American History 1988
Chapter 366 - 355: Microsoft’s Covetousness

Chapter 366: Chapter 355: Microsoft’s Covetousness

"What’s wrong, Jim?" Dean immediately rushed to Netscape after receiving his call.

"Dean, our competitor has emerged!" Jim Clark said with a serious expression.

"So who is it?" Dean asked subconsciously.

"Microsoft," Clark whispered a name.

Dean’s breath briefly hitched, as expected, what was bound to come had finally arrived.

"Let’s go inside to talk." The foyer of their company was busy with people coming and going.

"Barksdale and Anderson are in the office, we need to strategize a plan," Clark said as he led the way, mostly ever-present at Netscape, which is why he knew about the matter at the first moment.

When the two arrived at the CEO’s office, Barksdale’s office, there were already three people there.

Apart from the two people Clark just mentioned, Durell from KeyPoint Ventures was also there.

"Guys, seeing this assembly, I knew Netscape’s opponent this time was extraordinary,"

After greeting them, Dean walked over and sat down at the edge of the couch.

"The Seattle rogues can’t contain their greed and are ready to strike at Silicon Valley again," Durell said, appearing unsurprised.

He was the frontrunner of the anti-Microsoft alliance, always interpreting Microsoft’s motives with greatest malice.

"Alright gentlemen, tell me what’s the matter?" Dean turned his attention to Anderson, guessing the matter was related to him.

"Damn Microsoft has bought the Mosaic codebase!" Marc Anderson seemed very angry, but also somewhat helpless.

Dean and Clark exchanged glances, then asked, "Where did you get this news?"

"I have friends in Illinois, and he is a researcher at the NCSA.

He told me that NCSA was recently negotiating licensing fees with Spyglass for Mosaic."

"Wasn’t that deal completed a long time ago?" Dean wondered.

"That’s the issue right there, Spyglass sold Mosaic to Microsoft for a large sum,

and then NCSA caught wind of it, demanding Spyglass compensate for the previous transaction."

After licensing Mosaic to Spyglass, NCSA still provided technical support for it for a period.

Now, NCSA is using that as a reason to demand payment from Spyglass for the support.

Plainly speaking, they felt they had sold it too cheaply and now wanted a cut from the Spyglass-Microsoft deal.

But that’s not the point, for Netscape, it was crucial that Microsoft got their hands on the Mosaic codebase.

"So Microsoft has now taken notice of the browser business~" Dean stroked his chin, contemplating something.

"They will definitely introduce a similar product, I guarantee it," Durell said, arms crossed, absolutely convinced of this point.

"Will Microsoft release a product similar to our Explorer? They’ve got the Mosaic codebase."

Barksdale looked towards Anderson, who knew Mosaic the best.

"Spyglass only has an early version of Mosaic; after we left, NCSA updated Mosaic at a very slow pace."

This was the only source of consolation for Anderson, their mass departure evidently caused many problems for NCSA.

"You mean to say that Microsoft could use that to create the most basic browser?" Dean wanted confirmation, this was important.

"The early version of Mosaic is no threat at all, Microsoft won’t succeed!" Anderson was confident because Explorer 2.0 had moved far ahead.

If Microsoft was banking on Mosaic, they were bound to suffer a crushing defeat.

"That’s not the point," Dean shook his head, starting "from 0 to 1" and "from 1 to 100" are two different processes.

"Microsoft getting ahold of Mosaic’s codebase means they could come up with a basic, viable browser version in a short time.

So the question is, will Microsoft do this? Or rather, when will they launch this browser?"

"They will!" Durell asserted, "It’s Microsoft’s style; the first version of the browser might be lousy,

but they’ll quickly update to a second version, then gradually catch up with rivals.

Countless cases in the past have proven this; the people from Seattle are good at such things."

"And the timing?" CEO Barksdale spread his hands, asking.

Dean and Clark looked at each other and simultaneously said, "Windows 95!"

"What?" Durell looked at them bewildered.

"They will definitely bundle this browser with the newly launched Windows 95 system!

It is the best opportunity and a powerful measure for Microsoft to quickly open up the market."

Dean and Clark had both witnessed the new system and without doubt, it was the ideal platform.

Even Windows 95 itself was designed with the internet in mind, so for Microsoft to bundle a browser with it was far too easy.

The technical and development teams were their own; to port a piece of software, Microsoft’s efficiency was bound to be much faster than any third-party software company.

"It looks like we need to be prepared," Durell clapped his hands, "Windows 95 launches in August, right?"

Microsoft’s all-encompassing advertising had already saturated every street and alley.

