Gates' concerns proved to be not without reason, just the day after Microsoft decided to move up the MSN plan.
Corners of Seattle suddenly began to be flooded with a large number of CDs bearing the AOL logo.
Just like the scene previously enacted on the East Coast, people even received a free AOL trial package while taking a taxi.
What made Microsoft's management even more frustrated was that right under the Redmond Microsoft headquarters building,
the Starbucks there also offered such CDs as a gift to every customer.
Ross Higerman enjoyed such treatment, and God knows how wide his mouth opened in shock at the time.
Clearly, AOL had started to take action, even earlier than Gates had anticipated.
And this ground marketing campaign was not aimed solely at Seattle; it was rolling out across the entire United States.
The AOL board may have been skeptical about the subscription model, but a proven carpet-bombing approach was unlikely to be questioned.
