American History 1988
Chapter 273 - 264 Turmoil

Chapter 273: Chapter 264 Turmoil

In the spring of ’92, the internet had already begun to overflow with various browsers; it was no secret.

Four students from Helsinki University of Technology in Finland created a browser for Unix operating systems called "Enwise."

Wei Peiyuan, a student from California Berkeley, likewise developed North America’s first native browser for Unix, "ViolaWWW."

The suffix of three "W"s in the name was a tribute to the abbreviation of the World Wide Web.

And these browsers, including the World Wide Web itself, were all software based on the Unix system.

Windows, with a larger installation base and aimed at individual users, was ignored by many.

This wasn’t surprising considering most of those who developed these browsers came from academic or research institutions.

At the time, Unix systems were widely used in these institutions due to their stability.

Thus in the tech community, among geeks, whenever there was any new idea, it mostly first emerged on Unix systems.

But Dean and Jim Clark were businessmen; they aimed to earn the money of the average consumer, not the wallets of savvy tech geeks.

Therefore, it was clear they needed a browser that could run on the Windows platform.

So... the objective was clear, to assemble a team and then get to work.

As CEOs of two companies, it wasn’t possible for them to write the code themselves, nor did they have the time.

At this time, Teresa just happened to come to Byte Company.

Who could be more suitable for the position than the former software project manager at Microsoft?

When it came to familiarity with the Windows system, most at Byte Company could not compare to Teresa.

Thus, unsurprisingly, Dean signed her on, and Jim Clark was also quite pleased with her.

The browser project would be a joint venture between Dean and Jim, a tacit agreement already reached during their previous office conversations.

In Silicon Valley, one must learn to share in order to attract more talent and get more help.

If you just want to hold onto some creative idea, hiding alone in a corner waiting for it to bear fruit,

The result might disappoint you, and most likely, you achieve nothing in the end.

Moreover, browsers were no longer fresh novelties; online, you could find two or three similar software options.

At this point, to make a success of the business, it was all about the various resources.

Jim Clark was a good collaborator; they were old friends, and the former had a good network in Silicon Valley.

But the new company had not yet been established, so Teresa was temporarily affiliated with Byte Company.

The task Dean gave her, aside from learning new languages, also included the preliminary conception of the software.

Current browsers used fonts and colors that were all over the place, images didn’t move, and they could only be displayed in separate windows.

Dean wanted an effect where what you see is what you get on the same page, and to find the most aesthetically pleasing UI design.

This would take some time, as new projects couldn’t show immediate results.

But Dean wasn’t in a hurry; he had nearly completed his entire internet layout.

What remained was to quietly wait for the tide to come in.

...

While Dean was preparing for the next project, the presidential election had entered its intense phase.

The Democratic Party and Republican Party had already started their primaries in various states. Affected by the scandal, Clinton was defeated in the first round in Iowa.

To quickly turn the situation around, the Clintons, unsurprisingly, appeared live on "60 Minutes."

This year’s "60 Minutes" had unprecedented ratings, as it was broadcast right after the 26th Super Bowl.

So the campaign team believed this was a prime opportunity for public relations and a chance to convert onlookers into supporters.

At the show, as expected, the couple was questioned about the previous scandal allegations.

Clinton directly denied Flowers’ accusations, insisting that she was fabricating facts.

But he also admitted that he had made mistakes in the past that hurt his marriage.

The dutiful Hillary was at his side throughout, demonstrating a wife’s forgiveness and support for her husband.

However, the host didn’t drop the topic, and Larry King turned his question toward Hillary.

"Should a candidate’s marital fidelity be a topic of debate in a presidential election?"

Hillary’s response was quite astute, "In any marriage, there are always a variety of problems and private issues between the couple.

I believe these are private matters between spouses. Of course, my marriage with Bill is rock-solid; I’m the one with the most authority on this matter.

In times like this, fabricating gossip is a despicable act, and we should focus our attention on the failing economy."

"Oh, very sensible remarks!" Larry King could not help but respect Hillary, dressed in her relaxed attire.

"It’s clear that your relationship is strong, perhaps the most powerful rebuttal to those rumors."

"Yes, I’m very happy to have formed this family with Hillary; we are very happy."

Clinton’s face broke into a joyful expression, then in front of the cameras, he kissed Hillary’s forehead.

"Best wishes to you both!" Larry King began clapping, and the audience whistled in applause for the couple.

This scene was watched by thousands of households; a happy candidate couple always easily wins the favor of conservative families.

