become proficient in using it.

The system is the platform for our Teams software, and as the platform expands, so does our potential customer base."

This was a simple truth, and although David had some reservations, he considered that Windows 3.0 was an entirely new kernel, and developing a new version of Teams would also take at least about half a year.

By that estimation, the release of Teams 3.0 version would most likely be next year.

The interval might not reach a year, but it was marginally acceptable.

Therefore, David agreed to Dean’s request, "I’ll arrange for the tech department to get familiar with the Windows 3.0 platform first, but you’ll have to handle the board of directors."

"No problem," Dean gladly accepted.

David, one of the founders, was now in charge of the tech department.

Since Byte Software had been financed, everything had gotten on track. Any significant decision had to be approved by the board of directors.

David disliked dealing with the board, so it was only natural that he left this task to Dean.

"Boss," while Dean and David were discussing Microsoft’s new system, Anna knocked on the door and came in again.

"Who is it this time?" Recently, Dean had grown accustomed to visits from all sorts of people.

However, unlike the usual visitors who would introduce themselves, this time Anna didn’t know who the visitor was.

"A beautiful girl, but she doesn’t want to tell me her name, saying she wants to give you a surprise."

Anna’s tone was slightly jealous, clearly sensing that the visitor’s approach indicated an extraordinary relationship with Dean.

A beautiful girl? A surprise? Dean had some guesses in his mind, but they seemed quite far-fetched.

"OK, I’ll go have a look." Dean patted David on the shoulder and got ready to head downstairs.

Anna glanced at David, who was engrossed in his computer again, and quietly followed Dean out of the office.

...

At the reception of Byte Software, Miranda took off her sun hat, curiously looking around.

This was not her first stop in California; that honor went to Stanford.

But she hadn’t found Dean there; she simply asked a passing student at the campus gates.

When the student learned that she was looking for Dean Price, they kindly led Miranda to the base of the Byte Software building.

Standing beneath the large "BIT Software" logo, Miranda realized that Dean seemed to have an extraordinary reputation here.

Removing her sunglasses, doffing her sun hat, and dressed in a blue dress, Miranda carefully stepped into Byte Software’s reception hall.

After she explained her visit to the receptionist, the latter dialed an internal phone number.

Then another pretty girl with a tan, wearing a professional suit, appeared.

Now she was told to wait here for a while, so Miranda had no choice but to sit on the sofa in the waiting area, staring with wide eyes at the busy figures coming and going.

Was this really the Dean she had found? Miranda discreetly tucked her long legs under the hem of her dress.

The weather in California was still too hot; Miranda had prepared several pairs of stockings, but in the end, she hadn’t used any of them.

Although she had seen Dean many times over the year, Miranda wasn’t very familiar with everything in California.

"Miranda?!" A voice brimming with surprise interrupted Miranda’s insecurities.

"Dean~" Following the source of the sound, Miranda saw Dean in a shirt standing at the staircase entrance, with the tan girl following behind him.

"Wow~" Dean said, smiling and opening his arms, "You should’ve let me know in advance, Miranda."

"So is this a surprise then?" Miranda got up, and her tall figure was revealed without hindrance.

"Of course~"

"Yeah~"

Miranda took a running leap, and Dean caught her effortlessly.

Naturally, the two kissed, while Anna, who was standing behind them, silently watched for a moment before turning to go upstairs, leaving the place.

"Can you tell me now why you suddenly showed up in California?" Dean caressed her smooth cheek, his gaze affectionate.

"Emm... I kind of missed a certain jerk," Miranda felt that Dean’s body had gotten much more toned.

"OK~" Dean nodded in agreement, suggesting he might show off his jerk side, "Maybe I should show you that side of me."

Then, without waiting for Miranda to react, Dean took her hand and headed straight for the door.

"Dean, where are we going?"

"That’s not important. What’s important is, did you bring stockings?"