[Chapter 884: The Biggest Rival is Actually Oneself]
When it came to anything tied to economic interests, one should never bring up morality; such a thing just didn't exist.
If one invested in stocks and found the situation less than ideal, it was simply their own poor judgment. However, there was one absolute rule: never falsify data. If the sales figures were twenty million dollars, then it better be twenty million dollars, period.
Remember, do not fake it, do not fake it, do not fake it. It's worth repeating three times if it's important.
U.S. law had a powerful principle known as common law. If one person won a lawsuit, others could find themselves in serious trouble as a result.
For instance, Netscape sold more than twenty million dollars worth of software in one year, yet its valuation soared to three billion dollars. If one bought forty million dollars worth of software and then discarded it, that was just a hypothetical example; most would never be foolish enough to do something so crude.
With sixty million dollars in sales, would the valuation then reach ninety billion? Certainly not; there would be an increase to some extent, but it wouldn't be anything that extreme.
Those who falsified records were usually less than sharp. In the U.S., many institutions thrived on short selling, and they loved those who cooked their books. Once caught, one would be put through the wringer.
Thinking they could game the system? They were ludicrously naive, essentially handing over their whole business and its assets in one go.
Not to mention, even if their company remained, they would face a long road to recovery. No one genuinely thought they could cheat the system and come out ahead.
Mark Anderson and James Clark were smart. They pitched investors by claiming their software was exceptional and anything from Microsoft was trash. Plus, they were developing even cooler products.
"Since you all believe in Netscape's future, hold on tight," they would say.
It turned out, bluffing was legal. If they did indeed outshine Microsoft in time, it would simply be a stroke of luck. If they faltered, it wouldn't be for lack of trying; Microsoft was just too sly.
Would Microsoft ever lose?
William White pondered this question.
"Geez, that guy seems to have never lost. If I had to name a competitor, it'd be Windows 95 facing Windows 3.1."
It was almost comical how Bill Gates always found a way to end the previous generation's systems whenever his software couldn't sell.
"Damn it, with all those patches, is he doing that on purpose?"
The more William thought about it, the more sense it made. Whenever Microsoft declared it would cease upgrades for an old system, their stock prices always rose while software sales increased accordingly.
"Steve, fine, you don't have to worry about using Gates' products. Let's just pretend I didn't even ask."
Steve Jobs's face reflected disbelief.
"When did I ever say I didn't use Gates' software? I only said every concept he has is ripped off."
"I used it, but the new system is just as bad as before. By the way, their browser is garbage compared to Netscape's."
"Hahaha, come on, Steve Jobs, when it comes to creative types, can we really call it theft? Let's just say it's borrowing ideas."
Steve Jobs shot back a disdainful look.
"Your company holds the most patents in the entire IT industry. Seems like you have at least a dozen lawsuits still hanging over you. So you can't claim it's borrowing when you're suing those poor guys."
"A lot of people don't like Windows 95 because it takes up too much space. Truth is, they're using other software."
"That's true; the computer I'm typing on won't be upgraded unless they also update the office software."
"This guy would absolutely do that; only then would more people use the new software."
William laughed while Steve Jobs joined in. They could almost envision a beleaguered Bill Gates.
The thought of him being defeated by his own software was just too delightful. Gates probably never expected that the current situation would spell a curse, as every new system he launched would meet the same fate.
The most pitiful workloads might have been Vista and Windows 8. In William's eyes, those two systems were utterly dispensable, mere decorations causing frustration.
"Enough about that guy; what's up? Concerned about your IPO?"
"I don't know; some theaters have high hopes, while others are lukewarm. Let's estimate the box office, shall we?"
"Cough, cough, you're joking, right? This only gives a rough idea. If you need a little psychological comfort, buy an aquarium and keep an octopus in it."
"An octopus? What the hell is that? I had no idea."
"Hahaha, here's a secret; I have one. Whenever I encounter a dilemma, I let my octopus choose for me. They like to crawl into boxes, and at that point, I just have to decide which box is A. Then..."
Steve Jobs looked completely baffled at this showoff.
"Come on, picking which team wins is easy; how am I supposed to guess box office? Five boxes, from one to five?"
"Cough, cough, alright, stop frowning; where those who aren't optimistic showing their theaters?
Toy Story is a family movie; you should focus on this genre. Let me give you a simple tip: The Lion King had decent box office returns; as long as leading theaters are optimistic, everything should go fine."
Steve Jobs smiled and shook his head. Yes, that William White guy had teased him for hours, yet this was the most useful advice.
"Michael?"
"Hahaha, the CEO of Disney. If he couldn't figure this out, I would have fired him long ago. Rest assured, if it's summer, North America won't have less than two hundred million, are you comforted now?"
William said with a hint of sarcasm, and there was a moment when Steve Jobs seriously considered delaying the IPO. Unfortunately, he wouldn't get a summer slot anymore.
"You don't need to dwell on it; the current screening cycles are long. As long as it crosses a hundred million, it typically lasts six months."
Steve Jobs happily departed, and while being prideful was perfectly fine, pretending to know everything was just ridiculous. In Hollywood, no one ever questioned William White's keen eye. Even if he was difficult, he wouldn't be foolish during crucial moments.
Back in the day, Apple's IPO almost went south because of this guy. There were many instances of haggling, but few where investment banks tossed insults back and forth.
Sweating, Bill Gates figured he should first visit Compaq. Persuading Dell was giving him quite a headache.
Dell, famous for its value for money, certainly wouldn't agree to mere hardware piling. If you stacked it high enough, what would be left for them?
If one had to inflate the software that much, what was the damn point? Drivers were becoming a standard, and did he not realize many still clung to their floppy disks?
The U.S. could be quite amusing sometimes. It had only been a few years since computers were introduced, and traditions were already forming. If they truly cherished tradition, surely they should return to using the abacus, as that had certainly been the first calculator invented by mankind.
Don't think it's a joke; once there was a con artist who sold abacuses as calculators. Since there was no hardware specified in the contract, could one genuinely argue that an abacus wasn't a calculator?
Bill Gates indeed worked hard on Windows 95. Europe still used the Apple II, and the base price for Windows 95 was powered by Pentium.
Were 4 megabytes of RAM necessary? Did one require around 2 GB of hard drive space? Coupled with a CD-ROM drive, this was a significant cost increase!
Most importantly, IT industry professionals recognized the merits of Windows 95 but felt there was no real necessity. If one was operating on a tight budget, Windows 3.1 did the job just fine; they weren't all that different anyway.
*****
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