More fortuitously, at the end of the show, there was a little mishap when something fell from the ceiling of the recording studio.

The quick-thinking Clinton swiftly pulled Hillary into his embrace, and this tender moment of protecting his wife was successfully staged before the eyes of millions of viewers.

Dean, who was also watching the program, was stunned by the scene on the television.

Wasn’t this all too coincidental? As if rehearsed, he wouldn’t have objected to them getting an Oscar.

These politicians are too good; you can’t even tell which side of them is real.

However, judging from the effect of the program, it seems the controversy has already been resolved.

After some thought, he simply took out his phone and called Clinton directly.

"Bill, I just watched the program, and you handled it very well.

I think after today, your approval rating will go up significantly."

"Thank you!" Clinton’s voice seemed very happy.

"By the way, you and Hillary...?"

"It’s all in the past now, Hillary will of course support me!" Clinton sounded full of confidence, "No one’s going to give us trouble anymore!"

"That’s unexpected," Dean had thought the couple would have a big fight, "Man, you’re really something!"

"Haha, I have a lot of experience dealing with women," Clinton started to boast again.

"Anyway, this is the last time, remember what’s coming up is key!" Dean had to remind him appropriately, the election was imminent.

"Your investment has not failed, Dean, you will get a hefty return!" Clinton gave his promise, fully confident.

"I hope so," after a brief talk, Dean hung up the phone.

He had poured in several million US dollars already and might continue to up the stake - all that money was accruing interest.

As anticipated, support for Clinton started to grow after the program.

After all, the act was performed too convincingly; even Dean was almost taken in.

Faced with the gradually shifting public opinion, Flowers held another press conference accusing Clinton of lying.

She also released a recording of a phone call with Clinton, but unfortunately, the contents of the recording didn’t become a smoking gun.

And Clinton’s campaign team wasn’t just sitting by and watching.

They exploited Flowers’ past as a nightclub singer to attack her as a liar.

In this relatively conservative era, a nightclub singer was seen as a woman who frequented merry grounds, which wasn’t a good reputation to have.

Other newspapers also dug up instances of Flowers telling many falsehoods during TV interviews.

As a result, taken down by her own lies, Flowers became a "liar" seeking to ride on the coattails of fame, and few believed her anymore.

This outcome was also reflected in the following primaries, where Clinton scored a sweeping victory on Super Tuesday in March.

His support rate in the southern states reached 60%~70%, which was a near reversal from his prior position.

Historically, one-third of candidates who won Super Tuesday went on to become residents of the White House.

So Clinton became the hot favorite, with various donations pouring in.

...

As time moved into April, Microsoft released Windows 3.1, which was more mature than the previous 3.0.

The two most noticeable changes were the built-in Windows Media Player program and new features like a voice recorder.

These made personal computers more versatile, and multimedia technology began to spread.

Also, due to the promotion of Windows 3.1, CD-ROMs started to become widespread.

The industry expected the sales of 3.1 to be at least in the tens of millions, as 3.0 had achieved this milestone.

So, the more sophisticated 3.1 was sure to attract previous users to upgrade, in addition to constantly bringing in new users.

Microsoft’s dominant position in operating systems appeared unassailable.

Of course, Silicon Valley was not idle either; Byte Company was developing their next software, BitCode.

This was a kind of database software, more geared towards R&D and manufacturing enterprises.

Its features were mainly designed for the collection, management, and prioritization processes in R&D.

Time management, resource management, test management, and defect tracking were also going to be implemented.

If the previous Work title was inclined towards administrative work, then BitCode was more focused on R&D and production.

Byte Company was refining its office software products, all in line with the long-term plan.

As its partner, Intuit’s Quicken was about to release a new version, and TurboTax was also ready for launch soon.

Rumors had it that Microsoft’s Microsoft Money was also hectically progressing through version iterations.

These two software had been battling in the market for half a year, with Quicken significantly leading the way.

After all, with nearly a decade of deep market cultivation, Intuit’s prowess in financial software was beyond doubt.

Now, when personal families choose financial software, 80% of them pick Quicken.

Due to Microsoft Money’s poor user experience, even its low price failed to win much of the market.

But Gates always believed the real battle had yet to come, and Microsoft was about to ramp up its efforts.

Byte and Intuit could already smell the gunpowder; they were also preparing for what was to come.

But just then, Durell came rushing in, and he didn’t look good.

"Dean, Go Corporation is finished."

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