American History 1988
Chapter 320 - 310 Source Code

Chapter 320: Chapter 310 Source Code

"Jim, there’s a change of plan, we need to put the Web server under the name of a new company."

After leaving the Sun Microsystems building, Dean hurried towards the Cadillac that had just arrived and instructed Clark.

"What about Mosaic?" Clark asked instinctively.

"Listen, there’s now another option that you need to decide on yourself," Dean stopped walking and looked at him seriously.

"I’m going to put 50% of FirstPerson’s shares into this new company.

Because the Web server needs this language, their cooperation is more conducive to resource integration.

But I’ve written a check for thirty million US Dollars for this, and you know what that means.

Of course, I haven’t forgotten your role in all of this, so now there are two ways to pay you that are before you.

The first is a share in this new company for you, though not much, about 3%.

The second is that you can take on part of the thirty million US Dollar check, decide on an amount yourself first, and then we can talk."

Dean’s sudden decision caught Clark off guard; their original plan was for Mosaic to develop the Web server.

But the meeting with Sun’s top brass just now resulted in a change of direction.

Clark could tell that Dean valued the "Oak" programming language highly.

Oh no, perhaps it should now be called Java.

In any case, Dean had a strong urge for it, and Clark was certain of it.

Now it was time for Clark to make a decision, with each option having its pros and cons.

For the first, he wouldn’t have to contribute anything to obtain a 3% stake in the new company.

And just half an hour ago, Dean had written a check for thirty million US Dollars for it.

This meant that as a broker and a partner, Clark’s remuneration from this transaction would be nine hundred thousand US Dollars.

That’s not even to mention the Web server, a venture whose future was unknown.

As for the second option, Clark needed to invest tangible money to gain a larger share in the new company.

The choice depended entirely on Clark’s forecast for the prospects of Java and the Web server.

Financial ability was, of course, also a factor—Clark did not have the kind of cash power that Dean had.

He did not struggle with the decision for long before making his choice.

"Dean, I can raise five million US Dollars, but it will take some time.

You know, I’ll be leaving SGI in January."

Dean looked at him deeply, "Good, then let’s schedule our deal with Sun for January.

However, you made this decision faster than I expected."

"Honestly, I’m not certain about the prospects of Java and the Web server." Clark shrugged. "But I trust your judgment, Dean.

You’ve shown me with your worth of several billion US Dollars that your decisions are often much wiser than mine."

Dean was taken aback, then smiled. "Jim, you’re a lucky guy."

"Of course, this goes back to three years ago at the Carriage Wheel Bar," Clark nodded in agreement.

"Ha, that good fortune now seems very reasonable," Dean waved his hand and prepared to leave.

"By the way, what do you plan to name this new company?" Clark also took out the keys to his Lotus sports car.

"Scode~" Dean said with a slight smile.

"Good name," Clark instantly got the implication.

In the world of programming language, Scode also means source code.

Source code, the fundamental logic of all programs, this is almost ingeniously synonymous with "Byte."

"By the way, the new company’s technical personnel is also up to you now, Jim."

Recruiting in this area would still depend on Clark; at least Dean couldn’t find the founders of Java on his own.

"I knew I’d be the one to get these unpleasant tasks, but for the Lotus, I’ll reluctantly agree," Clark said.

Then, jingling the keys in his hand, he prepared to take the car for a spin right then and there.

"And don’t forget about Mosaic, next year we’re launching Explorer’s paid version."

"I’ve made arrangements to meet with Anderson after Christmas."

With a roar, Clark stepped on the accelerator, and the deep green Lotus shot out like an arrow.

Dean clicked his tongue and then signaled to his driver Paul to start the car.

Dammit! It’s actually Java!

Dean hadn’t expected that Clark’s recruitment would have led him to the Java development team.

Nor had he expected that Java was actually a project under a subsidiary of Sun Microsystems.

Of course, what also surprised Dean was that he didn’t realize until after the deal was completed that he had bought half the intellectual property rights of Java.

No wonder after watching James’s initial technical presentation, Dean always felt that the language’s model seemed familiar.

It turned out to be the ubiquitous Java, which in the future would be applied to nearly every domain in IT.

At that moment, however, Oak had not yet transitioned to the full-fledged Java.

But Dean knew it would become one of the most popular programming languages in the future.

Its inherent properties determined this; Java could be compiled across hardware and systems.

What’s the concept here? To explain it in one sentence it’s "Write once, run anywhere."

Personal computers, workstations, servers, mainframes... all these platforms.

No matter what their hardware core or which operating system they use, that was all irrelevant.

As long as developers completed the program coding once, that program could run on all these devices.

Java was so powerful that it could disregard the limitations of both hardware and software.

If you think about what would happen if it were applied to later times? Mobile phones, tablets, computers, and any smart device could all use it.

