American History 1988
Chapter 398 - 387: Choose One of Two?

Chapter 398: Chapter 387: Choose One of Two?

After speaking with John Yang from HP, Dean made calls to the likes of Compaq, IBM, and DEC as well.

Not all of these computer manufacturers stood up to publicly oppose Microsoft’s practices, or to align themselves with Netscape.

Still, Dean had to do this because he needed to build confidence in these computer manufacturers.

He needed to tell them that Netscape would be the victor in this competition.

The Explorer browser was far superior to Navigator and was more popular with users.

Netscape was actively seeking solutions to the problem, which included but were not limited to legal measures.

At the same time, for those computer manufacturers that had shown goodwill, Dean also hinted at the idea of replacing Microsoft’s operating system.

From their responses, Dean had already confirmed that at least two other companies besides HP were very enthusiastic about the idea.

Perhaps it was time for him to organize a syndicate to discuss this matter, and, successful or not, causing Microsoft some trouble was always an option.

Having finished these tasks, Dean then called Washington.

"Hillary, we must take action now."

Caught off-guard at a media event, Hillary signalled to her assistant and quietly moved to a corner.

"Dean, what happened?"

"Microsoft is interfering with Netscape’s browser, regarding the pre-installation services with computer manufacturers.

They’re using contractual agreements to demand that manufacturers remove all instructions related to the use of the Netscape browser.

You know what this means, Hillary. Although our product is excellent, such tactics will reduce the appeal of the Netscape browser to new users.

Most importantly, it sends a terrible signal—Microsoft is targeting Netscape.

If we don’t respond strongly, our partners who have been wavering will completely turn towards Microsoft."

Market confidence is a very important factor in this browser war, and it can influence not only investors’ opinions but also those of countless developers.

In the past, when Microsoft tinkered with the placement of its own software in the pre-installed systems, Dean couldn’t directly intervene.

But now that Microsoft’s hand has reached out to Netscape itself, things are different—they must respond.

"This is what I’ve been suggesting for a while, Dean." Hillary supported his decision without hesitation.

"How about the evidence? And the legal and PR teams; they are the real puppeteers behind this game."

Being in the center of power, Hillary was now well-versed in these rules.

"The evidence is printed in the newspapers." Dean laughed. There was no better testimony than this.

"As for the legal team, Netscape cooperates with many White Shoe Law Firms.

Of course, if you have any suggestions, I don’t mind enriching our lineup."

"Good, Cheryl will contact your advisors later." Hillary nodded in satisfaction; business was indeed one way to maintain relationships.

"By the way, Dean, tell me, Netscape will win in the end, right?" This was important to her own fortune.

"Of course, but this requires the cooperation of everyone, everyone," Dean emphasized.

"What are you planning to do?" Hillary sensed something unusual.

"Dismember Seattle," Dean uttered softly.

Hillary’s body jolted; this was a big deal, possibly even the White House might have to get involved eventually.

"Have you decided?"

"Gates is a competitive person; he won’t easily give in."

"I understand," Hillary said quietly before hanging up the phone.

After pondering for a moment, she gestured to her assistant, Cheryl.

"First Lady?"

"Go check the current stock price of Netscape."

Tap, tap, tap, as the sound of footsteps faded, Cheryl hurriedly went to make the call.

People from Seattle were really detestable, both greedy and rule-breakers.

Hillary smiled as she returned to the front and waved often to the audience.

"I am very proud that since I took office, the economy of the United States has achieved astounding results.

We have outstanding companies like Bit and Netscape that have completely changed people’s lives..."

While Clinton passionately delivered his speech, Hillary continued to play the role of the First Lady to the end.

"First Lady, Netscape’s stock price has fallen by 5%," Cheryl, now back, whispered in Hillary’s ear.

Damn, she was becoming increasingly annoyed with the people from Seattle.

...

"Netscape’s market value just evaporated by 5%," Clark said, showing the newspaper to Dean.

This was a side effect of HP’s public statement; now Wall Street knew that Microsoft was targeting Netscape.

Clearly, this was negative news. Netscape didn’t have the same clout with computer manufacturers as Microsoft did.

"Get in touch with our lawyers," Dean said, unsurprised by such news.

"Are we going to make a move?" Clark’s eyes were filled with a fierce determination.

Dean chuckled, "Gates has become too complacent, and Microsoft always thinks it can escape unscathed."

"I’ve been waiting for this day!" Clark said excitedly with a high-five, "By the way, on what charges are we going to accuse Microsoft?"

"First, arrange the evidence and consult with the legal team for a plan. I’ll try to garner more allies in the next few days.

As for the final accusation..." Dean took a breath, "Monopolistic competition, violating antitrust laws."

Clark shuddered, although he had anticipated this... it was still too thrilling!

