American History 1988
Chapter 393 - 382: Signal

Chapter 393: Chapter 382: Signal

Since he had come to Virginia, Dean of course made a trip to Washington D.C.

It wasn’t just because Miranda was pregnant but more importantly, Dean wanted to meet with the First Lady.

Don’t get it wrong, Dean didn’t have any treacherous plans; he just had some legal issues he wanted to consult about with our dear Hillary.

Dean remembered that she also had a lawyer’s identity.

Given Dean’s current status, he could call the White House at any time and be answered by the occupant of the Oval Office’s lawn.

Therefore, a personal visit would certainly be no problem at all.

"Hillary, I think you’ve already heard about the competition between Netscape and Microsoft," Dean said, walking and talking with the First Lady in the backyard.

"Gates?" Hillary’s mouth twitched with a smile, "It is rumored that things are tense between you, and it seems to be true."

"No," Dean shook his head, "it has nothing to do with personal issues; it’s a business matter."

"Business?" Hillary stopped in her tracks, "Are you saying that Microsoft is threatening Netscape?"

The smile at the corner of her mouth disappeared; just moments ago, she had thought Dean was merely making casual complaints.

Hillary had seen the news about the competition between Microsoft and Netscape.

But after consulting with advisors, she hadn’t paid much attention to it.

Because the advisors had told her, Microsoft’s browser was clunky and outdated; hardly anyone was using it.

Moreover, Dean had never brought up the matter with her on the phone, and the market valuation of Netscape had been stable.

So although Hillary had seen similar news, she always thought Netscape’s competitors were insignificant.

But now, Dean stood in front of her, defining the relationship between Microsoft and Netscape with the word "business."

The astute Hillary realized that Netscape was in trouble.

"Microsoft has been making a lot of moves behind the scenes, and I’m now uncertain whether these actions violate US laws, so I wanted to consult with a professional like you."

Dean’s reason was noble; he personally owned America’s most luxurious team of lawyers, able to answer any question there.

Yet, he chose to ask Hillary, which held intriguing implications.

As perspicacious as Hillary was, she knew everything well but still gave Dean an enthusiastic response.

"OK, of course, I’d be happy to help you."

She was all ears, the earnestness in her eyes even making Dean look inferior.

Netscape was not just Dean’s business; it was also the business of Washington’s corridors of power.

It could be said without exaggeration that more than 98% of the First Lady’s assets were tied up in Netscape.

Now what was she hearing? Someone was trying to steal her wealth!

Oh~Shift! Not even God had that right; how could mortals dare to commit such a taboo act!

A surge of anger churned in her chest, and she made up her mind to make the coveters pay a price.

Dean didn’t know what Hillary was thinking beside him; he was just truthfully recounting the underhanded things Microsoft had done recently.

This included copying Netscape’s browser features and imitating Netscape’s market strategies everywhere.

Of course, the deal between Gates and AOL was also a focal point. Dean analyzed thoroughly what lay behind this move and the consequences it would bring.

To all this, Dean appeared very calm, but Hillary’s expression became extremely serious.

"Dean, do you have definitive evidence of what you’re saying?"

"Of course, including both testimonial and physical evidence." Dean had instructed Barksdale and the others to collect all evidence regarding Microsoft.

"Then it’s easy," Hillary’s mouth revealed a smile, "just with these, it’s enough to confirm Microsoft’s charges of unfair competition and infringement."

"Unfair competition? Infringement?" A thoughtful look flashed in Dean’s eyes.

Hillary nodded her head, "Yes, these charges will certainly teach Microsoft a deep lesson.

If handled properly, it could even force them out of the browser market."

"If that’s the case..." Dean smacked his lips, "then let’s wait a bit longer."

"What?" Hillary was startled.

She had totally not expected such an answer from Dean. This... this was about Netscape’s business!

About...

Cough, Hillary forcefully swallowed the words that had almost escaped her mouth.

"Microsoft is being aggressive. If things keep going as they are, it could turn bad," she felt obligated to remind Dean as a professional.

"You’re right, Hillary," Dean nodded, "but what can I do right now?"

He spread his hands innocently, "Behind Microsoft, there are others; I’ve received more than one phone call."

"Who’s passing messages to you?" As the conversation touched on political issues, Hillary became even more earnest.

Dean softly listed a few names, and Hillary’s eyes flashed with understanding.

"I’ll take care of those people, and as for Microsoft..."

"Currently, in terms of market share, Netscape’s position is still unshakable by Microsoft.

But that is predicated on fair competition—if someone breaks the rules, things might not be so easy to resolve."

"I will also issue a proper warning to Seattle; that’s the bottom line of the game," Hillary immediately made her promise.