To promote the new system, they spent 3 million US dollars to acquire the rights to the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up."

As for the purpose, they simply wanted to use that song as background music for a commercial related to the Start menu.

Moreover, they had invited Jennifer Aniston and Matthew Perry to star in an internet comedy, demonstrating how to use the Windows 95 system to people.

Both had skyrocketed to fame due to "Friends," so Microsoft specially planned this unique comedic commercial.

That wasn’t the endpoint; Microsoft even illuminated the entire Empire State Building in New York with the signature colors of Windows.

Then, they hung a giant banner 330 feet long on the Canadian National TV Tower.

And not to mention those major magazines and television shows, advertisements for Windows 95 were everywhere.

The scale of this promotion was unprecedented, and external estimates put Microsoft’s marketing expenses at no less than a hundred million US Dollars.

Under such powerful marketing momentum, even venture capitalists like Durell were aware of the release date for Microsoft’s new system.

"It is now late July, less than a month away from the release of Windows 95.

We need to come up with countermeasures quickly, regardless of the quality of their web browser.

But Microsoft in itself is a huge threat, they have too many operating system users."

This was precisely what Clark was worried about; as an insider, he was acutely aware of the advantages this would bring to Microsoft.

Even if Seattle’s first-generation browser was terrible, as long as the user base existed, Microsoft would have countless opportunities to make corrections.

"Does our Explorer need to be sold at a reduced price?" Barksdale offered a compromise.

"Wouldn’t that make the outside world think that we fear Seattle as a potential competitor?"

Clark was hesitant; Netscape was about to go public. Breaking such news at this time would doubtlessly make investors lose confidence in Netscape.

"I suggest we wait until after Microsoft launches their browser, then decide, let’s first see the market’s feedback."

Durell had clashed with Microsoft more than once, so he remained relatively calm.

"If their browser poses a threat to us, then Explorer will reduce its price.

As long as we always maintain the lead and are cheaper than them, we will continue to have this advantage.

But if their browser is negligible, then we’ll wait until they pose a threat before saying anything, and then repeat the previous process."

Durell’s strategy was simple: always stay one step ahead of Microsoft’s browser and be a little cheaper.

He believed that with good quality and low price, the market would make the right choice.

Clark and Anderson both nodded; they thought it was not a bad approach.

Although Microsoft had gotten their hands on the Mosaic codebase, their first-generation browser would likely fall far behind Explorer.

This gave Netscape more time to adjust and would help them make the best decision.

"Dean, what do you think?" Barksdale began seeking his opinion.

Although he was the CEO, the final decision maker was him.

But the real major shareholder was Dean; the CEO had to answer to the board.

"We give it away for free!" Dean looked up, enunciating each word with his view.

"What?!" Barksdale was stunned, Durell and Clark were also taken aback.

"Dean, did you just say our Explorer is free?" Clark repeated in disbelief.

"Yes, the best way to fight Microsoft is to be free!" Dean nodded with utter certainty.

"But..." Clark gestured with his hands, "Microsoft hasn’t even released their product yet!"

Merely on such speculation, Netscape was reacting so dramatically, which would be a blow to the morale of their own people.

Not to mention when going public, Wall Street would certainly react.

"I know it sounds like an overreaction, but we must do this.

Look at Microsoft’s current promotion for Windows 95; they must be full of confidence in it.

Even we ourselves have already experienced this new system, Clark, what do you think of it?" Dean shifted his gaze to him.

"They should be very popular." Clark admitted that Microsoft was likely to score well this time.

"Barksdale, what do you think the sales of Windows 95 will be like?" Dean turned to Netscape’s CEO.

"I guess they will perform at least not worse than Windows 3.1~" Barksdale shrugged, that was his conservative estimate.

"Then let me tell you all a figure," Dean looked around solemnly, "Windows 3.1 sold over 50 million copies!"

Everyone in the office took a sharp breath; it was a daunting number.

"So... we all think Windows 95 is better than 3.1." Dean spread his hands, looking at everyone. "So, what will its sales reach?"

No one spoke, but Dean still told them the harsh truth.

"Without a doubt, the number will be well over 50 million; computers all over the world are using Microsoft’s system.

Imagine, based on such a platform, how many updates later will Microsoft catch up with us?

The answer no longer matters, because Microsoft will have countless opportunities to trial and error, but we won’t.

In the end, Microsoft will definitely catch up with us in browser design, even surpass us."

"Can we only watch helplessly, without any means?" Anderson asked, somewhat unconvinced.

"No, of course, there’s a way!" Dean said, his eyes bright with resolve. "It’s what I just said: free."

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