"I will have Gary Lubeck from the Sosini Law Firm take charge of organizing the evidence and the preliminary development of the plan."

Clark immediately had a candidate in mind. Lubeck was experienced in this area.

He was an enthusiast of the Civil War history, as commanding and imposing as a federal general.

Lubeck had taken part in many significant conflicts between Seattle and Silicon Valley.

In the lawsuit about graphical user interfaces in ’88, he was a member of Apple Inc.’s camp.

In the early ’90s, he was also persuading the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to carefully investigate Microsoft’s competitive behavior in the personal computer market.

It wasn’t until Microsoft reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that the matter was resolved.

It could be said that Lubeck alone brought a lot of trouble to Microsoft and had conducted in-depth research on Microsoft’s variety of competitive tactics.

"The Sosini Law Firm is already our partner, you take care of this matter."

Dean had other things to do, like making a call to Gates.

He wanted to probe the other side’s intentions first and, if all else failed, consider it a gesture of politeness before resorting to force.

"Gates, are you sure you want to do this?" The moment the call connected, Dean cut to the chase.

"I’m just following the advice of our lawyers," Gates leaned back in his chair, idly swiveling.

"But you’ve crossed the line," Dean warned.

Gates silently chuckled, "Dean, you know? I once had a nightmare.

I dreamed that I was surfing the internet, but everywhere I touched, I could hardly find any Microsoft file formats.

This situation must change, Microsoft must dominate the information age!"

"Wow, ambitious," Dean also chuckled, "Gates, I’ve had a dream too, but it was a pleasant one.

The online world in it was rich and colorful, free of Microsoft’s bloated software, with a thriving ecosystem where all could flourish.

And guess what? That dream is becoming a reality."

"Ah ha, I didn’t expect you to have such a sense of humor, Dean."

"The fact is I’ve always been this way."

"Is that so? Well, we’ll see about that," Gates hung up the call.

Looking at the eager faces below him, Gates shrugged. "Silicon Valley is throwing down the gauntlet, so it’s time for action.

From today, notify all computer manufacturers that when Navigator 3.0 is released, the only browser in their pre-installed systems must be Navigator.

No other options, no negotiating, they must comply with the terms, or they can prepare to shut down."

"Bill, wouldn’t this attract the attention of the trade commission?" a senior executive asked.

"Microsoft’s been through the antitrust spotlight more than once; it always passes.

We have no need to change our business practices.

Navigator 3.0 is about to launch, and it’s our flagship product.

Before it does, Microsoft must clear the market of any unsightly nuisances."

Thousands of developers involved, no expenses spared, Microsoft’s spending on the browser project approached 1 billion US dollars.

Gates had to ensure its success. For this goal, no competitive tactic would be a burden.

After this meeting, Microsoft completely abandoned any pretense of moral high ground and began to use whatever means necessary to win the war.

An arms race thus began, encompassing not just the technological aspect, but also sales, marketing, and all other areas.

Unexpectedly, the first area of conflict between Microsoft and Netscape was public relations.

In mid-July, Netscape’s CEO Barksdale formally announced to the media that Netscape would take legal measures to protect its interests.

The charges against Microsoft were numerous, with a dozen or so different accusations.

At the same time, Yahoo also began an extensive coverage of Microsoft’s dirty tactics in the browser competition.

Not to be outdone, Seattle began spreading rumors about security risks in Netscape’s browser.

And to build up Gates’ personal image, with the help of the PR team, Gates once again appeared on the cover of Fortune magazine.

In response, a week later, Dean appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

Okay, all of this was arranged under the guidance of the PR team.

And it didn’t stop there. Merely half a month later, Gates wrote a best-selling book about the future of the internet titled "The Road Ahead."

Dean? He didn’t have the time for such distractions. He was busy contacting potential allies.

Such as the previously mentioned Novell, located in Utah.

Its business mainly focused on Microcomputer Network Operating Systems, which might sound a bit of a mouthful.

What’s the difference between Microcomputer Network Operating Systems and Microsoft’s desktop systems?

The answer is not much. They are both operating systems, with the only difference being their applications scenarios.

Novell’s network systems were primarily used in enterprises, whereas Microsoft’s Windows systems were mostly used by individual users.

In the era dominated by IBM mainframes, the office systems of companies were mainly handled by a central server.

The computers on the employees’ desks, to be precise, were just terminals.

They had no data processing capability. Their sole function was to send commands to the central server and then wait for the results to be fed back from the server room.

It was the same case with DEC’s minicomputers until the appearance of 3Com’s microcomputers changed this situation.

Microcomputers were independent PCs, and 3Com developed Ethernet cards to interconnect them.

Operating systems were not their forte, and this was when Novell stepped in.

Yes, it sounds as if Novell’s business is actually very similar to Microsoft’s.

And that’s precisely why Dean made a special visit to them.

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