American History 1988
Chapter 375 - 364: Making Up One’s Mind

Chapter 375: Chapter 364: Making Up One’s Mind

The popularity of Windows 95 even exceeded Microsoft’s own expectations, as the customer service office in Redmond was nearly swamped with restocking calls from dealers everywhere.

Trucks loaded with Microsoft’s new operating system CDs were racing non-stop on America’s highways, both big and small.

Feeling the fervor, Seattle would erupt into a sea of cheers whenever Windows 95 broke a new sales record.

The employees were in high spirits; this meant they would receive more bonuses this year.

Even the executives had lost count of how many times they had privately popped champagne, as they held Microsoft’s stock options.

With the blanket advertising and news reports, Wall Street analysts had been raising Microsoft’s stock ratings over the past two days.

Consequently, Microsoft’s stock price began to surge, and its market value rapidly inflated as well.

Look, at today’s high-level meeting, everyone was beaming with joy.

This included Gates, after all, Windows 95 was the most important thing of all.

"How many units of our Windows 95 have we shipped now?"

Although he received reports from his assistants every day, he still preferred to hear the answer to this question one more time.

Karen Fries, who was in charge of the product marketing, flipped through the documents in her hand.

"According to the latest data, in two weeks, we have sold a total of 3 million copies of Windows 95.

It’s still growing, breaking records every moment."

"Cool~" Everyone in the meeting room cheered and applauded.

Gates also smiled, pleased with the figure.

"What about the Plus pack? What feedback do we have from users?" Gates hadn’t forgotten the strategic significance of the internet to Microsoft.

"Sales of the Plus pack are roughly around four hundred and fifty thousand copies, as for user feedback..." Karen Fries hesitated.

"Is there a problem?" Gates raised his eyebrows slightly.

"The overall evaluation is good, but regarding the internet components, many are complaining that they are not worth the price.

First of all, MSN, three hours of free experience every month is too little, and users have better alternatives."

Karen Fries put it relatively gently. Compared to AOL’s $20 unlimited monthly service, Microsoft’s Plus pack was simply useless.

"And there’s the Navigator browser, according to backend statistics, the proportion of users who use it is less than 1%."

This extremely low usage data, let alone getting feedback, barely had any visibility.

Gates’s enthusiasm visibly waned, although he had anticipated this.

Explorer’s almost transparent existence only deepened his worries.

He was concerned and it still happened—Netscape had almost become synonymous with the browser market.

Even for a giant like Microsoft, challenging it was not going to be easy.

"Brad, your initial advice was right, we shouldn’t have put Navigator in the Plus pack."

Brad Silverberg, once of the Skunkworks, had suggested to Gates to bundle Microsoft’s browser for free within the system.

But perhaps Gates was overly confident, or he wanted to add more value to the Plus pack, he rejected Brad’s proposal.

The reality proved that no one paid attention to Microsoft’s browser, and certainly, no one would purchase the Plus pack just for it.

"After completing the next update, the Navigator browser will no longer be part of the Plus pack’s unlockable content, and everyone will be able to use it for free.

Netscape’s recent decision has made it clear that they have detected Microsoft’s intentions and are counterattacking!"

However, unlike Gates’s fretfulness, Karen Fries and others had rather bemused expressions.

"Bill, I think Netscape’s free browser policy is a mistake; their stock price has fallen nearly 20% recently.

Many Wall Street analysts and commentators are harshly criticizing Netscape’s arrogance, believing their decision goes against investors’ wishes."

Netscape had just gone public and was in its glory days, but who would have expected such a sudden move from them?

Offering one of their core services, the browser, for free? Wasn’t that clearly going to cut off their own stock’s upward momentum?

Perhaps they had their strategic intentions, but the decision was too hasty. At least they should have waited until a stable period before gradually planning it out.

But for Karen Fries and Microsoft, this was good news because nothing was more pleasing than seeing a potential competitor falter.

Additionally, Karen Fries had a bit of self-interest; now that Netscape’s browser was free, it would only attract more users.

Some of them might even purchase computers because of it, and if computer sales increased, Windows 95 would naturally rise with the tide.

Looking at many people’s schadenfreude expressions in the meeting, Gates’s frown deepened.

He suddenly realized that there was no unified stance on the internet strategy within Microsoft.

There were also many who couldn’t understand his sense of crisis. Glancing around, only Brad Silverberg was as serious as he was.

"Why do you think Netscape announced that they’re making their new browser version free?" Gates asked this question at the meeting.

He felt it necessary to reassert Microsoft’s stance, and to analyze the motives behind this decision more thoroughly.