Well, that’s still too far off. But Dean still thought that this deal was the most correct decision he had ever made.

Thirty million US Dollars, it was also the largest amount he had ever invested in his career.

He had not yet figured out how to profit from Java in the future, but for now, he could apply it to web servers.

Speaking of web servers, they might be a more profitable business than browsers.

To some extent, they were the operating platform of the internet.

The collaboration between source code and Sun Microsystems was like that between Microsoft and computer manufacturers like Dell and HP.

Microsoft was responsible for providing the operating system, while Dell and others provided the computer hardware.

It was the same with web servers, the source code was responsible for the software platform, while Sun Microsystems took care of hardware development.

Of course, all of this was predicated on the fact that web servers and Java were widely promoted and then became the industry standard.

Next year would be a good opportunity. Sitting in the car, Dean could see through the glass the streets adorned with various Christmas trees.

Jingle bells, jingle bells, Jingle all the way~

...

Ding ding dong, ding ding dong, the bells jingle all the way~

"Haha," Dean shook the Christmas toy in his hand, making the two little ones on the floor giggle nonstop.

They were not even a year old yet, currently, they could only manage to crawl a few circles on the carpet haphazardly.

Winter in California was not cold, and there was heating in the living room.

But for the sake of the festive atmosphere, the fireplace by the wall was lit.

While Dean was having a good time here, the two women were sitting on the sofa with their arms folded, giving each other cold looks and not showing any goodwill.

Well, Dean had sweet-talked them for a week and finally got them to come together.

As for the reason, it was probably because Peter the old man didn’t have much longer to live and wanted to see the sight of his grandchildren playing around his knees.

However, once Miranda and Jennifer came together, they found that Peter, who was shouting and hollering at the dinner table, was drinking more merrily than anyone.

When they turned their heads to find Dean to settle the score, he was happily playing with the children, fully immersed in his role as a loving father.

This scoundrel usually lived in such a big manor? Miranda was very unhappy.

Dean’s first love, the woman who got pregnant before she did? Jennifer’s gaze kept sweeping over her.

"Dean, come and take a photo with us!" Peter and Aunt Rachel squeezed together and waved over here.

"Coming! Coming!" Dean picked up the two little ones from the ground, one in each arm.

"Miranda, Jenny~" Aunt Rachel timely interrupted the two women’s confrontation.

"Come on~" Dean handed Roy to Miranda and Arthur to Jennifer.

Although there were children to shield him, both women didn’t give Dean a happy look.

"Let’s take a picture of the kids, today is Christmas."

Dean carefully helped them to the center of the living room, then put one arm around each of the women holding the children.

Click, Caitlin’s camera flashed.

Look at Dean’s proud gaze, he was prouder than if he had topped the Forbes list.

"Let’s take another picture on the lawn outside, best to use this manor as a backdrop."

Peter still wasn’t satisfied, he wanted to take more pictures.

"Brilliant idea, I agree!" Dean was eager to start organizing.

He ignored the complaining looks from the two women, after all, taking one photo was the same as taking another.

"I want a manor bigger than this one~" Miranda whispered in Dean’s ear.

"Uh~" Dean glanced at Jennifer who was all ears, then he blinked subtly.

Crap, this family portrait might have been a bit too expensive.

...

"Mark, have you had breakfast?" Clark asked after sitting down, first with a pleasantry.

Anderson glanced at the menu’s steak, but before he could say anything, Clark had already started signaling the waiter.

"I’ll have two filet mignons and a fruit salad, thank you."

After signaling the waiter, Clark smiled apologetically, "I was very busy this morning, so..."

"Of course, please feel free to enjoy," Anderson swallowed his saliva inconspicuously.

That was top-quality prime steak, something he wouldn’t normally order.

Of course, he was now trying to save money even on breakfast, let alone steak.

Anderson’s trip to California hadn’t gone smoothly, at least not until today.

Although he had accepted Clark’s invitation, since it coincided with Christmas, the meeting was postponed.

Anderson didn’t go back to his home state of Iowa, he planned to find some work in Silicon Valley first.

However, there were programmers like him all over the place here, and it was the holiday season.

So Anderson idled away most of the month, consuming his savings.

It wasn’t until January of the new year that Clark finally made time.

Actually, this wasn’t too long a wait, just about two weeks.

It was just that the boredom and anxiety made the time seem to drag for Anderson.

The aroma of pan-frying steaks made both men lose interest in talking shop, so they decided to concentrate on their breakfast first.

After satisfying their hunger with a full meal and drinking a cup of hot coffee, Anderson let out a contented burp.

"OK, let’s now talk about a great venture," Clark wiped his mouth and put down the napkin with a cheerful smile.

A warmth filled Anderson’s heart; this was the reason he had come here.