She would handle political matters, but when it came to business, it had to rely on Dean.

However, since Dean said that Microsoft couldn’t touch Netscape for the time being, she was able to let go of her worries.

"By the way, I heard you’ve had business on Wall Street recently?"

"Yahoo," Dean smiled, "I’ve helped to invest some of your fund."

"You are a reliable ally, Dean," Hillary nodded with satisfaction.

Yes, Dean had a lot on his plate this trip to the East Sea.

Yahoo’s IPO was one of those things, and of course, today’s business was equally important.

He hadn’t expected to use Hillary’s connection to do anything to Microsoft.

But he had to make clear the non-public treatment that Netscape was currently facing and the potential threats it might encounter.

Usually, the development of a story involves a transition before reaching its climax.

Today’s conversation was such a transition, where Dean was sending signals to those allies behind the scenes.

...

On April 12, Yahoo was set to go public.

Following Netscape, it was another major event for the internet or, you could say, for Wall Street.

And Yahoo’s model was even more special—it was entirely free.

This included its portal news services, email services, search services, and everything presented on Yahoo’s website.

Everything they offered to users was free of charge.

Netscape hadn’t reached this level; at the time of its IPO, even its browser was not free.

Although policies were later changed, Netscape’s application store was still charging users.

There was no helping it; this was Netscape’s core business. And unlike Yahoo, it was selling services.

So what about Yahoo? It represented another extreme in internet business models.

It had completely crafted the internet game rules of openness, freedom, and profitability into a common consensus.

Even many critics and media outlets gave Yahoo extremely high praise, comparing Yahoo to Ford of its time.

Cars were first invented by Daimler and Benz, but it was Ford who transformed cars from an initial luxury item into a common means of transportation affordable for every ordinary family.

All thanks to Ford’s efforts, which drove car prices down to an ultra-low $500, and from then on, cars entered into every household in America.

What Yahoo did in the field of the internet was analogous to what Ford did in the automotive industry.

Yahoo wasn’t the first internet service portal; AOL’s network business existed before Yahoo’s inception.

Even Excite, similar to Yahoo, appeared a little earlier, with Lycos and Infoseek almost simultaneously.

But Yahoo was the company that defined the internet industry’s business model, and it became the true representative of mainstream free portal websites.

Yes, in some sense, Yahoo and AOL were competitors.

Both provided content services to users, but AOL charged, whereas Yahoo was free.

This might sound exaggerated, but AOL’s content was indeed only available to its paying users.

If this model had been continued, the internet would have never been as colorful and diverse as it is today.

It was Yahoo’s emergence that changed this rule, opening its content to the entire world, which allowed it to gain an exponential user growth in a short amount of time.

Later, its approach became a model for internet companies worldwide, with firms like Excite, Lycos, and Infoseek following suit.

At the same time, various websites emerged, from every government department, school, and company, to individuals building their web pages.

Information that was previously disseminated through various newspapers could now be broadcast faster through web pages, which to some extent even spurred the birth of e-commerce.

However, even though Yahoo became an object of adulation, it encountered difficulties with profitability.

Although early on, with Dean’s reminder and under the guidance of Moritz’s media business plan, Yahoo understood that advertising was key to profitability.

Yet, in the previous year, due to not reaching an agreement with major brands, Yahoo’s advertising revenue was pitifully low.

Together with the competition from companies such as Excite and Lycos, Yahoo’s financial situation was not optimistic.

Take 1995 as an example, its annual turnover was only 1.3 million US Dollars, and after deducting costs, the actual loss was 630,000 US Dollars.

Things might improve a bit this year, but that would be at the end of the year.

Therefore, considering Yahoo’s current revenue situation, its IPO valuation was only around 500 million US Dollars.

Honestly, for a company that had not yet profited, such market recognition was already pretty good.

If it were any other traditional industry, such a company could not have achieved an IPO at all.

But what if it was Yahoo? The internet wave had already ignited the ambition of Silicon Valley and Wall Street.

So on April 12, despite Yahoo’s unsightly financial report, after the market opened.

Yahoo’s issue price of 13 US Dollars quickly soared to 20 US Dollars.

Then, within an hour, Yahoo’s market value exceeded 1 billion US Dollars.

With an average hourly turnover rate of six times, the stock price peaked at 43 US Dollars.

During the bell-ringing ceremony, Dean intentionally kept a low profile, standing behind Yang Zhiyuan and David.

Shortly after the market opened, he greeted various parties, then hurriedly left the trading floor.

There were more pressing matters waiting for him at Netscape, and his premonition had not been wrong.

The storm was growing fiercer, and this time, Microsoft extended its hand toward the very source of the market.