"Maybe they wanted to please users?" someone guessed, spreading his hands.

"It could also be that the development of the new browser wasn’t going well, so they lacked confidence in launching a paid version with not much improvement over 2.0?"

"I think Netscape is also cultivating the market, not just with their browser but also with various certificate licenses and email services," someone rarely offered a sensible analysis.

However, Gates, who sat at the head of the table, grew increasingly disconcerted as he listened. The success of Windows 95 had clouded their judgement.

They had become arrogant and started to underestimate their competitors.

"The reason Netscape is doing this is that they’re targeting Microsoft!

They are willing to slash a third of their own revenue just to strangle our Navigator in its cradle!"

Gates harshly cut off their brainstorming, disappointed by the myopia of Microsoft’s senior management.

Because of his anger, everyone stopped their discussions to look at each other, many still not understanding why Gates would be so agitated.

Like he said before, was he worried about Netscape replacing Microsoft’s position?

What a joke, Windows 95 had already forged Microsoft’s iron throne.

"Netscape’s share price has only fallen, not crashed, and they have recently stabilized the situation.

Their email services and homepage auction ranking rules have renewed investors’ confidence in Netscape.

So did you notice the root of the problem? Netscape’s browser is now free, it will have more users, and it has successfully navigated the pains of transformation."

Gates’s comments silenced everyone, and upon reflection, it seemed there was truth to his words.

"Moreover, the stock market isn’t the focus we should have, it’s Netscape’s free Explorer 3.0.

After they announced their policy, our Plus pack has become worthless!"

Although the Plus pack still included other software like MSN, Gates valued the browser more.

"Brad, tell us, why would Netscape announce Explorer 3.0 is free?"

"Obviously, it’s to hit our Navigator," Silverge responded without hesitation.

"They understand perfectly where Microsoft’s strengths lie, and right now, the only threat to Netscape on the market is us.

So after sensing that Microsoft would also launch its own browser, they immediately made Explorer free for everyone.

The situation has now become such that Explorer leads Navigator in both technology and price.

If we don’t do something about it, perhaps all our efforts will have been in vain."

Silverge’s comments awakened some and eased the grim expression on Gates’s face a little.

See, not everyone at Microsoft was oblivious to this point, and his strategic vision resonated.

"Then what do you think was Netscape’s objective of opening up the rights to use their JavaScript language earlier?"

Gates already had the answer in his mind, but he needed Silverge to articulate this reality to everyone.

"Netscape opening up their programming language may seem to have no direct impact on revenue.

But it has caused a far more terrifying outcome, attracting a large number of developers."

"Developers of browsers?" Karen Fries still hadn’t understood what amazing functionalities this magic software possessed.

"It’s like an ecological community, the more people who participate in building it, the more beautiful and enticing the community becomes.

The more people attracted by these factors and moving into the community, the more users there are for the browser."

Clearly, developers will choose to write programs for the browser with the most users, and users will in turn choose the browser with the most features.

This is a positive cycle, akin to Microsoft’s software ecosystem, so everyone could understand Silverge’s analogy.

"That’s the issue, Microsoft wants to contend with Netscape for users and developers, a confrontation is almost inevitable.

Unfortunately, the other side has already made their move, and Microsoft is without the ability to respond," Gates lamented.

"Can we develop a web programming language similar to JavaScript based on Hypertext?"

Facing Gates’ hopeful gaze, even Silverge dared not make any promises.

This simply wasn’t achievable in a short timeframe. Apart from the technical aspects, there was also a need to ensure wide adoption among developers.

But the fact was that Microsoft hadn’t even sorted out its own browser, let alone web programming languages.

"Microsoft must have its own web programming language! Otherwise, Netscape will choke the life out of us!"

Gates was clearer on the importance of controlling the rule-making authority than anyone else, as Microsoft was doing something similar right now.

"Brad, starting from today, the manpower and budget of your department... all resources will be doubled.

Everyone stop all other work and commit fully to the development of the Navigator browser.

We must catch up with Explorer in the shortest possible time, at all costs!"

"Yes!" Silverge knew that Gates had finally made up his mind to go all-in on the internet.

"Also, in the shortest time, change the Navigator browser to be the default system bundle.

And regarding Netscape, make an effort to learn from the strengths of their browser. Whatever features they have that draw users, we’ll add them."

Gates could no longer care about things like accusations of copying; those were inconsequential to the final victory.

However, what worried him most was Netscape’s Explorer 3.0; his intuition told him that this move would be out of the ordinary.

And perhaps it was Gates’s intuition coming true, as a week after this meeting ended, Netscape finally launched their Windows 95-based version of Explorer 3.0.